Jon Pontrello and Kevin Barrans at Conor Byrne ::: all photos by Abbey Simmons

This Thursday, the Conor Byrne was transformed into an Everett living room for a set that celebrated new releases, old friendships and the spirit of collaboration. At the center of the night was singer-songwriter Jon Pontrello, who was celebrating the release of his new album Youth is A Train. Often eschewing the guitar for the banjo as his instrument of choice, Pontrello tells tales of the most extraordinary and mundane sides of life. On “Day Job” he sings in a Young-ian cadence about the day-to-day demise of paying the bills in a song that we can all relate to. As for the extraordinary, just listen to “Lost,” which recount Pontrello’s near-death experience as a lost hiker in the Bogacheli back country for eight days. Those aren’t metaphors, that’s a recounting of events.

Pontrello was joined on stage by friends who are likely more familiar to the average local music fan: Kevin Barrans of The Maldives and Kevin Murphy of The Moondoggies. (Murphy and Pontrello are old friends from Everett and played in a great band called The Familiars.) While Barrans and Murphy both played sets of their own, they also sat in for a few songs of Pontrello’s set and vice-versa. Barrans joined Pontrello on stage to play a two-string, wash-tub bass, while Murphy used his set to try out a cover of The Baptist General’s “Going Back Song” for the first time. The whole night felt less like a concert and more like a living room jam, where everyone was friends and family. It seemed the perfect space to celebrate the release of such a personal album and line-up.

If you missed Thursday night, you can catch Jon Pontrello this Sunday at The Sunset and if you’re fan of singer-songwriters and deft-storytellers, definitely seek out Youth is a Train.

Kevin Muprhy and Jon Pontrello at Conor Byrne

Jon Pontrello at Conor Byrne