Videos - Live at the GAR Hall

Photos for Press & Promotion

Photo by Shane Wynn 28.4 MB

Photo by Shane Wynn 27.5 MB

HM Canal by Shane Wynn 13MB

Management & Booking

Laurie Michelle Caner
heymavismusic@gmail.com

330-388-5123

Hey Mavis Full Bio

For more than thirteen years, Northcoast Americana band Hey Mavis has been weaving a musical tapestry and igniting a following of dedicated fans. With heartfelt vocals, honest songwriting, blazing instrumental solos, and an undeniable onstage musical chemistry, this quartet is the definition of great Americana music. 

Banjoist/songwriter Laurie Michelle Caner and violinist/fiddler Eddie Caner formed Hey Mavis while serving as artists-in-residence in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Producer Don Dixon (REM/Smithereens/Red Clay Ramblers) “discovered” the group on a local Christmas compilation CD and went on to produce their first two albums, both of which hit the top 10 on the national Folk DJ-L radio charts and amassed favorable reviews across the globe. Hey Mavis’s third release, produced by Yonder Mountain String Band’s Adam Aijala, features a title track co-written by Chuck Auerbach, who has written lyrics to several Black Keys songs. Hey Mavis's fourth release, Silver Ribbon Dream—Songs & Stories of the Ohio & Erie Canal, was funded by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  Reviews have ranged from "unconventionally beautiful" to "startlingly original." Hey Mavis has performed the work in cities throughout the East and Midwest, including appearances with several symphony orchestras. 

Hey Mavis has appeared on NPR’s Mountain Stage, NPR’s Whad'ya Know?, PBS’s Applause and PBS's Songs from the Center. The group has performed standing-room-only shows at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival as well as countless sell-out concerts in Northeast Ohio and Michigan. In 2018, Melissa Etheridge hand-picked Hey Mavis to be one of the headliners for her music cruise. 

 

“Wrapped in original songs whose styles range from old timey to jazzy to blistering alt rock, Laurie's voice turns from cold steel to melted butter in the time it takes your heart to break." - Don Dixon

Band Members 

Laurie Michelle Caner (vocals, banjo, songwriting) is a homeschooling mom, a songwriter, visual artist and Ms. May in the 2015 Banjo Babes Calendar. She continuously strives to honor her own artistic vision while simultaneously raising a healthy family. Her banjo playing is of curious origin, but beautifully serves as a foundation for her lyrics. Laurie’s songwriting tells the story of life—with all of it’s beauty, heartache, disappointment and joy—weaving a musical tapestry that speaks the truth of love, life and the human condition. 

Eddie Caner (violin, viola profunda) spent a dozen years performing as a sideman in national touring bands and orchestras, including Page & Plant, Luciano Pavarotti, Smokey Robinson, and Natalie Cole. Eddie always amazes the audience with his Hendrix-like tone and precision—he can soar beautifully over Laurie’s vocals or play a raucous, dirgy groove. He was once labeled by the legendary music critic Jane Scott as “the most versatile musician on the planet”. Eddie spends his free time as a physics instructor at Case Western Reserve University. 

Bryan Thomas (bass) comes from a background of classical and jazz bass traditions and has sought out musical interactions in as many cultures as possible. His many first-hand experiences and lessons with giants of the double bass, notably soloists Gary Karr, François Rabbath, Cleveland Orchestra bassists Anthony Knight, Scott Haigh, and Mark Atherton, jazz legend Ray Brown, and great Cuban bassist, Carlos del Puerto, shape his approach to the instrument. After earning his BM in Music Performance at Kent State University, he spent many years as a road musician, touring with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, as a staff musician on Norwegian Cruise Lines, and as a freelance copyist and musician in Germany. In addition to being a sought-after sideman for decades, Bryan has been expanding his roles as an arranger, music director, composer and recording artist.

Anthony Taddeo, endorsed by “Out of the Drawer Percussion” and “Byrne Cymbals” as a performing artist, is a percussionist, composer, and performer residing in Cleveland, Ohio. He has studied with world-renowned percussionist Jamey Haddad and at The New School’s School for Jazz and holds an MFA in composition from Youngstown State University. Featured on over 30 albums, Taddeo has toured North America and Europe at festivals such as Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, Ciclo 1906 Jazz Fest in Spain, and Cleveland’s Tri-C Jazz Festival. His film score for Making Montgomery Clift recently debuted at the LA Film Festival. Currently, Taddeo leads and composes for his groups AlbaTrio and Alla Boara. 

PRESS QUOTES & REVIEWS

Silver Ribbon Dream Review - WKSU/Around Kent Magazine A beautiful article about Hey Mavis's latest release "Silver Ribbon Dream" written by WKSU "All Things Considered" host Jeff St. Clair. 997 KB

 

"Laurie is by far one of my most favorite songwriters, and she has never failed to disappoint us. The great songs just keep coming."

- Scott Regan, Host of WRUR "Open Tunings" (Rochester/Ithaca NPR)


"This crew could single handedly ignite a whole new folk music scare. Killer stuff!" 

-Midwest Record

"Originality, solid musicianship, amazing vocals and an openness to experimentation...Hey Mavis has the qualities I love in a great band." 
-Adam Aijala, Yonder Mountain String Band

“MARVELOUS—you heard words like that after Hey Mavis played two packed shows last June (2014) at the Little Theatre during the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival…This is a charming—and serious—banjo-driven sound…adds up to rocking Appalachian music from Akron, Ohio.”  

-The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle 

"The first thing that struck me about HEY MAVIS was the quality of the writing...I was eager to find out as much as I could about (Laurie Michelle Caner) and see what else she had lurking in her mind.” 

~Don Dixon (REM, Smithereens, Hootie & the Blowfish, Red Clay Ramblers, Mary Chapin Carpenter)

 

Stage Plot