SARA MILONOVICH AND DAISYCUTTER

We weren't 15 minutes into the February performance by the immensely gifted singer, songwriter and violin virtuoso Sara Milonovich when we knew she would be coming back to The Fallout Shelter. The performance by Sara and her band, Daisycutter, was absolutely breathtaking. She is a top level player and songwriter and we are STOKED to have her back with the full band.

Write what you know. Tell a story. Let the journey be your guide. There are some simple tools for making great, lasting songs. Humble devices that have served the finest songwriters for centuries well, yet too often seem to have been cast aside in the current era of disposable TikTok locomotion. Thankfully, though, it’s these modest implements that were used to carve and craft the enduring music on Northeast, the sublime second album by upstate New York singer-songwriter and fiddler Sara Milonovich and her band Daisycutter.

Northeast is a heady harvest of heart-stopping original roots rock and alt-Americana gems, most of them written by Milonovich. Spun here are rustic yarns about the realities of rural life (“Two Dollar Town,” “Northeast”), haunting tales of heartbroken heroines (“Valentine’s Day”), and durable, highway-bound, leave-it-all-behind road songs (“87 North,” “Last Time for Everything”). Atmospheric, powerful pieces with words that paint poignant, personal scenes — and melodies that linger long after the last listen. As an interpreter Sara is a singular force as well, weaving her own experiences and artistic voice through the threads of well-chosen, lived-in covers of songs by the likes of Josh Ritter (“Lawrence, KS”) and Karine Polwart (“The Sun’s Comin’ Over the Hill”).

“I’ve never gone into the studio with a road map,” says Sara, a seasoned side musician to such artists as Richard Shindell, Pete Seeger, Eliza Gilkyson, and Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys, and a featured player in the recent smash Broadway musical Come From Away. “Making an album has always been more like a circuitous voyage.”

Sara’s own voyage starts in the bucolic agrarian area of northeast upstate New York — the name of the song that gives Northeast its title is no accident — where she was raised on her family’s working farm and exposed to earthy music at a young age via her parents’ record collection and her grandparents’ efforts in organizing local bluegrass concerts. Having started on violin at age four, by age nine she was already leading her own band and enjoying a rising regional reputation as a top-flight fiddler. “It was a very welcoming scene,” says Sara, who released a live cassette when she was 12. “If you could play, you were accepted. I learned a lot, playing standards like ‘Tennessee Waltz’ and ‘Faded Love’ at grange halls and dances. I loved how those songs could tell stories and make people dance.”

At 16, Sara dropped out of school and joined legendary upstate Celtic bluegrass outfit the McKrells, recording two albums with the group and touring the U.S. and Ireland. “It was the best road education I could’ve asked for,” she recalls about her McKrells tenure. “They’re all world-class pickers, they have well-crafted songs, and they really know how to hold a room. They taught me a lot.” Between accompanying other mentors — including Seeger, on his Grammy-winning 2008 album At 89 — she made her solo debut with 2009’s Daisycutter, a disc whose moniker eventually became that of her band. After an eye-opening 2011 tour with the U.S. State Department-/Jazz at Lincoln Center-sponsored “Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad” revue that took her to Kosovo, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Turkey, she and Daisycutter recorded 2015’s Waiting for the Stars. The acclaimed disc earned her enthusiastic reviews and comparisons to paragons like Shawn Colvin and Sheryl Crow.

Opening the show on October 26 will be Morgan Joyce Hart an outstanding singer/songwriter from Florida making her Fallout Shelter debut.
Morgan Joyce Hart (formerly known as Morgan Minsk and Morgan Joyce Williams) is a renowned singer-songwriter known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Her music seamlessly blends elements of indie folk, acoustic soul, and classic pop, creating a unique and captivating sound.

A graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in music therapy, Hart's career took off in 2018 when her fan base raised $25K to fund her debut album, Praise. The album's success marked the beginning of her journey as an indie artist. In 2022, she released the EP Everything, Everything, a raw and vulnerable exploration of her divorce and personal healing through faith, co-produced by Brian K Fisher of Eastern Souvenirs.

Hart's 2024 New Year's single, Work of Art, offers a hopeful anthem about the joy of falling in love again after heartbreak and seeing the world through new eyes. This year, she continues to captivate audiences with her upcoming single Mended Moon, and will embark on a tour starting in October 2024. The tour promises intimate performances across various venues, providing fans with a unique and emotional live music experience.

Hart's accomplishments include the Berklee Voice Outstanding Performer Award (2013). She has been featured in various press outlets such as NPR, the South Florida Sun Sentinel, and the Boston Voyager. Notable performances include the Reddit Inc. Virtual Moderator Summit (2021), South Florida State Fair (2022, 2023), and showcase for the National Association of Campus Activities (2022).

"Her music defies categorization," says Scott Shurtleff of the Lowell Sun, while Ben Crandell of the South Florida Sun Sentinel describes discovering her music as "a revelation." Margaret Boswell of The State Journal-Register adds, "You feel as if you should fall off your chair and onto the floor [...] You will not believe it when you hear her sing."

The Fallout Shelter is an all ages performance venue welcoming worldwide, world class music in an intimate setting. Our studio audience attends to watch the creation and production of the music television series The Extended Play Sessions. The Fallout Shelter events are immersive experiences for both audience and performers alike...a live music experience like no other. We are fully ADA compliant and have wheelchair access. We have a wide selection of beer and wine for your adult beverage pleasures and each show comes with a free commemorative event poster. Our doors open at 6PM. Seating is General Admission. We recommend you arrive at the time the doors open.