Calendar

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

Máire Ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman

Award winning harp and guitar duo from Ireland with a virtuosic blend of Irish, Ragtime, and much more.

Doors open 6pm with a potluck reception.

A house concert is an excellent opportunity to hear great music in a very intimate setting.

Tannahill Weavers

The Tannahill Weavers are one of Scotland’s premier traditional bands. Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, and original ballads and lullabies. Their music demonstrates to old and young alike the rich and varied musical heritage of the Celtic people. These versatile musicians have received worldwide accolades consistently over the years for their exuberant performances and outstanding recording efforts that seemingly can’t get better…yet continue to do just that.

The Tannahills have turned their acoustic excitement loose on audiences with an electrifying effect. They have that unique combination of traditional melodies, driving rhythmic accompaniment, and rich vocals that make their performances unforgettable. As the Winnipeg Free Press noted, “The Tannahill Weavers – properly harnessed – could probably power an entire city for a year on the strength of last night’s concert alone. The music may be old time Celtic, but the drive and enthusiasm are akin to straight ahead rock and roll.”

Born of a session in Paisley, Scotland and named for the town’s historic weaving industry and local poet laureate Robert Tannahill, the group has made an international name for its special brand of Scottish music, blending the beauty of traditional melodies with the power of modern rhythms. Over the years the Tannies have been trailblazers for Scottish music, and their tight harmonies and powerful, inventive arrangements have won them fans from beyond the folk and Celtic music scenes.

In 2011 the band was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and in 2014 they were joined by innovative piper Lorne MacDougall.  Lorne comes with a high pedigree, having arranged and performed pipes for the Disney Pixar movie “Brave”, Dreamworks “How to Train Your Dragon 2”, and the BBCs “Dr Who”, along with a long list of other accomplishments.

As they embark on their 50th anniversary year in 2018, they are firmly established as one of the premier groups on the concert stage.  From reflective ballads to footstomping reels and jigs, the variety and range of the material they perform is matched only by their enthusiasm and lively Celtic spirits.”An especially eloquent mixture of the old and the new.”            –New York Times

Scotland’s Tannahill Weavers play acoustic instruments, but the atmosphere at their shows is electric. The quartet is as tight and as versatile as any band in the Celtic music revival. They can summon rock ‘n’ roll intensity or haunting introspection.”
– The Boston Globe, Boston MA

“…as close to perfect as it gets in an imperfect world.”     – Sing Out!

“…the Weavers’ unpretentious manner and superlative playing set them apart from most other Celtic groups… In a world where good taste has become a scarce commodity, the Tannahill Weavers are a wealthy bunch.”     – The Charleston Gazette, Charleston, SC

“…world class musicians with passion and a healthy sense of fun, keeping alive and making accessible the very heart of the tradition itself.”     – Mojo Magazine

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

DRÅM

Dråm is a Swedish folk music group specialized in the sackpipa, the Swedish bagpipe. Dram means “drone” in a Swedish dialect.

Dram’s members, Erik Ask-Upmark and Anna Rynefors have both received the prestigious Zorn award and the title of Riksspelman (official master musician) for their playing and exposure of the Swedish bagpipes.

Aside from the Swedish pipes, Dram’s other instruments include different Swedish folk whistles and the nyckelharpa keyed fiddle.

Doors open 6pm with a potluck reception.

A house concert is an excellent opportunity to hear great music in a very intimate setting.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

Sophie & Fiachra Trio

The Sophie & Fiachra Trio are a group of musicians sans frontières who refuse to let the Atlantic sunder their love of their own and other’s Irish and Québecois musical traditions.
Comprising of Irish uilleann piper Fiachra ORegan, Québec fiddler/singer Sophie Lavoie, and guitarist André Marchand, the trio take traditional Irish and Québécois traditional music, blended with Lavoies lithe and masterful compositions. Their choice of songs will “captivate the most casual listener”.
“Its refreshing to hear a traditional band reference the present with such subtlety and finesse”

-Quotes from Siobhán Long, of The Irish Times

Released in 2016, Un canadien errant features a mixture of Irish & French-Canadian traditional music and song. It has been nominated for Traditional Album of the Year for the ADISQ awards in Quebec and Traditional Album of the Year in the Canadian Folk Music awards. In the latter, the album also gets Sophie Lavoie a nomination for Best Trad. singer of the year for her vocal tracks.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

James Kline

Classical guitarist, composer, singer-songwriter, innovator of the 19 string arch harp guitar, James Kline is an artist who constantly renews and reinvents himself.

