Saturday, November 28

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

The Canotes

with opening act with Aunt Mama

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday weekend when the Seattle Folklore Society presents Greg and Jere Canote at the Phinney Neighborhood Center Community Hall. Double up with laughter when these identical twin musicians take the stage with fiddle, banjo, ukuleles and genetically matched voices.

The Canotes bring fun to vintage American music, including forgotten fiddle tunes, swing classics and quirky novelty songs. Equally at home on a blazing hot fiddle tune or soaring into the clouds with a scat singing swing tune, the twins know their stuff inside and out and perform with an affable friendly approach that invites you into their world of making merry.

For thirteen years, the twins shared the stage on the live radio show Sandy Bradley’s potluck. They regularly play at dances and local music festivals. They have recorded several albums, including Thinga-Ma-Jig, an album of novelty tunes and other fun songs that they say is akin to their greatest hits record. In 2007 they released their latest, Calico Pie-Fiddletunes in the Key of Calico.

Audiences of all ages will enjoy this Thanksgiving treat as the Canotes perform with spirit, humor, and sterling musicianship.

Sharing the stage, KBCS story teller Aunt Mama will take you back to her beloved Blue Ridge Mountains where time moves slower than a honeysuckle breeze. Then she’ll snap you back to the Pacific Northwest where sunlight halos Mt. Rainer, slugs feast on the dahlias and skyscrapers grow faster than the Douglas fir.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, November 21

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Mary Flower

with opening act Brian Butler

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

The Seattle Folklore Society is pleased to welcome back to the Phinney Center concert stage, Portland-based blues artist Mary Flower. Mary's recently released CD "Bridges" plays homage to the many river crossings of her adopted home town, and links the ragtime, blues, swing, folk and jazz genres of her music.

Working in both the intricately syncopated Piedmont fingerpicking style and her own deeply bluesy lap-slide guitar, Mary has earned rave reviews from critics and audiences alike for her springwater-clear vocals and mastery of multiple guitar styles as well as her own compositions. Though she can create prewar blues and ragtime with the best of them, Mary draws on traditional, contemporary and original material to create something new: a sound uniquely her own that remains true to the timeless power of the blues. Flower’s elegant, funky and inventive playing on vintage guitars makes her one of a mere handful of women guitarists admired for their instrumental prowess. In 2000 and 2003 respectively, Mary placed in the top three at the National Fingerpicking Championship. Mary also was nominated in 2008 for the prestigious Handy award as Acoustic Artist of the year. Her career as an internationally known performer and teacher has spanned more than three decades.

Opening for Mary will be Seattle's own Brian Butler. Inspired by the blues of B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Lightning Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb, Brian has developed his own style of singing and guitar playing. His guitar rings with the authority of years of playing. His singing has relaxed warmth on numbers like the classic "Night Time Is the Right Time", or a passionate intensity on his own "Serious Business". Brian's repertoire includes original songs and a wide selection of modern and classic blues.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, November 14

An SFS Evening with

Reilly & Maloney

Maple Leaf Lutheran Church (in Meadowbrook), 7:30PM

General Admission: $17
$2 off for SFS members and seniors, kids half price

SFS is pleased to announce a late-but-lovely addition to its fall concert calendar: beloved Northwest duo Reilly & Maloney in concert November 14, at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church in Meadowbrook!

With careers that date back to 1970 and the devoted following to prove it, Ginny Reilly and David Maloney packed houses all across the country in their first two decades together, sharing stages with the likes of Judy Collins, Tom Paxton, and Greg Brown. A ten-year hiatus followed, but the pair returned to performing in 2000 and the ensuing run has been no mere victory lap: while concertgoers can expect plenty of old favorites sprinkled throughout the setlist, both have continued to write fresh and vital songs that add to an already impressive canon. Two albums of new material, including the 2008 tribute to songwriter and friend Tom Dundee, have appeared this decade, along with the reissuing of the entire R&M back catalog on CD (& DVD!).

Many SFS members can testify personally to the uplifting and heartwarming feelings than an evening with Reilly & Maloney provides--come discover for yourself or experience it again! Saturday, November 14, 7:30pm at Maple Leaf Lutheran Church in Seattle’s Meadowbrook neighborhood (10005 32nd Ave. NE; plenty of parking!). $17, or $15 for SFS/MLLC members: tickets available in advance through Brown Paper Tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/85847 or by calling 1-800-838-3006.

Saturday, November 7

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Dunava

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Perhaps you tried to catch them at the Balkan Showcase during Folklife but got shut out of that phenomenal standing-room-only show? Well...fret not! Thankfully, you have another chance!

