We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
There’s probably no topic that can’t stimulate Rob Guttenberg’s songwriting muse. It’s true that on When Love Comes Rushing In, the Cabin John-based artist covers a fair share of familiar folkie turf: There are, for example, aching love songs (the title track and “The Night for Falling in Love”) and an ample quota of waaaay-left political grandiloquence (“Rich White American University”). But the collection also contains tunes engendered by Guttenberg’s encounters with underappreciated folk-centric DJs (“Just Six Hours of Sleep”), mundane street signs (“No “You’ Turn”), and even rare bodily ailments—“Bomb in My Brain” has to be the first ballad for those afflicted with AVMs (arteriovenous malformations). But regardless of the subject matter, Guttenberg delivers his lyrics in a pleasantly forthright fashion, and rarely favors anything other than minimalist acoustic backing. He appears at Coulson’s Coffeehouse in Gaithersburg on Friday, and the Waltzing Bear Coffeehouse in Mount Rainier on Saturday. The new collection can be purchased by mailing $16.50 for CD, $11.50 for cassette (postage paid) to Rob Job Productions, P.O. Box 311, Cabin John, MD 20818.