Calendar

Calendar

Submit calendar info to:

calendar@corvallisfolklore.org

Apr
4
Sat
CANCELED – Contra: The Euphemists with Noah Grunzweig @ Gatton Hall / First Congregational Church
Apr 4 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm

EuphemistsThis event is CANCELED

The Euphemists

Dave Goldman — piano
Alan Snyder — fiddle
Paula Hamlin — winds
Kaye Blesener — trombone
Jerry Nelson — guitar, wind, percussion

Enjoy contradancing but miss that Big Band sound? Then you’ll love the Euphemists, a band whose motto is “All fiddle tunes get better with horn riffs!” Over the past few years, various pairings of these Portland musicians have said, “We should form a band!” Finally, inspired by the recent immigration of fiddler Alan Snyder from warmer climes, The Euphemists congealed in 2011. The band features a brass front line of Paula Hamlin, Kaye Blesener, and Jerry Nelson, while Jerry’s several guitars share backup rhythmic duties with the keyboard of Dave Goldman.

Noah GrunzweigNoah Grunzweig

Noah has been calling contra dances in Corvallis for years now.

 

 

 



Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

Apr
5
Sun
CANCELED – Golden Bough @ Whiteside Theatre
Apr 5 @ 6:00 pm

Golden BoughThis event has been CANCELED
Golden Bough

Golden Bough’s first European performances were in the streets and small folk clubs of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Holland and Switzerland in the early `80’s. These simple beginnings soon led to major tours of European cities and a recording contract with a top European folk music label. Other activities that Golden Bough has been involved in over the past several years include peace marches in cities all over Europe protesting the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, musical presentations for tens of thousands of elementary school children and events for human rights, religious freedom and drug rehabilitation.

Since their inception, Golden Bough has become a popular and in demand group on both sides of the Atlantic, gaining critical acclaim and enthusiastic support from folk fans wherever they perform. Blending their voices in pristine harmony, they back themselves on an array of rare and more common acoustic instruments, including; Celtic harp, penny-whistle, violin, octave-mandolin, mandolin, accordion, guitar, harmonica, recorder and bodhran. In the recording studio, as well as on stage, Golden Bough captures the essence and joy of traditional folk music and captivates listeners with the uniqueness of their original compositions. With songs and instrumental pieces ranging from ballads to lively jigs, reels and sing-alongs, Golden Bough provides an atmosphere in which the listener can enjoy unique entertainment within and beyond the boundaries of traditional folk music.  Their music is well received and enjoyed by audiences of all ages.

Apr
18
Sat
CANCELED – Contra: Countercurrent with Marlin Prowell @ Gatton Hall / First Congregational Church
Apr 18 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm

CountercurrentThis event is CANCELED

Countercurrent

From Seattle:

  • Brian Lindsay – fiddle
  • Alex Sturbaum – guitar

Countercurrent is a contra dance and folk music band in western Washington, featuring driving guitar, foot percussion, lyrical fiddle, and harmony vocals.

Marlin ProwellMarlin Prowell

Marlin Prowell is a well known caller from Bellingham. “Marlin has an easy-going way of teaching so that your feet know what to do before your mind has time to worry about it. If you’ve never danced a step in your life, follow the caller’s instructions and you’ll be smiling and swinging in minutes.”

 

 

 

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

May
2
Sat
CANCELED – Contra: Stage Crew with Willam Watson @ Gatton Hall / First Congregational Church
May 2 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm

This event is CANCELED

 

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

May
16
Sat
CANCELED – Contra: Treehouse with Karen Olsen @ Gatton Hall / First Congregational Church
May 16 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED

TreehouseTreehouse

Local band Treehouse brings a mix of Irish, Quebecois, and New England style, and put it together with Pacific Northwest flair. Ben and Rachael come from the Irish traditional session background, having played with many groups across Canada and throughout Washington, Oregon, and California. Kevin Craven is recently arrived from Hawaii. He is a Corvallis violin teacher and also plays with the OSU Symphony. Shari teaches fiddle and has played with several Corvallis area bands including Three Finger Jack.