Dunava, (Bulgarian for "the Danube"), is a Seattle-based women's vocal ensemble specializing in the a cappella folk music of the Balkans. Founded in 2005, Dunava is comprised of singers from diverse musical backgrounds who all share a passion for the hauntingly beautiful harmonies and intricate arrangements of Eastern European folk songs. Their repertoire includes material collected from the cities and villages of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Russia and Serbia. Dunava is a local treasure carrying forward these "old country" musical traditions right here at home with a rare mixture of carefully studied authenticity and spirited interpretation. They have also just released their first studio recording, after much popular demand at their live shows. Please come out to welcome Dunava in their debut Seattle Folklore Society performance. These ladies will knock your socks off!

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, October 17

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Woods Tea Co.

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Wood's Tea Company is a musical group that defies categorization. They perform bluegrass, Celtic tunes, sea chanties, and folk songs with ease and skill. The Vermont-based group draws on a wide variety of musical experience and expression, employing as many as a dozen different instruments from banjos, bouzoukis, and bodhrans, to guitars and tin whistles.

"...one of the hottest up and coming acts... sidestepping pretension and going for the grit, this New England group gives a lusty performance every time." --Folk Music Quarterly

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, October 10

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Cliff Perry and Laurel Bliss

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Cliff and Laurel celebrate the release of their CD "Spirit of Love" in a Seattle Folklore Society concert. Their voices perfectly complement one another for a memorable live performance. Come prepared for an evening of old time harmony from the roots of American music ... the Carter Family, Delmore Brothers, Charlie and Ira Louvin, and more. Every song a gem of free flowing, authentic musical joy.

Cliff and Laurel have been playing old time and bluegrass music together for 30 years in the Pacific Northwest. They long performed with Southfork, a band out of Bellingham known for strong singing and heartfelt songs. As a duet they released an album of songs, "Old Pal," that was voted by County Sales as "Best Old Time Recording" of 1994. Whether with a band or simple duet, their appearances are eagerly awaited by a loyal following. Cliff and Laurel are each active in their local music scenes as enthusiastic players and generous teachers, and continue to encourage a new generation to keep the old songs and music alive.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, September 26

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Peggy Seeger

with opening act Seattle Labor Chorus

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

SFS is proud and excited to present Peggy Seeger as the first Fall concert of the "Saturdays on Phinney Ridge" series. Peggy was born into a very notable folk music family: Her mother was the composer and folklorist Ruth Crawford Seeger, her father Charles Louis Seeger, a pioneer of ethnomusicology. Her half-brother is Pete Seeger, and her brother Mike Seeger. Between the ages of 12 & 35, Peggy learned to play piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, autoharp, Appalachian dulcimer and English concertina. In 1959, after a time working as a touring musician, she settled in London with Ewan MacColl. The MacColl/Seeger duo were at the forefront of the British folksong revival for the ensuing three decades. The MacColl-Seeger work was seminal - its high point was the development of the revolutionary Radio Ballad form, a tapestry of field recordings of speech and sound effects melded with new songs in the folk idiom and complementary instrumental accompaniments.

Peggy has made 22 solo discs and has taken part in more than 100 recordings with other performers. She is considered to be among North America's finest female folksingers and took a leading role in the British folk music revival, not only as a singer and instrumentalist but also as a theorist and songwriter. In the mid-1970s, she began to concentrate on feminist and ecological issues. Her best-known songs are "The Ballad of Springhill" and "I’m Gonna Be An Engineer", and she got a bit of notice last fall for You Tube performances of "Obama is the One for Me." After living back in the US since 1994, Peggy plans to relocate again to England in 2010. Don’t miss this chance to hear an inspiring songmaker, singer of traditional songs, and outstanding multi-instrumentalist.

There will be a short opening set by the Seattle Labor Chorus.

Tickets may be purchased in advance through Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/76315 or call 1-800-838-3006.

Thursday, September 17

An Evening of Scottish Fiddle Music

Calum MacKinnon, Muriel Johnstone, Keith Smith

Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church - 7500 Greenwood Ave N, 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS members and seniors, kids half price

Calum MacKinnon, Keith Smith (fiddle) and Muriel Johnstone (piano) are all internationally known exponents of the traditional Scottish music repertoire. Keith and Muriel travel the world as a Scottish fiddle and piano duo, and Calum and Muriel perform as another Scottish music duo throughout the US and Canada. Their schedules seldom allow them to perform as a trio, but this September, the Seattle Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society’s annual Fort Worden Dance weekend has brought them together and they are taking the opportunity to give a special concert for the Seattle audience. They will be playing selections from their respective repertoire of the fiddle music of Scotland, including original compositions by all three, as well as some collaborative trio sets.

