Emma Beaton & Nic Gareiss (Next Gen Folk Series)
The Next Gen Folk Series is jointly presented by Hearth Music, Victory Music and Empty Sea Studios.
Tickets: $12 advance, $15 at the door.
Click here to purchase advance tickets.
It is seldom that a young folk duo emerges with so focused a direction and critical regard. After their first show together, Emma Beaton and Nic Gareiss’ sound was lauded “delicate and broken and perfectly sweet.” Perhaps it was to be expected considering their respective burgeoning solo careers: Emma, a folk cellist, vocalist, and banjo player originally from Vancouver Island, has performed across North America and Scotland with notable musicians such Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, Bruce Molsky, Laurie Lewis, Crooked Still, and Back of the Moon.
Emma is also the front-woman of the Boston-based modern American stringband Joy Kills Sorrow. Her 2008 solo release, “Pretty Fair Maid” was awarded a Canadian Folk Music Award, naming her the 2008 Young Performer of the Year. Her singing has been described as “gorgeous and clear,” the music, “diverse and inventive”.
Nic, a dancer, singer, and bouzouki-player from northern Michigan has danced and played across Europe and the states with The Chieftains, Tim O’Brien, Footworks, and Uncle Earl. He has studied and performed music and dance internationally, including a year in Irish Music Performance at the University of Limerick in Ireland, where he is now studying to earn his Masters degree. Emma and Nic first met at several music camps and began playing together late at night after square dances and evening-long fiddle tunes sessions. The songs they sang became the last music of the night. Today, their music retains a sense of staid nostalgia and quiet, almost secretive intimacy, grounded in Celtic and Americana traditions, but ultimately all their own.
“I fell in love at once, their music reminds me why I listen to folk music in the first place.” – Cover Lay Down, 2008
Men Of Worth – Canceled
PLEASE NOTE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s concert has been cancelled. Advance ticketholders will receive a full refund through Brown Paper Tickets.
We apologize for the inconvenience!
In 1986, Scotsman Donnie Macdonald and Irishman James Keigher came together to perform Irish and Scottish folk music, combining traditional and contemporary styles. The name “Men of Worth” was chosen from the title of a folk song written by the Scottish singer/songwriter Archie Fisher.
Together, Men of Worth blend their voices with harmony and support their collection of songs with their varied selection of instruments. They have a very simple approach to their
presentation, and in keeping with tradition, remain true to the music and story. Their show is a unique combination of humour, exciting tunes, and soulful, heartfelt ballads.
Men of Worth are an international act, and have earned much respect and success in two decades of touring. Performing concerts, festivals, and having recorded ten albums, Men of Worth continue the very tradition from which they evolved.
Double Duos: Michael Connolly & Miller McNay w/ Prairie Wolfe
The Next Gen Folk Series is jointly presented by Hearth Music, Victory Music and Empty Sea Studios.
Sorry, this show is completely sold out! No tickets will be released at the door.
Please join us as double mandolin meets double fiddle in this special evening of instrumental music!
Mandolin duo Michael Connolly & Miller McNay will present music from their breakthrough mandolin duo album The Mandolin Casefiles.
To kick off the evening, fiery Celtic fiddler Prairie Wolfe will be joined by Michael Connolly on fiddle, chromatic button accordion and guitar for an opening set of Irish and French Canadian tunes.
With tunes spanning the blues, old-time, bluegrass, Irish and French Canadian genres, this is a Next Gen Folk show you won’t want to miss!
Michael Connolly & Miller McNay: The Northwest’s premier mandolin duo
Playing their mandolins together for more than five years, Michael Connolly and Miller McNay have traveled along and across genre boundaries, from bluegrass to old-time to swing. In their inaugural album celebrating the unusual pairing of two mandolins, Connolly and McNay share the sound they’ve developed as a duo: transparent and open, but warm, varied, and eminently listenable.
In The Mandolin Casefiles: It Takes Two To Mando, Connolly and McNay offer up a mix of traditionaltunes, covers, and originals like McNay’s “The Grapes of Rag,” which introduces the disc, and Connolly’s “Mr. Pick’s Blues,” a chromatic, colorful adventure in 12/8. A vintage Gibson mandola makes an appearance on “Over The Waterfall” and on the duo’s cover of Lennon and McCartney’s “In My Life.” Exhibiting an unparalleled responsiveness to each others’ playing, the musicians slip effortlessly between lead, accompaniment, and even percussive roles.
