Mixtape: Songwriter Showcase featuring Danny Shafer and Jeremy Dion

This is an intimate live show in downtown Longmont, Colorado presented by The Soundpost Sessions at The Times Collaborative featuring songwriters and host Monica Marie LaBonte all on stage swapping songs and stories in-the-round. Music is from 7-9, doors at 6:30. Join us for this very special ongoing musical series once a month!

$18 Advance (reserved seating)

$20 Day of Show

This event is sponsored by:

Longmont Creates

https://www.downtownlongmont.com/creative-district/longmont-creates

Longmont Creates is the non-profit arm of the Longmont Creative District. They support activities in the Longmont Creative District and the creatives throughout Longmont. Mixtape was the first recipient of their new Pop-Up Grant and we are so thankful!

The Artists:

Danny Shafer https://www.youtube.com/@dannyshafer8541

Anyone who has engaged with the Boulder music scene over the past thirty years likely knows Danny Shafer The Chicago native moved to Boulder in 1990; since then, he's become a prolific singer-songwriter and performer while also booking bands at small Front Range venues and working as a house manager for bigger gigs.
“I was 22 years old when I moved to Boulder, and I had a lot of raisin’ to still have done,” Shafer says. “I had a lot of growing up to do. I had dropped out of college a couple years before to tour with a bluegrass band. I could sing high and the band needed me, so they took me under their wing and taught me [bluegrass]. Best decision I ever made.”
Shafer, who has a gentle, vulnerable touch to his Americana singing and songwriting, didn't grow up on bluegrass in the Windy City. His family would play country music in the car, while Shafer was into such hard-rock artists as UFO and Ronnie James Dio — “whatever was coming through the older guys in the neighborhood filtered through whatever older brothers were around,” he recalls.
His dad was a Chicago cop who raised Shafer and his siblings “with all this Chicago pride,” he says, "particularly living in Cubs territory on the North Side.” He says he was even brought home from the hospital as a baby with a Cubs hat on. But a little more than a decade later, while Shafer was in seventh grade, he started coming home with song ideas. He began writing music the day after he started playing guitar.

Jeremy Dion https://www.jeremydion.com/

Award-winning singer-songwriter Jeremy Dion is a licensed therapist by day who offers toe-tapping folk therapy by night. With soaring harmonies and technical riffs reminiscent of Noah Kahan or John Mayer, Jeremy has brought his musical optimism to stages ranging from the Boulder Theater to Edinburgh’s famed Fringe Festival. So whether you’re feeling up, down or just want a night on the town, Jeremy’s heart-opening words will leave you feeling connected, hopeful, and humming a tune — no couch required.

According to his mother, Jeremy came into the world singing. He started with the piano at age seven, and began writing songs after his father gifted him a guitar for his 18th birthday. Educated at UC Berkeley, he fell in love with the music of Jerry Garcia while teaching himself guitar and pursuing his degree. Having grown up on John Denver, James Taylor, and Paul Simon, Jeremy began developing his own unique mix of bluegrass, folk, poetry and rock n’roll. With a present voice, open heart, versatile guitar skills, and a couple psychology degrees, Jeremy is emerging as a formidable songwriter.

Monica Marie LaBonte monicamariemusic.com

From a wide-eyed tike delicately pressing the keys of her mother’s upright piano to a seasoned artist taking various stages across the country, Monica Marie LaBonte has always been guided by song.
With the sharp ability to craft tracks that speak to the fragility and wonder of life, the crystalline vocalist continues to attract listeners with her stirring blend of folk and country. At times, her lyrics come across as wise whisperings from a dear friend. At others, they hold all the vulnerability and transparency of raw confessions. A keen observer, LaBonte bears witness to life’s magic and heartache and artfully weaves the intricacies of the human condition into tunes that possess undeniable intimacy, grace and grit.
In her over 10-year career, the Colorado native has played hundreds of venues, including the historic Gold Hill Inn and Planet Bluegrass. Whether belting out ballads in a small listening room or playing to tens of thousands at an open-air venue, she brings a palpable authenticity to each gig.
Known for her stint in mystic-Americana band Monocle, her stellar musicianship and gift for commanding a stage shines just as bright in her solo work.
Armed with an acoustic and her truth, it’s clear LaBonte is pursuing her art for all the right reasons. Although her creative pursuits are guided by pure passion, LaBonte hasn’t escaped critical praise and success. A finalist In the 2018 Songwriter Showcase, at Rocky Mountain Folks Fest in Lyons, Colo., she continues to impress with her art.
A natural-born wordsmith — in the vein of Joni Mitchell and Alison Krauss — it’s easy to see why the songstress has packed coffeehouses, held her own on the lineup at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and been hailed as having “a voice I trust” by fellow musician Daniel Rodriguez (founding member of Elephant Revival).
Powerful, yet understated — poetic, yet real — LaBonte remains one to watch.

Host or Publisher Soundpost Acoustics