Hard Luck Café: Jesse Terry

Award-winning Connecticut-based singer-songwriter Jesse Terry will showcase his talents during the monthly Hard Luck Café concert series co-presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Cinema Arts Centre (423 Park Avenue, Huntington) on Wednesday, May 21, from 7-10 p.m. An open mic, for which sign-up starts at 6:30 p.m., precedes the 8 p.m. concert. Tickets are $25 ($20 for Cinema Arts Centre/FMSH members) and may be purchased online at cinemaartscentre.org or at the box office through the evening of the show.

A true musical journeyman, Jesse Terry has made it his mission to share his love of music fully and completely, without regard for shading his emotions or tempering his convictions. The ability to create a connection, to bare his soul and express his feelings through his heartfelt songs has been the defining thread in a career that began in 2010. “I’m more obsessed with music than ever before,” says Terry. “I love the idea of bringing something beautiful into the world.” Among the more than a dozen albums and EPs he’s released to date are seven albums of his original songs –- ranging from 2012’s award-winning Empty Seat on a Plane to 2024’s Arcadia, which has more of a rhythmic rock n’ roll edge to it.

Terry plays some 150 shows annually (including previous ones for FMSH) and has performed at such notable festivals as Bonnaroo, 30A Songwriters Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Americana Music Association’s AmericanaFest. He’s been a grand-prize winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and has also secured several song placements on television shows.

John Platt, host of Sunday Supper on WFUV, has referred to Jesse Terry as “a force to be reckoned with” and noted, “His well-crafted songs rank right up there with Ryan Adams…and other masters of alt country.” Writes Nick West of RnR Magazine: “This is music to revel in, so just revel ’til the starlight fades.”

Give a listen here to Jesse Terry’s “Burn the Boats”