Point Richmond Acoustic presents award winning Americana Songwriter Rita Hosking and her band, with special guest Mark and Cindy Lemaire

(Point Richmond – January 28, 2016) Award-winningAmericana singer/songwriter Rita Hosking comes to Point Richmond Acoustic on Friday, February 12, 2016 at 7:30 pm. Rita will be accompanied by Sean Feder on Dobro and banjo, and Bill Dakin on upright bass. The concert is held at the historic First Methodist Church of Point Richmond, 201 Martina Avenue. Special guests Mark and Cindy Lemaire open the show. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door and are available at www.pointacoustic.org.

A native of Shasta County, Hosking’s songs reflect the other California – that of mountains, forests, small towns and kitchen tables, springs, loss, miners, mountains, culture clash, trailers, stray dogs, loggers, hope, forest fires. Her delivery is, to put it simply, intense. Hosking comes by her mountain-music sensibility with true authenticity, with original songs deeply rooted in her family's frontier experience. A descendant of Cornish miners who sang in the mines, Rita grew up with deep regard for folk music and the power of the voice. "There’s a grit to her songs and sinewy toughness to her voice that weave their own spell,” says Q Magazine.

Rita's brand new release, Frankie and the No-Go Road, is a thematic album following 12 steps of a hero's journey.  Already the album has made the Top Country Albums of 2015, with five stars from the Telegraph, and the UK's Observer/Guardian calls it "one of Americana's finest concept albums."

Rita is a favorite on the Folk festival scene, having appeared at the Strawberry Folk Festival, Kate Wolf Festival and elsewhere throughout North America. Honors include winner of Best Country Album in the 2010 Independent Music Awards, winner of the 2008 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival and finalist in the 2009 Telluride Troubadour Contest.

Special guests Mark and Cindy Lemaire are known for their close harmonies and for Mark’s unique guitar style that incorporates masterful fingerpicking, slap-and-tap harmonics and percussion. While Mark's guitar pieces stand on their own, the duos harmonies are so perfectly matched that they seem like two people with one voice. Their material runs from tongue-in-cheek songs about married life to stories of the strange surprise of middle-age creeping up.  Mark and Cindy tour the world, playing this past year in England, Scotland and the East Coast, as well as their native California.

In its sixth season, the Point Richmond Acoustic concert series is sponsored by Point Richmond Music, California Delicious and the First Methodist Church. Intimate, and an acoustic marvel, the 100-year-old church is an octagonal wooden prism that appears to be built by nautical carpenters. “It’s like listening to music inside a guitar.” Says the series co-producer Bruce Kaplan, “Our program is completely non-religious. It’s a friendly no-pressure environment. It’s such a great space, it’s just all about the world-class music here!

Come see a fine evening of insightful songwriting and inspired singing, up close and personal, at Point Richmond Acoustic, First Methodist Church, 201 Martina Avenue, Point Richmond, on Friday February 12, at 7:30 pm.

Visit www.pointacoustic.org for tickets and more information on the concert series and www.ritahosking.com and www.marklemairemusic.com for information on the performers.