The Once Hollow Perform on January 4th.

If you google Rebecca Holtz you’re swept almost immediately to a webpage on which her performance credit sits squarely between Tom Hanks and Samuel L. Jackson. It makes a great opening line for this plug but it’s not going sustain more than a sentence in the musical life of area native Ms. Holtz.

It’s true that she’s gone deep into Musical Theater, that’s she’s dabbled in jazz, sung with Samirah Evans and Charles Neville, that she fronted the Compaq Big Band and built a little home in Swing Village, all before she was 20 years old.

But at the moment she’s become entwined with The Once Hollow who, as their own mythology reads, “was born under a full moon, beside a raging fire burning in the fallen field stones of a long absent 19th century farmhouse foundation.” Really? Add that to Tom Hanks and Samuel L. Jackson and you’ll still be wandering in the woods.

The Once Hollow is Holtz, Jon McAuliffe, and Miah Millay and they’re an eclectic trio. Visit their soundcloud page [https://soundcloud.com/theoncehollow-1] and you’ll hear an array of styles. The Everlasty “New England” where one of the boys takes principal singing duties gives way to a gypsy-jazzy “Monsters” which slides into the triple time of “Debut.” The variety reminds one of someone getting ready to go out, trying on a little of this, a little of that, checking the look and adjusting. This is a new band, obviously a leap of faith for the redheaded Ms. Holtz, and she brings to bear her solo performance experience in this more ensemble expression.

2014 comes in like a lion, full of promise and nouveauté. This January 4th gig by The Once Hollow, Ms. Holtz’s latest expression, is a rare chance to witness something in its beginnings. What better show to usher in your new year, unshackled from the pressures of the holidays and untethered to your so-last-year past. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Doors open at 7:30 with the show starting at 8:00pm. Opening for The Once Hollow are Tom Hanks and Samuel L. Jackson. Not.

Dinner is served at Popolo on our usual schedule and, also as usual, we recommend you make reservations.