Folklife Masters: Kevin Burke & Mark Graham

Tickets: $35 advance / door

Note: The first concert in the Folklife Masters series sold out very quickly.  Don’t lose your chance to claim a seat at this one-of-a-kind venue!

Click here to purchase advance tickets.

Northwest Folklife and Empty Sea Studios are proud to present the second concert in the 2009 Folklife Masters concert series.

Folklife Masters presents one-of-a-kind concerts which bring master musicians from different traditions together to collaborate and inspire on stage.  In our intimate 45-seat listening room, every nuance of these masters’ performances can be savored.

A portion of the proceeds go directly to support Northwest Folklife.

Kevin Burke & Mark Graham

Master Irish fiddler Kevin Burke joins old-time harmonica wizard Mark Graham for an evening of kindred acoustic music.  Kevin Burke and Mark Graham founded the popular group Open House in the 1990s, along with percussive dance master Sandy Silva and mandolinist Paul Kotapish.  The group was an instant hit, signed to Green Linnet records, and toured extensively.  Their blend of old-world and new-world melodies with Mark’s tongue-in-cheek songs, all anchored by Kevin’s dazzling fiddling, was a wonderful mélange and Open House became a seminal group in the traditional music scene.  Following the band’s breakup in 1999, Kevin Burke went on to become a National Heritage Fellow (our nation’s highest honor for traditional artists) and to tour with Celtic Fiddle

Festival and various guitar masters.  Mark founded the Kings of Mongrel Folk with Orville Johnson and released a definitive album of Southern old-time music on harmonica.

Kevin Burke’s partnership with Mark Graham enabled both artists to explore their diverse influences and their love of the West Coast’s musical melting pot.  Kevin has made his home in Portland, Oregon for more than 25 years, and Mark was born and raised in Seattle and Renton.  Both artists draw from Celtic and Americana sources, as well as Eastern European and South American traditions.  Playing together, the fiddle and harmonica blend effortlessly and these masters convey both a deep respect and a great irreverence for their traditions.

Kevin Burke: Master Irish Fiddler

Considered by many to be the greatest living Irish fiddler, we have been uncommonly fortunate to have Kevin Burke as a Northwest resident for the past 30 years.  His smooth bowing, virtuosic ornaments, and masterful interpretations of Irish tunes have made him an inspiration to three generations of Irish traditional musicians.  He has collaborated with artists as diverse as Christy Moore, Kate Bush and Arlo Guthrie.  In 2002, he was granted a National Heritage award; this award is the highest honor our nation bestows on traditional artists.  He is now in the company of luminaries like Earl Scruggs, Clifton Chenier, Doc Watson and B.B. King.

Born in London, Burke’s family came from County Sligo in Ireland and his playing retains the dazzling ornaments and smooth bowing of this Irish county.  Kevin Burke has been a member of the seminal Bothy Band, as well as Patrick Street, Open House, and Celtic Fiddle Festival, and he has recorded landmark albums with Irish artists like Jackie Daly and Michael O Domhnaill.  It is his solo fiddling, however, that holds such a draw for traditional music aficionados.  Burke is able to touch the inner depths of Irish music, drawing unheard of subtleties from traditional tunes.  His sensitivity to the music is best explored in an intimate, house concert setting, and we are very proud to be able to offer just that.

Mark Graham: Southern Old-Time Harmonica & Topical Songs

One of the few harmonica players schooled in the melodic and rhythmic intricacies of Southern string band music, Mark Graham plays in a powerful but lyrical, blues tinged style that recalls the feel of the finest banjo and fiddle playing. With over 35 years of harmonicizing, Graham has gained an encyclopedic knowledge of American country and blues styles. As a member of the Hurricane Ridge Runners in the 1970s and Boston’s Chicken Chokers in the 1980s, Graham helped set the standard for hell-raising Southern old-time string band music. As a member of the acclaimed world music ensemble, Kevin Burke’s Open House, he brought new respect to the harmonica in Celtic and world music. Graham is equally as well known for his songwriting as for his harmonica.  His songs speak of a singular universe of surreal mountain hilarity and lonesome terror that covers the big subjects.  Graham is the author of dozens of comic gems such as “I Can See Your Aura and It’s Ugly”, “Zen Gospel Singing”, and “Life is Hard When You’re Dumb.” His songs have been covered by artists such as Danny Barnes, The Austin Lounge Lizards, Brian Bowers, and The Limelighters.