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Bill Staines
Anyone not familiar with the music of Bill Staines is in for a special treat (if you buy your tickets in advance – he sold out quickly last time). The Martha Room is a very intimate space and a great place to hear great music.
For forty-five years, Bill has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960’s and for a time, emceed the Sunday Hootenanny at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. From the time in 1971 when a reviewer from the Boston Phoenix stated that he was “simply Boston’s best performer”, Bill has continually appeared on folk music radio listener polls as one of the top all time favorite folk artists. Now, well into his fifth decade as a folk performer, he has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer.
Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular and durable singers on the folk music scene today, performing over 175 concerts a year. He weaves a blend of gentle wit and humor into his performances and one reviewer wrote, “He has a sense of timing to match the best standup comic.”
Bill’s music is a slice of Americana, reflecting with the same ease his feelings about the prairie people of the Midwest or the adventurers of the Yukon, the on-the-road truckers, or the everyday workers that make up this land.
Bill Staines has recorded twenty-six albums. He has written over three hundred songs, many of which have been recorded by the likes of Peter, Paul, and Mary, Makem and Clancy, Nanci Griffith, Glen Yarborough, Celtic Thunder, and Jerry Jeff Walker. His music is sung at campfires and folk music gatherings, and in living rooms all around the country. Songs like “All God’s Critters,” “Roseville Fair,” “Child of Mine,” and “River,” have become folk classics. Many of Bill’s songs have appeared in grade school music books, church hymnals, and scouting campfire songbooks; he is one of only a few songwriters to have eight songs published in the classic song collection, Rise up Singing. Composer David Amram recently described Bill as “a modern day Stephen Foster…his songs will be around 100 years from now.”
Over the decades, you have heard Bill singing on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, HBO’s award winning series Deadwood, and Public Radio’s Mountain Stage. Additionally, his music has been used in a number of films including Off and Running, with Cyndi Lauper, and The Return of the Secaucus Seven, John Sayles’ debut as a writer- director.
In 1975, Bill won National Yodeling Championship in Kerrville Texas. Another important recognition was given to him in 2007. Presented by the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association, The Jerry Christen Award recognized Bill’s contribution to New England folk music.
As well as recordings, over 100 of Bill’s songs have been published in three songbooks: If I Were a Word, Then I’d Be a Song, Movin’ It Down the Line, and Music to Me, the latter published by Hal Leonard Corporation. His song, All God’s Critters, has been recently released as a Simon and Schuster children’s book with illustrations by Caldecott honor-winning artist, Kadir Nelson.
“Folk music is rich in the human spirit and experience. I’ve always wanted to bring something of value to people through my songs.” With these thoughts, Bill continues to drive the highways and back roads of the country year after year, bringing his music to listeners, young and old.
In the fall of 2015 Yankee Magazine, New England’s premiere magazine, published it’s “80th Anniversary Issue.” In the issue, along with the likes of Stephen King and Katherine Hepburn, Bill was chosen as “One of the 80 gifts New England has given to America.” A true honor.
Mike and Carleen McCornack
Mike and Carleen have been entertaining adults and children in Oregon for decades with original and traditional folk tunes. While they live in Eugene, it’s become rare to see them in Corvallis, and we should take advantage of every chance we get.
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American Strings:
An Evening with
Tom Paxton
An integral part of the songwriting and folk music community since the early 60’s Greenwich Village scene, Tom Paxton has become a celebrated voice of his generation — addressing the issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture and celebrating the tender bonds of family, friends, and community.
Paxton is a GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and an ASCAP Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. Regarded as one of the great songwriters of our time, he is the man who wrote and lives by those words, “Sweet peace, peace will come, and let it begin with me.”
The American Strings series brings renowned artists from around the U.S. to Corvallis and Oregon State University for an in-depth look at how and why stringed instruments play such a profound role in American music.
Hosted by the GRAMMY Museum’s Bob Santelli, the OSU College of Liberal Arts and the Majestic Theatre, the conversation and performance that comprises each segment of American Strings makes for a one of a kind opportunity to appreciate and know better the great American music tradition.
