Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .

Sunday Corvallis Contra Weekend Closing Dance
2 bands, 2 callers
open to everyone

Contra dance is back to the regular schedule in Corvallis! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

Nova

Root System is a new collaboration featuring Audrey Jaber (fiddle) and Amy Englesberg (keyboard/accordion), members of Free Raisins and Wake Up Robin, alongside Anna Patton (clarinet) from Elixir. Root System melds traditional folk with contemporary flair, delivering a dance and musical experience that is sure to keep you on your feet.

Will Mentor

Will Mentor is a contra and square dance caller from Northern Vermont known for his clear teaching, upbeat wit, and relaxed stage presence. He loves to choreograph evenings with a variety of dances and tempos that at times surprise and always delight, all the while keeping intact his guiding principle as a caller: “It’s about the dancers!”

Lindsey Dono

Massachusetts transplant Lindsey Dono is rapidly establishing herself as a Northwest mainstay. With her serene teaching, meticulous programming, and sunny demeanor, Lindsey transforms absolute beginners into confident regulars. Known for her creativity on the dance floor, Lindsey incorporates knowledge of waltz, swing, and blues to lead a variety of workshops, including the ever-requested “advanced contra flourishes.” By day, Lindsey is a devoted research scientist.

Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .

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

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!

Contra dance is back to the regular schedule in Corvallis! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

The Nettles

The Nettles play improvisational music based on traditional tunes. Playing hard, they’re a Celtic jam band that makes audiences move and groove. Playing soft, they’re a lyrical folk-jazz group.

The Nettles blend traditional Irish and American music with modern spices. Laura Brophy’s fiddle forms strong melodies punctuated by soaring improvisation and intertwined with Kevin Nettle’s muscular guitar. The Nettles are propelled by the purring but powerful rhythm engine of Michael Proctor on bass and Tracy Daugherty on drums.

The Nettles play for festivals, dances, bars, and weddings on the West Coast. Their music retains the vital energy of its roots, but The Nettles’ unique interpretations add to The Tradition with every performance. The Nettles joke that “We never play the same tune once.”

Shell Stowell

Shell Stowell started contra dancing in 2015, and has been dancing up and down the West coast ever since. Driven by her passion for the dance, music, and community, Shell now plays the fiddle and helps to organize contra dances in Corvallis, and has been calling since 2019. As a dancer, Shell is known for her enthusiasm on and off the dance floor. As a caller, she incorporates her love of teaching, organizing, and music to strive for clear, energetic instruction and variety in her programming. Shell also emphasizes safe, inclusive dance etiquette that promotes positive communication between dancers.

Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .

Contra dance is back to the regular schedule in Corvallis! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

The Underdogs

The Underdogs is a brand new band bringing together experienced dance musicians from Corvallis, Portland and Vancouver. With Bo Leyden on Irish flute and octave mandolin, Gordy Euhler on piano, Shari Ame on fiddle and Jesse Schafer on cello, the Underdogs fill the dance hall with a playful and adventuresome variety of tunes, deep grooves and rich harmonies.

Kelly Tabor

Kelly Tabor is a caller and organizer from Portland, Oregon. She enjoys dances that play with elasticity of momentum and works to incorporate them at an accessible level.
dance I visit.

Square Dance in Monroe!

Join us for the fun of square dancing!  Beginners are welcome – all dances are taught.  Listeners are welcome, too.

Live music by
Humbug Mountain

Aryeh Frankfurter on the fiddle,
Steve Odor on clawhammer banjo,
Lisa Lynne on guitar

Calling by Melissa Takush

4pm – Gather and Dance

6pm – Optional Potluck (bring a dish)

Benefits the south Benton food Pantry

Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .

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

Contra dance is back to the regular schedule in Corvallis! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

Cucunandy

Corvallis based Cucunandy brings a wide variety of traditional and contemporary Scottish, Irish, Manx, Quebecois, and Old Time tunes to the contra dance floor. With Katie Maxey on fiddle, Beth Brown on cello and penny whistle, Laureen Urey on Bodhran and other percussion instruments, Cucanandy is now joined by Van Fister on guitar. Van brings his expertise as a contra dancer to the band making for a wonderful program of dance sets.

Gordy Euler

Half of Shanghaied on the Willamette and co-director of the Portland Megaband, he has been calling dances all over the west coast for 15 years and he’s good.

Online Song Circle

Share a song, lead a song, request a song, or listen as we go round the circle. Song Circle is free and open to all who wish to participate.  Bring your own instrument, borrow one, or just sing.

The song circle is conducted on Zoom (you can download the app to your laptop, tablet or smart phone at https://zoom.us/ ).   You can play or sing along with your microphone muted.  If you plan to sing, please set your audio settings to

• Original Sound: on   (if this is available on your Zoom version)
• Automatically adjust microphone volume: unchecked
• Suppress background noise: low

You can access the audio settings when you are in a Zoom meeting by pressing the ^ next to the microphone icon and clicking audio settings.

You can get the Zoom link by emailing Kurt at song-circle-2@CorvallisFolklore.org .

NOTE: New location for April 19 dance:

Ashbrook Independent School Gym
4045 SW Research Way, Corvallis

Enter the building through the main entrance, then walk straight through the long lobby to the gym doors in the far corner.

Contra dance is back to the regular schedule in Corvallis! The dance will start at 7:00 PM with a newcomer’s lesson and community meetup, helpful for all dancers. Following the lesson will be dancing from 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM. No partner necessary. Dance calling and role terms will be Larks & Robins. The cost is $12 – $20 sliding scale.

Because of the Covid-19 situation:

All attendees must sign a waiver for the First Congregational UCC (our dance hall) before their first dance of the 2024-25 season. Please read the waiver here before you arrive in order to speed up the check-in process at the door.

Thank you for helping to keep our dance community safely dancing! For more information on attendance requirements and other precautions, please see our current COVID-19 policy here, to be further updated soon.

The Overtones

The Overtones is a Corvallis-based band whose sound was born in the rivers and woods of the lush Willamette Valley. Its musical versatility ranges from Irish to Quebecois, Old Time to funky modern tunes, and features Shari Ame kicking a serious backbeat on fiddle, Evelyn Idzerda wading deeply into rhythm and rhyme on piano, Bo Leydon rocking octave mando and wooden flute, Marjorie Sandor coaxing luscious new chords from DADGAD guitar and harmonium, and Tracy Daugherty keeping it steady on bodhran and cajon. Together, the Overtones whip up a danceable storm!

William Watson

William Watson, a resident of Eugene, OR, danced his first contra in 1989 and began calling in Texas in 1992. Having called numerous contra events in cities coast-to-coast, William’s extensive experience and soothing voice project a calm confidence. His vigilant and thoughtful dance programming ensures a variety of figures, transitions, and sequences to entertain and support new dancers while offering the occasional challenge for the more advanced. His calling proficiency and sensitivities ensure everyone has a good time.