7:30 Tom and Ellen Demarest

Tom Demarest was one of the founders of the Best Cellar and played at the first one, more than 40 years ago.  He and Ellen have been playing together in Corvallis for decades, and are perennial favorites with their original songs and great covers.

7:30 Pete Kozak with Mark Weiss

Pete plays mandolin, guitar, banjo, fiddle, dobro, and harmonica. He’s a great musician who has played in several local bands, through the years: The Bush Pilots, Yellow Rose, Pickin’ Noodle Soup, and The Rubes. He’s stood on stage with Neal Grandstaff, Paula Walters, Jeff Hino, Creighton Lindsay, Mark Weiss, Ray Brassfield, and Gary Nolde. On top of all that, before coming out west, Pete earned a Best Vocalist award at the Nebraska Old Time Fiddlers and Country Music Festival.

Mark Weiss has been flat picking and singing in Corvallis for decades and currently produces the Best Cellar.

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.

7:30 Guitar Masala

Unfortunately Sid injured his hand and won’t be able to play. Instead Audrey will give two sets starting at 7:30.

8:30 Swing and a Ms. with Audrey Perkins

Swing and Ms. is a Corvallis band since September of 2013.  Band members–Audrey Perkins on vocals, Page Hundermer on bass, John Bliss on guitar and other strings, Paul Regan on guitar, and Bill Pfender on clarinet–play music from the 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s and other tasty tunes along the music-time spectrum. From Gershwin to Gladstone “The Great American Songbook” comes to life with these wonderful musicians.

Special Note: Because we expect a larger crowd than usual, this Best Cellar will not be held in the cellar. We will be upstairs, at the top of the Methodist Church where we can seat more folks, as Audrey and the guys often sell out the room.

The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodis Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

7:30 Chuva Boa

Colleen Kitchen and Laura Zaerr have been collaborating since the 90’s. Laura’s diatonic lever harp was a natural fit for Celtic music, and Colleen had spent three years in Ireland with no piano, so she had gotten a pennywhistle and learned Irish music for lack of other options. Their first Celtic band, “Heather Breeze,” was active doing dances and festivals including the inaugural daVinci days, until other competing interests such as the birth of Colleen’s daughter put a crimp in that. The two collaborated on a number of classical endeavors in the ensuing decades. Laura put together “Village Green”in the oughts, and Colleen was part of that ensemble for a while. But meanwhile the jazz roots were beckoning. While Colleen crashed Neal Grandstaff’s jazz improv class at Oregon State, Laura had been sitting in with Winston McCullough’s jazz ensemble and discovering ways to make the big harp work for jazz. It’s NOT easy. Only the best harpists can do it. With a natural gift for improvisation, and inspired by Dorothy Ashby Colleen and Laura developed ways to tag team each other, and the bright brilliant choros and bossa novas of Brazil seemed especially suited to the sound of the harp. You can’t have a Brasil band without percussion, and when expert percussionist Kevin Ronkko joined the group, it was just the ticket to make manifest the groove that was driving the music only in their imagination.

The group played for a while with no name, and everyone was telling them they needed a name. It was the drought year of 2015, not only dry, but very hot. The band was rehearsing the song “Chovendo na Roseira” and all the references to good nurturing rain were making everyone thirsty. Someone remarked that we could use a dose of “Chuva Boa” (good rain) right about now, and the name stuck. Below is a video of Brazilian icon Gal Costa performing “Chovendo na Roseira” (to be replaced with our own when we get a nice clean one.)

8:30 Cooper Hollow

With members Jim Hockenhull (Fiddle, guitar, accordion, vocals), Sally Clark (Mandolin, guitar, harmony vocals), and Paul Scheerer (Guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo, harmonica, lead vocals), Cooper Hollow is a high energy string band. They perform a mix of bluegrass, old-time fiddle tunes, country, blues and rags with a bit of Cajun thrown in for spice.

The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodis Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

7:30 Sharon and Dave Thormahlen

Sharon and Dave 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.

The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodist Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

A Special Night of
Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan Songs

Many of your favorite local performers will be on hand to perform and lead sing-alongs of these popular folk works.

Special Note: Because we expect a larger crowd than usual, this Best Cellar will not be held in the cellar. We will be upstairs, at the top of the Methodist Church where we can seat more folks.

It will be a benefit for the Corvallis Folklore Society, the non-profit that provides insurance cost, royalty fees, and publicity for folk concerts, dances, and The Best Cellar Coffee House. Events like the Neal Gladstone Tribute, that some of you attended, can only happen because of The Folklore Society. And there are so many other concerts and dances they provide. Because, really, no one can afford the insurance and royalties to put on a music event anymore.

The Folklore Society needs help bearing these costs and so the volunteers of The Best Cellar have created this concert and musicians from all over our area have flocked together to perform. With so many folks stepping onto the stage, and playing in combinations they don’t usually play with, some of this will be brilliant, some will be ragged, and all of it will be heartfelt and joyful.