 

Karen Olsen

Karen has an encyclopedic knowledge of contra dances and is a good teacher and caller. Very patient and clear. She likes to keep the dancers moving, starting out with simpler dances in the beginners lesson, and progressing to more complex dances. She is also a musician and plays her concertina for dances in Coos Bay. She strives to infuse both her calling and the dancers with her own joyful enthusiasm for contra dance and music.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

Jun
6
Sat
CANCELED – Contra: The Nettles with Kelsey Hartman @ Gatton Hall / First Congregational Church
Jun 6 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm

The NettlesThe Nettles

The Nettles are well-known on the West Coast for their original approach to contra dance music. Playing traditional music from all over the world, The Nettles create a strong rhythmic groove under soaring improvisations. Rhythmic drive and melodic fluidity allow The Nettles to propel contra dances into the stratosphere.

 

Kelsey with NettlesKelsey Hartman

Since I am a “contraholic,” I can often be found any given weekend dancing or calling a contra dance. My inspiration for calling comes from Nils Fredland, whose callers’ workshop at American Week (BACDS) in 2012 spurred me down the caller’s path.  
When calling, I consider myself a conduit between the dancers and the band, helping to channel the  joy of the musicians’ music through flowing, interesting dances.

 

 

 

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

Jun
20
Sat
CANCELED – Contra: Penk, Pinney & Lindsay with Erik Weberg @ Gatton Hall / First Congregational Church
Jun 20 @ 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm

Penk Pinney LindsayPenk, Pinney & Lindsay

George Penk is a well-known fiddle player across the USA, especially in the Pacific Northwest. He lives in Portland where he currently plays with the bands Joyride and Jigsaw. George collaborates with many musicians in various musical adventures, including being part of the Portland Collection project through his playing on the Portland Selection CD’s. His spirited and rich fiddle style is a delight to listen to. George is widely appreciated as a consummate dance fiddler working with callers to make sure the music is in-tune with the spirit of the dances. The Penk, Pinney, Lindsay trio, which includes Heather Pinney on piano and fiddle (also a member of Jigsaw) and Deborah Lindsay (from Corvallis) on percussion, works most often with the caller Erik Weberg, who also lends his expertise on wind instruments to the tune medleys.

Erik WebergErik Weberg

I danced my first contra dance in Moscow Idaho in the Fall of 1986.  Several excursions to the dance hall were necessary for me to find the courage to actually dance, but once I, tried it caught hold quickly and I became a regular dancer. Christian Petrich encouraged me to try calling for the first time in 1990 and soon after that I started regularly attending the first Wednesday open mic in Spokane Washington. I called dances around Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho for a few years before moving west of the Cascades in 1993. I was soon asked to call dances in Portland and up the Willamette Valley. Since then I’ve been calling dances, festivals and weekends around the country from Seattle to Boston, from Fairbanks to Tuscon and most places between. I am able to enjoy this craft because of the good folks who encouraged and taught me to call dances years ago, the booking agents and local dance committees who have given me wonderful opportunities to practice in their communities, and the thousands of dancers and musicians who forgive me my mistakes and make it all worthwhile. If you’re reading this you’re probably one of them; so, thank you!

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

Sep
13
Sun
Takoma Park Folk Festival @ Online
Sep 13 @ 7:00 pm

This annual folk festival will be conducted online over 2 consecutive Sundays, Sept. 13 and Sept 20.   Takoma Park, Maryland, is adjacent to Washington DC and has been presenting its festival since 1978.  It is now available to people all over the world, including Corvallis.  Click here or on the logo for more information and to access the festival.

Sep
20
Sun
Takoma Park Folk Festival @ Online
Sep 20 @ 7:00 pm

This annual folk festival will be conducted online over 2 consecutive Sundays, Sept. 13 and Sept 20.   Takoma Park, Maryland, is adjacent to Washington DC and has been presenting its festival since 1978.  It is now available to people all over the world, including Corvallis.  Click here or on the logo for more information and to access the festival.

Feb
21
Sun
Folk Alliance International virtual conference @ Online
Feb 21 – Feb 26 all-day

Folk Unlocked headerFolk Unlocked: Connection, Discovery, Inspiration, is a five-day event for the entire international folk community to come together for panels, workshops, showcases, affinity and peer group meetings, exhibit spaces, networking, and mentorship. This is a year for innovation and creativity, and our goal is to create a space for community building and career development for everyone from the comfort and safety of their own home.

While the conference officially starts on Monday, 2/22, there are events on Sunday, 2/21, including meet-ups with artists such as John Gorka, Eliza Gilkyson, Cathy Fink and many others.  The schedule is much too long to even summarize here, but there will be the Keynote Interview: Margaret Atwood with Anaïs Mitchell, and a session on Songs and Pursuit of Social Justice including OSU’s Bob Santelli.

