Birch Pereira
and the
Gin Joints
afternoon house concert

Born out of a love of the early years of swing, country and rock ‘n ‘roll, Birch Pereira & the Gin Joints is a band whose sound transports you to the time of speakeasies, honky-tonks and rock ‘n’ roll joints. With upright bassist and vocalist Birch Pereira at its center, the band features many of Seattle’s most skilled and versatile musicians who share the love of the American song traditions and a desire to offer a fresh angle on them.

The band itself plays in a variety of formats from intimate duo or trio gigs to dance gigs as a larger ensemble and features a revolving cast of professional, Golden Ear nominated, Seattle musicians. Birch Pereira & the Gin Joints released their debut album Dream Man on May 12th and continue to support the release with performances around the West and East Coast.

“The Gin Joints are a new group in town and feature Seattle mainstays Birch Pereira on bass and vocals, Jason Goessl on guitar, Sam Esecson on drums and Kate Voss on Harmonies. On this cover of “Lost Highway,” Pereira sweetly carries the lyrics of loss as Goessl accompanies on lead guitar. The quartet are masters of the early Americana sound. In short, we expect big things from their upcoming record, Dream Man.”    Jake Uitti – The Monarch Review

WINTERDANCE

Neal Gladstone
Tribute Concert

Fans of Neal Gladstone’s music are in for a treat this winter.  Though Neal stopped performing after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, his musical friends in three top local bands have cooked up a Tribute concert featuring his songs and comedy, with Neal as the Guest of Honor.  Like any Gladstone show, this one will be full of surprises and great music.  The line up includes Neal’s long-time vocalist Audrey Perkins and her band Swing and a Ms., plus The Flow with Rita Brown and Bill Smyth, and the Plaehn-Hino Blues Band with special guests Creighton Lindsay and Bret Godfrey.  The evening’s host will be MC David Grube.

Neal told us that while he was embarrassed to be the subject of this tribute, he is excited to hear his songs played by these excellent musicians.  So mark your calendar for Jan. 28 for the Neal Gladstone Tribute Concert at the historic Whiteside Theatre, and get your tickets early.

Neal Gladstone Songbook  Just in time for Christmas, watch for the release of the new Neal Gladstone Songbook, featuring 30 of his most popular songs, arranged for piano and/or guitar.   The song books will be sold at GrassRoots Bookstore, Gracewinds, and Troubadour music.   Along with tickets to the Neal Gladstone Tribute Show on Jan 28, what a perfect stocking stuffer for the Gladstone fan on your list!

FMI or to volunteer for the concert:  Chere and Cliff Pereira cherep@comcast.net.

Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen

Steve Gillette is best known as a songwriter, with songs recorded by artists from Ian & Sylvia to Garth Brooks, from Jiminy Cricket to John Denver. His song Darcy Farrow alone has been recorded by more than one hundred artists since 1966, most recently by Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Nanci Griffith. Quite literally, he wrote the book on songwriting: Songwriting and the Creative Process (Sing Out Press) is a standard text in songwriting classes across the country. Steve sings in a rich baritone and is a virtuoso on guitar, using a unique fingerpicking style with a flat-pick and two fingers. His most recent solo recording is The Man (2010, Compass Rose Music), a CD featuring music from (or reminiscent of) 1920s and ’30s jazz and roots music, accompanied by a narrative Steve created, blending fact and fiction from that vibrant era. Featured prominently on the album is George Gillette, Steve’s dad, playing stride piano in the style he grew up with. 

Cindy Mangsen, who married Gillette in 1989, is also a songwriter, but her focus has been on songkeeping. Cindy is a master interpreter of traditional ballads, rich in myth and legend. She plays guitar, concertina, and banjo, and is renowned for her compelling voice, described by one critic as a voice that can warm a New England winter. Her newest solo CD is Cat Tales: Songs of the Feline Persuasion (2005, Compass Rose Music), an album of songs about cats and their people.

