In the early days of HillyTown, Jerusha Robinson (of South China) kept telling me that I needed to look beyond Portland, particularly at Biddeford, for interesting creative things happening in Maine. At the time, Loving Anvil had a storefront and its proprietors, Gil and Coco Corral, were having some musical performances in the green barn attached to their house. The Hogfarm Studios shows always had eclectic and talented performers – some of whom (David Wax Museum, the Low Anthem, Brown Bird, etc) have since racked up some serious national acclaim – and the shows grew to the point where the Corrals decided to take on a permanents performance space downtown, appropriately dubbed the Hogfarm Studios Annex. Now, things have changed a bit – Loving Anvil is online-only, the Annex has been passed on to friends who have heralded to shift to its new incarnation as The Oak + The Ax, and the Corrals are heading out of Maine for a bit. Thursday served as the grand finale, the fine farewell, the last night of beautifully resonant acoustics and gentle hugs at the Hogfarm – for now, at least. There were friends and strangers, but as anybody who has been to the Hogfarm or encountered the family who opened their barn doors to curate stunningly beautiful music time after time can attest to – everybody is a friend and they are beautiful. Maybe that sounds a bit corny, but there’s a warmth you can’t deny around these people and this place. Performers on this special night included Laura Gibson, Twain (the Low Anthem’s Matt Davidson), and Tom Thumb, with a special opening set by Sparkle 5. Enjoy the photos. Read on…

5 comments   photos   hogfarm, Laura Gibson, The Low Anthem, Tom Thumb, twain