As a bonus, one of Calum’s students, Christina Smith will be making a guest performance. Fifteen years old, Christina recently traveled to Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina to compete in a Regional Scottish Fiddle competition. Passing up the 'junior' category to compete in the Open division, Christina won 1st place - in a field of six competitors which included last year’s Scottish Fiddling National Champion who came in second!

Come enjoy an evening of the beautiful and dynamic music of Scotland. This special 'pre-season' concert takes place in the sanctuary of the Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church – just north of our usual concert series at the Phinney Neighborhood Center.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, May 9

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Bruce Molsky with Tatiana and Alex Hargreaves

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Don't miss this opportunity to hear legendary Bruce Molsky along with Alex and Tatiana Hargreaves, carrying old-time music into the next generation.

With guitar, fiddle, or banjo in hand, Bruce Molsky explores traditional music from an astonishingly broad range of cultures – synthesizing them and refracting them through his own evolving sensibilities to the point where the sources of his inspiration transform themselves into a sound that is uniquely his. While most identified with traditional American old-time music, Molsky’s influences range from the Appalachian soul of Tommy Jarrell to Delta blues; from the haunting modal strains of Irish music to the rhythmically nimble music of Eastern Europe.

Alex Hargreaves was the youngest ever to win the Grand Champion division at the National Oldtime Fiddlers' Contest in Weiser, Idaho in 2007. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, he won the Championship Division of the Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers Contest. In 2006, Alex won the Junior Division (ages 17 and under) at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest in Weiser. In addition to playing a variety of styles on fiddle, Alex also plays mandolin and guitar.

At 13 years of age, Tatiana has already steeped herself in the archives of Appalachian music and song, playing both fiddle and banjo. She has appeared on stage with folk and bluegrass musicians including Bruce Molsky, Darol Anger, Mark O’Connor, Uncle Earl, Sara Watkins, Sean Watkins, Brittany Haas, Tristan Clarridge, Tashina Clarridge, Crooked Still, Luke Bulla, Laurie Lewis & Tom Rozum. In 2008 Tatiana was the youngest winner of the Championship Division of the Oregon Oldtime Fiddlers Contest.

Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com or at Seattle Folklore Society concerts.

Saturday, April 18

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

David Roth

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

We are delighted to welcome back former neighbor and award-winning singer/songwriter David Roth to the Phinney Neighborhood Center on April 18th. It is a rare chance to see him in Seattle. David’s concerts are funny, moving, topical, inspiring… and the guy can sing! His stories and songs are delivered with humor and grace, the perfect antidote to these difficul times. The New Haven Folk Alliance says "David's pure, smooth voice, unsurpassed instrumental ability, incredible humor, and heart-piercing, intelligent lyrics brought a feeling into our concert hall that cannot be described - except perhaps by the word "harmony". It was as if folk music, New Age, comedy club, coffee house, and a bit of heaven had all come together for one evening."

Joining David will be David Lange (co-producer of 4 of David's recordings) on piano and accordion.

David celebrates his 22nd year of full-time music-making, and his latest of eight CDs, "Practice Makes Progress" was released last year. His songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall, churches and music festivals, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the NASA space center, the United Nations, and countless venues worldwide. Don't miss this rare opportunity to enjoy David Roth and his music in person!

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Friday, April 3

Los Gringo Calentanos

Olympic Hall, South Seattle Community College, 7:30PM

General Admission: $12
$2 off for SFS members and seniors, kids half price

Paul Anastasio and Tina Pilione have been enthralled by Mexican violinst Juan Reynosa, so much so that they have joined together to present the Tierra Caliente fiddle music in this Seattle Folklore Society concert. The fiddle music comes from the Michoacan and Guerrero regions of Mexico. They call themselves Los Gringo Calentanos.

They will be joined in concert by master dancers Cathy and Isaac Shultz-Reyes, who have performed at Mexico City's Ballet Folklorico.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, April 4

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Pandit Vikash Maharaj with Prabhash Maharaj

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

April 4th is right around the corner and promises to be an extraordinary evening on Phinney Ridge. Please join us in welcoming these two amazing musicians from Varanasi India as they perform in Seattle for the very first time.

A master of the Sarod, Pandit Vikash Maharaj carries both the beauty and vitality of traditional Indian music around the world, bringing a rare innovation to the music he creates and performs. For more than 30 years, Vikash has been performing, teaching, collaborating and exploring the fine nuances and expansive possibilities of this beautifully rich and difficult instrument.

Accompanying Vikash on this tour is his son, Prabhash Maharaj, a brilliant young tabla player. Prabash performs with remarkable skill and charm, offering a unique compliment to his father’s Sarod and other great artists.

