Acclaimed folk group Hungrytown plays free concert at RPL

Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson (Courtesy photo)

The Rochester Public Library will pleased to present folk duo Hungrytown on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The free concert will be held outside at the Library.

After more than 15 years of worldwide touring and three album releases, Rebecca Hall and Ken Anderson have earned a reputation for the quality and authenticity of their songwriting.

"It's great to hear an act eschew sentimentality in favor of honesty and to prove that you don't have to go raiding the memory of others to find the stuff that really good songs are made of," writes Jedd Beaudoin of Popmatters.

Lyricist Rebecca Hall is credited with compositions "that sound as timeless as any traditional songs" (Northern Sky, UK) while producer/multi-instrumentalist/husband Ken Anderson is lauded for his "remarkable affinity for instrumental embellishment" (No Depression) and for crafting Hungrytown's "gorgeous vocal harmonies" (Folk and Roots, UK).

Hall and Anderson met in New York City, where they had already been performing regularly: Hall as a jazz singer, and Anderson as a drummer for a variety of garage bands. Their introduction to folk music came later when a close friend entrusted to them her collection of 1960s folk albums and her guitar (which has since been featured on all of their albums).

Inspired by the grit and true-to-life experiences she heard in these traditional ballads, Hall was inspired to write the lyrics that later became her first songs, aided by Anderson's flair for musical arrangement. Soon afterward, Hall released two solo albums, Sings! (1999) and Sunday Afternoon (2002), both produced by Anderson.