Meteora Suspends Our Hearts in the Air

Maine is such a rich place artistically! My husband and I wanted to do some Christmas shopping and support the local economy at the same time. The Maine Coast Artist Studio is a big, old white house right on the main drag of Friendship. The gallery featured exquisite paintings by Maine artists Jane Herbert, (I love her use of hen feather and milkweed); Pam Cabanas, (dark and moody landscapes of woods and water that look wild as the day God made them); Rebecca St. Clair, (images brought forth from shamanic meditations); and Kat Logan, (gold leaf Madonna’s, angels, gorgeous and airy landscapes and birds, and another medium I’d never seen before -- other-worldly encaustic paintings done with wax); earthy pottery by Nancy Nelson and Kat Logan, and elegant, one of a kind jewelry, made by Patricia Boissevain. There were trays of goodies set out, and shoppers meandered the floors of the three-storey house. 

But besides the feast for the eyes, at 3pm, the trio, Meteora, delighted the ears of the guests with a set of live music. I was thinking that the name had something to do with meteors or shooting stars. But I looked it up and it is the name of cliff-top, cave monasteries in Greece, and the literal meaning is, “suspended in the air”. Aptly and poetically named!

Meteora is a gem of a folk trio, comprised of Will Brown, Jim Loney and Kat Logan. Right off the bat, their main asset is their excellent voices. From the first note of their first song, “Small Brown Bird”, their three-part harmony moved me to tears. Will Brown is a sturdily built gentleman who plays the guitar as if it were part of his body and he sings like a Christmas angel. Tall and lean Jim Loney has a beautiful tenor voice and a calm, manly demeanor. I loved the way he used his breath to sustain his tone. He played guitar, banjo and conga drums. Kat Logan’s voice has a rare, crystalline gorgeousness, conveying buckets of heart and love through her sweet face. One of the joys of being among people who sing well is watching their eyes as they listen to each other. The harmonies almost become a living being in that realm.

Their version of the Kate Wolf song, “Brother Warrior”, undid me. They played a fun, Cuban folk song, and then “Arlington” by the Wailin’ Jennys, “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”) and a really cute duet between Jim and Kat, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. They made me cry with another song, “The Kid,” by Buddy Mondlock. Then they invited up a friend, Maryanne, who sings with them in the Quasimodal Chorus – (another great name!) The four of them performed “Tebe Poem”, a gorgeous Slovakian choral piece. After that, they sang Kat’s composition, “Grace”, and then a couple of spontaneous, three part harmony numbers; “Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie”, which segued into, “Go to Sleep, Little Baby”. It was a heavenly concert and the audience was hungry for more. Watch the musical postings for the Rockland, Maine area to get a chance to hear this wonderful group. And this time of year, don’t forget your snow tires!