Sounds Local: New year means new music: Popular local bands have big plans for 2025

High Tea (vocalist/guitarist Isabella DeHerdt and percussionist/vocalist Isaac Eliot) will co-headline a show at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. “We’ll be playing a handful of brand new songs that will all be sneak peeks from a full-length album coming out this fall,” DeHerdt says.

High Tea (vocalist/guitarist Isabella DeHerdt and percussionist/vocalist Isaac Eliot) will co-headline a show at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. “We’ll be playing a handful of brand new songs that will all be sneak peeks from a full-length album coming out this fall,” DeHerdt says. CONTRIBUTED

Wallace Field will co-headline a show at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. Field will be performing with a full band, which makes this a special show in itself, as most of her recent local shows have been solo.

Wallace Field will co-headline a show at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. Field will be performing with a full band, which makes this a special show in itself, as most of her recent local shows have been solo. CONTRIBUTED

South Deerfield-based singer-songwriter Eric Phelps and his band Let It Rain will perform at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m.

South Deerfield-based singer-songwriter Eric Phelps and his band Let It Rain will perform at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m. CONTRIBUTED

By SHERYL HUNTER

For the Recorder

Published: 01-22-2025 2:24 PM

January is the month of new beginnings, and with the new year comes the arrival of new music. In the upcoming weeks, some popular Franklin County-based musicians playing their first local shows of 2025 where they will give audiences the chance to listen to new music before it is officially released.

The folk-rock bands High Tea and Wallace Field are coming together for a co-headlining show at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. This show will be the first time in almost two years that the two bands have shared a bill, and they will share some new material at this show.

High Tea from Colrain is vocalist/guitarist Isabella DeHerdt (of Kalliope Jones) and percussionist/vocalist Isaac Eliot. The pair released their debut album, “Hell of a Ride,” in 2020, and their most recent release, “Scuba Diving,” in 2023. Strong harmonies, honest lyrics, and music that blends folk, punk and Americana are at the core of High Tea’s music. There is a soft side to some of what they create; then there are times when DeHerdt picks up her electric guitar while Eliot bangs away on the percussion, and they are a two-person rock band.

“We’ll be playing a handful of brand new songs that will all be sneak peeks from a full-length album coming out this fall — and we’ll have a surprise guest or two playing some of the songs with us at the Iron Horse,” said DeHerdt.

High Tea is looking forward to joining up with Wallace Field for this special night of music.

“With all its history and personal nostalgia, the Iron Horse is the perfect place to tell these stories and to reunite with Wallace Field,” DeHerdt said. “Both acts invite listeners into their lives and the worlds they’ve created.”

This year is looking to be a big one for High Tea. In addition to releasing new music of their own, they provided arrangements and vocals for Heather Maloney’s upcoming release, “Exploding Star.” That album will be released on Jan. 31, and High Tea will accompany Maloney on the upcoming tour to support the album.

Wallace Field of Greenfield will be performing with a full band, which makes this a special show in itself, as most of her recent local shows have been solo. Field’s first full-length album, “All Costs,” was released in 2023, and she instantly won over listeners with her clear, expressive voice, beautifully conveying the emotion in her lyrics. “All Costs” was a meditation on loss as it found her working through the end of a relationship and the loss of her Shelburne Falls home to a fire. High Tea was the opening act when Field held a release show at the Parlor Room for her debut album.

Last year, she released the video for “Nothing is Everything,” which appeared on “All Costs.” She starred in it and directed, filmed, and edited it herself. In the video, she reminisces about a road trip to Montreal while driving a 1980 yellow Mercedes sedan.

Field is currently in the early stages of working on a sophomore album and will premiere some of her new songs at the Jan. 31 Iron Horse show.

“Playing the Iron Horse is a dream come true for me, and to share this honor with my friends in High Tea makes it all that more special,” Field says. “The Valley music scene has always felt so collaborative and community-minded, and this show will celebrate that.”

Tickets are $24 and are available at ironhorse.org.

Eric Phelps and Let it Rain at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton

South Deerfield-based singer-songwriter Eric Phelps and his band Let It Rain will perform at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 8 p.m.

Phelps, who released his debut album “Let It Rain” in 2022, has been busy writing over the past year and has completed about 55 songs. Phelps said that this show will be the “word premier” (yes, he said “word,” that’s not a typo) of six new songs, including several 2024 collaborations and tunes he wrote in the past several months.

Phelps is known for his insightful songs that encompass a wide variety of styles and we can expect to hear this variety in his new material.

Some of the songs he will perform at this show were co-written with Devin Griffiths, who will also be part of the band for the event. As of right now, Phelps has no plan to release an entire album, but will focus on releasing singles on available streaming platforms.

The Let It Rain band has had a revolving lineup of musicians over the years, but this show will mark the return of the original members who haven’t performed together since the album’s release show in April of 2023 at Hawks & Reed in Greenfield.

The band features Paul Kochanski on bass, Joe Fitzpatrick on drums, Rob Peck on harmonica, the Devin Griffiths on guitar. Christa Tinari will be a special guest on vocals.

The show is free, but tipping the band is encouraged.

Kalliope Jones at Floodwater Brewing Co.

Also this weekend, Kalliope Jones will perform at the Floodwater Brewing Co. in Shelburne Falls on Friday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. The Shelburne Falls based group, which started out when its members were just kids, has seen its music evolve over the years and now favor a post-rock sound. They even added drummer Dov Plotkin to the mix, allowing Lou Batteau, who originally played drums in the band, to play guitar and keyboard.

However, this show will feature the original three members, Batteau on drums, vocalist/guitarist Isabella DeHerdt, and bassist Wes Chalfant.

Kalliope Jones is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to cover some of the cost of their upcoming album, “Carnivorous,” which they hope to release in the spring. The campaign wraps up on Friday, Jan. 25.

You can hear a few of their new tunes at this free show. Singer-songwriter Hazel Foucault will open.

Tickets on sale for Jeffrey Foucault at Tree House Brewing

This Sunday (Jan. 26) at 6 p.m. it is your last chance to see Jeffrey Foucault and some of his friends casually jamming at the Flood Water Brewing Co. in Shelburne Falls. But it’s not last chance to see Foucault: you can catch him and his ace band when he brings his Universal Fire tour to the theater at Tree House Brewing Co. in South Deerfield on Friday, April 24. Tickets go on sale on Friday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m., at treehousebrew.com/live-music-and-events.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.