Folk duo Oakes & Smith perform Aug. 28

MIDDLETOWN » Folk duo Oakes & Smith, accompanied by pianist Zack Cross, will appear at The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center, 605 Main St., on Friday, Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. For information, call 860-347-4957.

Robert Oakes and Katherine Smith sing soothing and soulful tunes inspired by nature, love, spirit, art and poetry. The harmonious blend of their voices creates an ethereal sound and unique quality not often heard in today’s popular music, and their songs evoke a sense of wonder, expressing themes such as love, beauty, innocence and mystery. Their debut full-length album, “First Flight,” released in late 2013, has been received warmly by listeners and critics alike.

Oakes & Smith formed in 2010 after vocalist Katherine Smith, originally from Pomfret, Conn., moved to the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, where shemet singer/songwriter Robert Oakes. Inspired by the peace and beauty of the Berkshire Hills and by a shared passion to create music, the pair began to write, record and perform together and have since garnered warm praise for their soothing and soulful sound.

FROMPAGE 1

In 2014, the duo appeared at The Guthrie Center’s Troubadour Series in Great Barrington, MA; opened for The Boxcar Lilies at the NJ Folk Project’s Minstrel Acoustic Concert Series in Morristown, NJ; performed at FloydFest in Floyd, VA and the Hudson Music Fest in Hudson, N.Y.; opened for Barefoot Truth at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, CT; and were featured at Andrea Clearfield’s Salon in Philadelphia. They have performed at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, MA and appear weekly at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA, among many other performances throughout the Northeast.

Zack Cross of Northampton, MA is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. During his time at IU, he was selected to participate in the Steans Institute for Young Artists in Jazz at the Ravinia Festival outside of Chicago, IL, where he studied with jazz legends Rufus Reid, James Moody, David Baker and Nathan Davis. Cross has studied and played with some of the most revered names in modern jazz and was nominated for the American Pianists Association’s Cole Porter Jazz Fellowship, currently themost prestigious award for jazz piano in the world.

From its opening in 1989, The Buttonwood Tree has been a grassroots, avant garde center for all ages, all comers, artists and audiences. Recognized nationally and internationally as a music venue, it has also offered programs led by outstanding artists in contemporary theater, literature, art, poetry and dance, from belly to hip hop, as well as opening its doors to community activists, educational and religious groups.

For additional information about Oakes & Smith, visit oakesandsmith.net. For more information about The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center, visit buttonwood.org.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Folk duo Oakes & Smith, accompanied by pianist Zack Cross, will appear at The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts Center, 605Main St., Middletown, on Aug. 28.