Young talent performs at Mirkwood

Two young women of the Arlington area will be sharing their musical talents Saturday, May 10, at the Mirkwood and Shire Cafe in downtown Arlington.

Two young women of the Arlington area will be sharing their musical talents Saturday, May 10, at the Mirkwood and Shire Cafe in downtown Arlington.

A 2003 graduate of Lakewood High School, Allison Preisinger joins a 2004 graduate of Arlington High School, Jessica Klise, along with two other performers, Amber and Dakini. A DJ will be spinning some reggae between sets and it all starts at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

“It’s our singer-songwriter night,” said Mirkwood’s co-owner, Heather Beck.

“Amber has been coming in to do open mic,” Beck said. “She has a gorgeous voice.”

Dakini is a group that features Beck herself on guitar with accompaniment by a cellist and drums.

The evening starts at 7 p.m. with Amber taking the stage first, followed by Preisinger at 8 p.m. and Jessica Klise at 9 p.m.

Dakini closes the program, from 10 to 11 p.m.

This will be Preisinger’s last performance in her hometown area for some time since she is moving to Boston to attend Berklee College of Music in the fall.

Klise is celebrating her graduation from Cornish School of Arts the day before this performance.

A singer, songwriter and pianist, Preisinger currently lives in Bellingham and supports herself by teaching voice, guitar and piano to students while playing gigs here and there. She expects to continue teaching after college and is debating between songwriting and vocal as a major at Berklee. She will be playing some new material as well as songs from her first album, “Moving On, Moving Forward.” Preisinger said that her music has been compared to Joan Baez and Neil Young.

“My piano stuff is more jazzy and up beat,” she said. “I like to do thought-provoking stuff,” she added. She expects to be at Berklee for three to five years, “depending on my first placement,” she said.

She said she doesn’t know the other people who are on the bill with her, except for hearing them on MySpace.

Another singer-songwriter, Klise is celebrating her graduation from the Cornish College of the Arts where she has been a music composition major for the past four years.

“I am graduating 1 p.m. Friday, May 9 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle,” she said.

“I have done a variety of different compostions over the years, some for class assignments, including piano and voice pieces, string-quartet pieces, and my own works for guitar and voice. My passion is most definitely writing songs for myself and the guitar,” Klise said.

“I have been fortunate to have worked with some great musicians at Cornish including my peers and my teachers,” Klise said.

The co-owner of Mirkwood, Heather Beck said they have decided to provide a place for local talent to perform in Arlington.

“It’s something that has been much needed in the area,” Beck said.

Check out the music at www.myspace.com/mirkwoodshirecafe.