Lili’s last official show for 2008 ended as one of the best, if not THE BEST show of the year! The Subdudes headlined and the Sellersville Theater was sold out. Lili’s music was so compatible with The Subdudes that it made perfect sense for them to share the stage. Lili, in the opening spot, once again captivated the audience and not only made new fans, but hit it off with the great guys from The Subdudes. Lili was accompanied by Mike on bass and Jim on percussion. The sound was superb and you could hear a pin drop. The audience was one of the best crowds ever and Lili fed off their energy making her performance even edgier than usual. The setlist kicked off with “Try Again” and ended explosively with “The Way Out.” Other songs performed were the always moving “Over You,” the percussion-driven “On The Run,” the grooving bass line of “Thin Line”, the beautiful unreleased “George Bailey’s Lament” and Joan Armatrading’s classic, “Down To Zero.” Afterwards, it was such a pleasure and a big thrill for Lili to hang out a bit with the Subdudes. They were just down to earth, gracious, classy guys. This was their first time performing in Sellersville and certainly not their last. As the year approaches the end, Lili will be returning to the studio to add some final touches to the new CD under the working title “Every Second In Between.” At this point it appears this will be an early 2009 release. More news to come as details are made available. In the meantime, Lili uploaded a home video of “Losing My Faith” to YouTube. You can also view it in the NEW video section of Lili’s website. For 2009 the first confirmed show will be in February when Lili returns to The Auction House in Audubon, NJ. Visit the concert section for details.
This is the 6th one so far for Lili's "Life or Death CD." It was reviewed by Ulrich Müller in a German magazine near the end of November. Vist the reviews section for the full-size article along with a brief English translation. In addition, Lili got confirmation that the CD is getting European airplay on various stations! So the promotional efforts of ESC Records are beginning to pay off. Next stop December 7th Lili returns to the Sellersville Theater opening for The Subdudes in a WXPN event! See the concert section for details.
Lili opened for one of her longtime heroes, Graham Parker and electrified a sold out crowd at Puck Live in Doylestown! What a wonderful turnout for a Sunday night and the audience was on their best behavior hanging on to every word and giving Lili an enthusiastic applause. Lili was accompanied by her sidekick, bassist Mike Kurman and the always phenomenal job done by sound guy Mike Lightkep made Lili sound her very best. During Graham’s encore Lili led the audience to sing along to “Local Girls” and ended the night with a bang!
Lili, accompanied by Jim Armstrong- percussion and Mike Kurman- bass, performed in front of a packed house at the Tin Angel. This was Lili’s second time opening for Vance Gilbert at the Tin. It’s always a pleasure to hear her at this venue with a top notch sound system and last night was no exception. She opened with the optimistic, upbeat "Try” Again" and followed it with a grooving version of "Thin Line." With Lili, sporting a huge image of Barack Obama on her shirt, it was obvious who she was supporting in this heated presidential campaign. Jim displayed his chops on the extended version of “On The Run” and Mike did an excellent job on “Over You.” Lili’s band members never sounded better! One of the best things about seeing Lili live is that you never see the same show twice. Featured was a beautiful newly written song called "Losing My Faith." This one is so new that it didn’t even make it to the recording sessions for the upcoming album. One can only hope that Lili can somehow fit this one in there as the arrangement and her vocal range is like nothing she’s ever done before. To end the set, the song that will definitely be on the new CD, "Supposed To Be" left the audience screaming for an encore. Because of a tight scheduling issue the encore couldn’t be. Lili did however re-enter the stage, prompted by Vance during his encore. They did a powerful, soulful version of “Rainy Night In Georgia” giving the audience something special to remember. Next stop Friday November 7th, Lili returns to Crossroads Coffee House in Roxborough. She will perform a much longer set and to top it off, giving her audience a FREE show. See the concert section for details.
Life Or Death receives another European review; this time by an online Dutch Music Reviewer called Rootsville from the Netherlands. This is the 5th one so far. As soon as we get a clear translation, it'll be posted in the reviews section.