Recorded live in the studio with no overdubs, The Mandolin Casefiles captures the palpable energy and moment-by-moment musical dialogue between two longstanding collaborators at play.
Michael Connolly’s love affair with the mandolin began at age six. During his musically charged upbringing in Memphis, Tennessee, he delved deeply into bluegrass, old-time, Irish traditional, blues, and swing music. The result is a unique “hornlike” approach to the instrument. His deft ear and sensitive accompaniment have won him appearances touring with and performing alongside Michelle Shocked, Coyote Grace, and The Indigo Girls.
An accomplished multi-instrumentalist, Connolly performs regularly on fiddle, piano, and accordion as well as maintaining a busy teaching schedule. He has recorded widely, appearing on nineteen albums. The Mandolin Casefiles is the twelfth to feature his mandolin playing.
Miller McNay’s mandolin story began in his native Charlotte, North Carolina. Winner of the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival’s mandolin contest, he has played with Free Roaming Buffalo Herd,and Barnyard Stompand as a founding member of Captain Gravel.
McNay’s impeccable tone and rhythmic drive have led to his sharing the stage with Joe Craven, G-Love & Special Sauce, and Ben Winship as well as opening for Tim O’ Brien, Danny Barnes, and The Wilders.
Prairie Wolfe
Seattle-based Celtic fiddler Prairie Wolfe never intended to play the fiddle at all. “I wanted to play the celtic harp as a kid,” she reports. It was French-Canadian/Metis fiddler Anne Lederman who influenced her to try her hand at the fiddle. “I’ve definitely always been attracted to the raw, unrefined sound of the fiddle.” It is this raw energy and the old-world accents that stand Prairie apart from other fiddlers and distinguishes her dynamic, rhythmic playing.
In 2005, Prairie’s talents whisked her from her westcoast home to Europe on a tour with Irish trio Damanta. The band played Ireland, Holland, Germany and Austria, bringing to audiences what Prairie describes as their unique “Christina Ricci meets Ashley MacIsaac” sound. Following the tour, she landed in Boston and decided to stay a while. During her stay, Prairie was quickly initiated into the New England contradance scene, playing dances at the Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield, MA and getting involved with teaching, busking, and frequenting the odd session or two at the Burren.
The Burren is a long way from the church basement meetings of the Vancouver Scottish Fiddle Club, where Prairie got her start and where she met her initial mentor and teacher, Juno-Award winning fiddler Shona Le Mottee, of “Paperboys” and “Lord of the Dance” fame. Before long, she was performing in Vancouver’s CelticFest, doing demonstrations at schools, and hosting “Fiddlers For Funds: Tsunami Relief Benefit Concert.” “I have been amazingly lucky to play with all of Vancouver’s very best fiddlers and musicians, and to know them personally too. It’s been a charmed life.”
Molly’s Revenge
Tickets: $12 advance, $16 at the door.
Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Molly’s Revenge is a dynamic, acoustic Celtic band known for its unique and infectious on-stage enthusiasm. The classic combination of bagpipes, whistle, fiddle, and song — set against a backdrop of guitar, bouzouki, and mandola accompaniment — guarantees an enjoyable experience for all fans of Scottish and Irish music. Their arrangements of traditional jigs and reels bring these dance tunes up to date with a driving, hard-edged accent that always leaves audiences shouting for more.
From epic sets on highland pipes and fiddle, to angelic folk songs over bouzouki and mandola, to ripping sets of Irish jigs and reels, the lads of Molly’s Revenge have expanded their range on their seventh release, “The Western Shore.” The new record was produced by John Doyle, a founding member of Irish supergroup Solas. Guest performers include percussionist Fraser Stone (Old Blind Dogs), John Doyle, and vocalist Moira Smiley (VOCO).
David Brewer has been playing whistle and four types of bagpipes for about 15 years. He studied in Scotland at the Ceolas Music School in South Uist under the tutelage of some of the best pipers in the world. His authentic and unique style of playing has earned him the reputation of being one of the most accomplished pipers on the West Coast. David has composed close to 200 traditional style tunes, many of which have appeared on recordings, independent films, and television.
John Weed is a classically-trained violinist who switched to playing Irish fiddle about 10 years ago. John lived in Ireland in 2000 and taught fiddle workshops at the Flowing Tide International Music School in Doonbeg, County Clare. He hones his skills annually by attending the Frankie Kennedy Winter School in Dunlewey, County Donegal where he has studied with Ciaran O’Maonaigh and Dermot Mcloughlin.
