The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Compass Rose

Compass Rose is a unique musical group that performs an eclectic mix of songs from around the world and across the decades. The band includes lead singer Jeanette Hardison, harpist/singer Laura Zaerr, cellist/singer Sabina Monn, percussionist George Beekman, and bassist Bill Veley.

8:30 My Canadian Girlfriend

This international duo of Ellen van der Hoeven, from Vancouver BC, and Tom Rawson, from Orcas Island WA are armed with banjo, mandolin, penny whistle, and other weapons of mass delight. Ellen and Tom love to strike up hootenanny fun on both sides of the 49th Parallel. Their humorous stories, user-friendly songs, and acoustic folk philosophy are guaranteed to have you singing along in no time and to leave you smiling. Tune up your vocal chords; you’ll need ‘em!

“I have a banjo and I’m not afraid to use it.”

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

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.

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Lucky in Love String Band

Pete Kozak, Barbara Barry-Doyle and Mark Weiss will some bluegrass, some blues, and some who-knows-what-it-is. There’ll be some three part harmony and a whole lot of hot licks.

8:30 Sweet Melange

Sweet Mélange prides itself in a wide mix of music with a special attraction for harmonies.  Doug Crotty on vocals, guitar, and ukelele, Stephanie Higgins and Kory Riseley on vocals and percussion, Warren George on acoustic bass, with Pat Megowan joining on guitar and mandolin.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

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.

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Shanghaied on the Willamette

Jonathan Lay and Gordie Euler have been singing together and entertaining Pacific Northwest audiences for decades.  They’re really good!

8:30 Julie Williams, Linda Knighten, and Stephanie Lynn Smith

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Webster Chicago

Gospel-tinged blues and funk with some vintage Chicago, Delta and NorthMississippi blues. Chris Dunfield, Bill Veley, Brian Rhodes, and Jim Munford.

8:30 Cassandra Robertson

A muse with a message, Cassandra has the heart of a lion, and the mane to match. Accompanied by her acoustic guitar, she floors the audience like a sonic boom with captivating messages of peace, prosperity, hope and above all, inspiration. Her unique style of “acoustic conscious folk” kick starts the heart and levitates the soul; reminding us all that we CAN positively affect the world we all share, as long as we choose planet over profit and remember to be ourselves.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the main hall for this show. Enter from Monroe.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Johanna Beekman

Johanna Beekman is one of a kind. Whether she’s leading a kirtan, performing original music at a concert or festival, or guiding students through a Lullaby Yoga session, she warms hearts with her soulful music and her soaring spirit. Her velvety voice, her creative interpretations of music from various world traditions, her gorgeous original songs, and her open-hearted presence come together to create unforgettable musical experiences.

Johanna’s songwriting knows no stylistic boundaries. Her catalog includes heart-opening folk-pop songs, gospel hymns, a cappella anthems, classic soul songs, and jazz-infused love ballads. And these songs haven’t gone unnoticed. One of them, Free to Decide (Breathe), has been performed by several choirs and a cappella groups across the United States and Canada.

Johanna will be joined by pianist/vocalist Lauren Servias, cellist/vocalist Sabina Monn, and percussionist/father George Beekman.

8:30 Dave Plaehn and Jeff Hino

The best Blues duo this side of the Mississippi delta.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the main hall for this show. Enter from Monroe.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Adam Scramstad

Adam is an award winning Acoustic/Electric Finger-style & Blues Musician, born and raised in Oregon. Performing regularly throughout the Pacific Northwest, Scramstad’s reputation as a professional Blues Guitarist & Vocalist is rapidly becoming widespread.

A strong and creative Songwriter in his own-right, Scramstad’s repertoire also covers a broad range of early American Folk/Blues artists’ works – such as: Son House, Bukka White, Mississippi John Hurt, Rev. Gary Davis, Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Lightning Hopkins, Blind Blake, John Fahey, Elizabeth Cotton.

Adam’s 2006 debut Solo album “No Sun Around Blues” climbed to #33 on the Roots Music Radio Blues Chart – June 2006. The CD is a mix of acoustic blues (w/vocal) & finger-style guitar songs, and quickly became a favorite of local NW Radio Stations. His music has been featured on the nationally syndicated “Blues Deluxe Show” as well as receiving regular airplay on many regional, national and international stations/shows.

