Brazilian choro music by
Choro na Cozinha (CnC)

Choro is a Brazilian music style whose parents were Portuguese harmonies and African rhythms. In turn and in time, choro gave birth to other Brazilian forms like samba and bossa. Choro tunes are lively and lovely, traditionally played in a small ensemble. In that tradition, CnC is a quartet of 7-string guitar, 10-string bandolim, clarinet, and a hand drum called the pandeiro. We supplement the choro repertoire with songs from related Brazilian styles, sung in Portuguese. The Arts Center is a delightful small venue, the perfect setting for an intimate concert of this very fun music.

Find a sampling of their music at
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrcogGWpf6gK3KkqqAGEONQ/videos

Old Blind Dogs

Attendance is limited to 300 so get tickets early!

See COVID requirements: https://www.whitesidetheatre.org

Dàimh, Gaelic Supergroup and unchallenged champion, play straight in the eye Highland music and are based around West Lochaber and the Isle of Skye.

Formed around the turn of the century and taking the name from the Gaelic word for kinship Dàimh (pronounced Dive) have taken their contemporary take of Highland and Gaelic music to over 20 countries, setting audiences alight from Moscow to San Francisco.

With a reputation as giants of the Bagpipes and Fiddle, Angus Mackenzie and Gabe McVarish lead the melodic powerhouse with fellow founder member Ross Martin underpinning the groove on the Guitar. The Band is joined by new guy Murdo Yogi Cameron on Mandola and Accordion to complete the instrumental line up.

Recent achievements include receiving the MG ALBA Folk Band of the Year Award in 2015 and 2018 and passing the halfway mark on their career ambition of performing on every populated Scottish Island.

Cantrip -Celtic music

The name Cantrip is an Old Scots word meaning a charm, magic spell or piece of mischief and it aptly describes the unexpected twists and turns in their musical arrangements, likewise the compelling potency of their musicianship. Swirling border pipes, raging fiddle, thunderous guitar and three rich voices blend to create a sound energetic enough to tear the roof off. Echoes can be heard of trad music from the 1960s and 70s, but the years have slowly infested their music with the sounds of funk, metal, bluegrass, swing, and even klezmer. After 20 years of touring, Cantrip has found a character like no other. Dan Houghton, Jon Bews, Alasdair White and Eric McDonald stir the elements in a witches’ cauldron, slowly coalescing into chaotic order.

Hanneke Cassel
with Tristan Claridge
and Christopher Lewis

Effervescent and engaging, Boston-based fiddler Hanneke Cassel’s fiddle music fuses influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton with Americana grooves and musical innovations. She has performed and traveled across North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Hanneke’s music is a blend of the contemporary and traditional, described by the Boston Globe as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness.”

A benefit for the July 25-28, 2024

Advance ticket sales at Grassroots Books and Music

Dick Hensold
and
Patsy O’Brien

Music born from the age-old traditions of Ireland, Scotland, England and Cape Breton is given new life in the hands of two of its master musicians.
Piper Dick Hensold and guitarist and singer Patsy O’Brien deliver an astonishing evening of songs, tunes and stories that have stood the test of time, and leave both the serious music lover and casual listener wanting more.

Dick and Patsy will offer workshops on Saturday, April 13, at 10am.  More details to follow.

A benefit for theJuly 25-28, 2024

Advance ticket sales at Grassroots Books and Music

Countercurrent

Countercurrent is an acoustic folk music duo based in Olympia, Washington, composed of Alex Sturbaum and Brian Lindsay. They have achieved nationwide acclaim for their high-energy style, which draws on deep traditional roots from Ireland and North America while incorporating new influences to create a sound that is at once unique and timeless. Alex’s driving guitar and gifted songwriting, Brian’s lyrical fiddle and rock-solid foot percussion, and the duo’s lively interplay, tight vocal harmonies, and unstoppable groove make a Countercurrent performance an event unlike any other. Wherever they go, the question remains the same: “How does that much sound come out of just two people?”

For this special fundraiser concert, they will be joined by renowned New England fiddler Cedar Stanistreet for twin fiddle harmonies and driving dance tunes that can’t be beat! Countercurrent has a huge following among Corvallis contra dancers. This house concert provides a rare opportunity to hear the full breadth of their musicianship in an intimate, acoustic setting. 

Tickets will go on sale April 14 at https://www.corvalliscelticfestival.org/upcoming-events/

The location has a capacity of only 40 people, so order early

Rakish

In a performance that toes the line between concert music and session music, Boston-based Rakish explores tunes and songs from Irish and American folk traditions in a way that reflects their shared interest in and love for old traditional tunes and chamber music. Maura Shawn Scanlin, a two-time U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion and a winner of the Glenfiddich Fiddle Competition, wields the technical range of a classical violinist and the deep sensitivity of a traditional musician. Guitarist Conor Hearn, a native to the Irish music communities of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, performs with several traditional music bands. Rakish has taken the Celtic music scene by storm with performances at festivals across North America. This concert, co-presented by the Corvallis Folklore Society and PRAx, is a benefit for the Corvallis Celtic Festival, July 25-28.

“Naturally nimble and stylistically well-matched, with a genuinely infectious sense of delight, heart, and jubilation.”             —STRINGS MAGAZINE

Pre-concert happy hour with Celtic harp music by Laura Zaerr, 6:30 p.m.

