April 15. Iowa has produced at least two highly literate singer-songwriters: Greg Brown, who was recently covered here in Chronogram, and Dan Bern, who ambles into the Rosendale Cafe for this cozy date. The younger, socially conscious Bern, who has published two books under the pen name Cunliffe Merriwether, has been compared to Phil Ochs, Bruce Springsteen, and, naturally, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie (see "Talkin' Woody, Bob, Bruce, and Dan Blues" from 1998's Smartie Mine). Now based in Los Angeles, he wrote the bulk of the songs for the 2007 Judd Apatow folksinger comedy Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Known for his sardonic political humor, it's an easy guess he'll have some wry observations about the current state of things when he visits our area. (Bucky Pizzarelli, Ed Laub, and Martin Pizzarelli pick April 8; the Lucky Five swing it April 29.) 8pm. $15. Rosendale. (845) 658-9048; Rosendalecafe.com.