As a classical guitarist he studied in Spain under a full scholarship from the Spanish government. There he won a number of international awards, including the Ramirez Prize of Santiago de Compostella and the Tarrega Pize of Benicasim. He holds an ARCM diploma from The Royal College of Music of London and has performed throughout eastern and western Europe as well as the United States and Mexico. He has also gained recognition as a composer and was awarded an Individual Artist Grant in music composition from the Marin Arts Council of California.

As a singer-songwritter, James draws inspiration from a slightly more unusual life experience which includes years working as a commercial fisherman, working as a wilderness guide, extensive travel on four continents, and living among Mexico�s Tarahumara Indians. An interest in Renaissance and Baroque music led him to design his own version of the eleven string arch guitar, an instrument which combines the best qualities of the lute and the guitar. The urge to expand his horizons and dedicate more time to composing led James to co- found the neo Celtic group Bardou with whom he performs regularly. He has again reinvented his instrument to become the world�s only player of the 19 string arch harp guitar, a combination of lute, guitar, and Celtic harp.

A modern day troubadour, his performances reflect a wonderful diversity of life experience and musical intrigue and are often punctuated with story telling.

Doors open 6pm with a potluck reception.

A house concert is an excellent opportunity to hear great music in a very intimate setting.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

First and Third Sundays

We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions.  Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.

Hanz Araki
with Dan Faiella
album release concert

Considered one of the most talented Irish musicians in America today, flautist, whistle player, singer, and Juno Award-winner Hanz Araki has been lauded by publications and audiences alike.  Three decades of musical exploration into Irish, Scottish, Japanese, and American traditions has yielded his distinct style described by Fatea Magazine as “achingly beautiful.”

As the sixth generation of his family to bear the title Araki Kodo, Hanz (short for Hanzaburo, his great-great grandfather’s name) spent his formative years mastering the Japanese end-blown bamboo flute.  Discovering and relishing the melodic and mechanical similarities between shakuhachi and Irish whistle, Hanz applied his natural capacity and boundless curiosity to his Irish heritage.  Taking advantage of the rich Irish music scene in Seattle, where he spent his youth, Hanz quickly became known for his exquisite instrumental work on both Irish whistle and flute and a haunting singing voice that was born to tell tales.

“Hanz Araki is a master of his art – of that there is no doubt. His stunning musicianship and mind-spinning delivery of traditional tunes is a pure exhilaration for the ears. Combining an unprecedented feel for the Japanese shakuhachi flute with an unerring ability as an interpreter of Celtic music, Araki has carved out a rock-solid status. Fashioned through a heritage of Irish and Japanese parental influence, education, and personal dedication, his musical influences combine the disciplines and traditions of both cultures to create the virtuoso we hear today.”  (Folkwords)

Over the years, Hanz has released 11 albums, including 2014’s critically acclaimed Foreign Shore.  Festival appearances include the Austin Celtic Festival, the Maine Celtic Celebration, the Missoula Celtic Festival, KVMR Grass Valley Celtic Festival, Milwaukee Irish Festival, Bumbershoot, Celtic Connections, and over 20 years of performances at the Northwest Folklife Festival. Hanz has also been invited to perform with the Seattle Symphony, at the Gates Estate, and for the Japanese Consul General.

New World String Project

Doors open 6pm with a potluck reception.

A house concert is an excellent opportunity to hear great music in a very intimate setting.

I Draw Slow

The Dublin-based roots band coaxes the past into the present with original songs that draw from the best of Irish storytelling and American folk music.

The band is fronted by siblings Dave (guitar) and Louise (vocals) Holden who have been writing together for two decades. In 2008 the pair teamed up with violinist Adrian Hart, clawhammer banjo player Colin Derham, and double bassist Konrad Liddy to form I Draw Slow.

The band has played to audiences in the UK, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and performed at many North American festivals including MerleFest, Pickathon, Wintergrass, RockyGrass, Grey Fox, Red Wing, Edmonton Folk Fest, Sisters Folk Festival and Mountain Stage. It was their 2014 performace at MerleFest that first put the band on the radar for Compass co-founders Garry West and Alison Brown, who were impressed with the band’s performance and the reaction from buyers in the MerleFest merch tent.

First, we noticed how they got the crowd involved in what they were doing. Their energy is truly infectious,” says West. “Then we noticed that their CDs and merchandise were flying off the shelves in the festival store. That kind of immediate response is always going to get our attention! But more than anything we’ve been impressed with the strength of the songwriting, the sibling harmony and the musical proficiency of the band. They are truly dedicated to their craft.”