From Mark, your concert co-host: If you didn’t know Meredith and Craig before, you probably heard about them during the COVID lockdown, when they became famous for doing a live, 45-minute streaming concert from their kitchen every night for over a year — without repeating a single song until a few months had passed. I’m proud to say that I was a fan of theirs long before that; in fact, they performed at Rose Avenue’s very first house concert in 2010.

They’ve acquired their diverse repertoire by listening to old 78 RPM records and wax cylinders, of which they have literally thousands. Some of their material is familiar, but much of it consists of hundred-year-old popular songs that languished in obscurity until Meredith and Craig rediscovered them.

“Calling Craig a ‘firebrand guitarist’ is an understatement. It’s not just about his speed but his wild weaving of combined melodies, ornaments, runs, and harmonies (of a natural and traditional nature, but assembled like a magnificent masterful stew).… Listeners are constantly marveling at his fluid use of the entire range of the fret-board on any of the several string instruments he plays.

“Meredith is alternately the lead singer, the specialty soloist, rhythm bassist, and a mindreading accompanist.… Largely self-taught, Meredith’s bass solos (particularly on guitar but also occasionally on cello) regularly garner joyful outbursts from their loyal international assembly of viewers, as do her novel solos on glockenspiel, jug, voice-trumpet, and sundry assorted instruments.… She articulates clearly (but naturally), has stellar intonation, sings without vibrato and yodels in a bright, ringing, clarion voice.”

—Neal Siegal, The Syncopated Times