Alasdair Fraser
&
Natalie Haas
cutting-edge fiddle and cello explorations of Scottish and global music
” … you would think they’d been playing together for centuries. While his fiddle dances, her cello throbs darkly or plucks puckishly. Then [Haas] opens her cello’s throat, joining Fraser in soaring sustains, windswept refrains, and sudden, jazzy explosions. Their sound is as urbane as a Manhattan midnight, and as wild as a Clackmannan winter.” — Boston Globe
“As many gigs as they must have played together over the past decade or so, there remains a striking spontaneity about Fraser and Haas’s music-making. He has tonal variation and attack to spare, but what makes them so consistently absorbing is the responsiveness each shows to the other. Haas is more than a cellist: she’s the rhythm section who uses the percussive chip’n’chop of her bowing and the double bass-like pulse of her pizzicato playing to great effect. The accompanist’s role moves so fluently between them, building tension all the while, and then they’ll slip into unison and it’s like floodgates opening. ”
— The Herald
“Fraser, one of the most respected of all exponents of the Scots fiddle, would look long and hard to find a more appropriate cellist as a partner…A positive joy.”
— The Scotsman
The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling”, and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 18 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.
Fraser has a concert and recording career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, radio and television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, etc.). In 2011, he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She has performed and recorded with a who’s who of the fiddle world including Mark O’Connor, Natalie MacMaster, Irish supergroups Solas and Altan, Liz Carroll, Dirk Powell, Brittany Haas, Darol Anger, Jeremy Kittel, Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cortese, and many more.
This seemingly unlikely pairing of fiddle and cello is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser. His search eventually led him to find a cellist who could help return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music, where it stood for hundreds of years before being relegated to the orchestra. The duo’s debut recording, Fire & Grace, won the coveted the Scots Trad Music “Album of the Year” award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy. Since its release, the two have gone on to record four more critically acclaimed albums that blend a profound understanding of the Scottish tradition with cutting-edge string explorations. In additional to performing, they both have motivated generations of string players through their teaching at fiddle camps across the globe.
SAC Presents welcomes fiddling supergroup Childsplay with Irish singer Karan Casey in their first-ever appearance in Oregon. This special evening will feature the beautiful singing of Casey, a native of Ireland, with the voices of violins all made by the renowned Massachusetts violin maker, Robert M. Childs. Childsplay brings virtuosic fiddling and features a wide range of outstanding all-star instrumentalists, ranging from all-Ireland and Scottish fiddle champions to members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and includes National Heritage award winning Irish step-dancer Kevin Doyle and Pilobolus dance theater member Molly Gawler. This is a multi-faceted evening of live performance you won’t want to miss
The Trail Band
Christmas With The Trail Band features your favorite holiday songs and some original holiday tunes arranged in the versatile, energetic style that has become the band’s trademark. Songs include Joy To The World, The First Noel, and many many more.
The Trail Band has been selected numerous times to represent the state of Oregon for regional, national and international events. Representing The Oregon Economic Development Department at the prestigious American Festival in Tokyo, the band performed for thousands and received enthusiastic ovations. They also received The Oregon-California Trails Associations Meritorious Award for their contributions to American history.
WINTERDANCE
a Celtic Christmas Celebration
Molly’s Revenge
special guest vocalist Amelia Hogan
The Murray Irish Dancers
(out of Portland)
will present an evening of music, song and dance associated with the festive season. The performance will include Christmas songs both old and new, all played with a Celtic twist, as well as selections from the band’s new album.
The California-based group has toured internationally since 2000 as an acoustic band, releasing thirteen CDs. In early 2016 the band traveled north to a secluded retreat among the redwoods on the Mendocino coast, where they worked night and day to put together a record that could surpass the band’s previous 12 releases. In addition to a wealth of lively Irish and Scottish jigs and reels, for this new album, “Lift”, they also recorded Scandinavian and French melodies, tapped into the old-time American tradition, and departed to include a Swedish song melody on bagpipes, and melody from a hurdy-gurdy jam which leads into a Quebecois reel.
Molly’s Revenge, whose lineup includes bagpipes, fiddle, whistle, guitar, mandola, and bodhran, have toured extensively in the USA as well as Australia, China and Scotland. The band is known for its unique and infectious on-stage enthusiasm. Their arrangements of traditional jigs and reels bring these dance tunes up to date with a driving, hard-edged accent that always leaves audiences shouting for more.
