Calendar
Submit calendar info to:
calendar@corvallisfolklore.org
This annual folk festival will be conducted online over 2 consecutive Sundays, Sept. 13 and Sept 20. Takoma Park, Maryland, is adjacent to Washington DC and has been presenting its festival since 1978. It is now available to people all over the world, including Corvallis. Click here or on the logo for more information and to access the festival.
Rosanne Cash
One of the country’s pre-eminent singer/songwriters, Rosanne Cash has released 15 albums of extraordinary songs that have earned four GRAMMY Awards and nominations for 11 more. She is also an author whose four books include the best-selling memoir Composed, which the Chicago Tribune called “one of the best accounts of an American life you’ll likely ever read.” Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Oxford-American, the Nation and many more publications. In addition to continual worldwide touring, Cash has partnered in programming or served as artist in residence at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, San Francisco Jazz, the Minnesota Orchestra and The Library of Congress.
Hosted by Bob Santelli, Oregon State University’s director of popular music and performing arts, the American Strings series offers a unique opportunity to learn about a variety of genres from across the American music tradition.
If you have any questions or require special accommodations, please contact Isabelle Nissen at 541-231-5820 or OSUFEvents@osufoundation.org.
This annual folk festival will be conducted online over 2 consecutive Sundays, Sept. 13 and Sept 20. Takoma Park, Maryland, is adjacent to Washington DC and has been presenting its festival since 1978. It is now available to people all over the world, including Corvallis. Click here or on the logo for more information and to access the festival.
Sarah Jarosz
With her captivating voice and richly detailed songwriting, three-time GRAMMY award winner Sarah Jarosz is one of the most compelling musicians of her generation.
In a break from a life of touring since she was 16 years old, Jarosz recorded her new album, “World On the Ground,” while at home during quarantine. Collaborating with producer/songwriter John Leventhal, a five-time GRAMMY award winner known for his work with Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin and his wife, Rosanne Cash, Jarosz crafted a subtle tapestry of sound perfectly suited to her lyrical storytelling.
Sarah will talk about her creative process and perform some songs from this new album — a collection of stories from her hometown of Wimberly, Texas — revealing her remarkable gift for slipping into the inner lives of others and patiently uncovering indelible insight.
Get comfy at home, turn up your speakers and join host Bob Santelli as we get to know better this contemporary Bluegrass/Folk/Americana superstar through an intimate evening of music and conversation.
Hosted by Bob Santelli, Oregon State University’s director of popular music and performing arts, the American Strings series offers a unique opportunity to learn about a variety of genres from across the American music tradition.
If you have any questions or require special accommodations, please contact Isabelle Nissen at 541-231-5820 or OSUFEvents@osufoundation.org.
Shemekia Copeland
Providing a soundtrack for our time, Copeland sings about the world around her, blending blues, R&B and Americana into a sound that is all her own. Her riveting new album, “Uncivil War” was recently nominated for five Blues Music Awards, including Song of the Year. It builds on the musically and lyrically adventurous territory that Copeland’s been exploring for over a decade — tackling the problems of contemporary American life head on with nuance, understanding, and a demand for change. It also brings Copeland’s fiercely independent, sultry R&B fire to songs more personal than political.
The Chicago Tribune’s famed jazz critic Howard Reich says, “Shemekia Copeland is the greatest female blues vocalist working today. She pushes the genre forward, confronting racism, hate, xenophobia and other perils of our time. Regardless of subject matter, though, there’s no mistaking the majesty of Copeland’s instrument, nor the ferocity of her delivery. In effect, Copeland reaffirms the relevance of the blues.”
NPR Music calls Copeland “authoritative” and “confrontational” with “punchy defiance and potent conviction,” and says “It’s hard to imagine anyone staking a more convincing claim to the territory she’s staked out—a true hybrid of simmering, real-talking spirit and emphatic, folkie- and soul-style statement-making.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer succinctly states, “Shemekia Copeland is an antidote to artifice. She is a commanding presence, a powerhouse vocalist delivering the truth.”