Although he maintains a focus on Solo Acoustic Delta Slide & Country Blues (both vocal and instrumental), Adam also regularly performs with Blues Guitar Legend Terry Robb (Adam’s Producer & Mentor)– as an acoustic duo as well as slinging electric guitar in the acclaimed Terry Robb Band. You can hear Adam’s rhythm & lead electric guitar work throughout the 2012 Terry Robb Band release “Muddyvishnu”.

8:30 Loose Flagstone

Loose Flagstone celebrates its fifth anniversary this year as a Corvallis Celtic quartet drawing from Irish, Scottish, and American musical influences both traditional and contemporary. Come savor the rich variety of moods—from mysterious airs to driving and danceable reels and jigs—created by Leslie Glassmire on silver flute, Jennifer Parke on fiddle, Tracy Daugherty on bodhran, and Marjorie Sandor on DADGAD guitar.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Sharon and Dave

Sharon and Dave Thormahlen have been making beautiful music together in Corvallis for decades. They perform traditional and new music written by Sharon, mostly on instruments made by Dave.

8:30 Wild Hog In The Woods

Stringband music from a bygone era played the way it always should have been.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

GALLOWGLASS

Gallowglass, a Contemporary Celtic Folk Band from Bellingham, WA will present a fundraiser concert for The Corvallis Celtic Festival and the South Benton County Food Bank. Presented by the Corvallis Folklore Society, the show is at Heritage Hall in Monroe (the old Methodist Church, 648 Orchard Street, Monroe) on Saturday May 24.

With a combination of emotional vocal delivery, fresh melodic arrangements, and airtight accompaniment, Gallowglass has developed a style of contemporary Celtic folk that Irish Music Magazine calls “an inspired approach to the tradition.” The group, featuring Jan Peters (vocals, harmonica), Mishon Kirkland (vocals, Irish flute), Zach Bauman (Irish Bouzouki) and David Pender Lofgren (Bodhrán), has become one of the Pacific Northwest’s most celebrated Celtic music

They will be joined by Corvallis fiddler Erika Nagamoto.

• 6pm-dessert potluck, wine available for purchase to benefit the South Benton Food Bank
• 6:30pm- doors open
• 7-9pm- concert

There will be an open Celtic session with the band after the show. All instruments and abilities welcome!

Tickets $25 with $5 going to the South Benton Food Bank. Tickets online at corvalliscelticfestival.org or at the door.

Please join us at this lovely concert space for what promises to be a great community concert and jam!

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Jens Lovetang

Jens is the Director of Choirs for Corvallis and Crescent Valley High Schools and the Music Director for the First United Methodist Church in Corvallis, Oregon.  He’s done plays at the Majestic Theatre, Corvallis High School and elsewhere. A singer/songwriter, during Covid he recorded videos of his music which can still be seen on youTube.com at https://www.youtube.com/@LovtangMusic

8:30 The Flat Stanley Incident

The Flat Stanley Incident is an Oregon band based in the Willamette Valley.  A great acoustic, country trio. Lots of strong original tunes, vocal harmonies, and some sharp picking, to boot, they deliver their own eclectic mix of Americana music built on original material, ranging from traditional folk to contemporary genres. Rob Pugliese and Steve Martin (formally of The Kindreds) are joined by Texas bass player Ron Green

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Willis, Brassfield & Chiller

A jazz group with guitar, bass, and percussion.

8:30 Tim Hardin and Audrey Perkins

Tim and Audrey have been singing in Covallis for decades and most people reading this already know their music.  If you don’t, you should.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 River Rocks

Laurie Childers, Joe Casprowiak,
Michael Everett, Tracy Daugherty,
Bill Veley

Long time Best Cellar favorites, RiverRocks plays some of Laurie’s originals and a broad range of sweet covers.  We like lyrics that matter, that uplift, that tell a good story, that make us laugh or cry, that prompt us to get up and dance.  You might even sing along!