Pete Haworth grew up in the Blackburn area of Lancashire County, England, where he collected and sang the local folk songs. He brings an authentic vocal style, a very big bouzouki, and an unflagging sense of humour to the band. He and his family moved to California in 1982.
Stuart Mason has been collecting and performing traditional music for over 30 years. He has appeared on stage from Ireland to China performing Celtic, old time bluegrass, and his original compositions, which have won awards from the West Coast Songwriters Association. He leads workshops and classes in traditional music techniques at music festivals and camps.
Kat Eggleston & Robyn Landis
Tickets: $13 in advance, $15 at the door.
Click here to purchase advance tickets.
Kat Eggleston is one of the most accomplished guitarists and singer/songwriters in the folk, Celtic and traditional music genres. Elating, moving, and amusing audiences with her beautiful blend of sweet melodies, gentle honesty and searing humor, Kat’s music reflects a wide range of life’s experiences with unusual clarity and authority.
In a clear alto with flawless intonation, Kat Eggleston goes straight to the lyrical and emotional truth of every word and every note. Her musings on home, childhood, and her father’s garden are gems of direct, unassuming plainspokenness. Her narratives push hard at our senses and demand we return again and again to pick up the pieces we dropped on first hearing, expanding our comprehension of difficult, personal and universal experience
Kat has released five CDs to date, three of which are available from Waterbug Music, one from Redwing Music, and the most recent – Speak – in August 2009 as an independent release.
Also an actor, teacher and hammered dulcimer player, Kat has been a lead singer with The Otters and with Bohola, and recorded a duo CD with Kate MacLeod. She has played live and on recordings with David Bromberg, Bohola, the David Munnelly Band, Niamh Parsons, Jim Tullio, Tom Dundee, Dennis Cahill, Michael Smith, Brooks Williams, Andrew Calhoun, and many others. She has toured in Europe, Australia, Ireland, England, and Scotland as well as the U.S.
Robyn Landis is a writer of unusual depth and literacy. Her distinctive, powerful command of songcraft garners repeated
comparisons to Richard Shindell and Dar Williams.
Writing poetry at four and her first published magazine piece by 19, Robyn had a full career as a writer and author (publishing two bestselling health books in her twenties) before turning her focus to music. Her gifts and skills as a writer, applied to songcraft, earned her quick recognition. Since 2005 she has accrued more than 40 songwriting awards and honors.
She has won Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, first place at Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, second place in the Unisong International Songwriting Competition, a Telluride Troubadors honorable mention, and was a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist in 2009.
Robyn is especially respected for her unflinching honesty, vulnerability, and fierce intelligence. Her courageous, heartfelt songs tackle subjects ranging from war to weather to love; adoption and dementia, betrayal and longing, friendship, child abuse, old sitcoms, and the environment.
Unpretentious, wistful and intimate vocals infuse her memorable folk-pop-Americana melodies with warmth and feeling.
Her followup/solo recording Many Moons, released May 2009, has guest appearances by Michael Lille, Mark Graham, Kat Eggleston, Larry Murante, Joe and Karena Prater (Cat Loves Crow), and Hans York; and features Paul Elliott on fiddle and Cary Black on bass.
Mark Tucker of Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange (FAME) says of Many Moons, “Every cut here is a keeper, and Landis obviously either lavished a good deal of time on the arrangements or has a natural gift for it, probably both. Like David Wilcox, her work is rich with sympathy for human frailty and the thousand and one disappointments the flesh is heir to… Robyn Landis, I’m quite sure, waited until her art was fully matured and, man, does it ever show.”
Indie-Music.com says, “Smooth vocals, like an earthy Laurie Lewis…Landis has won a lot of songwriting awards, and it’s easy to see why…Her writing is like a good short story.”
Nancy Vivolo, VICTORY REVIEW: “…smooth vocals caress the sensitive poetry and bittersweet sorrow…With each literary illustration, the landscape blurs by around another winding curve and bump in the road; another set of headlights grow then disappear in a flash, and yet a ghostly image remains…she can put you behind the wheel with her cohesive words and melody. Landis has been turning heads at many songwriters’ contests and festivals and as a result has chocked up her share of nominations and awards. Listening to the content and production quality of Many Moons, there is no doubt as to why…Many Moons is a brightly polished piece of work that will capture and carry you gently along on an intricate narrative adventure; an exceptional release.”