Stuart Mason
&
John Weed
(of Molly’s Revenge)
Ireland to Appalachia

John Weed (fiddle) and Stuart Mason (guitar, mandola, banjo) will be performing traditional Appalachian, blues, and Celtic music that digs deep into the roots of American music. Long before the time of Bill Monroe or Ralph Stanley or the Carter Family, rural Americans were singing and fiddling the ballads and dance tunes of Britain and Ireland, as well as the sentimental and comedy hits of the wildly popular minstrel shows. These sources provided a wellspring of material that later formed the basis of the bluegrass and early country repertoire.

John and Stuart have just recorded a new album project–their first CD as a duo. Material for the project ranges from early American ballads and songs newly composed by their peers to beautiful melodies with Celtic and French roots. They will remain true to their love of American old timey music and Irish trad while expanding the repertoire with tunes and songs that reflect their life-long love of traditional music from all eras and all regions. The audience can expect a few surprises along with some familiar favorites, and maybe even a singalong or a humorous party piece dating back to the minstrel era. Along with brand new pieces, these concerts will showcase material from the new Molly’s revenge album “Lift” as well as songs from the lively repertoire of Little Black Train and from Stuart’s two solo albums. 

Doors open 6pm with a potluck reception.

There will be daytime workshops – Irish fiddle & DADGAD Guitar $25.  Contact Lisa for more information.

A house concert is an excellent opportunity to hear great music in a very intimate setting.

Irish Duo
Tommy and Saundra O’Sullivan

Tommy O’Sullivan has been aclaimed as “one of the great contemporary folk voices of Ireland” and “a stellar guitarist.” Tommy has recorded albums with Sliabh Notes and with Bothy Band piper, Paddy Keenan as well as 2 solo albums. He and his wife Saundra have matched her alto harmonies with his tenor lead vocals and they are very much a part of the vibrant music scene in Dingle, Ireland, as well as owning O’Sullivan’s Couthouse Pub.

Come and hear them in this cozy and intimate setting.

Roy Zimmerman

There’s lots of new grist for Roy Zimmerman’s song-writing mill with the election results and everything going on in the world.  This should be interesting (and entertaining).

Roy Zimmerman is a satirical songwriter in the Tom Lehrer/Phil Ochs tradition with a great gift for clever and funny lyrics that really rhyme and an incredibly entertaining banter between his songs.

“You’re brilliant. Just brilliant!” — Terry Jones, Monty Python

Tom Lehrer himself says, “I congratulate Roy Zimmerman on reintroducing literacy to comedy songs.  And the rhymes actually rhyme, they don’t just ‘rhyne.'”

Joni Mitchell says, “Roy’s lyrics move beyond poetry and achieve perfection.”

He spent the Comedy Boom years of the Eighties doing stand-up in San Francisco, sharing stages with George Carlin, Bill Maher, Kate Clinton, Dennis Miller and many others. He wrote all the material for his funny folk music quartet The Foremen, recording two albums for Warner/Reprise Records. He’s done several shows with The Pixies’ Frank Black, swapping songs in a solo acoustic setting.

“Roy Zimmerman simultaneously inspires me and makes me laugh my ass off,” says comedian/author Paul Krassner.

Zimmerman tours almost constantly, taking his funny songs about fracking, creationism, marijuana laws, government shutdown, same-sex marriage, guns, taxes and abstinence across the country, often playing in some of the least Progressive places in America for the most Progressive people there.  “I get accused of preaching to the converted,” he says, “but I don’t think of it that way. I think of it as entertaining the troops.”

In thirteen albums over twenty years, Roy has brought the sting of satire to the struggle for Peace and Social Justice. His songs have been heard on HBO and Showtime. He has recorded for Warner/Reprise Records. He’s been profiled on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Zimmerman’s YouTube videos have amassed over seven million views, and he’s a featured blogger for the Huffington Post.