Some advance copies have arrived for "Life or Death"- the new import on ESC Records and the booklet is simply stunning! These will be available at Lili's upcoming shows. For you audiophiles, the sound was remastered since the songs were taken from two CDs originally recorded in different studios. The result is spectacular! The tracks are a combination of songs from "Dream Again" and "Hi-Octane Coffee." The approach from ESC Records was to give the European audience a taste of Lili's best songs from her last two CDs. The official release date is October 10th and the tracks are: The first reviews for Life Or Death were posted today online in Germany. The CD now has been slated for an October 10th release. The key words translated from Hitmesiter is that Life or Death is a "Musical Masterpiece!" Here is the translation for Kollenfornia:" Lili Añel "Life or Death", esc records high levels of melodies in the best sense, songs with an almost unbelievable intensity. Blessed with a magnificent voice tells us Añel small stories from the life. And all spun with a folk-rock, jazz and blues structures."
Lili’s opening slot for the for the sold out Raul Malo show at the Sellersville Theater was nothing less than spectacular! The theater has such a top notch sound system and watching shows there is always such a pleasure. Lili’s performance, accompanied by bassist side-kick, Mike Kurman, electrified the captive audience, who for the most part were seeing Lili for the first time. The shorter than usual set was enough to capture the attention of new fans and prompt Raul Malo, himself to ask the audience to give Lili a round of applause. The fact that it was a Monday night didn’t seem to matter as the audience was so attentive and in a festive mood. The brief setlist consisted of: No less than 5 of Lili's songs from the Dream Again CD were played Tuesday night on WDIY 88.1 based out of Allentown, PA. I suppose being in the right place (Musikfest) at the right time (6:00pm) paid off with Lili receiving recongition for a job well done and making new friends with the folks from WDIY. Van Whitemore hosted the Tuesday night "After Hours" show from 11:00pm to 1:00am and kicked off the night with "Down To Zero." Van not only plugged Lili's art, but mentioned the ESC Records release and promised to have more of Lili's music in future shows. The other 4 tracks played were: "Between Me", "Over You", "Nothing In Common" and "Try Again." Wow, it was great for the "Dream Again" CD to hit the air waves after very little airplay when the CD was released in 2007. The European release however will take Lili's music to an even larger audience. More news about the release is forthcoming! In the meantime, Lili's show on August 18th with Raul Malo at the Sellersville Theater is SOLD OUT! Other dates are still available. See the concert section for details.
I can’t begin to describe the atmosphere and the wonderful turnout for Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA! Lili was accompanied by Mike Kurman on bass and Jim Armstrong on percussion. The music never sounded better with Jim taking “On The Run” and “Down By The Water” to new heights and Mike laying down some of the best bass lines on “Temporary Amnesia” and “Try Again”, bringing the support to Lili’s music to a higher level. Oh yeah, Lili’s vocals and guitar sounded pretty damn good too! There were people dancing to “Thin Line” and “The Way Out” and one of the nice surprises was a wonderful performance of “Not A Tear.” When Lili took the Main Street Stage on two time slots at 12:00 and again at 1:30, we thought the sound was excellent. But, then when Lili and Mike later took the LyricPlatz Stage at 6:00, the sound drastically changed from excellent to down right superb! This was the songwriter’s stage and Lili was only allowed one other instrument, so it was a shame that percussionist, Jim Armstrong, who played so intensely earlier in the day, had to sit this one out. At this time in the day the festival was filled to capacity and Lili and Mike’s performance caught the attention of thousands in attendance! The LyricPlatz stage was sponsored by NPR station WDIY and DJ, Van Whitemore elegantly introduced Lili. The performances on all three time slots were no less than stellar! Next stop, Friday, August 18th Lili returns to the Sellersville Theater opening for music veteran, Raul Malo. See the concert section for details.