Guest vocalist Amelia Hogan sings traditional, Irish, Scottish, British, American and contemporary folk music with lilting grace and subtle power. She transports you with a spell into another time and place, where the beansidhe (banshee) cries and lovers embrace. Haunting melodies, stirring passion, and evocative storytelling are what you’ll find with Amelia’s music.
The Murray Irish Dancers bring a percussive, joyful, and colorful exuberance to the stage. This 13th Annual Celtic Christmas Celebration will capture the traditional spirit of the season and warm the hearts of all.
“A seriously joyous, masterly musical experience.”
— Tom Clancy, Irish Music Magazine
The Murray School of Irish Dancing offers classes for students of all ages and levels wishing to become outstanding Irish dancers. At the Murray school we believe in supporting students through enhancing their self esteem and confidence. We also encourage our students to work hard and strive for excellence. Through this they will develop skills that will last a lifetime. We endeavor to create a safe learning environment for all students through mutual respect and responsibility towards all teachers, students and parents in The Murray School. We welcome students from all levels of dance experience and of all cultural backgrounds to learn about Irish Culture, Music and Dance and to be part of the Murray team.
These folks gave an outstanding concert last year. The crowd was enthusiastic, especially when the musicians upped the tempo and the Irish dancers joined in with gusto. David Brewer is the most vigorous piper I have ever seen. He also plays whistles and bodhran (Celtic drum). The group has fun playing songs of the season with a Celtic twist. Amelia has a gorgeous voice and lovely vocal ornamentation.
SVER
play grand Norwegian folk music with relentless energy and seductive spark taking you on a fantastic musical journey guaranteed to excite you. Ranging from the very dreamy to a swinging, pounding and sweaty madness – you are invited to the party, greeted by a welcoming primal force that pulls you into the dance. SVER consists of Olav Luksengård Mjelva (fiddle and hardangerfiddle), Anders Hall (fiddle and viola), Leif Ingvar Ranøien (diatonic accordion), Adam Johansson (guitar) and Jens Linell (Drums and percussion). Olav and Leif Ingvar have played together since 2002. Vidar Berge joined the group in 2007 on guitar and together they released the self titled album “SVER”. In the spring of 2008 Anders and Jens completed the band, and they released “Fruen” in 2010. Vidar quit the band later that year and Adam joined the group. Since 2011 SVER has collaborated with the Swedish dance-hall artist Snakka San.
RUNA
“Best of all, RUNA sounds like no one else!” – Travis Rogers, Jr., Music Life & Times
Quickly gaining recognition as one of Irish music’s new “super-groups,” RUNA has been en- chanting audiences by pushing the boundaries of Irish folk music into the Americana and roots music formats since their formation in 2008. Interweaving the haunting melodies and exuberant tunes of Ireland and Scotland with the lush harmonies and intoxicating rhythms of jazz, bluegrass, flamenco and blues, they offer a thrilling and redefining take on traditional music.
The group has been honored internationally, winning Top Group and Top Traditional Group in the Irish Music Awards and four Independent Music Awards including Best Live Album, Best World/Traditional Song and Best Bluegrass Song.
“Timeless and flawless…” – Jim Allford, PA Music Scene
RUNA consists of vocalist and step-dancer, Shannon Lambert-Ryan of Philadelphia, Dublin-born guitarist, Fionán de Barra, Cheryl Prashker of Canada on percussion, Zach White of St. Louis on guitar, vocals and mandolin, and Maggie White of Kentucky on the fiddle and Mandolin.
RUNA recently released their fifth album, “RUNA: LIVE”, which was recorded at the BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown, MD on Thursday, March 17th, 2016. Receiving lavish praise on both sides of the Atlantic, the album has been hailed as “an incredible masterpiece” – Marcene Bronson, The Celtic Crier
Seeking to preserve and continue a traditional culture in a modern age, RUNA creates the backbone of its signature roots sound from the musical and geographical diversity of its individually established band members. Their strive for excellence and creativity blazes a trail for the future of folk music, earning them the reputation as one of the most innovative Irish folk groups of this generation.
“Genuine and with endless innovation…” – John O’Brien, Jr., Ohio Irish American News
The Outside Track
The Outside Track is a Pan Celtic group that performs Scots, Irish and Cape Breton songs and stepdance.