Sing Out! Magazine writes, “Zimmerman is a guy on the left skewering folks on the right with rapier-sharp lyrics … underneath the caustic satire is a man who is surprisingly optimistic.”

The Martha Room at the First Presbyterian Church is in the basement, most easily accessed through the 11th Street entrance near the parking lot.

Del Rey
&
Suzy Thompson

The music, the chemistry, the talent, the fashion, the FUN!

With a fashion sense that would make Minnie Pearl smile and a virtuoso fingerpicked resonator guitar style (and resonator ukulele!) that packs a whole orchestra into just 6 (or 4) strings, fabulous country blues chanteuse Del Rey teams up with blues fiddler extraordinaire and vocalist deluxe Suzy Thompson for a few shows every year.

“Del Rey, who plays a syncopated style of guitar based on prewar blues and barrelhouse piano traditions, is one of the best fingerpickers of this or any generation. Suzy Thompson is a consummate blues fiddler who’s stolen more than her fair share of music festivals with her room-filling, vibrato-laden vocals. The pair has known each other for decades as members of the West Coast blues community, and that familiarity adds to the richness of their debut album as a duo… a welcome treat from two of the finest instrumentalists and arrangers in the business. ”
– Ian Zack, Acoustic Guitar

Please join us for an evening of music not-to-be-missed, or heard very often, especially here!

A house concert is an excellent place to hear and meet great musicians in a very intimate setting.

West My Friend

Described as everything from indie-roots to chamber-folk, West My Friend has an acoustic blend of instruments and four-part harmonies that challenges the conventions of popular music. The band features pure and thrillingly elastic vocals with catchy arrangements of bass, guitar, mandolin, and accordion that draw from jazz, classical, folk, and pop influences. Inspired by artists such as Owen Pallett, Joanna Newsom, Bright Eyes, The Decemberists, and the Punch Brothers, and forged from a sonically adventurous acoustic music scene on Canada’s west coast, West My Friend is proving to be a key part of a new generation of grassroots folk music.

Please join us for an evening of music not-to-be-missed, or heard very often, especially here!

A house concert is an excellent place to hear and meet great musicians in a very intimate setting.

Multiple Grammy-nominee John McCutcheon charms audiences with “story telling that has the richness of fine literature” (Washington Post) and his mastery of a stage full of folk instruments is simply amazing. He plays guitar, fiddle, autoharp, banjo, jaw harp, (hambone if we are lucky) and is best known for his hammered dulcimer playing. A John McCutcheon concert is always energizing, fun, uplifting, community building, and his audiences leave with a renewed sense of hope for humanity. “This notion of telling stories of ordinary people who have done great things, and carrying those stories from one place to another, of telling people ‘this is where I’ve been, these are the stories I can bring you,’ is the heart of what I do,” McCutcheon sums up. “That’s my goal. If you can recognize yourself in my songs, then I’ve done my job.” He lives in Georgia but keeps moving, toward wherever he senses there’s still a story yet to be told.

His 30 recordings have gathered many honors including 7 Grammy nominations. His most recent honors the centenary of Joe Hill’s death on November 19^th, 1915. John McCutcheon brings Joe Hill’s music to a whole new audience. With fresh arrangements, stunning musicianship, and released on a palette that makes these songs feel as though they were written today rather than a century ago, there is a life and vitality that is both rare and refreshing. In honor of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday John recorded THIS LAND: Woody Guthrie’s America. He assembled an all-star cast of songs and musicians to honor America’s most enduring folksong writer: Willie Nelson, Tommy Emmanuel, Kathy Mattea, Tim O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, Tom Chapin, Tom Paxton, Maria Muldaur and more. McCutcheon offers fresh new arrangements and exciting new interpretations of many of Woody’s most well-known songs. He has so much material we never know what he might perform, and of course he gives the audience a chance to request their favorites so plan ahead!

