After trio took hiatus, MacAllister went solo

Folk singer Laurie MacAllister's name is a letter off from that of a bass player for The Runaways, which oozed attitude in the 1970s and might have been a footnote in rock history but for founding member Joan Jett's hits in the 1980s.

"A lot of women musicians, myself included, worship the ground she walks on," says MacAllister of Jett. "I first heard 'I Love Rock and Roll' at age 10. I remember exactly where I was and just lost it — but let's not forget Pat Benatar and Chrissie Hynde."

Even though the styles differ, all these women produce music with moxie. Playing guitar, singing and stirring emotion, MacAllister will bring her songs to the Howland Cultural Center on Saturday (May 2).

As with fictional settings, her songs make something out of nothing, like that moment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when it's cold and wet and then the vignette turns into a break-up ode that crystallizes a fragment of the human experience ("Out of the Darkness").

To be a team player and round out the sound, she put down the guitar and picked up a bass for Red Molly, the folk trio with Hudson Valley roots. The band — MacAllister, Abbie Gardner and Molly Venter — shook up the folk scene with its polished look, sound and presentation.

"When we played places that served alcohol, they improvised many drinks that have only one common characteristic: the color," MacAllister says, but when the pandemic hit, along with parenthood for one member, the trio split for now.

MacAllister still seeks to subvert conventions. "I want to get away from the setup where the opener plays for 25 minutes, and then I come on for my slot," she says. "I have three male collaborators whom I work with, but I open each set and bring them in and out of the show."

Joining her in Beacon will be Fred Gillen Jr., a longtime local folk performer who lived in Westchester County before moving upstate. This is her last live slot for a while. MacAllister, now based in Virginia, is taking a break to record an album before a fall tour. The woman has paid her dues: "I'm 56, so I can decide what to do," she says.

With all the wordsmithing, chord changes and full-throttle vocals, it's easy to overlook her nimble guitar playing, which emits a big sound. She's also able to sing while fingerpicking — plucking out more intricate patterns with at least three digits — which is no mean feat. The test of talent is to execute something difficult while making it look easy.

"At first, I figured it would be impossible, but I put in a lot of practice and, somehow, it happened," MacAllister says.

While onstage, she seems to be on the verge of killing herself softly with her own songs. "I bring it to 95 percent, then I have to dial it back," she says. "If it makes people cry, that's a litmus test — like, if it gives me goosebumps — but it can only hit to a certain degree. We're poking at feelings, so even if I get physical reactions, I've got to be professional and gathered onstage."

The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main St. in Beacon. Tickets for the concert, which begins at 8 p.m., are $25 at dub.sh/macallister-hcc, or $30 at the door. To download music, see lauriemacallister.net.