Together on stage these two accomplished musicians blend precision and playfulness, virtuosity and curiosity, creating a rare and delightfully captivating performance. This is an opportunity not to be missed.

Make your reservations now at seafolklore.org or by calling the concert line at 528-8523. $15 general admission; $13 for SFS and PNA members, seniors and students; and $7 for youth (children under 6 are free).

Doors open at 7:00 and show starts promptly at 7:30.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, March 21

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Joe Hickerson and Tony Saletan

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

For 50+ years, Joe Hickerson has performed over a thousand times at concerts, festivals, coffeehouses, folk clubs and societies, colleges and universities, community groups, and radio programs throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Finland and Ukraine. He has been referred to as the "folksinger's folksinger." Pete Seeger has called him "a great song leader." His wide-ranging repertoire of English-language songs and ballads includes occupational and labor songs, children's songs, humorous songs and parodies, Irish-American songs, sea songs, religious songs, and chorus songs, which he sings with guitar and unaccompanied. Although not known as a songwriter, Joe is the author of the 4th and 5th verses of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?".

Aside from being a folk singer and song leader, Joe is a historian, researcher, and archivist. For thirty-five years, he was librarian and director of the archive of folk song at the American Folklife center of the Library of Congress. Even after retiring, Joe has not stopped sharing his knowledge and love of folk and roots music. He currently travels throughout the country, lecturing, teaching, and offering workshops. While at a Joe Hickerson concert, people will walk away a little more knowledgeable and appreciative of folk music.

Joining Joe for this concert is his long-time friend and singing partner, Tony Saletan. Tony is also a noted folk singer and song leader, in addition to also being a historian and researcher. While living in the East Coast, Tony educated and exposed kids to music as the host of several shows which aired on public television. Aside from hosting kids' shows, Tony was one of the first musical guests to sing with popular characters such as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, on the long-running and educational show, "Sesame Street."

In addition to singing, Tony Saletan is also very active in the dance scene. He is a noted and widely sought after dance caller.

Those who come to this concert with Joe Hickerson and Tony Saletan should come expecting a lively and engaging time. After all, they will be a major part of the concert, as Joe and Tony will have everyone singing along loudly and proudly from the very first song!

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, March 14

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

David Mallett

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

David Mallett hails from a small town in northern Maine, and in a career that spans four decades, his music has traveled to all corners of the world. David is a passionate vocalist who connects with and moves his audience. His songs have been recorded by more than 150 artists, including Pete Seeger, Alison Krauss, John Denver, Emmylou Harris, and even the Muppets, and his "Garden Song" has become an American folk classic.

He has performed in town halls and folk clubs across America and Europe in addition to major venues such as Barns of Wolf Trap, Newport Folk Festival, and "Prairie Home Companion". The Bangor Daily News recognized him as one of the 58 most memorable Mainers of the 20th Century. The readers of FOLKWAX (www.folkwax.com) voted him 2003 Artist of the Year and "Artist in Me" 2003 Album of the Year. He has recorded 14 albums, including "The Fable True" (2007), based on Thoreau’s last expedition in 1857, a spoken word CD with accompanying music.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, March 7

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Mighty Squirrel

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Expect everything from Appalachian old-time to Yiddish swing, Celtic and French Canadian songs from this high power acoustic quartet! In the band are Caridwen Irvine Spatz (vocals/ fiddle),Greg Spatz (octave mandolin/ fiddle), David Keenan (guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, vocals) and Ivan Rosenberg (dobro, claw hammer banjo & vocals). Greg, David & Ivan are familiar fixtures on the folk / bluegrass scene: Greg currently plays fiddle with the noted Canadian group John Reischman & the Jaybirds, and is the author of the novel "Fiddlers Dream". David is known for his work with Jo Miller & Her Burly Roughnecks, as well as Miles & Karina, The Downtown Mountain Boys, and Ranch Romance. Ivan has toured with Chris Jones, the Breakmen, Chris Stuart & Backcountry, and New Voices in Slide Guitar, and his original music has been licensed for Deadwood, Oprah and The Daily Show. But Caridwen's pure haunting voice is the centerpiece of Mighty Squirrel. She has been likened to early Alison Krauss and Jacqui McShee, and she sings in English, French and Yiddish. She is also a versatile fiddler, playing old time, Klezmer, and Celtic tunes with style and grace.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, February 28

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Sin Fronteras

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

The Seattle Folklore Society is pleased to welcome back Sin Fronteras ("Without Borders"), a 3 member, Seattle based ensemble that interprets songs from across Central & South America and the Caribbean. Founded in 2002, the group draws heavily from the Nueva Canci�n song movement, with an emphasis on Andean instrumentation, three-part vocal harmony, Chilean and Argentinean composers. Sin Fronteras is committed to unity among all peoples of the Americas and beyond. Diego Coy, Abel Rocha, and Patricia Mazuela hail from Colombia, Mexico and Chile. They play a variety of instruments including harp, guitar, cuatro, charango, quena, zampona, quenacho, and percussion.

