Freak Scene #83: Althaea Comes 'Home' on Debut Album
Classically trained on viola and violin, Charlotte Malin Collins makes music she says is "intended for healing"
A Guide to Music in Western Mass. (and sometimes Connecticut)
This week in Freak Scene, we hear from Althaea, the musical alter-ego of Charlotte Malin Collins, about her new album Welcome Home,
Charlotte Malin Collins always figured the classical music world was where she would find her niche — until she got there.
After studying for performance degrees in violin and viola, the singer and multi-instrumentalist who records as Althaea landed a part-time gig with the Hartford Symphony while finishing her master’s degree at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Yet she quickly discovered that an orchestra position wasn’t as comfortable a fit as she had imagined. That realization intersected with Althaea’s growing interest in spirituality and sound healing, pursuits that she wasn’t sure she would flourish if she stayed on a more traditional classical trajectory.
“I’m glad I didn’t, because I didn't start writing original music until I kind of fully closed that door,” says Althaea, who settled in Northampton early in the pandemic.
Writing original music has led to Althaea’s first album, Welcome Home, and an album release show tonight, Friday, at Bombyx in Florence (tickets). She adapted her stage name from the ancient Greek word meaning healer (Althaea officinalis is also the name of the marshmallow plant). Using Althaea rather than her given name was a way of differentiating the music on Welcome Home from her classical work.
“I thought that if I really want to claim this as another thing that I’m doing, it might be cool to have a separate artist name for that,” Althaea says. “I’m glad I did, because it feels like there's an alter ego sense to it. Althaea is me, and there’s also this alter-ego part, almost like a character that I can step into.”
Welcome Home has a serene sensibility on 10 tracks featuring string parts that range from muted to sweeping and cinematic, accompanied by simple guitar, unobtrusive percussion and Althaea’s resonant alto voice. Althaea calls it medicine music — “music that's intended for healing or a spiritual experience,” she says.
The healing component stems from Althaea’s own experience as a musician. She battled tendonitis in high school from her playing, and in college “was always kind of like riding the edge of debilitating pain in my shoulders,” she says. When she turned down her competitive drive to play more simply and fluidly, she found that she felt more present in the music she was making. As she settled into life in the Valley, Althaea found herself drawing inspiration from was dance, poetry and nature.
“I was like, ‘Oh, wow. Life is a lot more than I ever thought, or was ever taught,’ and then all those things, the spirituality, the embodiment and the thinking of music as something process-oriented instead of product-oriented — those all just converged and music started coming out of me,” Althaea says.
Welcome Home came together over the course of about two years. Althaea worked on the songs with engineer Jake Subin at Ghost Hit Recording in West Springfield, a studio in a historic converted church.
“Really nice, natural acoustics there, and they have an amazing team,” Althaea says. “They really were super supportive for it being my first time, but also were able, you know — coming from the classical background, I know what I want, and I know how to ask for it, and I felt like he really met me in both of those things.”
Eleanor Levine Also Comes Home with Local Gigs
Amherst native Eleanor Levine starts a string of local shows this weekend that carries her around Western Mass. over the next several weeks.
The Pioneer Valley Performing Arts charter school graduate released her new EP The Long Night in February. The four-track release showcases Levine’s voice on songs with robust roots-rock arrangements: opener “Genevieve (This Town)” burbles along on a overdriven guitar, while the title track opens with growling electric licks over strummed acoustic guitar and a sturdy beat.
Levine, who also works on documentary films, performs this Sunday, Sept. 14, at Black Birch Vineyard in Hatfield as a trio with Diana Galeano and Madeline Levine (the free show runs from 2-4:30 p.m.). She’s at FreshGrass at Mass MoCA in North Adams on Sept. 21 (tickets), and plays Progression Brewing in Northampton Nov. 15.
Upcoming Concerts
Now here’s some initiative: the Western Mass. rockers Ramshackle host their own fall festival Sept. 28 at Pulaski Park in the Palmer village of Three Rivers, from noon to 8 p.m. Along with Ramshackle, the Shawn Crimmins Band, the Project, Dave & the Blueberries, the Loose Knit Wits and Muzzle perform on the main stage. Second stage acts include A Strange Invitation, Amanda Meli and CaptC (pronounced “captain-cee”). A food truck will be on site. Admission is $25 per car, so Ramshackle suggests loading up with friends and family.
Queercore Fest 2025 happens Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12-13, at CitySpace in Easthampton. Performers include Told Not to Worry, Film & Gender, Letters of Marque, I have No Mouth, No Man, Sapien Joyride and Soji. Check here for tickets and the full lineup.
Irish folk group the High Kings play March 9 at the Academy of Music in Northampton (tickets).
The Iron Horse hosts Jeff Daniels (yes, that Jeff Daniels) Oct. 13 (tickets), Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas Nov. 20 (tickets), the singer and actress Alicia Witt Dec. 8 (tickets), the singer-songwriter Jeffrey Martin with Anna Tivel Dec. 11 (tickets) — Martin’s 2023 album Thank God We Left the Garden is a flat-out stunner that I wrote about for Paste — and the Johnny A. Trio Jan. 17 (tickets).
Here’s a great double-bill at Bombyx: the folktronica singer Beth Orton and Vermont folk musician Sam Amidon (who are married) perform Oct. 8 (tickets).
Former Northampton resident Dar Williams performs May 3 at Infinity Music Hall in Hartford (tickets); her new album Hummingbird Highway is out today.
With a new three-disc 20th-anniversary version of his album The Mysterious Production of Eggs on the way, Andrew Bird plays April 2 at the Palace Theatre in Waterbury, with the Waterbury Symphony (tickets).
The Aimee Mann & Ted Leo Christmas Show stops Dec. 4 at District Music Hall in Norwalk (tickets).
The Space Ballroom in Hamden hosts the Liverpool indie band Circa Waves Oct. 5 (tickets), Australia’s Atlas Genius Oct. 29 (tickets) and the heart-on-sleeve Philly rocker Dave Hause Nov. 20 (tickets). Hause’s new album, … And the Mermaid, comes out Sept. 26.
That’s all for this week, but Freak Scene is always seeking submissions. You can send music for coverage consideration to erdanton at gmail or reply to this email. Check out these guidelines first.
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