Mairi Rankin, one of the hugely influential Rankin Family – legends on the Canadian music scene – plays fiddle, sings and also step-dances up a storm. Born in Mabou, Nova Scotia, Mairi has been influenced by some of the best Cape Breton traditional musicians and instructors on the island. She has developed her own unique style by being immersed in such a rich musical culture. She has toured nationally and internationally as a solo artist, a sideman and is a member of the Cape Breton Celtic super group Beolach. She has performed with the Rankin Sisters, Unusual Suspects and Bruce Guthro to name but a few. Mairi has recorded one solo album, two CDs with Beolach and has been featured on numerous compilations and recordings
Teresa Horgan, from Co. Cork, has an emotive singing style. “She has just enough world weariness in her vocals to interpret…songs and make them her own.” – Tony Lawless, Tradconnect. Teresa was immersed in music from a young age, playing with her family and later went on to obtain an honours degree in Irish Music and Dance at the University of Limerick. She recorded two albums with award-winning Irish band, ‘FullSet’, and one album with guitarist, Matt Griffin, called ‘Brightest Sky Blue’. She was also privileged to perform on the prestigious TV show, ‘The Late Late show’. She has toured extensively and shared the stage with The Chieftains, Declan O’Rourke, Andy Irvine, Lúnasa and more.
From the Highland village of Evanton, Fiona Black developed a love of music and dance from a young age. The feisean movement provided her the opportunity to nurture her passion through learning to play the piano accordion. Fiona went on to attend the National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music where she honed her skills as an accordionist and gained valuable experience arranging, performing, composing and recording. Fiona set off for Limerick in 2005 where she completed a BA with Honours in Irish Music and Dance. During this degree, Fiona further developed her skills as a performer, arranger, teacher and composer while also traveling to Cape Breton during her third year of studies. Fiona’s accordion style incorporates many different influences, intertwining her native Scottish style with Irish, Swedish and Cape Breton repertoire, always adding her distinctive rhythm and vibrancy.
Ailie Robertson from Edinburgh is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s leading young traditional musicians. She is a musician in the broadest sense: composer, arranger, teacher, improviser and harp virtuoso. Her accomplishment on the clarsach is such that leading Irish flautist Niall Keegan said: “Ailie’s synthesis of Irish, Scottish and contemporary harping technique into an individual style represents the realisation of otherwise unimagined possibilities for the Celtic harp.” Ailie grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, and was immersed in the harp world from an early age. She began playing the clarsach when she was eleven years old and through her piano and clarsach lessons she developed a love for both classical and traditional music. In 2009 she was nominated for ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ in the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. Ailie is in great demand as a teacher around the world, and has published six books of harp music.
Michael Ferrie is an award-winning guitarist and composer from Callander, Scotland. A former student of Sgoil Chiùil na Gàidhealtachd (National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music) and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Ferrie is currently studying on the MMus Folk Music program at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. Ferrie was named Highland Young Guitarist in 2010. In 2013 Ferrie was commissioned to compose for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra’s ‘Out and About’ week, and in the same year was nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award with Scottish folk band ‘Thalla’.
Michael Hurley
Michael Hurley is an American folksinger, guitarist and fiddler who became a part of the Greenwich Village music scene in the late ’60s and ’70s. Born and raised in Bucks County, Penn., Hurley released his first album in 1964 on Folkways Records. But he remained inactive in his solo career, occasionally lending songs to the Holy Modal Rounders and the Youngbloods until the early ’70s, when he wrote two more albums: Armchair Boogie and Hi-Fi Snock Uptown.
Hurley intermittently released albums throughout the ’80s and ’90s, mostly by himself or on small labels. In 2001, Locust Music reissued his first album, renaming it Blueberry Wine, with new artwork by Hurley himself. In 2011, Hurley’s first book of lyrics was released by the Quebec book publisher L’Oie de Cravan. It contains the original English lyrics to 19 of his songs calligraphed by the author, a foreword by critic Byron Coley and a French version by Marie Frankland, winner of the 2007 John-Glassco prize for translation.