But it is in live performance that John feels most at home. It is what has brought his music into the lives and homes of one of the broadest audiences any folk musician has ever enjoyed. People of every generation and background seem to feel at home in a concert hall when John McCutcheon takes the stage, with what critics describe as “little feats of magic,” “breathtaking in their ease and grace…,” and “like a conversation with an illuminating old friend.”

So if you want to laugh, cry, be inspired, and feel like you are a part of a big community, then don’t miss this concert. More information about John McCutcheon his website is at www.folkmusic.com For info or to volunteer, call Chere Pereira 541-753-9224.

Whether in print, on record, or on stage, few people communicate with the versatility, charm, wit or pure talent of John McCutcheon.

Libby Roderick

an internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter, poet, activist, teacher and lifelong Alaskan. The surprising power and depth of her music and the humor and spontaneity of her performances have attracted large and enthusiastic audiences across the continent and fans all over the world. Her six recordings have received extensive airplay on Earth and, in 2003, NASA played her song “Dig Down Deep” on the planet Mars as encouragement to the robot “Spirit.” Libby is an exhilarating and witty artist who offers a remarkable blend of passionate music, wry humor and incisive commentary on social and personal issues.

Cassandra Robertson

a muse with a message, 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.

Libby Roderick has composed a bunch of new socially-engaged music and got a big grant to tour it, so Spring Creek is hosting a concert by her in collaboration with the Corvallis Folklore Society.

The challenge of the Spring Creek Project is to bring together the practical wisdom of the environmental sciences, the clarity of philosophical analysis, and the creative, expressive power of the written word to find new ways to understand and re-imagine our relation to the natural world.

Portland FolkMusic Society presents

Singtime Frolics

a spring weekend of singing, jamming, learning, sharing and good food at Portland FolkMusic Society’s annual retreat.

click HERE for more information

Thompsonia

combines Eric & Suzy Thompson’s deep devotion to southern roots music with daughter Allegra’s fresh perspective, creating feel-good music that richochets between the rowdy and the sentimental, with an abundance of groove and a bit of a quirky edge. Suzy and Allegra’s genetically-matched vocals (dubbed “The Everly Sisters sound” by Geoff Muldaur) are featured, along with stellar lead playing from Eric on mandolin and guitar. In addition to the Cajun, blues and old-time music for which Eric and Suzy have long been acclaimed, the trio also performs witty originals alongside obscurities in styles ranging from rockabilly to hokum to Americana.  Standouts from their new Thompsonia CD include Suzy’s acoustic rock anthem “Very Bad Mood” (guaranteed to have just the opposite effect on the listener), Allegra’s bawdy 1920’s “He May Be Your Dog But He’s Wearing My Collar,” Eric’s proto-zydeco “French Fries” and a lovely duet rendition of Hugh Moffatt’s “Rose of My Heart.”

​Eric and Suzy Thompson have performed and recorded in collaborations with David Grisman, David Nelson (New Riders), Jody Stecher & Kate Brislin, Geoff Muldaur, Jim Kweskin, Michael Doucet, Del Rey, Dave Alvin and Joel Savoy, to name just a few, and their bands have included Any Old Time, Black Mountain Boys, California Cajun Orchestra, Blue Flame String Band and many others. Allegra Thompson is the bass player of choice for multiple Bay Area bands, including the Cajun band Midnite Ramblers and the bluegrass band Wendy Burch Steel & Redwood.

Please join us for an evening of music not-to-be-missed, or heard very often, especially here!

A house concert is an excellent place to hear and meet great musicians in a very intimate setting.

David Roth

David Roth strikes many chords, hearts, and minds with his unique songs, offbeat observations, moving stories, sense of the hilarious, and powerful singing and subject matter. As singer, songwriter, recording artist, keynote speaker, workshop leader, and instructor, David has earned top honors at premier songwriter competitions – Kerrville (TX) and Falcon Ridge (NY) – and taken his music, experience, and expertise to a wide variety of venues in this and other countries full-time for more than two decades.