The American Strings series is free and open to all via Zoom. Register below.
Portland FolkMusic Society presents
Singtime Frolics Online
a spring weekend of singing, jamming, learning, sharing and good food (you provide) at Portland FolkMusic Society’s annual retreat.
To register click here
Guest artists
Gordon Bok & Carol Rohl
Gordon and Carol need no introduction to lovers of traditional music. Gordon says “I’m drawn to songs that show me how others have lived their lives and sorted through their problems… They’ve shown me how to live, and if others learn something from my passing them on, that’s another pleasure.” Carol plays Celtic harp and has a special love for Paraguayan music . Washington Post said “The shimmering weave of harp tones and supple guitar rhythms cast a spell unlike anything else the duo performed.”
Stephanie Anne Johnson
Stephanie Anne learned to sing and started to teach herself guitar in grade school, soaking up folk, blues and gospel singers. Building on that base, she went on to study music in college, and has sung opera and musical comedy. She is equally at home with her band, the Hidogs, or accompanying herself on acoustic guitar. Her music is “rooted in all that’s American,” and reflects her daily practice of cultivating joy. Her concert and workshop will leave you joyful!
Beth Wood
Beth has been writing and performing full-time for twenty-three years — delighting and inspiring audiences with her exceptional musicianship and her songs that pull you into her world, all presented in the warmest most inviting way. She is well known to the Portland folk community, and if you have never spent time with Beth, you are in for a treat!
Lauren Sheehan
Lauren launched her recording and performing career in 2002 and has been sailing on to critical acclaim, national and international radio charts and lots of encores at venues across the US and Canada ever since. This vivacious singer delights audiences with the breadth of her material, evocative artistry and musicianship.
Jermaine Malone
Jermaine writes songs that tell stories from his life, moving easily among genres from R&B to hip hop. He draws his energy from interacting with the people who come to be with him when he is performing. Jermaine says his main joy is “to bring a smile to your face, and a shake to your hips”!
Los Lobos
The Oregon State University College of Liberal Arts (CLA) presents a conversation and some music with Los Lobos front men David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez on Wednesday, March 31 at 5 p.m.
The webcast event is part of CLA’s American String Series. Hosted by OSU Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts Bob Santelli, each segment of American Strings is comprised of a conversation and music by successful artists from a variety of genres, making for a one of a kind opportunity to appreciate and know better the great American music tradition.
Los Lobos (“The Wolves”) is an American rock band from East Los Angeles. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican music. The band gained international stardom in 1987, when their cover version of Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” topped the charts in the U.S., the UK and several other countries. Hidalgo (vocals, guitar, accordion, fiddle, requinto jarocho) and Pérez, Jr. (vocals, drums, guitar, jarana huasteca) are two of the founding members of the band and wrote most of their songs together.
Hidalgo he has been featured on albums by T-Bone Burnett, Ry Cooder, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. He is also a member of the group Los Super Seven, and of the Latin Playboys, a side project with other members of Los Lobos. Pérez, the band’s primary lyricist, started out with Los Lobos playing the jarana, a small Mexican guitar, and singing. As the band ventured more into Norteño music and rock he became the drummer, first playing with just a snare drum. Eventually he moved to the front of the stage and started playing guitar again. Pérez has also been a member of the Latin Playboys. Additionally he paints and has been the art director and artistic supervisor on many of Los Lobos’ albums.
Hidalgo and Pérez will talk with Bob about their longtime collaboration and unique experience in fusing cultures and crossing genres, and play some of their music.
The American Strings series is free and open to all via Zoom. Register below.
Register Here
Andrew Bird and Jimbo Mathus
Oregon State University presents Andrew Bird and Jimbo Mathus on the next installment of the College of Liberal Arts’ American Strings series on Tuesday, May 12 at 5 p.m.
The webcast event is hosted by OSU Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts Bob Santelli. Each segment of American Strings is comprised of a conversation and music by successful artists from a variety of genres, making for a one of a kind opportunity to appreciate and know better the great American music tradition.