For this benefit, we selected Dylan because he won the Nobel Prize for Literature this year; and Guthrie because he was Dylan’s inspiration and role model, and doesn’t every great artist need inspiration and role models?

I hope you’ll consider joining us.

June 9,  7:30 upstairs at The Methodist Church on 11th and Monroe in Corvallis.

Pay what you will (and as many times as you care too). Kids are free and welcome.

Cookies, gluten free cookies, coffee, and tea will be provided

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The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodis Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

yOya

alex pfender – vOcals, guitar
noah dietterich – keybOards, vOcals

yOya is the project of longtime songwriting partners Alex Pfender and Noah Dietterich. Natives of Corvallis, and friends since the fifth grade, Pfender and Dietterich grew up to the sound of rain in the fir trees and ‘Graceland’ on cassette. When the duo moved to California to study music they found themselves absorbing the electronic sounds of the LA scene. What emerged was yOya’s unique mix of folk-hearted songs, intricate vocal harmony, gritty synths, and electronic beats. The LA Weekly describes yOya as “one of LA’s top 3 Live Bands”.

Combining classic folk songwriting with contemporary electronic beats, yOya’s latest single “The Heartwood” evokes “a cabin high in grassy hills or a rooftop overlooking a gleaming city,” according to Consequence of Sound. The trio has recently shared stages with Bleachers, Moses Sumney, Avi Buffalo and many others. Learn more at their website: yoyatheband.com.

JE Sunde is a well known indie-folk singer-songwriter who has appeared on NPR’s “All Songs Considered”.

“J.E. Sunde is one of the greatest indie-folk singer-songwriters around.”
-Daytrotter

 

 

The Fire

is a trio with Rebecca Lomnicky on Scottish fiddle, David Brewer on Highland pipes and whistles, and Adam Hendey on guitar & bazouki.  The Fire performs captivating Scottish music as a heartfelt and rousing musical experience. Between their entertaining and informative stage banter, vast array of instrument combinations and extensive repertoire, including everything from soaring slow airs to intricately arranged dance tunes, these charismatic performers will leave you on your feet with your hands together. In 2009, Rebecca won the 20th Annual Glenfiddich International Scottish Fiddle Championship held at Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, Scotland. David Brewer is unarguably one of the most energetic and charismatic performers of the Highland pipes in the world today. Adam brings an innovative contemporary approach to traditional music.  (Rebecca is from Corvallis)

7:30 River Rocks

Great local band. Laurie Childers and friends have wonderful harmonies.

8:30 Tom Rawson

Tom comes down from Seattle bringing some great, Pete Seeger like energy. Strong vocals, banjo, and guitar, and a tasty selection of classic folk songs mixed with clever originals.

“I have a banjo and I’m not afraid to use it.”
The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodist Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

Bill Staines

Anyone not familiar with the music of Bill Staines is in for a special treat.

For more than forty years, Bill has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960’s and for a time, emceed the Sunday Hootenanny at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. From the time in 1971 when a reviewer from the Boston Phoenix stated that he was “simply Boston’s best performer”, Bill has continually appeared on folk music radio listener polls as one of the top all time favorite folk artists. Now, well into his fifth decade as a folk performer, he has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer.

Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular and durable singers on the folk music scene today, performing nearly 200 concerts a year and driving over 65,000 miles annually. He weaves a blend of gentle wit and humor into his performances and one reviewer wrote, “He has a sense of timing to match the best standup comic.”

Bill’s music is a slice of Americana, reflecting with the same ease his feelings about the prairie people of the Midwest or the adventurers of the Yukon, the on-the-road truckers, or the everyday workers that make up this land.

Many of Bill’s songs have appeared in grade school music books, church hymnals, and scouting campfire songbooks; he is one of only a few songwriters to have eight songs published in the classic song collection, Rise up Singing. Composer David Amram recently described Bill as “a modern day Stephen Foster…his songs will be around 100 years from now.”

Over the decades, you have heard Bill singing on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, HBO’s award winning series Deadwood, and Public Radio’s Mountain Stage. Additionally, his music has been used in a number of films including Off and Running, with Cyndi Lauper, and The Return of the Secaucus Seven, John Sayles’ debut as a writer- director.

In 1975, Bill won National Yodeling Championship in Kerrville Texas. Another important recognition was given to him in 2007. Presented by the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association, The Jerry Christen Award recognized Bill’s contribution to New England folk music.

Currently, Bill has recorded 26 albums; The Happy Wanderer and One More River were winners of the prestigious Parents’ Choice Award, taking a gold medal and silver medal respectively. His songs have been recorded by many artists including Peter, Paul, and Mary, Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, The Highwaymen, Mason Williams, Grandpa Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, Nanci Griffith, Glen Yarborough and others.

As well as recordings, over 100 of Bill’s songs have been published in three songbooks: If I Were a Word, Then I’d Be a Song, Movin’ It Down the Line, and Music to Me, the latter published by Hal Leonard Corporation. His song, All God’s Critters, has been recently released as a Simon and Schuster children’s book with illustrations by Caldecott honor-winning artist, Kadir Nelson.

