I first heard Robin Lane with her original band, Boston’s own the Chartbusters, in the very early 80s. They were kind of a new wavier version of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, with a similar pedigree in rock of both the classic (Lane singing on Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere) and more aggressive new style. Of course, Lane’s combination of musical toughness and lyrical vulnerability was unique in a time when Chrissie Hynde was still right around the corner (and actually not out of the UK yet).

Here’s some good news for those of us who remember this 80s feminist rock pioneer:

Robin Lane will be performing an all-acoustic solo show in West Seattle at the Skylark Café, 3803 Delridge Way, SW Seattle, WA 98106 on Friday, October 16th. This is Robin’s first-ever Seattle appearance. Also on the bill are Gretta Graves with Lance Ballard, Gavin Guss and Rusty Willoughby. The show begins at 9:00 p.m. and there is no cover charge.

On Sunday, October 18th at 7:00 p.m., at the Ballard Eagles (5216 20th Ave. N.W., Seattle, WA, 98107), Robin will present “Love-Ins and Looney Bins,” a unique combination of music and a Q&A session with Carla DeSantis of ROCKRGRL Magazine. Robin will also demonstrate her collaborative songwriting technique with the audience. There is a $10 suggested donation at the door to benefit Robin’s non-profit organization, Songbird Sings (songbirdsings.org). This event is sponsored by MusiCares, Ballard Counseling Group and ROCKRGRL Inc. 

In the Northeast, Robin Lane is no less than a music icon. Her father, Ken Lane, was Dean Martin’s musical director and wrote, “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometimes.” In 1979 Robin sang the duet “Round and Round” with Neil Young on his breakthrough album, “Everybody Knows this is Nowhere.” She formed Robin Lane and the Chartbusters with Asa Brebner and Leroy Radcliffe (Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers) and put out three albums with the band on Warner Brothers. Robin’s video for the song, “When Things Go Wrong,” was the 11th video played on MTV’s first day of broadcast. She is writing a memoir, “A Multitude of Sins” and full-length documentary film about her life is currently in production. 

Robin continues to perform in and around the Boston area. However she devotes most of her time to A Woman’s Voice, the songwriting/recording workshop program she founded in 2001 for women, like herself, who have survived trauma. 

To RSVP for the Sunday Ballard Eagles presentation or for more information, please e-mail Carla DeSantis at ROCKRGRL@aol.com or visit the Songbird Sings web site, songbirdsings.org.”