Mel and Vinnie are singer songwriters who tell stories about the world they see around them. They blend blues, traditional, Tin Pan Alley, pop and Americana finding ballads that touch your soul and make you want sing along. Mel’s clear ringing voice brings lyrics to life while Vinnie’s guitar weaves melodies to frame an experience that stays with you.
Maryellen Healy “Mel” was born in Astoria to an organized, methodical working mom and a soon-to-be blacklisted union organizer. By high school in Levittown in the late sixties she was putting on hootenannies, leading songs and rabble-rousing her way to becoming class president. Vincent Cerniglia was born in Brooklyn. He became a boy scout, a bike enthusiast, a basketball player and a techie. He was immersed in music the whole time. He played in all night jam sessions throughout his early years. Mel sings from the heart and Vinnie plays old style blues guitar.
Mel and Vinnie met on the Hudson River in 1983 working with the environmental sloops started by activist folksinger Pete Seeger. They are veteran performers who engage audiences with songs they can relate to. As Hudson River troubadours they sing about nature, the environment and hope for the future. They are producers of the 2008 Broad Old River 2 album fundraiser for sloop maintenance and co producers of a half hour video Broad Old River: An Oral History of the Sloop Clearwater. Stalwarts of the Hudson River Sloop Singers for forty years they now live full time in South Florida bringing the spirit of community wherever they go.
In 2009 they became a seasonal part of an active community in Lake Worth, FL. In 2011 they released their first CD Feels Like Home. They wrote the Lake Worth city anthem, "It Feels Like Home to Me" for a songwriting contest. The song has been used on radio, at community events, in parades and by the bicycle carolers. Mel and Vinnie were in the cast of two shows in the Lake Worth Playhouse, Songs of Phil Ochs in 2012 and Carry It On, a Pete Seeger Tribute in 2014. Since 2014 they host a "Sing Out for Pete" workshop at the Will McLean Festival. 2019 is the centennial of Seeger’s birth.
Their songbook includes originals, audience favorites, traditional, topical and old timey with songs for all ages. You will find Mel and Vinnie at festivals, listening rooms, living rooms, taverns, clubs, civic events and in the street dedicating their lives to leaving this world a little better than they found it.
Contact: Maryellen Healy
melhealy@yahoo.com
845.399.4630
Maryellen Healy “Mel” was born in Astoria to an organized, methodical working mom and a soon-to-be blacklisted union organizer. By high school in Levittown in the late sixties she was putting on hootenannies, leading songs and rabble-rousing her way to becoming class president. Vincent Cerniglia was born in Brooklyn. He became a boy scout, a bike enthusiast, a basketball player and a techie. He was immersed in music the whole time. He played in all night jam sessions throughout his early years. Mel sings from the heart and Vinnie plays old style blues guitar.
Mel and Vinnie met on the Hudson River in 1983 working with the environmental sloops started by activist folksinger Pete Seeger. They are veteran performers who engage audiences with songs they can relate to. As Hudson River troubadours they sing about nature, the environment and hope for the future. They are producers of the 2008 Broad Old River 2 album fundraiser for sloop maintenance and co producers of a half hour video Broad Old River: An Oral History of the Sloop Clearwater. Stalwarts of the Hudson River Sloop Singers for forty years they now live full time in South Florida bringing the spirit of community wherever they go.
In 2009 they became a seasonal part of an active community in Lake Worth, FL. In 2011 they released their first CD Feels Like Home. They wrote the Lake Worth city anthem, "It Feels Like Home to Me" for a songwriting contest. The song has been used on radio, at community events, in parades and by the bicycle carolers. Mel and Vinnie were in the cast of two shows in the Lake Worth Playhouse, Songs of Phil Ochs in 2012 and Carry It On, a Pete Seeger Tribute in 2014. Since 2014 they host a "Sing Out for Pete" workshop at the Will McLean Festival. 2019 is the centennial of Seeger’s birth.
Their songbook includes originals, audience favorites, traditional, topical and old timey with songs for all ages. You will find Mel and Vinnie at festivals, listening rooms, living rooms, taverns, clubs, civic events and in the street dedicating their lives to leaving this world a little better than they found it.
Contact: Maryellen Healy
melhealy@yahoo.com
845.399.4630