Passionate Indie Folk-Rocker David Ullman to Appear at Northfield’s Tavern Lounge

Indie folk-rocker David Ullman will appear at the Tavern Lounge on Saturday, April 13 from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Known for the emotional intensity he brings to his live performances, Ullman is a recent Northfield transplant from Cleveland, Ohio, where he garnered a large following for his "passionate, furrow-browed folk-rock for the frustrated and love-lorn." His latest release, "Light The Dark," available on both CD and vinyl, is catching the attention of audiences around the country. Ullman is inspired by artists as varied as Glen Hansard and The Frames, Eddie Vedder and Bruce Springsteen. www.davidullman.net.

“Light The Dark” contains a moody mix of haunted hymns, blasphemous ballads and folk-rock redemption songs .  “These songs share not only a resilient spirit, but also a willingness to shine a light on one’s self and confront the ways in which we are often our own worst enemy,” Ullman explains. “It’s an album about the ongoing, and often traumatic, process of finding your place in the world--deciding for what, and with whom, you will stand. 

“Whereas my first album was written and recorded in a vacuum and performed at gigs after the fact, all of the songs on “Light The Dark” were honed and developed on stage. So, the primary goal for this record was to capture the energy and dynamics of my live performances with minimal accompaniment in the hope that audiences will respond as well to what they bring home as they have been to my live show.” 

Ullman’s emotionally intelligent and unabashedly candid debut, “Dog Days” (2008), was deemed “exquisitely beautiful” and “intensely rich” by Cleveland music critics, and the region’s concertgoers were introduced to Ullman over the course of the more than 300 shows he played in support of the album, as well as its singles/EPs “Déjà vu” (2007), “Secondhand” (2009) and the live ‘bootleg’ “Unplugged @ Uncorked” (2010).

Building a devoted fan base one passionate, furrow-browed performance at a time, Ullman began playing clubs, coffeehouses and bars in and around Kent, Ohio while finishing college and working twelve-hour-nights in a plastics factory. He’s since left both factory and college life behind, taking his tattered green Doc Martens and his bloodied, battered Martin guitar on the road from Minneapolis and Chicago, to Philadelphia and New York City. 

“One of the benefits of beginning your music career in a college town is that, after they graduate, the students who’ve made up your audience either return to where they’re from or move someplace new,” Ullman says. “I’m fortunate to have supporters in some pretty cool places.” 

Regardless of the setting, whether it’s opening for acts like Chelsea Crowell, Iris DeMent, Need To Breathe, or Rusted Root on theater and club stages; returning to his old stomping grounds to play in the Kent State Folk Festival; headlining his own annual gig at Akron’s Musica; or a private house concert, Ullman’s most valuable asset is his ability to relate to an audience. 

Listeners easily identify with the extreme highs, the obliterating lows and the hazy in-betweens reflected in his songs. Slightly gravelly vocals, which crescendo from the barest whisper to a barely-controlled roar, lend Ullman’s earnest and raw confessions a grace and sincerity rarely found in today’s music. 

“For me,” he says, “even though I might sing about intense, sad-sounding subjects, the goal is always to transcend the darkness by giving voice to it. It’s catharsis. I don’t usually sing songs when I’m happy. I guess you could say I sing sad songs to get happy.”

Music begins nightly at 8 p.m. at the Tavern Lounge -- and there’s never a cover charge! Also featuring your favorite cocktails and a delicious array of made-to-order appetizers, The Tavern Lounge is located in the Archer House River Inn, 212 Division Street, in downtown Northfield.