Calendar
Submit calendar info to:
calendar@corvallisfolklore.org
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
Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 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.
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.
Most often in “the cellar” of the church, with an entrance around the back side of the church.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
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
Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 The Songtenders
Meet the Songtenders! These collaborators and longtime friends are on a mission to serve up great music. Don’t we all get crushes on songs? Great songs never die but they sure could get played more! The Songtenders do just that–they echo songs from the past with sweet harmony and hearty respect. Singer Melanie Reid and piano player Evelyn Idzerda started The Songtenders after an epic late-night jam. The music that resulted made them realize their chemistry is perfectly aligned for giving service to songs they love. Later, to even better serve those songs, they were joined by Luke Painter on electric guitar, Barbara Barry-Doyle on stand up bass, and George Beekman on percussion. It’s always a treat when the Songtenders serve up their fun musical nostalgia!
8:30 River Rocks
Laurie Childers, Joe Casprowiak,
Michael Everett, Tracy Daugherty,
Bill Veley
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!
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.
This month we will be in the sanctuary through the main entrance on Monroe.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
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
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.
Most often in “the cellar” of the church, with an entrance around the back side of the church.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Flat Stanley Incident
The Flat Stanley Incident is an Oregon band based in the Willamette Valley. 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
8:30 Can’tNeverCould
Can’tNeverCould is a new Corvallis band made up of long-time local musicians Rita Brown, Bill Smyth and Leigh Ann Starcevich. Featuring rich vocal harmonies, expressive guitar, they do originals as well as intriguing songs from the 60s to the present (The Band, Joni Mitchell, Pure Prairie League, Guy Clark, Brandi Carlile, Tracy Chapman, Natalie Hemby, and more). A fun and friendly band.
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.
Most often in “the cellar” of the church, with an entrance around the back side of the church.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Tom and Ellen Demarest
Fifty-one years, one month, and five days after Tom played the very first night of The Best Cellar, he’s back with his wife Ellen. They have great vocal harmonies to go with terrific song selection. Although they’ve played The Cellar many times in the past, it’s a treat to have them back.
8:30 Mike and Carleen McCornack
with Dale Bradley
These three absolutely delighted The Cellar audience last summer and for decades before. Here’s what some other artists have said about them:
“Beautiful melodies, great musicians, pure, heartfelt vocals all blended together into music that will leave you smiling in your heart.” -Bill Staines, singer, songwriter
“Their songs are wonderful. exquisite. I love their voices and sweet harmonies. Very expressive. -Steve Gillette, songwriter
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.
Most often in “the cellar” of the church, with an entrance around the back side of the church.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com
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.
Masks welcomed for everyone’s continued safety
7:30 Revel’n
Evelyn Idzerda and Ron Snyder have wowed Best Cellar audiences in the past with their fine harmonies, flashy guitar playing and great song selection.
8:30 The Idle Hands Trio
Nick Rivard, Dave Chiller, and Ben Woodman will bring something new, to The Cellar: Acoustic Gypsy Jazz. Some great instrumental work to classic songs of the past.
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.
In “the cellar” of the church, with an entrance around the back of the church.
For more information contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@alyrica.net
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.