Calendar
Submit calendar info to:
calendar@corvallisfolklore.org
SVER
play grand Norwegian folk music with relentless energy and seductive spark taking you on a fantastic musical journey guaranteed to excite you. Ranging from the very dreamy to a swinging, pounding and sweaty madness – you are invited to the party, greeted by a welcoming primal force that pulls you into the dance.
SVER has often been described as “sounding electric without electricity”, and their flexible musicianship has also made them an attractive backing band for some of Scandinavia’s leading singers in different genres. That has lead to playing on TV-shows, big festivals and positions in the radio charts with the music ranging from folk to reggae/dancehall and rap. Their imaginative soundscapes, grooves, and melodies will take you on a journey over the Norwegian fjords and mountains, into the lively pubs and back out into the deep forest of their musicality.
SVER consists of Olav Luksengård Mjelva (fiddle and hardangerfiddle), Anders Hall (fiddle and viola), Leif Ingvar Ranøien (diatonic accordion), Adam Johansson (guitar) and Jens Linell (Drums and percussion). Olav and Leif Ingvar have played together since 2002. Vidar Berge joined the group in 2007 on guitar and together they released the self titled album “SVER”. In the spring of 2008 Anders and Jens completed the band, and they released “Fruen” in 2010. Vidar quit the band later that year and Adam joined the group. Since 2011 SVER has collaborated with the Swedish dance-hall artist Snakka San.
The Nettles
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.
Isaac Banner
A long-time contra dancer and Seattle transplant, I’ve worked for several years to become known in the Pacific Northwest for my particular blend of humor and dance instruction. With contagious excitement, a warm cadence, and a cheerful personality, I strive to bring moments of magic into the lives of newcomers and veteran dancers alike. Contra has always held a special place in my heart and I try to share that love with every dance I visit.
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.
David Wilcox
More than three decades into his career, singer/songwriter David Wilcox continues to push himself, just as he always has. Wilcox, by so many measures, is a quintessential folk singer, telling stories full of heart, humor, and hope, substance, searching, and style. His innate sense of adventure and authenticity is why critics and colleagues, alike, have always praised not just his artistry, but his humanity, as well.
That’s not by accident; it’s very much by design. It’s the result of a man giving himself over in gratitude and service to something bigger than himself. “I’m grateful to music,” he says. “I have a life that feels deeply good, but when I started playing music, nothing in my life felt that good. I started to write songs because I wanted to find a way to make my life feel as good as I felt when I heard a great song. I don’t think I’d be alive now if it had not been for music.”
An early ’80s move to Warren Wilson College in North Carolina set his wheels in motion, as he started playing guitar and writing songs, processing his own inner workings and accessing his own inner wisdom. In 1987, within a couple of years of graduating, Wilcox had released his first independent album, The Nightshift Watchman. A year later, he won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Award and, in 1989, he signed with A&M Records, selling more than 100,000 copies of his A&M debut, How Did You Find Me Here.
In the 30 years and more than 20 records since — whether with a major label, an indie company, or his own imprint — Wilcox has continued to hone his craft, pairing thoughtful insights with his warm baritone, open tunings, and deft technique. He’s also kept up a brisk and thorough tour itinerary, performing 80 to 100 shows a year throughout the U.S., and regularly deploying his talents by improvising a “Musical Medicine” song for an audience member in need. In recent years he’s taken that process a step further, carefully writing and recording dozens of his “Custom Songs” for long-time fans who seek his help in commemorating and explaining the key milestones in their lives.
Lest anyone think that he’s lost his touch, Wilcox pulled no punches on his most recent release, 2018’s The View From the Edge. Not only does the song cycle find him delving into mental health, family legacies, spiritual contemplations, and topical concerns, the song “We Make the Way By Walking” also won him the Grand Prize in the 2018 USA Songwriting Contest.
“I think the coolest thing about this kind of music is that, if you listen to a night’s worth of music, you should know that person,” he explains. “If you’re hearing a performer sing all these songs, you should know not only where he gets his joy and what he loves, but you should know what pisses him off and what frightens him and what runs him off the rails, what takes him apart and what puts him back together.”
To attain that level of revelatory honesty, Wilcox follows a song to its deepest truth, even when it haunts him, a practice that demands the strength of vulnerability that he has sought since his teen years. That honesty is why Rolling Stone has written that his “ongoing musical journey is compelling and richly deserving of a listen.” It’s also why Blue Ridge Public Radio has noted that “The connection people feel with David’s music is also the connection they feel with each other.”