For more information and to register click here or on the logo above.

Jul
23
Fri
The Gothard Sisters @ Whiteside Theatre
Jul 23 @ 7:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Gothard SistersThe Gothard Sisters

The Gothard Sisters are a dynamic musical group of three sisters who play contemporary Celtic music.  Through 10 years performing, touring and writing music together, the optimistic style of their music and performances continue to resonate with their fans, building a loyal international following.

Their latest all-original album release, Midnight Sun, reached #6 on the Billboard World Music charts as the highest ranking debut on the chart. The Gothard Sisters have performed in venues large and small all over the country, including a concert at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium stage in Washington DC, performances with Disney Cruise line in Europe, a 20-city concert tour of Japan in 2019 and appearances at music festivals and performing arts venues nationwide.

Blending Celtic, folk, classical, world and northwest musical influences, the Gothard Sisters bring songs to life with violin, acoustic guitar, mandolin, bodhran, djembe, octave violin, whistle and vocal harmonies, creating music that is “vivid, inspirational and captivating.”  (Tim Carroll, Folk Words Review 2018)

Writing and recording near their home in the Pacific Northwest between touring nationally, the band has released 7 albums and has performed over 1,000 live shows over the course of their career.

 

Oct
6
Wed
Shook Twins – American Strings @ Student Experience Center Plaza
Oct 6 @ 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Shook TwinsShook Twins

Oregon State University presents Shook Twins on the next installment of the College of Liberal Arts’ American Strings series on Wednesday, October 6 at 7:30pm.

Join host Bob Santelli as we kick off another great season of American Strings with a special evening, outdoors, in the Student Experience Center Plaza on the beautiful OSU main campus in Corvallis. Bob will talk with the popular Portland-based indie-folk band SHOOK TWINS about their creative process and musical lives. Shook Twins will also perform live as a trio comprised of identical twin sisters Katelyn and Laurie Shook with longtime bandmate Niko “Slice” Daoussis.

Shook Twins’ music incorporates acoustic instruments including banjo, guitar, mandolin, glockenspiel and their signature gold egg, in a unique, contemporary sound that has never really been confined to the indie-folk world in which they’ve become well-known artists. Always performing with an adventurous spirit, the sisters are never shy to incorporate beatboxing, banjo-head drumming, vocals using a repurposed telephone as a microphone, and other ambient sources within their music arrangements.

Since the release of their debut album, “You Can Have The Rest,” Shook Twins have shared the stage with artists including Laura Veirs, Mason Jennings, Sarah Jarosz, Gregory Alan Isakov, Crooked Still and many others. They’ve appeared at premiere festivals including Summer Camp Music Festival (Ill.), Arise Music Festival (Colo.), High Sierra Music Festival (Cali.), Northwest String Summit (Ore.), Revival Fest (Minn.), Suwannee Hulaween (Fla.), and have toured Germany and the U.K.

Their recently released fourth album, “Some Good Lives,” pays homage to the people who have influenced their lives and become chapters in Shook Twins’ story. Throughout the album’s 14 tracks, Katelyn and Laurie pay homage to a number of those people — from a late grandpa and godfather, to Bernie Sanders.

Hosted by Bob Santelli, OSU director of popular music and performing arts, the conversation and live performance that comprises each segment of American Strings makes for a one of a kind opportunity to learn about the creative process, the performers and the influencers behind the great American music tradition.

Seating on the plaza is free and on a first come basis. The SEC Plaza is located between the Memorial Union and the Student Experience Center on Jefferson Street. Parking in permit restricted lots is unrestricted after 5 p.m. Future performances this season will head back to the Majestic Theatre, 115 SW 2nd Street in Corvallis, and will be posted at events.oregonstate.edu.

 

Oct
8
Fri
Robbie Fulks @ Whiteside Theatre
Oct 8 @ 7:00 pm – 10:30 pm

Robbie FulksRobbie Fulks

Robbie Fulks is a singer, recording artist, instrumentalist, composer, and songwriter. His most recent release, 2017’s Upland Stories, earned year’s-best recognition from NPR and Rolling Stone among many others, as well as two Grammy® nominations, for folk album and American roots song (“Alabama At Night”).