CFS discount code: cfsceltic24

San Miguel Fraser

Celtic + Castilian fiddle duo, María San Miguel and Galen Fraser, are multi-instrumentalists and educators who celebrate the values of community and traditional music in their unique chamber music style.

San Miguel Fraser is a project that will always stand for connection, celebrating the joy of music and shared inspiration. The dynamic duo was born as a result of the 2020 quarantine with the “Stay At Home Festival”. Thanks to the beautiful and universal folk community, they raised over $60,000 with the aim of bringing light to the world, maintaining morale and financially helping musicians around the globe. The “Stay At Home Festival” family lives on today with San Miguel Fraser.

As a lifelong fiddler and the son of Alasdair Fraser (Scottish fiddle champion), Galen Fraser continues the tradition of bringing us the traditional music of Scotland while adding contemporary tunes, some of which he has written himself. Maria San Miguel adds the voice of traditional Spanish music to the mix.

John Doyle and Mick McAuley

Irish musicians extraordinaire,

John Doyle (guitar) and
Mick McAuley (accordion, melodeon, concertina, whistles, guitar),

both previous members of the Irish-American supergroup Solas, and now soloists on the international stage, will perform a concert of instrumental music and songs in Corvallis before heading to the Yachats Celtic Festival. John Doyle is considered one of the best guitar players of traditional music in the world and is well-known for his guitar accompaniment of Liz Carroll, Karan Casey, and many others.

John Doyle & Mick McAuley have been playing music together on the international stage for over twenty years. As multi-instrumentalist members of Irish-American supergroup Solas, they combined to create part of the group’s unmistakable early sound which garnered critical worldwide acclaim with the Boston Herald heralding Solas as “The Best Traditional Band in the World”.

John Doyle is the most influential Irish American guitarist of his generation. Born in Dublin, John came up in a family where “everybody played something,” and his father, singer and song collector Sean Doyle, nurtured his interest in the deep wellspring of Irish song.

Kevin Burke

is an Irish master fiddler considered one of the finest living Irish fiddlers. For nearly five decades he has been at the forefront of Irish traditional music and Celtic music, performing and recording with the groups The Bothy Band, Patrick Street, and the Celtic Fiddle Festival. He is a 2002 recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.  He has been living in Portland for decades but this is his first concert in Corvallis in many years.

Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan

Muddy Creek Concerts, in partnership with Culture Ireland, is proud to present an evening of traditional and modern Irish music with Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan at the Heritage Hall Community Center in Monroe, Oregon, seventeen miles south of Corvallis. Acclaimed as “one of the great contemporary folk voices of Ireland”, Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan own and operate O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub in Dingle, Ireland, which is a music mecca in a music-oriented town on Ireland’s west coast.

A dessert potluck will be featured before the concert and during the concert intermission, so bring some goodies to share! We will also supply bottled water and soda- feel free to bring any other libations.

Concert Details
Date:  Friday, Feb 28, 2025
Location:  Heritage Hall Community Center (old United Methodist Church), 648 Orchard Street, Monroe, OR
Directions:  In Monroe, turn west off of Hwy 99W onto Orchard Street at the south end of town. The Community Center is on the left between 6th and 7th Streets
Times: 5:00 pm- Dessert Potluck Starts (and continues through intermission)
5:30 pm- Door To Concert Hall Opens
6:00 pm- Concert Starts
Approx. 8:00-8:30 pm- Concert Ends

A voluntary donation of $25-30 per person is suggested, with $5 going to Heritage Hall and the rest to the artists. Donations will be collected at the door.

Note: Concert attendance is limited to 90 people, so if you have to cancel your reservation, contact Pete Angwin ASAP at muddycreekconcert@gmail.com or by phone or text at (530) 227-8212. Non-cancelled no-shows make it difficult to host concerts in the future!

Lúnasa

Formed in 1997 and celebrating its 27th anniversary in 2024, Lúnasa has long been one of contemporary Irish music’s leading voices. Named after an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, the group that Folk Roots magazine once called an “Irish music dream team” was formed from members of some of Ireland’s greatest bands. Lúnasa has sold over a quarter of a million records, performed more than 2,000 shows across 36 countries, and collaborated with many notable artists outside the tradition.

From the start, the band’s complex arrangements and unique sound reshaped the boundaries of traditional music and energized audiences the world over. Critical acclaim followed, The Irish Echo describing the band as the “the hottest Irish acoustic band on the planet”; MOJO magazine named the band “the new gods of Irish music,” adding that “nobody since the Bothies has wielded such a thrilling rhythmic underlay.” Billboard raved that “anybody who listens can’t help but find them contagious.”

Lúnasa’s current lineup includes Trevor Hutchinson, who achieved fame as the bassist with the The Waterboys; uilleann piper Cillian Vallely, who toured with Riverdance and recorded with Bruce Springsteen; Kevin Crawford, widely considered one of Ireland’s greatest flute players; award-winning fiddler Colin Farrell, who has performed with Project West, Grada and Michael McGoldrick; and guitarist Ed Boyd, known on the UK folk circuit for his work with bands such as Flook, Kate Rusby, and Cara Dillon.

The Corvallis Folklore Society is thrilled to co-present this concert with PRAx to bring Lúnasa to Corvallis!

This concert is a benefit for the Corvallis Celtic Festival (July 24-27, 2025). Visit corvalliscelticfestival.org for more information.