Credit: Courtesy of Hannah Stak
Local singer-songwriter Hannah Stak grew up listening to bluegrass CDs from her father’s record collection. She’d walk around the yard, listening to them in a MP3 player. Eventually, she started writing poems and then began writing songs; she learned to play guitar when she was a senior in college.

She’s just completed recording her debut, Retrograde, and will celebrate its release with a show that takes place at 9 p.m. on Friday, July 6, at CODA. The single, “Table for Two” features her jazzy, Nora Jones-like vocals and a spirited string arrangement. It’s good stuff.

“This EP covers the feeling of falling in love, falling apart, relationships and family matters, and even an imaginative story of an encounter with a witch,” she says in an email. “The EP surrounds the idea of having trouble communicating with important people in my life when in other moments communication may have come much easier. The EP follows the ebb and flow of communication as a whole; when it goes right, when it goes wrong, and everything in between.”

For the release party, Stak will perform with Kimberly Haffey (double bass), Maria Sarnowski (vocals) and Ray Flanagan (lead guitar). Mr. Carnivore and Maura Rogers & the Bellows will open the show. Tickets are $5 in advance, $7 at the door.

This article appears in Jun 27 – Jul 3, 2018.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.