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Sweet Petunia at the Resistance Café
May 22 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Free
The Resistance Café presents May Featured Artist Sweet Petunia.
As a child, Mairead Guy (they/them) was surrounded by Celtic and old-time musicians, learning decades-old songs and spending Thursday afternoons watching their parents play music in Richmond’s local Irish pub. At a similar time, though hundreds of miles away, Maddy Simpson (she/her) was falling asleep to The Essential Simon & Garfunkel in her mom’s car, internalizing the duo’s close harmony vocals and dreaming of making music of her own.
The two met in Boston during college, when they quickly discovered their voices fit together in a way almost familial. Sweet Petunia was born after a few hours of sharing songs and old stories. The name was a no-brainer, taken from a nickname that Mairead’s great-grandfather called all his grandchildren. In no time at all, Simpson and Guy were playing anywhere they could – opening for hardcore bands in Allston basements, taking to the stage of festivals such as FreshGrass (2019) and In Between Days (2023), and most recently touring as much as possible in Mairead’s Honda CRV.
Sweet Petunia, composed of Mairead Guy and Maddy Simpson, is an alt-folk duo based in Boston. Over the last five years, the duo has grown into their own as both powerful songwriters and harmonizers as well as lightning-quick players, beginning every set with explosive double banjo action. Unapologetically queer and unafraid to get loud and angry, they craft music that is informed just as much by their contemporaries in Boston’s punk & DIY scene as it is steeped in rich folk trad
The Resistance Café is a monthly coffeehouse and open mic co-led and organized by First Parish Church Youth Group members plus youth and young adults from the greater community.
The Café is intended to serve as a platform for resistance to the rising tide of intolerance and illiberalism by providing a welcoming space for the voices and creativity of queer youth, young adults, and their allies.
Though youth and young-adult centric, all ages are welcome.
Doors open at 6:00, music starts at 7:00.
An open mic precedes the featured artist. Open mic sign-up is at 6:30.
Entrance is on Briscoe Street.
Admission is free, though donations are gratefully accepted.
Refreshments available. No alcohol.