Lili's night at World Cafe Live on July 24th for the Philadelphia chapter of the NY Songwriters Circle was a real blast! There were 6 performers on stage performing in "Round Robin" style, each with their unique style of song. Lizanne Knott was the host and director for the event which also included John Conahan who sings, plays keyboard and is the music director for Lili's new CD. In other news, Lili ended a month long residency at the Crossroads Coffeehouse in Roxborough. It was a great time for Tuesday nights with special guests and Lili offering a different setlist each time, making it extra special for repeat attendees. Next stop, Lili prepares to head to Bethlehem, PA for the largest musical event of the summer known as MusikFest! See the concert section for details!
Last night Lili and Josh Komorowski sang their hearts out to a packed house at the Burlap & Bean Coffeehouse in Newtown Square, PA. Lili took the stage first and performed a one hour high-energy solo set to a very receptive crowd. Josh Komorowski was one of the first musicians Lili met in 2005 after moving to Philadelphia. They had talked about one day doing a show together and last night that day finally arrived. The matchup couldn't have been better. Josh is a soulful artist with a great voice and his songs of love and heartbreak were the perfect companion piece for Lili's tales of the same sort. One of the highlights was Lili covering 1976 with "Down to Zero" and then Josh covering 1974 with "Ain't No Sunshine." For certain they'll be working together again somewhere in the not too distant future. Next stop, Lili's last show of the Tuesday series at Cross Roads in Roxborough. See the concert section for details.
There were some huge fireworks going off at Morningstar Studios on this 4th of July! With Glenn Barratt at the helm, Lili was able to belt out 5 big tunes on the first day of recording. With seasoned veteran session players, pictured above, including from left to right: Jeff Lee Johnson- guitar, Chico Huff- bass, John Conahan- piano, Lili, Glenn Barratt- producer and Grant MacAvoy- drums, the songs seemed to flow effortlessly. The player's expert instincts along with Glenn Barratt's uncanny sense of knowing where to add just the right ingredients made for a very successful first day of recording. This will no doubt be Lili's finest work to date! In the meantime the ESC Records European release of "Life Or Death" is slated for August 31st. 2008 is becoming a big year for Lili's music reaching a wider audience! Make sure to check the concert schedule as every Tuesday in July Lili will be performing at the Crossroads Coffee House.
Lili pulled out all the stops last night with a packed house at the Coffee Works Cafe in Voorhees NJ. For the first half of the show she took the stage for a solo acoustic set kicking off the evening with Janis Ian's "From Me To You. " The unreleased scorcher "I Don't Need You This Way" was also a nice rare treat. Then she dusted off songs from Laughed Last. If these rarities weren't enough a new song was debuted entitled "One More Night." Bassist, Mike Kurman joined Lili on "2 Much Better." Ten fabulous songs in all were performed for the first set and after a brief intermission, the band entered the stage. Mike Kurman on bass, Vince Parella on guitar and the debut of the amazing Jim Armstrong on percussion. Here's the entire setlist:
Beginning every Tuesday for the month of July, Lili will be doing FREE performances at the Crossroads Coffeehouse. Crossroads is a great place to hang out, grab a bite, drink some coffee and hear some tunes. Each night Lili will be featuring special guests and it should be a great night of fun. So far the following artists have been confirmed: Ron Chelsvig, Russ Edwards, Chelsea Mitchell and Terry Merriman. Crossroads Coffeehouse is located at 6165 Ridge Avenue in Roxborough. Check the concert section for details.
On April 19th Lili had a great time onstage at the second official show performing with bassist Mike Kurman! Lili and Mike met last year at World Café Live during the singer/songwriter extravaganza. Lili even dusted off “2 Much Better” for the occasion along with “Tonight” from Laughed Last. It was a great show for a worthy cause in New Hope.
Lili has been confirmed for the HUGE lineup of major and local artists for the 2008 Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA. This is a 10 day festival with approximately 500 performers! Lili is scheduled for August 3rd and will be pulling a double bill, performing on tw different time slots. Visit the concert section for details!