Andrew Bird is an internationally acclaimed musician, songwriter and composer who has released sixteen records. He has performed around the world at festivals and at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and Walt Disney Concert Hall. A TED Talks presenter, a New Yorker Festival guest, and an op-ed contributor for the New York Times, Bird also made his professional acting debut in the cast of Fargo’s fourth installment, which premiered on FX in the fall of 2020. Bird’s 2019 album, My Finest Work Yet, was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Jimbo Mathus is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his work with the gold and platinum-certified swing revival band, Squirrel Nut Zippers. The group toured extensively throughout the 1990s, including performances for the 1996 Summer Olympics, The Tonight Show, Late Night with David Letterman, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and more. Since the early 2000’s, Mathus’ career has included work for Buddy Guy and Elvis Costello, and a vast collection of solo projects that have led to his music being heard on Shameless, Ray Donovan and more.
In many ways, Mathus and Bird are the yin and yang of contemporary roots music. Mathus hails from Mississippi and Bird grew up in Chicago. Mathus was self-schooled by an inquisitive nature and being around other musicians. Bird formally studied music at Northwestern University. Music brought them together 25 years ago, and an equal devotion to their craft and mutual respect for each other as musicians has nourished their long friendship, resulting in numerous collaborations. Now, after a near 20-year hiatus from working together, the Mathus and Bird duo have been at it again with the March release of a new album, “These 13.”
Written and produced from 2018 through 2020, These 13 captures “the warm first-take feel of two old friends having a fine old time” (MOJO). Mathus and Bird co-wrote every song through an exchange of voice memos, verses and ideas. Working with producer Mike Viola they recorded the LP live to tape, playing and singing from opposite sides of a single microphone.
Join us for a live, intimate conversation where Santelli talks to the duo about their friendship, the fun they had together in the making of this album, and the poignant story behind its opening track, “Poor Lost Souls.” Bird and Mathus will also share some of their music in a pre-recorded video they made just for American Strings.
Free and open to all. Register for link to view on Zoom
Shook Twins
Oregon State University presents Shook Twins on the next installment of the College of Liberal Arts’ American Strings series on Wednesday, October 6 at 7:30pm.
Join host Bob Santelli as we kick off another great season of American Strings with a special evening, outdoors, in the Student Experience Center Plaza on the beautiful OSU main campus in Corvallis. Bob will talk with the popular Portland-based indie-folk band SHOOK TWINS about their creative process and musical lives. Shook Twins will also perform live as a trio comprised of identical twin sisters Katelyn and Laurie Shook with longtime bandmate Niko “Slice” Daoussis.
Shook Twins’ music incorporates acoustic instruments including banjo, guitar, mandolin, glockenspiel and their signature gold egg, in a unique, contemporary sound that has never really been confined to the indie-folk world in which they’ve become well-known artists. Always performing with an adventurous spirit, the sisters are never shy to incorporate beatboxing, banjo-head drumming, vocals using a repurposed telephone as a microphone, and other ambient sources within their music arrangements.
Since the release of their debut album, “You Can Have The Rest,” Shook Twins have shared the stage with artists including Laura Veirs, Mason Jennings, Sarah Jarosz, Gregory Alan Isakov, Crooked Still and many others. They’ve appeared at premiere festivals including Summer Camp Music Festival (Ill.), Arise Music Festival (Colo.), High Sierra Music Festival (Cali.), Northwest String Summit (Ore.), Revival Fest (Minn.), Suwannee Hulaween (Fla.), and have toured Germany and the U.K.
Their recently released fourth album, “Some Good Lives,” pays homage to the people who have influenced their lives and become chapters in Shook Twins’ story. Throughout the album’s 14 tracks, Katelyn and Laurie pay homage to a number of those people — from a late grandpa and godfather, to Bernie Sanders.
