Shannon Lay’s music is shored by radical empathy. After 15 years of writing, recording and performing her singularly gentle songs in venues around the world, the self-taught singer-songwriter is most concerned with how her music may help people in emotional and spiritual need. In a world of persistent change, Lay’s goal is to have concentrations of love and energy in her work that double as a helping hand or a voice whispering “Everything is going to be okay.” The singer’s abiding belief is that immense change also means invaluable transformation and permanent relief. Intention is her North Star. Hailed by publications such as Pitchfork, The Guardian, SPIN and Uncut magazine, Lay’s solo albums, including Geist, August, Living Water, and All This Life Goin’ Down, several of which were released on Sub Pop, are noted for their thoughtful and entirely tender reflections on life’s big questions. Her seraphic voice has drawn comparisons to British folk icons Anne Briggs, Sandy Denny, and Vashti Bunyan. Though an old soul, Lay aims to meet her listeners in the present. For her, creating a song, a recording or a live performance that is relatable and communal is of the utmost importance for we are constantly in flux and those unknowns, met with compassion, can be beautiful.

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Luke Sweeney’s transformation from trouble-making troubadour to profound storyteller is marked by four critically acclaimed albums and an EP of compositions that lean on “humor and irreverence—both calling cards of Sweeney's songwriting” (Portland Mercury), but his 2013 self-released debut Ether Ore continues to seep through the collective consciousness like late-ascending moonlight, with its handcrafted feel and "melodies that feel like opiates for the soul" (SF Chronicle). Songs from subsequent releases, such as "That's How My Baby Learned to Fly," "Moondreamer," "Scowl," and "Ajeevan Dose" harken to the hushed tones and outsider sentiments of his earliest acoustic work. Returning to Berkeley, the city of his alma mater, to make his debut at The Freight on August 7, this rare solo acoustic show promises to deliver on the intimate ruminations that are at the core of this quirky songwriter's heart, as well as new songs that have yet to surface. 

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