Rootsy singer-songwriter Patrick Dalton, joined on upright bass by Mike Skaggs, plays Best Video Performance Space on Thursday, Aug. 27. Mike Kusek opens with a solo set. The show starts at 8 PM and there is a $5 cover.

Patrick Dalton

Patrick Dalton is something of a musical encyclopedia. Ask him to play Metallica’s”Master of Puppets” and he will oblige, then he’ll follow up with Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and “Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi. Dalton doesn’t simply play guitar or write songs, he absorbs music, breathes it in, digests it and assimilates it.

Dalton’s own music, while strikingly original and nuanced, has a familiarity to it—there’s Delta blues in his studied finger picking, folk and hip hop in his storied lyrics and powerful, breathy voice, big band in his trumpet playing, and classic American songwriting in his melodies. His songs come to terms with everything from death to macro-politics to economics, and while his subject matter may be heavy at times, Dalton’s songs leave you pensive rather than downtrodden, interested rather than pessimistic.

Dalton has lent his talents as both musician and sound engineer to many musical projects, including The Proud Flesh, Sidewalk Dave, Elison Jackson, Ports of Spain, and Ceschi. His flair for dynamics and arrangement is evident in his work as both producer and singer-songwriter, and his collaborations within the New England music scene only serves to expand his musical encyclopedia, volume by volume.

Mike Kusek

Michael Kusek is a New Haven based singer songwriter who plays guitar in the groups 10,000 Blades and Bilge Rat. Kusek’s solo material, while still being guitar based, is much more ambient, sometimes gentle, while exploring darker, even sinister tones and themes.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Friday, Aug. 21. BLUEGRASS: FIDDLE FOREVER

• Tuesday, Aug. 25. BLUEGRASS: STACY PHILLIPS & HIS BLUEGRASS CHARACTERS

• Thursday, Aug. 27. AMERICANA: PATRICK DALTON & MIKE SKAGGS

• Friday, Aug. 28. FILM SCREENING: “HEAD” (CT-PRODUCED LIVE PUPPET HORROR FEATURE)

• Thursday, Sept. 3. SOLO GUITAR: JOHN THOMAS, SARAH WHITAKER

• Friday, Sept. 4. JAZZ: BADSLAX

• Wednesday, Sept. 9. COMEDY OPEN MIC WITH JAKE NIETOPSKI

• Thursday, Sept. 10. INDIE ROCK: LA TUNDA

• Friday, Sept. 11. SINGER-SONGWRITER: THE ANNE MARIE MENTA BAND

• Wednesday, Sept. 16. CARIBBEAN/FOLK: LUKE RODNEY

• Friday, Sept. 18. SINGER-SONGWRITER: DAPHNE LEE MARTIN, CHRIS KILEY

Wednesday, Sept. 23. INDIE ROCK: JELLYSHIRTS

• Tuesday, Sept. 29. SINGER-SONGWRITER: HANNAH FAIR & THE NORTH END HONEYS, ABBIE MORIN & THOMAS PEARO

• Wednesday, Sept. 30. SINGER-SONGWRITER: ANGELA EASTERLING

• Thursday, Oct. 1. TRIP HOP: THE FOREST ROOM, HIP-HOP: CHEF THE CHEF

• Thursday, Oct. 8. SINGER-SONGWRITER: FRANK CRITELLI, BEN PARENT

• Friday, Oct. 23. ALT-COUNTRY: TANNERSVILLE

• Friday, Oct. 30. HALLOWEEN SILENT FILM SCREENING WITH LIVE SCORE: LIGHT UPON BLIGHT