New York Singer-songwriter Pete Mancini with local favorite Michelle Swan

Come join us at Concerts at The Sevareid House for an unforgettable evening of music! We are thrilled to present singer-songwriter Pete Mancini from New York with his band The Hillside Airman, along with the incredible Michelle Swan from our own community.

Pete has played his songs for us both in the living room (2017) in our inaugural season and at one of the first COVID backyard shows in 2020 and the last time in 2022. . It's been a joy to watch him progress in his personal and songwriting journey over these past 9 years.

American Equator (out March 7th on Paradiddle Records) is a record that could only come from an artist who has weathered more than his fair share of storms. For Mancini, life in sobriety still has its challenges, but the satisfaction of making art with a clear mind is unparalleled.

American Equator sees Mancini reaching new heights of songwriting. He explores themes of American identity (Calamity People, American Equator), storytelling (Skid Row Skyline, Spy Rock Road, Paris Hotel, Leaving For Raleigh), spirituality (Technicolor Days, Stomping Grounds) and grief (The Signal, Sun Came Up). Recorded over a span of 5 days with Matt Patton of the Drive By Truckers at the helm producing, Mancini has realized his most emphatic and cohesive album yet. Contributions from Jay Gonzalez (Drive By Truckers), Tim Lee, Schaefer Llana, and John Smith (Dexateens) support Mancini as he confidently treads new sonic territory.

“It took time and effort to get to a place where I can write freely. I can’t wait to get these new songs out into the world.” Pete Mancini has learned to keep his eyes focused on the skies ahead.

Over the years, Mancini has toured with Jimmy Webb and opened for Los Lobos, Blues Traveler, Gin Blossoms, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Cracker, Rhett Miller, Amy Helm, Larry Campbell & Theresa Williams, and Iain Matthews. In addition to playing guitar with Jimmy Webb, Mancini is also a member of The Famous Doctor Scanlon Band, which honors the musical legacy of Travis McKeveny.

We're also thrilled to welcome local favorite Michelle Swan to the living room for the first time. Introduced to the guitar at age nine by her father, himself an award winning singer-songwriter, Michelle Swan, has pursued a musical path ever since. After studying classical music and clarinet performance at Towson State University, Michelle entered the Baltimore-Washington music scene in 1990, performing at local open-mics and coffeehouses and has been performing ever since. She has released 3 records on her own label and has won Mid-Atlantic Songwriting contest’s gold award and best song overall in 2023 & 2024 for her songs “Enemy In My Scope” & “It All Came to Pass”. Self-reflective and acutely observant, Michelle deftly weaves lyric and note together to create intensely personal songs that tell of sentiments and circumstances nonetheless familiar to everyone.

She has performed many times outside the DC Metro area but her local venues have included The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and Maryland’s Weinberg Center for the Arts and many of our other favorites around the DMV.