But Wilcox’s unique brand of storytelling doesn’t come easily. And it doesn’t come quickly. “I could always think of a lot of possible ways the song could go, but the trick was recognizing truth amidst all the cleverness,” he confesses. “The more time I took, the more my deep heart could speak to me through the process of songwriting. I could gradually craft a song that felt like it was coming from the place I was going. If you decide to trust heart over cleverness, you not only get a song that moves you, you get a song that moves you toward being who you want to be. The time you spend immersed in the emotion of a song changes you. The song shows you the world through a particular point of view. Once you have seen the world that way, you can’t un-see it.”
Sharon & Dave Thormahlen
For over 30 years Dave and Sharon Thormahlen have made their living creating music and musical instruments. Their specialty is in the folk harp with Dave having built over 1400 instruments and Sharon having published 16 books of harp music. Sharon plays the harp and Dave plays guitar, mandolin and banjo, enjoying a variety of musical styles including originals, Latin, Irish and Beatles tunes.
Buffalo Romeo
A CORVALLIS CONCERT to celebrate the release of their brand new EP — Buffalo Romeo in 2020 — and the continuing success of their YouTube hit, Hang On Ruthie!
Lea Jones and Keenan Dorn, aka Buffalo Romeo, kick off their “No More Negative Waves” tour for the spring/summer of 2020. The show will feature pure acoustic and acoustic/electric music. Both Jones and Dorn sing like birds. Johnny Etheredge dubbed Lea Jones “one of Oregon’s finest musicians,” while jazz great Mike Denny tagged Keenan Dorn as “a virtuoso.”
“We’re real darn fun live and in person.”
7:30 Randy McCoy and Family
Randy McCoy is a local musician and co-owner of the Little Gym of Corvallis
His song “26 Reasons”, inspired by the Sandy Hook shooting, appears on the CD Connecticut Voices for Heroes.
8:30 Rita Brown
Rita has been performing in Corvallis for years, as a soloist, with partner Bill Smyth and as part of groups The Flow and Crooked Kate. She helped highlight the Best Cellar tribute to female musicians last spring.
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
Coriolis
Dave Hamlin – fiddle, mandolin,
Jon Neff – guitar, bass,
Victor Fiore -fiddle
Two thirds of the Steeltones and one third of Mad Robin.
Eric Curl
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 7:00pm (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.
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.
Jim & Susie Malcolm
From Scotland
Corvallis has a special treat coming on Feb 6. Jim Malcolm has done highly entertaining concerts here before but always by himself. I enjoyed the music they did together when we visited them in Perth, Scotland. Susie adds a lot to the show. The image shows them having a bit of fun Susie does not play an instrument, that is a frying pan.
“For his 14th album, favorite Scots troubadour Jim is joined by his wife Susie, who’s often sung backing vocals on Jim’s albums but here takes equal part in this collection of duets – including taking the lead on several songs – and the two singers sound very well together in happy consort throughout. Although a number of the songs embrace romance and elopement, there’s more than the usual quota of happy endings (False Lover Won Back, Braw Sailin’). There’s humor too (The Lass Of Killiecrankie, and a frisky take on Jack Foley’s ode to whisky, A Bottle O’ The Best). Even so, the album highlights for me are Jim’s own compositions., This is a most cherishable CD.” – David Kidman
“One of the great Scottish voices of our time” Frank Hennessy – BBC Radio Wales
“Quietly, unforcefully and undeniably stunning” – Mojo
“A master of well chosen words and melodic inventiveness” – Rock ‘n’ Ree
l“One of the finest singing voices in Scotland in any style” – Living Tradition
Karen Sikich and Friends
a concert benefiting Confluence: Willamette Valley LGBT Chorus
Karen Sikich and Friends will perform a concert benefiting Confluence: Willamette Valley LGBT Chorus at 3 PM Saturday, February 8 at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 4515 SW West Hills Rd in Corvallis. The concert, “Traces of Love”, will honor Valentine’s Day with songs of love and relationships. Featured performers include renowned accompanist Stephanie Lynne Smith and Confluence vocalists Corey Elliott-Jenks and Sal Currin, along with Julie Williams from Corvallis women’s choir Jubilate!.
Lucy Kaplansky
Lucy started out singing in Chicago folk music clubs as a teenager. Then, barely out of high school, Lucy Kaplansky took off for New York City. There she found a fertile community of songwriters and performers—Suzanne Vega, Steve Forbert, The Roches, and others. With a beautiful flair for harmony, Lucy was everyone’s favorite singing partner, but most often she found herself singing as a duo with Shawn Colvin. People envisioned big things for them; in fact, The New York Times said it was “easy to predict stardom for her.” But then Lucy dropped it all. Convinced that her calling was in another direction, Lucy left the musical fast track to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Upon completing her degree, Dr. Kaplansky took a job at a New York hospital working with chronically mentally ill adults, and also started a private practice. Yet she continued to sing. Then Shawn Colvin—who was itching to produce a record—hooked up with Lucy, her ex-singing partner. They went into the studio, and when Lucy’s solo tapes got into the hands of Bob Feldman, president of Red House Records, he was blown away. Suddenly, Lucy was back in the music business. She signed with Red House Records and started playing gigs. Red House released The Tide in 1994 to rave reviews, and within six months Lucy signed with a major booking agency—Fleming Artists—and began touring so much it required leaving her two psychologist positions behind.