Lili opened last night for folk singer Vance Gilbert and even Vance was surprised that this was the first time he performed at the Tin to a sold out crowd. Coincidence or just good luck? Lili has been building a steady fan base since 2005 and last night’s packed to the walls show was an accumulation of a lot of hard work. It was a brief, but excellent set in spite of her battle with the virus/flu. She was accompanied by the always tasty Cooke Harvey on bass, and Steve Lewis on percussion. The new arrangement of “On The Run” with the extended percussion solo at the end was a real crowd pleaser. No less than three unreleased songs including Can’t Fall Out of Love, I Drove and Supposed to Be were performed last night. Lili is still working on material for the new CD and it should be ready later this year, hopefully by late spring or summer. In The meantime, final touches are being made to Lili’s first import CD on ESC Records in Germany. As soon as it’s complete, song titles and scans of the CD artwork will be posted. Next stop, Lili will be at the Fuel House Coffeehouse on Saturday- April 12th sharing the stage with Marc Silver. See the concert section for details.
Delaware Station WSTW named Lili "Best Female Rock Vocal" for 2007 as voted by the listeners. This was aired Sunday during the Hometown Heroes program. This was their second annual Homey Awards for local artists. Today 2/12/08 Lili was printed once again in The Intelligencer, a Doylestown newspaper. The article, like the one printed in Montgomery County papers is very in-depth. On their website there are multimedia images taken during the photo shoot while "Over You" is being played. The featured story titled THE INEVITABLE COMING HOME. Lili’s next big show will be at World Café Live this Friday February 15th co-billing with the very exciting and talented Patrick’s Head. Showtime begins 8:30 and tickets at the door are only $10! It's highly recommended that you order advance tickets and reserve a table.
There were not many empty seats left at the 665 seat Colonial Theater last night in Phoenixville, where Lili opened for the legendary Livingston Taylor. This show was so far Lili’s best performance of 2008 and by all means the most attentive audience since her date with Alejandro Escovedo in Sellersville last year. Jesse Lundy, the promoter from Point Entertainment, pictured above, made the first public announcement of Lili’s recent signing with ESC Records. It was nice to publicly hear that Lili’s music will be distributed in Europe! Last night was a near full house and Lili's brief intimate solo performance was stellar to say the least. Livingston was such a gracious headliner, publicly thanking Lili before and after his set. He is a class act in every sense of the word, not allowing Lili to pay for a copy of his latest CD. Backstage Livingston was very approachable sharing his thoughts with Lili about music. In the lobby after her set Lili was acknowledged by some returning fans that had caught her shows at Steel City Coffeehouse and Chaplin’s. Lili also gained a lot of new fans who were pleasantly surprised by her performance. This was a dream show, a magical night that every musician lives for. This one is going to be hard to top! Next stop, February 15th at World Café Live where Lili will co-bill with her musical soul-mates Patrick’s Head. You don’t want to miss this show. Visit the concert section for details
2008 promised to be a big year for Lili and as we come to the last day of January, the first BIG news is that Lili has signed a record deal with ESC Records. The German label will distribute Lilis’ music throughout Europe and Japan among other regions. More details to follow along with an official press release. In other news, a wonderful full-page interview was published in the Ticket, which is an Arts & Entertainment section in Montgomery County’s newspapers. It is an in depth Article, where Lili talks about her musical influences and her method of songwriting. Check the Reviews Section of this website to see a full-size scan of the entire article.
Lili had a great night performing for the very first time at McShea's in Narberth, PA! Mike Kurman, who was also on the bill joined Lili for an earth-quaking, hipshaking "Temporary Amnesia" and again on "Nothing In Common." Mike, who usually plays bass, was doing an excellent job on acoustic guitar and surprised Lili by singing harmony vocals. Lili returned the favor later in the night by singing with Mike on a Steely Dan tune. The chemistry between Mike and Lili worked very well. It would be nice to see more of this in the future. Next stop, February 2nd where Lili will do an intimate solo show opening for Livingston Taylor at the beautiful Colonial Theater in Phoenixville. Click the link on the concert section for more info.
