Recording studio
The Kitchen Sink
The Kitchen Sink
Click to view PAST EVENTS AT THE KITCHEN SINK
Before joining forces, Vargas and McFadden were already formidable solo artists, Kate Vargas chalking up acclaim at outlets like NPR, HuffPost and Vice (including praise from the “Dean of American Rock Critics” Robert Christgau); and Eric McFadden amassing an impressive resume including stints on guitar with George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, Anders Osbourne, Fishbone’s Angelo Moore, and Eric Burdon & The Animals, plus a slew of solo albums, and session work with everyone from Jackson Browne to The Clash’s Joe Strummer.
Armed with a tattoo of Woody Guthrie and narratives of folks at crossroads in their lives, Ellis Paul’s songs are a combination of humor, improv, and poignancy. He emerged from the Boston folk scene at a time when contemporary folk was just cracking the mainstream. In the three decades since, he’s played 150 to 200 shows annually; released 20 records, a documentary film, a book of poems and short stories, an award-winning children’s book project; and contributed to numerous film soundtracks. He’s a regular at the Newport Folk Festival, played the likes of Carnegie Hall, and is a staple at the Woody Guthrie Festival in Guthrie’s birthplace of Okemah, Oklahoma. “I’ve got a car with over 475,000 miles on it, and it’s my third road vehicle,” he declares. “There isn’t a town in the country where I won’t find a friend. I’m a nomad. And I’m gonna write and play until I’m gone.”
Eric McFadden
Hailing from the crossroads of the Southwest and the heart of New Mexico, Eric McFadden has crafted a rare and enticing brand of high desert blues and gritty, flamenco-infused rock that leaves listeners spellbound. McFadden’s sound has not only charmed audiences all over the world, countless musicians have been taken by his inimitable playing and musicianship, with McFadden receiving invitations to tour with the likes of funk legend George Clinton, The Animals’ Eric Burdon, and New Orleans sweethearts Anders Osborne and Tab Benoit. Right from the moment Joe Strummer spotted him in San Francisco, nicknamed him ‘Lightning,’ and gave him a gig opening for Strummer & The Mescaleros, Eric McFadden has claimed his place amongst the greats. Some of Eric’s other collaborations include: Bo Diddley, Nels Cline (Wilco), Les Claypool (Primus), Reverend Horton Heat, Fishbone, Fantastic Negrito, Jesse Hughes, Jackson Browne, The Coup, North Mississippi Allstars, Widespread Panic, Dwarves, Samantha Fish, Bernie Worrell, Kate Vargas, Mike Watt, Living Colour, Ron Wood, Chuck Leavel and Bernard Fowler (Rolling Stones)
PRESS - Rolling Stone / “the master of gypsy blues voodoo” - Guitar Player / “The virtuoso multi-instrumentalist explains how he wowed George Clinton and scored a bunk on the P-Funk bus.” - IndiePulse Music / “McFadden is one of the most talented people I have heard.” - Music Connection / “A feisty combination of talent and sheer musical energy” Far more than an extraordinary guitarist, Eric McFadden is, to put it bluntly, an experience...an awesome performance for those who respect dynamic originality.
Friday, March 7, 2025
Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan - IN CONCERT
Doors@7:00pm Show@7:30pm
Tickets $29 advance / $35 door - BUY TICKETS
Kate Vargas
Vargas has packed houses from Ireland’s Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival to The Troubadour in London, The Mansion on O Street in Washington D.C. to New York’s Bowery Electric. Featuring her singular folk-style storytelling, Vargas’ songs are grounded in a darkly melodic, reverb-washed sonic palette of dream-pop, dusty folk and junkyard blues, all carried by rough-hewn vocals and guitar playing. In equal measure, she channels a surprising array of artists, from Tom Waits, Fiona Apple, and 16 Horsepower to Lana Del Rey and K. Flay. Vargas really hit her stride with 2018’s For the Wolfish & Wandering, connecting with audiences like never before, culminating in invitations to perform on NPR’s Mountain Stage, an official showcase at Nashville’s AmericanaFest, several performances at the 30A Songwriters Festival, as well as her songs appearing on television shows Stumptown (ABC), Midnight, Texas (NBC) and Good Trouble (Freeform). With Rumpumpo, Vargas continues her meteoric rise with songs that stir the emotional cauldron, blazing a genre-bending path that is both sonically and lyrically daring. PRESS - SPIN / “a sterling effort that allows for her distinctive gravelly voice to shine alongside her blend of melodic folk and blues.” - NPR / “raggedly delicate vocals and the kind of sonic landscape that conjures other worlds.” - Rolling Stone / “Kate Vargas’ ‘Glorieta to the Holy Place’ creaks and sighs with otherworldly atmosphere” - American Songwriter / “this year’s most unconventionally intoxicating and intricate album.”
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Ellis Paul - IN CONCERT
Doors@7:00pm Show@7:30pm
Tickets $25 advance / $30 door - BUY TICKETS
There is no event parking available at the studio. Parking is available in nearby Guadalupe Street parking lots, in the municipal lot next to Allsups gas station, and ample parking is always available across the street from the studio at the DeVargas Mall.
One of the most musically accomplished & tasteful purveyors of traditional & contemporary Irish music, the husband-wife duo of Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan own, run and book the famous O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub, smack in the middle of Dingle, Ireland, home to many of the island’s best musicians. Prior to opening the esteemed establishment in 2011, Tommy was a full-time touring musician. As a member of Sliabh Notes he recorded three albums. He also toured for years with Irish piper Paddy Keenan with whom he recorded a duet album, The Long Grazing Acre. He has recorded two solo albums, Song Ablaze and Legacy. Tommy & Saundra’s paths crossed when she attended an annual traditional Irish music retreat in Midlothian, Texas, where Tommy was an Irish guest instructor on guitar and vocals. As they explored singing together, they discovered her alto harmonies to be a perfect match to his tenor vocals. The two married in Houston in 2010 and now live in Dingle, where their pub which has earned a reputation for world-class traditional Irish music. In 2015, National Geographic cited O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub as the go-to pub for traditional Irish music on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.
Saundra, who hails from Texas, brings to the table a strong background in choir and folk singing, skills put to great effect on Tommy & Saundra’s first duet album, Safe Home, which they released in 2018 on both sides of the Atlantic. The next year they enjoyed a visit from Casey Driessen & family to record a session with Casey’s Global Music Exploration Project. A track from this session is now available on the Grammy nominated Otherlands: One (see video below).
During the Pandemic Tommy & Saundra took part in Janis Ian’s Better Times Project. They also did a fine fine recording for Southwest Roots Music’s Shelter in Place Sessions (see below). For their Facebook Live Sessions, Tommy & Saundra and many musical guests held forth every Sunday for 18 months during the pandemic, recording over 75 hours of smoking Irish sessions. Recently the duo was involved in two Traditional Irish Festivals in Ireland as well as playing and presenting music five nights a week at O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub. We are proud to again be a part of their annual American winter tour.
Friday, December 20th
Eric McFadden and Kate Vargas - IN CONCERT
Doors@7:00pm Show@7:30pm
Tickets $20.00 - BUY TICKETS
100% of the evening's proceeds go to the artists
Presented
in collaboration with
Southwest Roots Music
and Santa Fe Performance Exchange