WINTERDANCE

Cancelled because of concern about icy roads

The next contra dance will be on New Year’s Eve at the First Congregational Church. It will feature the band Tree Top with Noah Grunzweig calling a regular contra until 10:30 pm. followed by a techno contra until 12:30 am.

The Nettles

Laura Brophy – fiddle
Kevin Johnsrude – guitars
Michael Proctor – bass
Brian Bucolo – percussion

The Nettles are well-known on the West Coast for their original approach to contra dance music. Playing traditional music from all over the world, The Nettles create a strong rhythmic groove under soaring improvisations. Rhythmic drive and melodic fluidity allow The Nettles to propel contra dances into the stratosphere. .

Michael Karcher

From New York via Seattle.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:30pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 8:00pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

~POTLUCK at 6:00 pm: Marfa Levine, 650 SE Bridgeway; Phone: 541-754-1433.
Directions from central Corvallis: Drive south on SW 4th St, which becomes SW 3rd St (Hwy 99 W). Turn left onto SW Bridgeway Ave. Veer left to stay on Bridgeway. Drive approximately 0.2 miles. 650 SE Bridgeway is on your right.
 Map: https://tinyurl.com/27ptkhy

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

Special New Year’s Dance

Tree Top

• Bo Leyden – mandolin
• Shari Ame – fiddle
• Benjamin Young – whistle, banjo, guitar
• Rachel Young – Piano

Noah Grunzweig

Noah will be calling and DJing for the Techno Contra.

Bring snacks for a potluck at the dance.

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

Corvallis Guitar Society

The goal of the Corvallis Guitar Society is to act as a catalyst to bring local guitarists out of the woodwork and provide an opportunity to perform and enjoy guitar music in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The accent here is on participation and we hope people will want to participate in the open stage section also – no piece of music is too short or simple (though there is a five minute limit if we have a full sign-up sheet) and you are guaranteed a warm round of applause for showing us what you can do! We do have a limited number of open stage slots so be sure to sign up early at the front desk on the way in.

Our Mission

To promote classical and related guitar styles by providing a supportive performance environment for people of all ages and ability.

We seek to achieve this through a monthly meeting that provides an opportunity to discuss, listen to, and play solo guitar music including classical, flamenco, finger-style, jazz, as well as classical guitar ensemble styles.

KGB

• Julie King – piano
• Claude Ginsburg – violin, concertina, viola
• Dave Bartley – mandolin, guitar, cittern, etc.

This KGB is not a spy organization, but a band from Seattle that plays for New England style contradance, English Country Dance (as MI-5), Mostly Waltz and other social dance events, concerts, and private functions such as wedding receptions. We write a lot of our own music, and the rest comes from all over the world: the British Isles, French Canada, the Northeastern USA, Western and Eastern Europe, South America, the rest of the USA, and places we haven’t yet identified.

Andrea Nettleton

Andrea Nettleton is a Contra, English and Celtic Dance Leader from Atlanta.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:30pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 8:00pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

The Bridgetown Boys

• Victor Fiore – fiddle
• Lanny Martin – piano
• Jon Neff – guitar

From Portland.

Tarka Ayres

Tarka Ayres credits contra dance with helping keep her mental stability through school. She started dancing in 2004 and has called dances in Oregon and Washington since 2012. Dancers appreciate her ability to integrate new dancers into the community, her clear teaching and succinct calling, and her choices of challenging dances.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:30pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 8:00pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

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.

The BFD

• Betsey Branch – fiddle
• Fran Slefer – button accordian
• Dan Compton – guitar

The BFD plays for a contra dance about every other month at Fulton Community Center in Portland. Betsy is a versatile musician who loves to explore multiple genres of music. She has wandered her musical way through music from Ireland, Scotland, Appalachia, Quebec, Sweden, England, Bulgaria and New England, to mention a few. She plays regularly for contra and English Country Dances. Fran plays button accordion and fiddle. She grew up in Limerick, Ireland, and lived in Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, and Dublin before moving to the United States. Fran began playing the fiddle in Dublin, learning from Tralee fiddle player Maire O’Keeffe. Her repertoire delves into the dance music of Ireland, Québec, France and Brittany. Dan Compton is a long-time folkie in the Pacific Northwest music scene, and has performed at numerous concerts, festivals, and music- and dance camps. He’s a captivating fingerstyle player as well as a dynamic flatpicker and accompanist.

Gordy Euler

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

Beginners lesson starts at 7:30pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 8:00pm

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.

Corvallis Guitar Society

The goal of the Corvallis Guitar Society is to act as a catalyst to bring local guitarists out of the woodwork and provide an opportunity to perform and enjoy guitar music in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The accent here is on participation and we hope people will want to participate in the open stage section also – no piece of music is too short or simple (though there is a five minute limit if we have a full sign-up sheet) and you are guaranteed a warm round of applause for showing us what you can do! We do have a limited number of open stage slots so be sure to sign up early at the front desk on the way in.