Lili did a fantastic show last night at Puck Live performing to a packed house to kick off 2008! The setlist was totally unique with the premiere of 4 new songs! "Much To My Surprise" kicked off the setlist. Lili is trying out newly written songs and preparing to go into the studio. Her band lineup was the same trio that played in New York; Steve Lewis on percussion and Cooke Harvey on bass. "On The Run" never sounded better with "Super" Steve taking the song to new heights. "Go Home" returned to the setlist and Lili added a new verse. Cooke really tore it up. The 3 other new songs included: "Goodbye", "I Drove", and "Can't Fall Out of Love." 2008 is starting off with a bang. Lili was just offered a gig opening for veteran singer/songwriter Vance Gilbert on March 28th. This will be a great show and Tin Angel is a wonderful listening room. Next stop, Lili headlines the Barrington Coffee House in New Jersey next Saturday the 19th with the fabulous Russ Edwards opening. See the concert schedule for details.
Lili was just offered a co-bill at World Cafe Live on Friday February 15th performing with her musical soul mates Patrick's Head. One of the first bands to embrace and befriend Lili when she arrived in Philadelphia was Patrick's Head. They've done a few shows in the past when Lili was asked to open. This time around it'll be a co-bill with Lili playing a full set. Don't miss this exciting show as Lili and the guys have been known to collaborate onstage and in the studio. A couple of years back Lili added vocals to "Poor Man Shuffle" which got rotated regularly on XPN. At the same time the guys loved "Lay Down Play-Dead", which was also getting airplay, and sure enough they joined Lili onstage for that one. Check the concert schedule for details. In the meantime Lili will be performing January 12th at Puck Live in Doylestown.
In other news, in addition to a ton of European and Japanese retailers, “Life or Death” is being made available as an import in many of the U.S. online stores such as Amazon, Tower Records and Music Stack. Instead of paying the hefty import price tag, your best bet is to buy it right here, directly from Lili’s official website.
01Thin Line
02 Nothing In Common
03 If
04 Lay Down Play Dead
05 2 Much Better
06 Life Or Death
07 Dream Again
08 The Way Out
09 Won't You Stay
10 Down To Zero
11 No Matter What Love
12 Between Me
13 Over You
14 Land On My Feet
15 I'm Sorry
1. Try Again
2. Over You
3. Nothing In Common
4. Temporary Amensia (w/Mike on harmony vocals)
5. Supposed To Be
6. The Way Out
In other news, Lili is hard at work in the studio promising to deliver her best CD to date and has only taken selected performance dates. Next stop, World Cafe Live September 5th for the Philly Song Shuffle. Visit the concert section for details.
FIRST SET (SOLO)
1 From Me To You
2 I Don't Need You This Way
3 Say It Isn't True
4 Laughed Last
5 The Wrong Time
6 Over You
7 2 Much Better (w/ Mike Kurman)
8 That's All I Want From You
9 One More Night
10 No Matter What Love
SECOND SET
1 Try Again
2 Nothing In Common
3 Tonight
4 Temporary Amnesia
5 Much to My Surprise
6 Thin Line
7 Supposed To Be
8 The Way Out
ENCORES
1 I Pretend
2 I'm Sorry
3 Can't Fall Out Of Love
4 Dream Again
This was a phenomenal night of music with Mike on bass and backing vocals, Vince on electric and acoustic guitar and the addition of Jim Armstrong, who is a seasoned percussionist with a very extensive background. Please visit Jim's MySpace to hear more. Next stop Lili begins a month long residency at the Crossroads Coffee House in Roxborough, in "Summer of Song" where she will be performing a free show on Tuesday nights. Each night Lili will also feature a half-hour set of music with a special guest. This will no doubt be a fabulous night of music. Visit the concert section for details.
It’s official, Lili will be making her next recording at MorningStar Studios with Grammy Award winning producer Glenn Barratt. MorningStar is a world-class recording studio that has been serving the greater Philadelphia music community for over 25 years. Lili has a batch of new songs that are ready to be recorded and the new CD may come out as early as late summer or fall. Stay tuned! Next stop, Ocean Grove, NJ May 10th. Visit the concert section for details.
And HER BIG FULL LENGTH INTERVIEW
CLICK HERE FOR 2007 NEWS
CLICK HERE FOR 2006 NEWS
CLICK HERE FOR 2005 NEWS