Hosted by Bob Santelli, OSU director of popular music and performing arts, the conversation and live performance that comprises each segment of American Strings makes for a one of a kind opportunity to learn about the creative process, the performers and the influencers behind the great American music tradition.
Seating on the plaza is free and on a first come basis. The SEC Plaza is located between the Memorial Union and the Student Experience Center on Jefferson Street. Parking in permit restricted lots is unrestricted after 5 p.m. Future performances this season will head back to the Majestic Theatre, 115 SW 2nd Street in Corvallis, and will be posted at events.oregonstate.edu.
Ani Di Franco
Oregon State University presents Ani Di Franco on the next installment of the College of Liberal Arts’ American Strings series on Wednesday, Nov 17, at 5 p.m. PST.
The webcast event is hosted by OSU Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts Bob Santelli. Each segment of American Strings is comprised of a conversation and music by successful artists from a variety of genres, making for a one of a kind opportunity to appreciate and know better the great American music tradition.
Ani Di Franco is a GRAMMY-winning musical artist and feminist icon recognized for her poetry and songwriting which pierces social convention and challenges the status quo. She is also known for her social activism and political engagement. One of the first artists to create her own label in 1990, Di Franco is the mother of the DIY movement and recently released her 20th studio album on her own label, Righteous Babe Records. While she has been known as the “Little Folksinger,” her music has embraced many genres and collaborators ranging from Bob Dylan to Chuck D to Prince.
The webcast event is part of CLA’s American String Series. Hosted by OSU Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts Bob Santelli, each segment of American Strings is comprised of a conversation and solo performance by successful artists from a variety of genres, making for a one of a kind opportunity to appreciate and know better the great American music tradition.
Free and open to all. Register for link to view on Zoom
Valerie June
Get cozy in your living room, turn up your speakers or headphones and spend an intimate evening getting to know better the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Valerie June. We hope you’ll join us for another presentation of American Strings on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m.
Hosted by OSU Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts Bob Santelli, the American Strings series brings in successful artists from a variety of genres for a night of conversation and live performance.
Valerie June’s unique sound encompasses folk, blues, gospel, soul, country, Appalachian and bluegrass music. “Call Me a Fool,” a song from her recent album, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers is currently nominated for a GRAMMY for Best American Roots Song. With her spellbinding vocals and infectious sense of wonder, Valerie June gently eases the listener into a charmed state of mind, one that quickly restores a powerful feeling of joyful possibility. More on Valerie June
Registration is required to view the free program.
Curtis Salgado
with Alan Hager
Oregon State University presents Curtis Salgado on the next installment of the College of Liberal Arts’ American Strings series.
Get to know better the Pacific Northwest’s own blues legend, Curtis Salgado, and guitarist Alan Hagar, in an evening of conversation and live performance.
“Curtis Salgado’s range and power as a vocalist are a tour-de-force…hard-nosed blues, beautifully nuanced R&B, phat and funky.” –Billboard
Salgado is famous, not only for his powerhouse live shows and multiple albums, but also for his passionate and insightful original songs. He is a three-time Blues Music Award nominee for Song of the Year, winning in 2018 for “Walk A Mile In My Blues” from The Beautiful Lowdown album. In total, Salgado has won nine Blues Music Awards, including the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year.
Now, after more than 40 years of recording, Rock Historian/Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts Bob Santelli will sit down with Salgado and Hagar and talk about their careers, Salgado’s music, their creative process. The interview will be followed by a live performance. The event is part of the College of Liberal Arts American Strings series.
Each segment of American Strings is comprised of a conversation and live, intimate performance by successful artists from a variety of genres, making for a one of a kind opportunity to appreciate and know better the great American music tradition.
Livestream option is also available at beav.es/wCf
Seating on the plaza is free and on a first come basis. The SEC Plaza is located between the Memorial Union and the Student Experience Center on Jefferson Street. Parking in permit restricted lots is unrestricted after 5 p.m.
Philomath Bluegrass Workshop/Jam
Philomath Bluegrass Workshop/Jam