Our Mission

To promote classical and related guitar styles by providing a supportive performance environment for people of all ages and ability.

We seek to achieve this through a monthly meeting that provides an opportunity to discuss, listen to, and play solo guitar music including classical, flamenco, finger-style, jazz, as well as classical guitar ensemble styles.

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.

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.

 CFS annual Corvallis Contra Weekend

Registration open NOW – Click here

The Mean Lids

• Matt Turino – guitar, fiddle
• Miriam Larson – flute
• Ben Smith – fiddle

Mix one part smooth Irish session, one part spicy cajun-zydeco, one part hot western swing, with two parts driving southern old-time and take it down to the local dance hall. There you have the Mean Lids, a young, energetic acoustic trio currently resident in central Illinois. Playing a mix of original and traditional tunes, the Mean Lids produce an exciting, unique sound born from the living traditions of American fiddle and dance music.

Only as mean as they need to be to keep the grit in their tones and the edge on their tunes, they are never seen without their signature cranial apparel. Spot them by their hats, their long lonesome sounds, and the @$$ kicking “chin-cello” grooves emanating from their mean, mean fiddle fingers.

 The Quarks

• Terry Wergeland – piano, accordion
• Betsy Branch – fiddle
• Bill Tomczak – clarinet, saxophone, percussion

Betsy and Terry have played together for dances since 1994, and when Bill moved to Portland in 2012, he was thrilled to join forces with them. With their mix of instruments and improvisatory natures, you never know what to expect from this trio. Their delight in playing together translates to the dance floor, and you are likely to hear plenty of laughter from the stage. When not playing, the three of them love to pontificate about the mysteries of the universe (like how 3 quarks form a particle), thus inspiring the band name.

Gaye Fifer

Gaye Fifer is an accomplished contra caller from Pittsburgh, PA. Her delightful personality makes everyone happy to be dancing, and her clear and charming explanations makes it easy. An active dancer herself, Gaye understands the subtleties of making contra dances particularly satisfying for dancers. She is also an enthusiastic advocate and instructor of the contra-style waltz.

Wendy Graham

Wendy Graham is a self-described “dance maniac” who serves up delicious and nutritious dances for all with infectious enthusiasm and a smile. Wendy hosts regular folk and social dances (including Latin, Swing, Blues, Country Western Two Step, and Waltz) in Durango, Colorado. She also calls community dances, dance weekends, and dance weeks throughout the U.S. and abroad. She has been involved with folk music, song and dance for over twenty years.

Special Sunday Dance with
2 bands, 2 callers

Mean Lids

• Matt Turino – guitar, fiddle
• Miriam Larson – flute
• Ben Smith – fiddle

Mix one part smooth Irish session, one part spicy cajun-zydeco, one part hot western swing, with two parts driving southern old-time and take it down to the local dance hall. There you have the Mean Lids, a young, energetic acoustic trio currently resident in central Illinois. Playing a mix of original and traditional tunes, the Mean Lids produce an exciting, unique sound born from the living traditions of American fiddle and dance music.

Only as mean as they need to be to keep the grit in their tones and the edge on their tunes, they are never seen without their signature cranial apparel. Spot them by their hats, their long lonesome sounds, and the @$$ kicking “chin-cello” grooves emanating from their mean, mean fiddle fingers.

The Quarks

• Terry Wergeland – piano, accordion
• Betsy Branch – fiddle
• Bill Tomczak – clarinet, saxophone, percussion

Betsy and Terry have played together for dances since 1994, and when Bill moved to Portland in 2012, he was thrilled to join forces with them. With their mix of instruments and improvisatory natures, you never know what to expect from this trio. Their delight in playing together translates to the dance floor, and you are likely to hear plenty of laughter from the stage. When not playing, the three of them love to pontificate about the mysteries of the universe (like how 3 quarks form a particle), thus inspiring the band name.

Gaye Fifer

Gaye Fifer is an accomplished contra caller from Pittsburgh, PA. Her delightful personality makes everyone happy to be dancing, and her clear and charming explanations makes it easy. An active dancer herself, Gaye understands the subtleties of making contra dances particularly satisfying for dancers. She is also an enthusiastic advocate and instructor of the contra-style waltz.

Wendy Graham

Wendy Graham is a self-described “dance maniac” who serves up delicious and nutritious dances for all with infectious enthusiasm and a smile. Wendy hosts regular folk and social dances (including Latin, Swing, Blues, Country Western Two Step, and Waltz) in Durango, Colorado. She also calls community dances, dance weekends, and dance weeks throughout the U.S. and abroad. She has been involved with folk music, song and dance for over twenty years.

Beginners lesson starts at 7:00pm (experienced dancers welcome) dance starts at 7:30pm.

Each dance is taught.  No partner necessary (it’s traditional to dance each dance with a different partner)

First and Third Saturdays of the month except July, August. Occasional special dances.