David’s songs (“Rising in Love”, “Earth”, “Manuel Garcia”, “May the Light of Love”, “Nine Gold Medals”, “Spacesuits”, “Rocket Science”, “I Stand for Love”, “That Kind of Grace”, and many more) have found their way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, Peter, Paul, & Mary’s “Discovered” (Warner Brothers), the Kingston Trio’s “Born at the Right Time”, NASA’s Goddard Space Center (“Rocket Science” went up on the Space Shuttle Atlantis’s May 2009 mission to repair the Hubble Telescope), the classic folk song books “Rise Up Singing” and “Rise Again” (sequel), and 13 CDs on the Wind River and Stockfisch (Germany) labels. Winner of 4 Positive Music Awards and the 2015 Grace Note (Unity Worldwide Ministries) for Outstanding Contribution to New Thought Music, David has also been featured on many of Christine Lavin’s seminal Rounder Records compilations.  The former artist-in-residence at New York’s Omega Institute has also been a songwriting judge at Kerrville, Napa Valley (CA), Tumbleweed (WA), Eventide Arts (MA), the Avalon Festival (WV), and the South Florida Folk Festival.

David has also taught singing, songwriting, and performance at the Augusta Heritage workshops, SummerSongs and WinterSongs (NY), Common Ground on the Hill (MD), the Woods Dance & Music Camp (Canada), WUMB’s Summer Acoustic Music Week (NH), Moab Folk Camp (UT), Rowe Center (MA), Pendle Hill (PA), Lamb’s Retreat (MI), the Swannanoa Gathering (NC), the National Wellness Institute (WI), and for many other songwriting groups and associations around the country.  David is also founder/director of the Cape Cod Songwriters Retreat and creator/host of Cape Cod’s “Full Moon Open Mic” which, for the past 10 years has provided a forum for musicians to connect and be heard while at the same time collecting donations ($12,000 to date) for local non-profits to help neighbors in need.

Please join us for an evening of music not-to-be-missed, or heard very often, especially here!

A house concert is an excellent place to hear and meet great musicians in a very intimate setting.

Westwind Weekend

of music and dance

A beautiful setting on the Oregon Coast.  A pristine, sheltered beach, tidepools galore, wildlife in the water, woods, and air, hikes that lead to superb vistas up and down the coast.  It’s a weekend at the beach, with music and friends old and new.  It’s always sunny at Westwind, AND it almost always rains.  Which is to say, any weather can happen.

A growing, family friendly community.  More than a fourth of those who attend the Westwind Weekend are young people.  Kids bring their friends.  They dig in the sand, play Frisbee, hike, play cards, dance, play music, drink hot cocoa, help out, hang out, and build lasting memories.

Non-stop music jams.  At any moment you’ll find swing favorites on the front porch, old-time in the shed, and Irish/contra tunes in the kitchen.  Some of the finest musicians in the Willamette Valley come to Westwind and are joined by folks just learning to play and everyone in between.

Contra dancing and more.  Friday and Saturday evenings feature the Westwind All Star Orchestra playing tunes, and dance programming that’s aimed at all ages and abilities. Expect family dances, contras and squares, and a set of Scandinavian favorites. Also find musicians jamming and swing or zydeco dancing underway outside the main hall.

Camper-led workshops.  Gumboot dancing, daisy chain squares, swing chords, beach talk, favorite folk songs: come with your special talent to share or learn something you’ve never heard of before. Sunday morning expect time for singing the gospel of our non-denominational love of community.

A Saturday camper concert. Enjoy listening to the crazy, creative, and sublime as your fellow campers perform, or put together your own high or low art performance and step up onto the whale bone stage.

Happy, hearty vegetarian food.  Beth Littlewolf has been our cook for 25+ years. She makes wonderful fare that brings us all together in the historic Wilson Lodge for family-style meals.  Meals at Westwind include snack Friday evening, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday, and early-wake up breakfast fare plus brunch on Sunday.