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THE SIRENS

The Sirens

The Sirens The Sirens are three powerhouse women of song: legendary performer Wanda Houston, talented guitarist and solo artist Elizabeth Berliner, and gifted singer/songwriter and comedienne  Liv Cummins.  Captivating entertainers on their own, these magical muses combine to seduce audiences with gorgeous voices and enticing harmonies through the catchy melodies and clever, heartfelt lyrics of Sandy McKnight’s original pop songs, with a little folk, rock, jazzy blues, bluesy jazz and country thrown in the mix.

The Sirens. Heed the call.

ELIZABETH BERLINER: Singer/ Songwriter Elizabeth Berliner AKA Jaane Doe was first noticed as a teen in the Capital region playing Caffe Lena in Saratoga. Her music career spans more than four decades. Her solo work includes the Albums “Burns Like Fire, “All As It Comes” and the Theme Song ”PAWNS” from her award-winning indie film of the same name. Elizabeth has worked with or opened for luminaries including Bob Weir, Dwight Yoakam Don Was, Joe Schermie, Bobby Taylor, Roger Fischer (Heart) Lester Chambers and Tommy Chong. As the lead singer of the metal band “Crisis” she was signed to Rhino/ Rampage Records in the 80’s and was a featured Artist at WoodyFest in Okemah Oklahoma, also playing with Annie Guthrie. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes she continues to musically recreate in many genres.

LIV CUMMINS: A Minnesota native, Liv is a singer/songwriter, comedy performer, and musical theater dramatist. She received her undergraduate degree from Skidmore College, and her MFA from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. After meeting Sandy McKnight at a songwriters workshop in L.A., she and McKnight teamed up on her first solo album of original songs, Some Days, which McKnight produced. The album received critical acclaim and aired on radio stations across the country as McKnight and Cummins toured the U.S. and played in legendary venues, from Margaritaville in New Orleans to The Bitter End in NYC. With McKnight, Liv co-created 22 Records, an indie label, and Columbia Arts Team (CAT), a not-for-profit to support original live theater and music across the Tri-state region. Liv directed and performed in Sandy’s original comedy sketches in CAT’s signature show, the live comedy/variety show, Saturday Night LIV (hosted by Liv Cummins), which played in theaters, colleges, and other venues across NY state and Western MA since 2002. In 2014, Liv and Sandy moved to Lee, MA, and in 2021, the show morphed into The Berserkshires, hosted by Wanda Houston, appearing in the Berkshires at Dewey Hall, Sharon Playhouse, and Shakespeare & Co.

Liv writes book, lyrics and music for musicals produced across the country. Most notably, Vanishing Point (with Rob Hartmann and Scott Keys) – which explores the lives and disappearances of Amelia Earhart, Aimee Semple-McPherson, and Agatha Christie – has had 12 productions in the U.S. and also in Madrid. Her newest work, Ladies, How Dare You! (co-written with Rob Hartmann), explores the lives of American suffragists in 1913. A musical comedy/farce, it had a workshop production at Theatre Institute at Sage (TIS) in Troy, NY April 2023. The piece will have its world premiere at Lehigh Valley School for the Arts in Bethlehem, PA on November 8-10, 2024 – election week.

Liv is on the faculty at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, where she teaches theater, literature, and creative writing.

SANDY McKNIGHT: Band creator, guiding light

Born in Brooklyn, Sandy was a 50-year veteran in the music business: songwriter, bass player, producer, and solo artist. He toured with multiple bands including The Truants and Numbers; worked with notable artists including Dennis Diken (Smithereens), Todd Rundgren, Earl Slick, Graham Maby, and ‘80s TV legend John Davidson; wrote hundreds of songs; and released myriad albums, including a 66-song set, How I Changed the World, and recently, San Fernando Blast, with guitarist/producer Fernando Perdomo (Echo in the Canyon). His songs have appeared in movies and TV shows, including Colbert and Petunia. His award-winning 2023 film, Band Boy, explores the life of an aspiring songwriter/musician when he leaves home and hits the road with a new band, hoping to ‘make it’ in the music business. The film features an all-original McKnight score and a local cast, including Wanda Houston and Liv Cummins.

Sandy was, first and foremost, a songwriter. He wrote songs easily, often almost accidentally, recording more than thirty albums of his work. He was a skilled craftsman -- yet instinctual. His songs were tuneful, witty, heartfelt, fun, grand, and personal. The Sirens perform his best creations.

Animated by the music and humor gods, Sandy’s life was all creation, all the time: from songs, books, musicals, films, and shows; to word pivots and puns (he called his friend Terry, who house-cleaned, “Terry Cloth”); to art organizations and gathering spaces (movie nights, the BOOM Room, deck parties, songwriter festivals); to never-ending collaborations in all those genres with his wife and creative collaborator, Liv. He created community with other artists, advanced the indie music scene with his label, 22 Records (producing, for example, pop!ternatives, a collection of original tunes by area artists); taught adult and youth workshops; and produced events through his non-profit, Columbia Arts Team (CAT), co-founded with Christina Dellea (Hillsdale, NY) and wife Liv. His creations connected him to others, and strangers to each other.

Sandy McKnight passed away at his home in Lee, MA on May 22, 2024. His life and legacy will live on through his numerous creations – including the Sirens – and through the people he loved and the many lives he touched.

The Sirens’ Origin Story:

Sandy McKnight created the three-women group to show off three powerhouse voices and his melodic, heartfelt songs through catchy hooks, clever lyrics and tight, juicy harmonies… along with the funny, joyous spirit of each of us times a thousand, which is what it feels like when the three of us gather to sing these songs. From the start, it was magic: the four of us could feel the special sauce of our voices blending, bending on Sandy’s notes and phrases. Plus, we laughed -- a lot! Laughter and music. We were off and running.

We rehearsed weekly since January 2024, preparing for our first gigs this summer – Sandy quietly directing, guiding us from the background (when he could get a word in! we not only have strong singing voices, we have big, loud ideas!)… our Svengali, Wanda called him. When my beloved Sandy passed away from a devastating lung disease at our home in Lee on May 22, 2024, it felt I lost my heart and soul. The Sirens became a lifeline: as we sing together now, breathing life into his songs, our songs – somehow, we are somehow channeling Sandy, his spirit, his lifeforce. We feel him with us as we sing now in our living room, the room where we always rehearsed with him; we feel him here, guiding us still. The band is a blessing, a gift he gave me then that I need now – now that he is gone.

Sandy’s life and legacy will live on through his numerous creations – including the Sirens – and through the people he loved and the many lives he touched.

– Liv Cummins (Sandy’s wife and proud Siren)

For information about Wanda, please go to "All About Wanda" on this site.


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