Friday, February 1, 2019 – 8:00 pm
An Evening with Joe Crookston
Joe Crookston – Songwriter, guitarist, painter, fiddler, slide player, eco-village member and believer in all things possible. Named 2016 Folk Alliance International Artist-in- Residence. He’ll surprise you and awaken the cynics. He’s plumbing for lyrical gold like a social archeologist. His songs are universal, his rhythm infectious and in concert, he is funny as hell one moment and transcendent the next. Whether he’s picking his 48 Gibson, weaving through lap slide songs or looping his fiddle, he will draw you in. It happens every time. Watch a YouTube video. It’s good, but it’s not the same. You gotta come to a show. With unwavering courage to be himself, he is literate, poignant and funny as hell. He lives in Ithaca NY, and tours regularly in the US, Ireland and Canada.
Best quote: “I hate folk music, but I absolutely LOVE Joe Crookston’s music.!”
____________________________________________
Saturday, March 2, 2019 – 7:30 pm
An Evening with Madison Violet
When you hear Madison Violet, the first thing you’ll notice is that their voices blend together, symbiotically, like family: Born to sing the same songs. And over the past decade and a half, the pair have taken to genre-bending, moving effortlessly from folk to pop to electronic to Americana. In a word, they are musical chameleons. Over the years, Madison Violet have acquired quite a few accolades, including a Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award and Winners of the Grand Prize in the 2010 Maxell John Lennon Song Writing Contest.
__________________________________________
Saturday, April 6, 2019 – 7:30 pm
An Evening with Amy Speace
Amy Speace is a folk singer, timeless and classic, and a bit out of her own era. Since her discovery in 2006 by folk-pop icon Judy Collins, Speace has been heralded as one of the leading voices of the new generation of American folk singers. From her beginnings in New York City as a classically-trained actress with The National Shakespeare Company, to the coffeehouses of Greenwich Village where she began playing her original songs, followed by a move to East Nashville in 2009. She has released five critically acclaimed records and is currently at work on her next solo album, to be released in spring of 2019.
_____________________________________________
Saturday, May 4, 2019 – 7:30 pm
An Evening with Lloyd-Martin-Vox
$25 Suggested Donation
With the huge success of that show in Baltimore (and another after that) … Lloyd Martin and Vox was born. Marrying Vox’s renowned mouth trumpet and ukulele prowess, Martin’s flawless folk songwriting and vocals and Lloyd’s powerhouse percussion makes this trio a little bit funky, a little bit folky and definitely fierce. Three of the most signature, polished voices on the folk/acoustic scene also make for rich harmony throughout the group’s re-imagined covers and original tunes. With Vox now calling California home, their shows together in the MD/DC area are rare and special – Don’t miss this one!
__________________________________________
Friday, September 13, 2019 – 8:00 pm
An Evening with Jon Shain
Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who’s been turning heads for years with his words, his fiery acoustic guitar work, and his evolved musical style – combining improvised piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime. Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who’s been turning heads for years with his words, his fiery acoustic guitar work, and his evolved musical style – combining improvised piedmont blues with jazz, swing, bluegrass, and ragtime. He grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts – a mill-town that had seen its better days by the time he was a child. It was here that he began to discover his love of American roots music and songwriting, specifically drawn to the narratives about regular people and themes of social justice. He continued his musical journey while attending college at Duke University. In addition to studying jazz, he also had the good fortune to learn the piedmont blues tradition firsthand by playing in Big Boy Henry’s backing band. It was at this time that Shain also got to meet and play with a number of the great older NC blues players.
______________________________________________________________
Saturday, October 5, 2019 – 7:30 pm
An Evening with Malcolm Holcombe
Malcolm Holcombe grew up in western North Carolina, home to some of the planet’s oldest mountains and some of America’s deepest musical traditions. Radio and TV fueled Malcolm’s musical passions as a kid, and music became even more important after he lost both his parents relatively young. He toured with bands and landed in Nashville, where he took up an inconspicuous station at the back of the house – the very back – at Douglas Corner, one of the city’s best singer/songwriter venues. Stories began to circulate about the mysterious dishwasher with the subterranean voice and oracle-like talent. Sadly so did stories of wildly inconsistent behavior – profound sweetness crossed by bouts of stunning abrasiveness. He flirted with an official music career. But his stunning debut album made for Geffen Records was abruptly shelved, producing melodrama that only exacerbated Malcolm’s drinking and depression. A business that once had a place for complicated genius turned its back on him, and he teetered near the edge.
Moving back to the North Carolina hills proved a powerful tonic. Holcombe let in help where before he’d pushed it away. With deep faith in God and a commitment to his art, Holcombe repaired himself and his career. And that’s a pretty good nod to the effect of hearing Holcombe sing. If you’ve not seen him in a live setting, this is what you have to do. His presence is spooky and timeless, as one imagines it was like to see Son House or Leadbelly. No emotional stone is left unturned. While you plan for this important experience, collect Malcolm Holcombe albums… He is cryptic, demanding, polarizing, bold, passionate and free, a combination badly needed in our time of infinite trivia. He’s even more interesting for having made a remarkable journey of recovery and discovery.
_________________________________________________________