Substitutes
Debra and John at Working Waterfront Festival 2015
My sometime musical partner, John Roberts hasn’t been too “hip” lately. Back in May, he was involved in an impromptu cricket game in Brattleboro, VT, and fell. He was taken to Brattleboro Hospital where it was determined that he’d have to have en emergency hip replacement. Unfortunately, the new hip hasn’t settled in properly and he will have to have a second surgery at the end of this month.
As many of you are aware, John and I were scheduled to perform at the Me & Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, MA on Friday, February 26, a house concert in S. Portland, ME on Saturday February 27 and for Woods Hole Folk Music Society, Woods Hole MA, on Sunday, February 28, 2016.
Unfortunately, due to his medical woes, his recovery period is expected to be well into Mid-March and he sincerely regrets that he cannot be available for these performances.
It’s a high order to replace someone as talented and iconic as John Roberts. After all, no single folk musician could replace John; it takes two and Debra has called upon two up and coming young lads to help out, The Vox Hunters. 
The Vox Hunters are Armand Aromin and Benedict Gagliardi. They are musically bound by a shared love of traditional Irish music, which originally brought them together, as well as an eclectic and ever-growing amalgam of songs both inside and far outside the realm of ‘folk music’. With a hand-crafted fiddle, a couple of concertinas, banjo and a pair of complementary voices, The Vox Hunters present an exciting repertoire of driving dance tunes blended with an unorthodox collection of interesting songs and musical varia.
The Vox Hunters’ philosophy is that the search for good songs is endless and satisfyingly so. We don’t aim to fuse genres, push boundaries, or redefine ‘folk music’ — we simply sing songs we like to sing in exactly the way we like to sing them. Our influences and inspirations are voices in the English, American, and Irish folk music realm, but we allow our ears a long musical leash.
Together, Debra and the Vox Hunters will present a variety of songs with lots of opportunities to join in on choruses and refrains. So bring your voices, get ready to tap your feet and we’ll see you at Woods Hole Folk Music Society on Feb 28, 2016!
