Noah Zacharin’s Points of Light is finally out today!
Consummate singer-songwriter and gifted guitarist Noah Zacharin releases his ninth solo album, Points of Light, today, and there’s a release concert scheduled for Thursday at the Dakota Tavern in Toronto.
It’ll feature musicians Gary Craig on drums, Russ Boswell on bass, and Burke Carroll on pedal steel and dobro.
Doors are at 6:30 p.m. Music runs from 7:00-8:45 p.m. Tickets are $10 + HST and fees in advance and $15 at the door. Advance tickets are on sale at Eventbrite.
The perfect song to open Points of Light is “Ten Tons of Road,” which sets the persistence of a fondly remembered romance to the background of a percolating, intricately finger-picked acoustic guitar. This solo performance articulates Noah’s statement of purpose: a romantic paean to love and the road.
“Red Red Bird” finds the singer’s heart soaring above dust and dirt, transcending even the inevitable bonds of human mortality. With a distinctly Latin vibe, Noah’s deft, subtle guitarwork rests on a feather cushion of accompaniment. If ever Noah has written an anthemic tune, this is it. A crowd favourite, it’s a song of hope in a time of adversity and confusion.
“Lester Brown,” written in the style of blues standard “Diddy Wah Diddy,“ offers a bouncy, lighthearted portrait of an imagined real New Orleans character – a sharp-dressed ladies’ man who outclasses the sun by lasting from dusk to dawn. The brilliant Kevin Turcotte delivers classy and classic muted trumpet in duo with Zacharin’s acoustic.
And the playful yet earnest, “Tom Morrow” stays hopeful in this cleverly penned tune, as we meet various members of Tom’s family, including his Dad “Todd A” and his mom “Hope.” It’s a solo acoustic gem that concisely captures Noah’s deft lyrical skills.
Noah is a widely acclaimed guitar master, multi-genre songwriter, and dynamic performer. He was given his first guitar at age 9, wrote his first song at 13, and began performing at 14. In December 2015, Noah became a full-time recording and touring musician and is more thrilled than ever to be doing what he has, in fact, always done. Born in Montreal, Noah divides his time between a home near Madoc and an off-grid cabin on the Canadian Shield. As the road has returned, he is spending time there as well.
Previous recordings have all garnered popular and critical praise. His 2016 album, Strange Rider, made a number of Best-Of lists for 2016. As a soloist Noah has opened shows for Odetta, David Lindley, Dave Van Ronk, Jesse Winchester, Alex de Grassi, and Fairport Convention, and performed internationally in 100s of venues from club to concert hall. As a writer, Noah has had songs recorded by popular performer and radio host Laura Fernandez, Rolling Stone (India) Cover Artist Rehan Dalal, double-slide master Brian Cober, and songwriter-harpist extraordinaire Sohayla Smith.
Noah is also an award-winning poet and translator. He has published hundreds of poems, translations, and reviews in periodicals and anthologies worldwide, and is currently at work on several manuscripts of poems. In his spare time he reads, cycles, walks, and practices tai chi and kung fu. He also practices guitar.