Radio: multiple appearances on WSM’s “Grand Ole Opry”; PRI’s “Whadd’ya Know”; NPR’s “Fresh Air,” “Mountain Stage,” and “World Cafe”; and the syndicated “Acoustic Cafe” and “Laura Ingraham Show.” TV: PBS’s Austin City Limits; NBC’s TodayLate Night with Conan O’BrienLater with Carson Daly, and 30 Rock. From 2004 to 2008 he hosted an hourlong performance/interview program for XM satellite radio, “Robbie’s Secret Country.” Artists who have covered his songs include Sam Bush, Kelly Hogan, Andrew Bird, Mollie O’Brien, Rosie Flores, John Cowan, and Old 97s.

Robbie’s writing on music and life have appeared in GQBlender, the Chicago Reader, DaCapo Press’s Best Music Writing anthologies for 2001 and 2004,  Amplified: Fiction from Leading Alt-Country, Indie Rock, Blues and Folk Musicians, and A Guitar and A Pen: Stories by Country Music’s Greatest Songwriters. As an instrumentalist, he has accompanied the Irish fiddle master Liz Carroll, the distinguished jazz violinist Jenny Scheinman, and the New Orleans pianist Dr. John. As a producer his credits include Touch My Heart: A Tribute to Johnny Paycheck (Sugar Hill, 2004) and Big Thinkin’ by Dallas Wayne (Hightone, 2000). Theatrical credits include “Woody Guthrie’s American Song” and Harry Chapin’s “Cottonpatch Gospel.”  He served twice as judge for the Winfield National Flatpicking Guitar competition. He tours yearlong with various configurations.

Besides country and bluegrass music, Robbie is fiercely fond of Charles Mingus, P.G. Wodehouse, quantum mechanics, his wife Donna, comedy in almost all forms, cooking, swimming laps, the past, Arthur Schopenhauer, Universal horror movies, his grandson and even his sons, coastal towns in the off-season, and rye whiskey, though in nothing like that order.

Advance GA seats $20 online at WhitesideTheatre.org/live-events and at Corvallis Brewing Supply
All Tickets $25 day of the show

Oct
24
Sun
Golden Bough @ Whiteside Theatre
Oct 24 @ 6:00 pm

Golden BoughGolden Bough

Golden Bough’s first European performances were in the streets and small folk clubs of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Holland and Switzerland in the early `80’s. These simple beginnings soon led to major tours of European cities and a recording contract with a top European folk music label. Other activities that Golden Bough has been involved in over the past several years include peace marches in cities all over Europe protesting the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, musical presentations for tens of thousands of elementary school children and events for human rights, religious freedom and drug rehabilitation.

Since their inception, Golden Bough has become a popular and in demand group on both sides of the Atlantic, gaining critical acclaim and enthusiastic support from folk fans wherever they perform. Blending their voices in pristine harmony, they back themselves on an array of rare and more common acoustic instruments, including; Celtic harp, penny-whistle, violin, octave-mandolin, mandolin, accordion, guitar, harmonica, recorder and bodhran. In the recording studio, as well as on stage, Golden Bough captures the essence and joy of traditional folk music and captivates listeners with the uniqueness of their original compositions. With songs and instrumental pieces ranging from ballads to lively jigs, reels and sing-alongs, Golden Bough provides an atmosphere in which the listener can enjoy unique entertainment within and beyond the boundaries of traditional folk music.  Their music is well received and enjoyed by audiences of all ages.

Dec
17
Fri
The Fire’s Very Scottish Christmas @ Whiteside Theatre
Dec 17 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm


This December,The Fire presents their new show titled The Fire’s Very Scottish Christmas. Prepare to be inspired as California’s favorite Scottish music trio joins forces with both Scottish and Irish dancers for an extraordinary performance. This unprecedented collaboration features Scotland’s visually dynamic highland dance in step with the powerful rhythms of Ireland. The Fire’s signature brand of dazzling virtuosity delivers an unforgettable experience as the band leads listeners through an evening of classic Christmas carols and lively dance tunes.

Enjoy David Brewer’s unparalleled mastery of the Great Highland Bagpipe, Corvallis’s own Rebecca Lomnicky’s internationally awarded Scottish fiddling, and Adam Hendey’s warm-emotive voice over a lush foundation of guitar and reed organ. The Fire’s Very Scottish Christmas marks the band’s vocal debut, showcasing seasonal folk ballads dating back to the 1300s alongside beloved holiday favorites.

Audience members are invited into The Fire’s celebration of Christmas through the participatory tradition of seasonal song. Ring in the holiday season with yuletide cheer, and join us for The Fire’s Very Scottish Christmas.

Attendance is limited to 300 so get tickets early!

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