Opening for Michael Hurley will be
Mouth Painter
Mouth Painter’s music is at the intersection of country/folk, drone, & exotica, blending the lines of tradition and experimentation. Their music is influenced by the sounds of nature, the geologic continuum, Keith Whitley, Elisabeth Waldo, Halpern, etc
Frankie Gavin
The Whiteside Theatre Foundation and the Corvallis Folklore Society are announcing a pre-sale of reserved and general admission tickets for the Corvallis premier of Frankie Gavin, on February 7, 2019, at 7:00 pm. These tickets will not be announced to the general public until late December so this is your opportunity to get the best seats before they are gone. 90 reserved seats in the center floor, front section of the theater and the first-row balcony are available during this presale. These tickets are available now at https://FrankieGavin.bpt.me They are regularly $20 but with the password “wtfcfs” on the brown paper tickets website, members qualify for $2 discount on each ticket. General admission tickets are available for $17 and also qualify for the membership discount.
Frankie Gavin is one, and perhaps the best of, Ireland’s premier traditional fiddle players. And in a land that produces many prodigiously talented players, that is saying a lot.
In a nutshell, Frankie has been playing since the age of four, when he was handed a whistle, and has since performed for four presidents beginning at the age of six; is a founding member of the legendary Irish traditional band De Danann, in the forefront of the renaissance of trad Irish music along with Bothy Band and Planxty (and the reformed New De Danann); performs and records with other luminaries in the Irish traditional music scene and more, such as Yehudi Menuhin; was in the 2010 Guinness Book of World records as the world’s fastest fiddler; has just recently win the 2018 Musician of the Year award from Ireland’s prestigious Gradam Ceoil Arts Academy; AND recently performed for the Pope in Dublin!
Frankie’s artistry is amazing; he is a master of control over bow and fiddle, and making each piece of music delight the ear. He strives to bring each traditional piece into a setting that is appreciated equally by lovers of old and new, and is rousing enough to get you to kick up your heels! His concerts also share anecdotes about his childhood and life on tour, themselves worth the price of admission! But perhaps a Frankie Gavin concert can be best summed up by Fintan Vallely in the Irish Sunday Tribune:
“Innovation may be the buzz-word in Traditional music, but Frankie Gavin’s digressions are not in the common areas of tempo and superficial style-impressions. His contemporary borrowings of art-deco and music-hall Irishness are re-jigged in original avenues of exploration. His dextrous treatment of troublesome tunes might get even the Pope out on the floor, his orchestration could break hearts.”.
To have the opportunity to watch him play and see the joy he has for the music, and to feel the energy he packs into his shows, is an uplifting and rousing experience for all ages!
American Strings:
An Evening with
Jesse Colin Young
Jesse Colin Young, best known as the singer of the 1960’s pop rock anthem, “Get Together,” will appear at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in Corvallis. Young’s performance is part of the American Strings series presented by the College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University.
Young will perform and speak at the event, hosted by Bob Santelli, OSU Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts. The show will be held in the Majestic Theatre, 115 SW 2nd St., Corvallis.
Young, a solo artist and member of the band, The Youngbloods, recorded “Get Together,” a now-legendary song of the peace movement.
A native of Queens, New York, Young recorded his first album, “The Soul of a City Boy,” while living in Greenwich Village in 1964. After recording a second album, “Young Blood,” featuring supporting musicians John Sebastian and Peter Childs, he formed The Youngbloods band, which added guitarist Jerry Corbitt, keyboardist/guitarist Lowell “Banana” Levinger and drummer Joe Bauer.
“Get Together” appeared on their 1967 debut album and was re-released as a single in 1969, after the refrain of “Come on people now, smile on your brother” was used as the television theme for the National Council of Christians and Jews. “Get Together” has been heard over and over in commercials, on television and in the movies, including in the soundtrack of the movie, “Forrest Gump.”
Young’s song “Darkness Darkness” was the theme song for the James Cameron movie “Ghosts of the Abyss” in 2003. A cover of that song by Robert Plant won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal in 2003.
During the 1970’s, Young helped establish the “No Nukes” movement. He closed the 1979 “No Nukes” concert singing “Get Together,” joined by Jackson Browne, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash. Throughout the 1980’s, Young toured as a solo artist, often appearing at fundraisers for organizations.
Young has also been an organic coffee farmer for more than 25 years. With his wife, Connie, Young owns a certified organic, six-acre coffee farm in the Kona, Hawaii, coffee belt.
The American Strings series brings renowned artists from around the U.S. to Corvallis and Oregon State University for an in-depth look at how and why stringed instruments play such a profound role in American music.
