Press Quotes
Top 10 pick at 2015 Americana Music Assn. Festival list of 27 Americana Acts to watch
"It's right there in the name for this ultra-gifted, rotating collective of singers and multi-instrumentalists. And sprawl is a good word when it comes to the Boston-based group's raucous live shows, which were initially built around the community concept of traditional Irish seisiúns. The group, whose members have played with a variety of acts including Patty Griffin, Josh Ritter and the J. Geils Band, expertly blends vintage American roots music styles — from country to jazz to rock — in a rowdy but deft fashion." - Rolling Stone View Full Story
"Session Americana are a rare breed, a collective of talented individuals that musically moves as one. They take their music seriously but never fail to find the joy in every note. One listen to Pack Up the Circus and I’m sure that you’ll agree." - Twangville View Full Story
"The harmonies of the entire band and guests weaving into each other really build something powerful, fun, and it just feels HUGE. Jim Fitting’s harmonica defies logic…he just manages to play exactly the right parts at each and every turn. The guy just doesn’t play a bad note on that thing. And Billy Beard’s drum is the glue that really keeps everything in check. The host of characters playing everything from upright bass to the beautiful harmonies lended by artists like Anais Mitchell and Laura Cortese are sublime. This is a collective, a community…Session Americana isn;t just a band, its an experience. And that experience is captured wonderfully here on “Pack Up The Circus”. - Redline Roots View Full Story
"More important than their past decade together is their present: The new album “Pack Up the Circus” builds on the mature yet mischievous energy of 2012’s excellent “Love and Dirt.” The work of the core four (Cavanaugh, Billy Beard, Dinty Child and Jim Fitting), with help from loads of regulars including Kimon Kirk and Laura Cortese, “Pack Up the Circus” looks at middle age with suspicion." - Boston Herald View Full Story
"Session has a terrific new album called “Pack Up the Circus,” coproduced with Mitchell. It’s their crowning achievement on record, a focused and vibrant statement on what it means to be an artist who’s in it for the long haul." - Boston Globe View Full Story
Metroland
"I'd give them 100 miles. That is to say, if they're playing anywhere within 100 miles of your home, you drive there and are grandly rewarded for your effort." View Full Story
Boston Globe
"Their sound lives on the edge of exploration, where the freewheeling crackle of a great jam session meets the lean groove of classic country music. The result is rock-solid, rippling with surprise, and delivered by some of the best acoustic musicians around'
Hot Press Ireland
"Session Americana has developed into a travelling medicine show which eschews snake oil in favour of an ongoing grail quest for the perfect collaborative experience."
No Depression UK
What a fun evening! They’d go down a storm at our summer (folk) festivals View Full Story
Connemara Journal
it was obvious that this was one of the must-see acts in a festival chock-full of them. View Full Story
Time Out London
With home made instruments and a suitcase for a kick drum, this stomping ensemble play some serious down-home, rootsy grooves laced with harmonica and banjos. It's a wild trad ride that's definitely worth hopping on board with.
Written in Music
3.5 out of 5 Stars View Full Story
Beat Surrender
"(a) truly special musical collective" View Full Story
Fatea UK
"Session Americana do things in their own way: they are a class act." View Full Story
Boston Business Journal
"Love and Dirt," Session Americana (2012): The Marvel's Avengers of Boston's burgeoning Americana music scene, these guys have finally put out an album that meets or exceeds the promise of their engaging, inspiring live performances. There's plenty of folk, some rock thrown in for good measure, and a little bit of the blues. It's just the right recipe to make this the city's newest timeless album. Top Tracks: "Love Changes Everything," "Gold Mine," "Barbed Wire"
Twangville Review of "Love and Dirt"
“Raking Through The Ashes” has a brilliant musical conceit, describing the quest to rekindle a failed love with the ashes left in an extinguished fire. View Full Story
Boston Herald
"...it’s so damn good...'Love Changes Everything' is one of my favorite songs of the year. Every one of the great voices in Session Americana is showcased, and when they coalesce into brilliant harmonies it’s awesome ...so damn beautiful"
Boston Globe
"a contemplative soul searcher boasting a contemporary edge cut with rustic twang; Session Americana comes up with some gems, full of folk’s honesty and rock’s urgency." View Full Story
No Depression
I listen to Session Americana with the same attention as Shearwater or The Low Anthem: the inspiration of past tradition given fresh interpretation. View Full Story
Boston Phoenix
This band has been a reaction to two things: one, this artistic austerity that seems to have taken over the world of pop music, and two, the political climate is so weird. This is really American music on the fringes of the mainstream.” View Full Story
Boston Globe
"Beer Town" is an eclectic, swinging tour de force" View Full Story
NE Performer
"The music is intelligent and fun. It swings and shuffles; it is thoughtful and whimsical at the same time. This is music you’ll want to put in when guests are coming over. You’ll probably listen to it while you clean the house on Sunday afternoon. Turn it up and grab a dance partner; you’ll find yourself prancing around the house or swinging in the yard instantly." View Full Story
Americana Roots
"This one gets our highest rating: 4 big monster bottle caps" View Full Story
GREAT SHAKES REVIEWS
"I can't think of a better way going (dying) than listening to Great Shakes on repeat. If you buy one Americana record this month, you'd be doing yourself a disservice not to buy this one. Melodically perfect. harmonically divine and rhythmically spot on." -R2 Magazine UK
"While aware of a rich musical past, this is no tribute or pastiche. Its rich palette is evocative and embracing and suggests that real greatness in terms of profile and sales is very close." - Northern Sky UK
"Review this album in one word? Gorgeous; ten beautifully-crafted and perfectly-arranged songs, six highly-gifted players and vocal harmonies to die for." - Music Riot UK
"It’s an album of warm, engaging music, with brilliant solos and sublime harmonies." - Penny Black Music UK
"A Gem of a record" - Boston Herald
"In recent years, some of their more interesting live moments have come courtesy of Jefferson Hamer’s electric guitar. Not surprisingly, it gives their songs extra bite and a rocking edge." -Twangville
"opens up with the little gem that is “One Skinner”, a languid, gorgeously melodic song that slides into your consciousness and never leaves." - Americana UK
"Fraai gezongen (bij momenten echt heerlijk harmonieerwerk!), haast nog fraaier ingespeeld. "(Beautiful vocals (at times the harmonies are really gorgeous), the playing is even more beautiful.) - Crtlaltcountry.be
"Zijn (Jefferson's) deel heeft er ongetwijfeld toe bijgedragen dat ‘Great Shakes’ een bom van een album is geworden." (His (Jefferson's) participation no doubt contributed to making "Great Shakes" an album that blows you away.) - Keysandchords.com
"Al die ervaringen gebruikt het zestal nu om van hun nieuwste en zevende album “Great Shakes” een topplaat te maken." (All this experience is now combined by the six-piece to make their newest album "Great Shakes" a great one.) - Rootstime.be