CONTRIBUTED

"The Rooster's Wife invites you to a double CD party, complete with cake," says Janet Kenworthy, organizer.

Sally Spring and Rebecca Pronsky both bring new projects to the gallery space of Poplar Knight Spot in downtown Aberdeen Sunday, May 22, at 6:45 p.m.

Both songwriters have earned strong critical acclaim. Spring's release has charted at No. 1 in Europe and No. 2 on worldwide Americana radio. The first track on Pronsky's new recording was named a Song of the Day on NPR just last week.

"Songwriters continue to be an important feature of the calendar for the Rooster's Wife, as the combination of words and music is continually important in terms of art and society," says Kenworthy.

Brooklyn, N.Y., native Rebecca Pronsky continues to impress with a terrific new record and countless live performances across the U.S. and Europe. NPR described Pronsky's music as "personal, anecdotal and emotional" with a voice that conveys the wisdom of experience.

Her musical life began early. She was identified as a talented singer as a child and received vocal training in New York City. But it wasn't until she was 16, after many years of singing other people's songs, that she picked up the guitar and began to write her own. At Brown University, Pronsky studied ethnomusicology and jazz singing and recorded her first demo of original music. Demo and diploma in hand, she moved back home to Brooklyn. Soon she met guitarist and composer Rich Bennett, who helped her record her first EP and has been her musical partner and co-producer ever since. When not on the road, they are at home in Brooklyn with their three cats, Basil, Cybele and Sven.

Sally Spring was born in California and raised in North Carolina. She literally started singing before she could even speak. The daughter of an inventor/computer trailblazer whose classmates were Hewlett and Packard, Spring grew up thinking outside the box. At the age of 11, she bought her first guitar, figured out open tunings on her own and accompanied herself on a local television appearance a mere six weeks after she started playing. She performed in college coffee houses soon after, dropping in and out of school to travel and perform. She traveled the country on a shoestring budget, making friends and sharing her Southern Americana folk rock music with people like the Byrds, Doc Watson, Mama Cass, the Rev. Gary Davis, Taj Mahal and Nancy Nevins, among many others.

Now, more than 30 years later, Spring continues to perform at festivals, universities and clubs, wowing fans throughout the U.S. and Europe making "amazingly fresh music," as Relish magazine observes. Spring was recently selected by the nationally recognized No Depression Magazine to perform in a show to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

"Please join the Rooster's Wife for an eclectic schedule of live music in the gallery of Poplar Knight Spot," says Kenworthy.

The gallery is totally accessible with parking adjacent to the building at 114 Knight St., in downtown Aberdeen. Tickets may be purchased online at www.theroosterswife.org, or at the door with cash or check. Admission for this CD release party is $15 in advance, and $21 on the day of the show.

Children under 12 are always free at the Rooster's Wife events, furthering the mission of building community through the arts.

For more information and the complete schedule,visit www.theroosterswife.org or call (910) 944-7502.