With at least 7 solo albums on the Red House label and many performances with other artists Lucy continues to tour and receive airplay both nationally and internationally. Her CD Ten Year Night is the #1 selling album of all time at Red House Records.
RiverRocks
“Rocking the folk out of it since 2003”
RiverRocks band melds 2 songwriters and 4 instrumentalists to present songs that connect and lift us. Laurie Childers, Mina Carson, Bill Veley, Michael Everett, Tracy Daugherty, and Joe Casprowiak wield a variety of instruments to bring you a mix of genres. Contemporary favorites, provocative originals, sweet melodies, harmonies, toe-tapping, laughter, and maybe a tear are all likely to be part of a RiverRocks concert.
Laurie broke a bunch of backbones last May, and spent the summer horizontal on a big hospital bed at home. RiverRocks rehearsals continued every Wednesday afternoon (minus Laurie’s keyboard). Singing for two hours every week kept her lungs clear and healthy. At least as vital was the love, humor and normalcy of
playing music with the band. At this concert we will celebrate the vibrant healing power of music and community.
No cover. Wines will be for sale by the glass or bottle.
Directions: Go 10+ miles N of Corvallis on Hwy 99 to Suver; turn left/west on
Airlie Rd and go another 2 miles.
People’s State of The Union
The Arts Center and the Corvallis-Albany Chapter of the NAACP, along with partners in the community and organizations across the country, invite the public to #PSOTU2020. Community members from the Mid-Willamette Valley will take part in Story Circles, sharing experiences that reveal the state of our union. Neighbors are invited to share their stories about how belonging or exclusion has played a role in their communities.
In January of most years, the President delivers a State of the Union Address highlighting the past year and suggesting priorities for the coming year. In an era of this country’s history that has seen division and distrust among neighbors and within families, looking each other in the eye and sharing our stories matters even more than usual. In such moments, being able to cross political divides and remain in dialogue is a worthy challenge. Who are we? What touches our hearts and minds? What do our communities need, and what do they need to hear from us? We may know our own answers, but do we know each other?
The People’s State of the Union, initiated by the US Department of Arts and Culture (a people-powered organization), is an invitation to together host a national conversation in our own homes, schools, houses of worship, and community organizations. Between February 4 – 14, 2020, individuals and organizations across the U.S. will sign up to host Story Circles.
Story Circles are open to all community members who wish to tell their stories and listen to others. The free event will take place from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in the main gallery of The Arts Center. After the Story Circles, participants who wish can upload their stories and images to an online platform, yielding a body of stories that can be searched and shared, inspiring new ideas and new actions. This repository of stories will also provide the source material for the Poetic Address to the Nation, collaboratively composed and performed by local authors and poets.
The Arts Center is a non-profit arts organization and gallery in the heart of downtown Corvallis. Our mission is to foster creativity and engagement with the arts to inspire personal growth and community well-being.
The Corvallis/Albany Branch of the NAACP in Oregon is part of the non-profit national organization and shares its mission to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
This event has been CANCELED
The Hoolyeh International Folk Dancers meet once a month on the 2nd Monday at the UU Fellowship Social Hall, 2945 NW Circle Blvd, Corvallis, OR 97330. We will meet from 6:30 to 9:30 with beginning teaching from 6:30 to 7:15, program dancing from 7:15 to 8:00, intermediate teaching from 8:00 to 8:15 or 8:30, and request dancing from 8:30 to 9:30.
We will mix Balkan, Israeli and other folk dances each week, with occasional live music from Balkan, Israeli and other traditions. Watch the calendar for announcements about special dances, but just come to each dance and learn all sorts of dances.
LOCAL FOLK
This is a collaborative program of CFS and The Arts Center. Free and open to all, the stage is open to individual musicians and groups presenting a variety of music under the large “folk” umbrella. Sign up for a set of one to three songs (10 minutes or so) in a rotating format. Or, just come to be part of an audience appreciative of local performers. Local Folk! will continue monthly, on second Tuesdays. For more information, contact Kurt Smith at k_smith1342@comcast.net or 541-270-6369.
Sign up for a set of two or three songs for a total time of 10-15 minutes in a rotating format. Or, just come to be part of an audience appreciative of local performers.
This month featuring Skittish
Local Folk convenes monthly, on second Tuesdays, from 7-10 pm.