“Folk music is rich in the human spirit and experience. I’ve always wanted to bring something of value to people through my songs.” With these thoughts, Bill continues to drive the highways and back roads of the country year after year, bringing his music to listeners, young and old.

In the fall of 2015 Yankee Magazine, New England’s premiere magazine, published it’s “80th Anniversary Issue.” In the issue, along with the likes of Stephen King and Katherine Hepburn, Bill was chosen as “One of the 80 gifts New England has given to America.”
A true honor.

Mike and Carleen McCornack

Mike and Carleen have been entertaining adults and children in Oregon for decades with original and traditional folk tunes.  While they live in Eugene, it’s become rare to see them in Corvallis, and we should take advantage of every chance we get.

Photo by Mina Carson

7:30 Rita Brown

Rita Brown, local folk singer and multi-instrumentalist, was named the 2010 Readers’ Choice “favorite female vocalist” by the Corvallis Gazette-Times and praised for her “warm, unforced vocal style” by Seattle’s Victory Review. She has released four cd’s, two as half of a folk duo with Bill Smyth and two as lead singer of the original rock band, The Flow. She has sung with the Neal Gladstone Band, with the Joe Cocker tribute band Mad Dogs and No Englishmen,  and with cellist Anne Ridlington as Crooked Kate.
For the October 27^th Best Cellar, Rita looks forward to sharing some of her favorite songs from a variety of great songwriters.

8:30 Dinna Fash

Dinna Fash is Scots Gaelic for don’t worry, and this trio uses cellos and fiddles to play a wide variety of traditional and modern Celtic tunes so you can leave your worries behind. Kevin Craven, recently arrived from Hawaii is a local violin teacher and also plays with the OSU Symphony. Maria Blair on fiddle and cello, most recently from Durango Colorado, is also a step dancer. She brings special rhythm and vitality to the music. Beth Brown has been playing Celtic cello on the Corvallis scene for over 10 years, previously with the bands Three Fingered Jack and Lark. The trio is heavily influenced by Alasdair Frasier and Natalie Haas and has attended their camps and workshops. Along with traditional Irish, Scottish, Québécois and Shetland tunes, they play some of the modern tunes composed by the new generation of Celtic influenced musicians.

The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodist Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

Songwriters’ Roundtable

with
Cassandra Robertson, Ralph Penunuri, and Paul Mckenna

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.

Ralph Penunuri brings a wide range musical stylings and sensibilities to his neo-traditional folkroots songwriting. Existential awakenings both great and small inhabit his lyrically rich storysongs — from balladry to bluegrass and blues, jazz, vocal improv and tone poem exploration. A progressive eco-advocate and backyard farmer, Ralph is a cultural citizen and activist in the community. He will be accompanied for this Best Cellar session by fiddler extraordinaire and darn nice guy Kevin Craven.

Paul McKenna has worked for 43 years as a staffer for the Service Employees International Union, including 28 years for SEIU Local 503 in Oregon. During this time, he has written over 300 labor and topical songs, addressing the trials and tribulations of working people in America, both original songs and parodies. Paul recently released a double CD entitled “Come Join Us In A Union Song, ” featuring 36 of these songs, with accompaniment by Corvallis musicians Nick Rivard, Dave Storrs, and Laura Brophy. The CD reflects Paul’s eclectic musical tastes, with a wide range of styles, including folk, rock, blues, jazz, country, rap and reggae. He has two daughters, Katie, 34 and Rachel, 31 and lives in Corvallis with his wife of 39 years, Wendy.

The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music.
Admission is $2-10 “pay what you will” and kids are free.
Cookies and coffee are available.
For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com

The Trail Band

Christmas With The Trail Band features your favorite holiday songs and some original holiday tunes arranged in the versatile, energetic style that has become the band’s trademark. Songs include Joy To The World, The First Noel, and many many more.

The Trail Band has been selected numerous times to represent the state of Oregon for regional, national and international events. Representing The Oregon Economic Development Department at the prestigious American Festival in Tokyo, the band performed for thousands and received enthusiastic ovations. They also received The Oregon-California Trails Associations Meritorious Award for their contributions to American history.

7:30 Webster Chicago

Delta Blues. Down home, the way blues was meant to be. Featuring Chris Dunnfield, Bill Veley, Tom Spies, and Bryan Rhodes.

8:30 Crooked Kate

Crooked Kate features folk singer Rita Brown (2010 Gazette-Times favorite singer) and cellist Anne Ridlington, playing a blend of folk, pop and classical music. The inventive cello provides rich harmony with Rita’s voice and guitar. Anne, who plays cello with the Eugene Symphony, also does impressive solos.

They’re fun, and they’re GOOD.

The best Cellar is a once-a-month evening of acoustic music. Admission is “pay what you will,” and kids are free. Cookies and coffee are available. Located in the cellar of the Methodist Church on 11th and Monroe, in Corvallis. For more information, or to join the volunteer team, contact Mark Weiss at mjweiss@cmug.com