The Kennedys ~ 2025 November 15 ~ Rose Garden Coffeehouse, Mansfield, MA
Maura Kennedy, vocals and guitar; Pete Kennedy, vocals, guitar, and ukulele.
Set List
Bodhisattva Blues - Late September Breeze - Little Green Bottles - Without Us (new song) - When a Home Becomes a Castle (new song) - holiday song medley (Pete solo, on the ukulele) - Donna - C'mon Live (not sure of title) - Instrumental guitar rave-up ... intermission ... Long Road to Freedom (new song) - Alabama Rain - West - I'll Come Over - Rhapsody In Blue (Pete solo, on the ukulele) - Distant Thunder - Heal You - Jubilee Time - Midnight Ghost ... encore ... instrumental medley
Videos
Guitar Rave Up
Alabama Rain
West
Review
Maura and Pete Kennedy treated themselves to a vacation in Spain to celebrate their wedding anniversary, and unfortunately Maura came down with laryngitis while on the east side of the pond. This is not a good thing when you make your living as a singer. She babied her throat and looked after herself and wouldn't hear of cancelling the show tonight, the first show after they came back to the States. As they were driving to the gig, Maura was going over the many songs in their catalog, deciding which ones were already in a vocal range she could handle (the laryngitis had dropped her voice into a lower key) and which ones they could just simply play in a lower key. Pete suggested a Barry White cover or two could make their way into the set list. Of course we're a folk audience so we're very accommodating.
It actually made for a very different, and a really fun show. Pete got a bigger part of the spotlight than sometimes. Pete songs included two ancient relics from the Cenozoic era, from before he had even met Maura, "Alabama Rain" and "Distant Thunder." He played two instrumentals on the ukulele, the frequently played "Rhapsody in Blue," and also a medley of holiday tunes interpreted for that oh-so-cute baby instrument -- he has a CD just out with those ukulele holiday tunes. Trust me, it's the perfect backing track for any holiday get-together (I'm not making this up).
It wasn't all Pete, of course. They played four songs that will be on their upcoming album, three that are brand new. These were "Without Us," a song about how the planet would get along better without us, "When a Home Becomes a Castle," and the very inspiring "Long Road to Freedom," a song Maura dedicated to me, saying she knows how much I like uptempo songs and she was hoping she'd appease me with this one, since there weren't that many uptempo songs in the rest of the show. (Aw Maura, you're so sweet.) "Heal You" also will be on the new album, but it's hard to believe that hasn't been released since they've been playing that environmental anthem for years.
Anyway, Maura was incorrect when she said they didn't play enough uptempo numbers. It was a great mix of fast and slow songs; the instrumentals were good for resting her voice; you could tell her voice was a bit scratchy but she was carrying on like the pro she is. We stopped to chat her up a bit on the way out, and to ask Pete where to find those two ancient songs of his (an LP from the '90s called Highway 10), and we stepped out of the church to find it was pouring rain!
Just a word or two about the venue. There is a parking lot with about ten spaces to the right of the Congregational Church, but if one expects to park there, getting there at least a half hour before the doors are set to open is important. As for those doors, it said on the website that doors would open at 7:00, but since we were there at 6:30 we thought we'd give it a try, and sure enough they let us in. Friendly types, all right. They had the usual folk-venue coffee and goodies for sale. Interesting historical photos on the wall including one of their 1955 Boy Scout troop.
More Kennedys
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