Shayfer James & Katacombs – Portsmouth, NH

Shayfer James & Katacombs

Mon 11/4

6pm doors/7pm show

All Ages | $20 adv./$25 day of

Shayfer James is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and composer known for hauntingly beautiful and bombastic music that blends elements of pop, cabaret, classical, soul and rock. Shayfer began playing piano and writing music at a young age, drawing inspiration from diverse musical influences such as Sam Cooke, Stephen Sondheim, Elton John, Nat King Cole and The Native Tongues. His music has been described as cinematic, evocative, and deeply personal, often exploring themes of love, loss, and human nature.

Mr. James has released five EPs: “Red Room Vol. 1,” “Haunted Things,” “Hope and a Hand Grenade,” “Americanachronisim,” and “The Ninth Hour: Selections (with Kate Douglas)” as well as three LPs: “The Owl & The Elephant,” “Counterfeit Arcade” and “Shipwreck.” His recordings showcase the evolution of Shayfer’s unique style and have garnered him critical acclaim as he continues exploring new sounds and production techniques. He is also a prolific composer and arranger, having written scores for numerous films, dance productions, and theater pieces.

Katacombs is the name Katerina Kiranos landed on after years of building sculptural furniture of bone and wood. Born in Miami to a Spanish mother and Greek father, she spent the majority of her early life bouncing between multiple cultures and wanting to adapt. The common thread anywhere she landed was her love for music. Piano lessons as a child led to days on end of writing and recording from her makeshift bedroom-studio as a teen, which turned into years of collecting songs- all just to store them away. Though she took a detour career-wise, she continued to play where she could and could never escape the urge to spend every day honing her first true passion. She played keys in a few bands and dabbled in open mics but always ended up feeling best in a dark room, single-handedly curating dramatic and ethereal melodies. Set on finally sharing that part of her world, the one most sacred, she started with a small body of work that embodies a wide range of some of her deeply rooted experiences and influences.

“You Will Not”, her debut EP, is a collection of songs that individually represent a place and time of her life, amounting to a rather emotional rollercoaster that traverses geographical borders and genres, hitting the highs and the lows of self-discovery.