Calendar

All levels Welcome!

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Sterling Abernathy and Wilhelmina

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.wherever they play.

Lynn Ackerson calling

Lynn’s huge collection of dances (including over 800 contras) keeps growing as she tries to keep the dancing fresh and interesting even for long-time dancers. This Spring, she’ll be calling at two weekend camps in the Bay Area (Monte Toyon and Balance the Bay), a festival (NEFFA) and various dances in New England, along with various west coast dances. In the summer, she’s on staff at two weeklong camps for the very first time: Folklore week at Mendocino, and American Dance and Music Week at Pinewoods. Even while all of these events are going on, she finds time to attend other dance weekends as “just a dancer” to keep remembering the joy that is found in the dancing and the music.

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)

Pre-Dance Potluck at 6:00 p.m.

Hosts: April & Craig Hall Cutting, 1975 SE Crystal Lake Dr #192, Corvallis (in CoHo Ecovillage); 541-754-7040.

Directions: Drive south on SW 4th St, which turns into SW 3rd ST/Hwy 99 W; turn left onto Crystal Lake Dr. Drive less than ½ a mile then turn left into the CoHo Ecovillage parking lot, just past the Crystal Lake Cemetery. Park in the lot, walk back to Crystal Lake Dr. and then to the second building, Unit 192. Look for the twinkle lights!

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

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.

All levels Welcome!

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Katie McNally

Described by The Living Tradition as “the new face of Scottish fiddling in the USA”, Katie McNally grew up steeped in the vibrant Scottish and Cape Breton music community in Boston and is the 2009 New England Scottish Fiddle Champion. She was a student of Hanneke Cassel and has performed at venues such as the Newport Folk Festival, The Freight and Salvage, Wolf Trap, Symphony Space, Benaroya Hall, and various folk venues throughout the country. Katie performs regularly with all-female Celtic band Long Time Courting, has been a member of the New England fiddle supergroup Childsplay since 2009, and joined world-renowned Galician bagpiper Carlos Núñez on his tour of North America in 2012. Featured on the cover of Fiddler Magazine’s Winter 2014 issue,Katie is in high demand across the country as a performer, fiddle teacher, and dance musician.

In her second tour of the Pacific Northwest, Katie will be teaming up with two  innovative performers in acoustic music in the US, genre-bending pianist Neil Pearlman and Madison-based violist Shauncey Ali. Katie’s evocative and melodic playing combined with Shauncey’s powerful harmonies and counterpoint—all anchored by Neil’s rhythmically driving piano accompaniment—creates a uniquely arresting take on traditional music.

This is a 50-seat intimate acoustic venue, so the concert will likely sell out.  Buy your tickets in advance at tickettomato.com.

Join Boston-based fiddler Katie McNally for an evening of bold and exquisite tunes bursting from the Scottish and Cape Breton traditions.

Ralph Penunuri
Folksinger

Played in Marin County bands Fairfax Street Choir (Gospel Rock), Happy Valley (Progressive Folk); and in Corvallis, Oregon, played in Two Hits & a Ms. (Orig. Roots & Swing), Bon Ton Roulet (Cajun-Zydeco) and Inner Strength Gospel Quartet (Black Congregational style covers — Blind Boys of Alabama, Dixie Hummingbirds, etc…).

Played in front of thousands at UC Berkeley Amphitheater, San Francisco Cow Palace & Golden Gate Park Festivals. Played for just a handful too. Most memorable was SF Cow Palace with Fairfax Street Choir, opening for Crosby-Stills-Nash & Young.

Currently write, play, sit in with friends and host a monthly vocal jam in Corvallis, OR.

First and Third Sundays

The first Sunday of the month will be dedicated to Balkan dances and the third to Israeli.

All levels Welcome!

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Karen Savoca pours her heart into a song the way a great actor throws herself into a role. Her songs draw you into a world of humor and compassion, shared with grace and ease, as though you’ve been invited to her table for supper. Born in northern NJ, the daughter of a big band singer, Karen’s baby diary reads “20 months, knows 6 songs.” At the age of eight she asked for piano lessons, and at thirteen began composing on a guitar she bought with saved birthday money. She attended Syracuse University, where she studied music and elementary education.

Pete Heitzman, a Syracuse native, was playing in clubs at the age of fifteen. He carved out a reputation as an ace guitarist capable of playing many styles, touring across the country with a variety of bands. He met Savoca during a return trip to his home town, invited out by friends to hear a new singer. They jammed the night away, and he joined her group the next day.

In that band they forged their unique style, performing original songs to a packed house every Monday just off campus. Those Monday nights became a seven year long tradition where K & P reveled in patrons’ enthusiastic dancing and improvised call and response routines. Years later, that chemistry would spark an enchanted scene at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival when 10,000 people spontaneously removed their shoes and waved them over their heads.

Acoustic Guitar magazine calls Heitzman “A true virtuoso of groove, with a sly touch that, combined with Savoca’s in-the-pocket drumming and spectacularly soulful vocals, gives the duo the impact of a four-piece band.”

Shari Ulrich is a two time Juno Award winner, and member the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.  Shari was first known for her multi-instrumentalist skills with the Pied Pumkin and on as the voice of the Hometown Band.  Her latest release “Everywhere I Go” (Borealis Records) – engineered and produced by her daughter Julia Graff, is Shari’s 8th solo album.

Karen and Pete toured extensively with Greg Brown, who said of her, “If she were a Native American, her name would be Sings Like Two Birds.”

The duo have released eight CDs on their own Alcove Records label, the latest of which is “Promise”, recorded in their 19th century church studio nestled deep in the hills of upstate NY. The Edmonton Journal says, “There’s soul in the delicious grooves and phrasing, and soul in the broader sense that floats out of her lyrical vision.” “Promise” reached #25 on the Euro/Americana chart.

“Embracingly beautiful songs that have a beguiling way of changing and reconfiguring themselves like an aural kaleidoscope.” – Duluth News Tribune

Winners of seven SAMMY Awards. Notable appearances include The Today Show, A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, Big Top Chautauqua, The Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, Falcon Ridge, Kate Wolf, Stan Rogers & Winnipeg Folk Festivals, and many more.They are also independent record producers who have scored several feature films and documentaries.

The Euphemists

Dave Goldman — piano
Alan Snyder — fiddle
Paula Hamlin — winds
Kaye Blesener — trombone
Jerry Nelson — guitarpercussion

Enjoy contradancing but miss that Big Band sound? Then you’ll love the Euphemists, a band whose motto is “All fiddle tunes get better with horn riffs!” Over the past few years, various pairings of these Portland musicians have said, “We should form a band!” Finally, inspired by the recent immigration of fiddler Alan Snyder from warmer climes, The Euphemists congealed in 2011. The band features a brass front line of Paula Hamlin, Kaye Blesener, and Jerry Nelson, while Jerry’s several guitars share backup rhythmic duties with the keyboard of Dave Goldman.

Eric Curl calling

Eric started calling in 1996 and called in California and Colorado before moving Seattle in 2006. A mechanical engineer working for Boeing, he now enjoys calling in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia on a semi-regular basis. In his spare time, he likes to hike, snowshoe, camp, visit friends and family, play music, and of course, dance and call.

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: There is usually a pre-dance potluck

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