8:30 Space Neighbors

Space Neighbors bring an original blend of retro future classics to life by taping into the universal consciousness of love. Yohan Solo(John Navarro), Rigel 7(Rigel Woodside), Nick of Time(Nick Rivard), Melanie Moonbeam(Melanie Reid), and Jennatronix (Jenna Summer Smith) are your crew.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

Corvallis Celtic Festival
2025

The third annual Corvallis Celtic Festival will be held in several locations downtown.  All Events are free except the Open the Door for Three concert on Friday at PRAx and Saturday performances at Tyee Winery.

Activities will take place::

Check the full schedule here.

This will be the third year for the festival, now becoming a favorite summertime tradition in Corvallis. While the general theme of the festival remains the same, bringing the finest local and regional Celtic musicians and dancers together and encouraging participatory sessions open to all, there are also a few new and exciting changes!

The festival kicks o@ Thursday evening, July 24 with a free event at Common Fields including dancers from the Blackthorn Academy of Dance and performances by The Nettles and The Ballybogs. Friday night, July 25 features a concert at PRAx with the Boston-based Irish music trio Open the Door for Three. Legendary fiddle player Liz Knowles, uilleann pipes player Kieran O’Hare, and bouzouki-player and singer Pat Broaders will spark plenty of musical joy! Come early to hear local favorites Sharon and Dave Thormahlen on harp, guitar, mandolin, and tenor banjo and enjoy refreshments for purchase in the PRAx lobby. Tickets are available through prax.oregonstate.edu/events. If you’re a member of CFS, you may apply the code cfs2025 to receive a $2 discount on tickets.

Saturday, July 26 is the biggest day of the festival. Events begin with bagpipers at the riverfront and morning workshops on Celtic instruments and singing at the Corvallis library and the Dragon’s Whistle in downtown Corvallis. Workshops are free to all on a first-come, first-served basis. Check the schedule and workshop descriptions on the Corvallis Celtic Festival website for more information. Saturday’s music performances will be held this year at Tyee Wine Cellars, located on a scenic farm and vineyard 10 miles south of Corvallis. Come and enjoy a variety of Celtic performers (Fionnghal, Willamette Valley Pipes and Drums, James Wilson, Amhranaithe, Schmid & Guest, and Steeplechase) in this gorgeous outdoor setting from 12:30-8:30 pm. In addition to fine music, there will be food and craft vendors and beer and wine for purchase. There is plenty of shade, but you may want to bring a blanket or camp chair. Children’s craft activities will be o@ered from 1-5 pm, and the nature trail is open all day! Please, no outside alcohol or dogs. Tickets for this event are $20/person in advance or $25 day of show. Children 12 years old and under are free, so bring the whole family! Tickets are available online from the Corvallis Celtic Festival website or in person at Grass Roots Books and Troubadour Music Center (cash or check only). After the festivities at Tyee, all Celtic musicians are invited to a free late-night jam session at the Brass Monkey from 9:30-11:30 pm.

Sunday morning, July 27, begins with performances by Whitehorn Crossing and Loose Flagstone at the Old World Deli, followed by afternoon instrumental and singing sessions at the Old World Deli and Common Fields. A special treat will be a Ceili Dance led by Ceili of the Valley, with Triple File, a youth trio from Portland, providing live music. Close out the festival at the no host slow-tune session. Come and play, or just listen!

The festival needs volunteers.  Go to https://www.corvalliscelticfestival.org/volunteer/

The Best Cellar

Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety

7:30 Jim Lynch

Jim Lynch is a singer/guitarist whose music reflects his passion for blues, country, old standards, and folk-inspired Americana. His set will include an eclectic variety of both well-known songs and hidden gems in these genres.

8:30 Choro Na Cozinha

The name is Brazilian and means “choro in the kitchen.” And they, in fact, practice in the kitchen.  CnC plays a Brazilian music style known as Choro, whose character ranges from fun to sweet. The quartet has clarinet (Bill Pfender), mandolin (John Bliss), 7-string guitar (Spencer Doidge), pandeiro (hand drum) and vocals (Kimberly Cullen). Choro has a long history as an urban popular music in Brazil, and has become better known around the world in the last few decades.

 Best Cellar is held on the last Friday of each month of the school year.
Admission is pay-what-you-will, with a minimum of 2 dollars. Kids are free and welcome.
Coffee, tea, and gluten free cookies are fifty cents each.
Masks are encouraged but not required.
We will be in the cellar for this show. Enter from the back of the church parking lot.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com