Celtic Harps: Rare Instruments and Wondrous Stories
Lisa Lynne & Aryeh Frankfurter perform with two Celtic harps, the rare Swedish Nyckelharpa, Ukrainian Bandura, Cittern and more.The audience will hear Traditional instrumental music from Sweden and Ireland as well as heartwarming original compositions. They will present an eclectic blend of music, humor and tales from their adventures as modern day troubadours. They hail from Oregon and tour extensively, both having successful recording and performing careers built from years of street performing and a background as rock musicians. They have performed with some of the biggest names in folk and acoustic music and have sold well over a million albums combined. Audiences are spellbound and enchanted with their unique show of breathtaking music both traditional and original, with wondrous stories and humor entwined.
Sponsored by: First Alternative Natural Foods Co-op, 2 Towns Ciderhouse, Block 15 Brewing Company, Downward Dog, KLCC
https://www.facebook.com/events/2152930398284624/
Socks in the Frying Pan
After taking America by storm on their first U.S. tour, the 2014 Irish Music Association Best New Band Socks in the Frying Pan released their eagerly awaited second album- The Return of the Giant Sock Monsters from Outer Space
The award winning trio from County Clare have captivated audiences the world around with their high energy performances, breath-taking musical ability and their trademark 3 part vocal harmonies, and have returned with the follow up to their debut award winning 2013 album.
The new album offers 6 sets of tunes, tastefully diverse and brilliantly crafted, combined with 6 songs, showcasing both vocal and harmonising abilities of each member on their respective songs, totalling a dozen stand-out tracks that will captivate and mesmerize the listener. Demonstrating creative versatility, several of the tunes and one of the songs have been written and arranged by the band. The album experience is exactly that which one encounters at a live Socks show- a high energy, masterfully performed collection of music and song that demonstrates exactly why Socks in the Frying Pan is fast becoming a household name and why they are one of the most loved and sought after Irish bands in the world today.
“Their Sound flows in magnetic, energetic waves, so does their banter on stage”
–Irish Music Magazine
Multiple Grammy-nominee John McCutcheon charms audiences with “story telling that has the richness of fine literature” (Washington Post) and his mastery of a stage full of folk instruments is simply amazing. He plays guitar, fiddle, autoharp, banjo, jaw harp, (hambone if we are lucky) and is best known for his hammered dulcimer playing. A John McCutcheon concert is always energizing, fun, uplifting, community building, and his audiences leave with a renewed sense of hope for humanity. “This notion of telling stories of ordinary people who have done great things, and carrying those stories from one place to another, of telling people ‘this is where I’ve been, these are the stories I can bring you,’ is the heart of what I do,” McCutcheon sums up. “That’s my goal. If you can recognize yourself in my songs, then I’ve done my job.” He lives in Georgia but keeps moving, toward wherever he senses there’s still a story yet to be told.
His 30 recordings have gathered many honors including 7 Grammy nominations. His most recent honors the centenary of Joe Hill’s death on November 19th, 1915. John McCutcheon brings Joe Hill’s music to a whole new audience. With fresh arrangements, stunning musicianship, and released on a palette that makes these songs feel as though they were written today rather than a century ago, there is a life and vitality that is both rare and refreshing. In honor of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday John recorded THIS LAND: Woody Guthrie’s America. He assembled an all-star cast of songs and musicians to honor America’s most enduring folksong writer: Willie Nelson, Tommy Emmanuel, Kathy Mattea, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Tom Chapin, Tom Paxton, Maria Muldaur and more. McCutcheon offers fresh new arrangements and exciting new interpretations of many of Woody’s most well-known songs. He has so much material we never know what he might perform, and of course he gives the audience a chance to request their favorites so plan ahead!
But it is in live performance that John feels most at home. It is what has brought his music into the lives and homes of one of the broadest audiences any folk musician has ever enjoyed. People of every generation and background seem to feel at home in a concert hall when John McCutcheon takes the stage, with what critics describe as “little feats of magic,” “breathtaking in their ease and grace…,” and “like a conversation with an illuminating old friend.”
So if you want to laugh, cry, be inspired, and feel like you are a part of a big community, then don’t miss this concert. More information about John McCutcheon his website is at www.folkmusic.com For info or to volunteer, call Chere Pereira 541-753-9224.
Whether in print, on record, or on stage, few people communicate with the versatility, charm, wit or pure talent of John McCutcheon.