Poet Theater at the Armory Cafe presents Terry Kitchen with special guest Rick Berlin on Friday January 17 for an evening combining spoken word and music. Kitchen will be reading from his recent novel Next Big Thing, set in the 1980s Boston rock scene, which both he and Berlin were a part of. For
the music portion of his set, Kitchen will be joined by members of his ’80s band Loose Ties and other guests for an “unplugged” cabaret-style performance. The concert begins at 8 PM and admission is $10. The Armory Cafe is at 191 Highland Avenue, Somerville. For more information call 617-718-2191 or visit artsatthearmory.org.

Next Big Thing – dedicated to Berlin and fellow longtime Boston musician Dennis Brennan – is a new novel that chronicles a rock band’s experience trying to hit the big time in Boston while local bands The Cars, Til Tuesday and Del Fuegos were getting national airtime. It’s based on Kitchen’s experience in the band Loose Ties, who competed in the Rock and Roll Rumble in 1986.

Adam Ellsworth of ArtsFuse recently reviewed the novel, saying “Genres aside, one of the book’s greatest strengths is the way it so brilliantly captures the love/hate inner life of a struggling rock band.” He also enjoyed the accompanying “songtrack” of original music the author provides.

Terry Kitchen is best known as an award-winning singer/songwriter and touring artist, releasing ten CDs since the early 1990s. His songs have won the Mid-Atlantic and USA Songwriting Contests and been runner up in the John Lennon Song Contest, and he has performed at clubs and festivals including Club Passim, Cafe Lena, the Bluebird Cafe, and the Falcon Ridge and Telluride music festivals. Next Big Thing is his first novel.

Special guest singer/songwriter/bandleader Rick Berlin has been a presence on the Boston music scene for over 35 years, as the creative force behind Orchestra Luna, Luna, Berlin Airlift, and Rick Berlin The Movie. His latest project, Rick Berlin & The Nickel & Dime Band, are currently recording their second CD, following last year’s Always On Insane. As a songwriter Berlin has consistently tackled challenging subject matter, delivering anthems that soar as art while being grounded in life.

Kitchen and Berlin are both featured in the new documentary Let’s Go to the Rat, and both performed with their bands at a recent benefit concert at Johnny D’s for the movie.

For more information about Terry’s book and CD please visit http://www.terrykitchen.com/nextbigthing or call 617-833-0631.