For this show, Sin Fronteras will be joined by 2 special guest musicians and a dancer. Pamela Emerson is a founding member of Sin Fronteras and has played and recorded with "Trillium" (a Seattle-based vocal trio) and Alaska singer-songwriter Esther Golton. Heather Carman has a passion for world music, and currently performs with Sin Fronteras and the Persian ensemble "Kamand." Claudia Moran is a dancer from Argentina.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, February 21

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Cindy Kallet & Grey Larsen

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen, each well-known and loved for their decades of music making, have joined musical forces in a new duo. Cindy is a superb singer, guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Grey is one of America's finest players of the Irish flute and tin whistle, as well as an accomplished singer and concertina, fiddle, piano and harmonium player. As composers each has contributed to the unique tapestry of contemporary folk and world music as it exists and flourishes in America today. Together, they weave songs and tunes of vibrant color and rich texture.

The duo's repertoire includes Cindy's sparkling original songs, distinctive settings of traditional Irish music, Scandinavian fiddle duets, old-time fiddle and guitar tunes from southern Indiana, and new music that Cindy and Grey are inventing together. There is plenty of variety and breadth of musical territory here, all deeply rooted in folk traditions, and interwoven with the renaissance and baroque counterpoint in which both Cindy and Grey, coincidentally, were immersed while growing up. Included are vocal duets, guitar, Irish flute, Irish alto flute, tin whistle, concertina, harmonium, and duet fiddling, and plenty of stories that put the music into a personal context.

For more on Cindy and Grey as individual artists, visit: http://www.cindykallet.com and http://www.greylarsen.com/ To hear Cindy and Grey's interview on NPR's All Things Considered: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93130817

On Sunday, February 22nd, Cindy and Grey will be conducting workshops at Dusty Strings music shop in the Fremont district. Grey's workshops will be on Irish Flute and Tin Whistle repertoire and technique. Cindy's workshops will cover creative hand techniques and easing melodies into your strum on guitar. Contact Dusty Strings at http://dustystrings.com for more information on Cindy and Grey's workshops.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, February 14

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Kate Power and Steve Einhorn

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Music to Life winner of the Grand Prize at Kerrville 2006 for her song, "Travis John", Kate Power's songs are inspired by a simple take on a complex world. In tandem with music partner and husband, Kate Power & Steve Einhorn build community through the music they write, play and perform and leave their audiences a little richer, positive, and humane. Using a lifetime of tools brought to a fine patina behind the counter at folk instrument shop, Artichoke Music, Kate is refining her focus on art, music and writing, reflecting life as she finds it inside and outside the community. One life in music. Two lives in harmony. Kate Power is a voice whose song is growing.

Steve Einhorn swings from Jugband favorites to original new folk without missing a beat. The sound of his guitar lends a rich and elegant background to a voice that growls warm with the comfort of molasses and a shade of grit. New folk, old folk; Steve produces a sound that holds all the ingredients in balance with perfect seasoning, subtlety and panache. A spicy and extensive vocabulary in the ways of the world, his repertoire refreshes the ear with new takes and old tales. Genuine, warm, funny and sensitive, Einhorn carries music to fresh heights while shooting straight from the core to reveal complex matters of the heart held close from inside the simplest song. A musician's musician, Steve's songs come alive through the door of the heart.

The songs, music and performance of Kate Power & Steve Einhorn captures the attention of folk heroes such as Tom Paxton, Pete Seeger and Judy Collins along with a growing audience of music lovers around the country. Kate and Steve take their place among the many voices of the American story.

Coverage of the adventures of Kate Power & Steve Einhorn brings more into focus than music, it's the stuff of life. Intentional activism for positive social change and a love for harmony brings one story after another from the edge of the trail these two have chosen together. Decades of serving up folk music at Artichoke Music, winning the Music to Life Grand Prize at Kerrville for a song from a lost boy, community work against hunger and setting the Guinness World Record with the world's largest guitar band singing "This Land is Your Land" to fill the pantry at Sisters of the Road Cafe in Portland, playing A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor when he came to Oregon with his road show, letters from a lifetime hero, Pete Seeger telling them how much he loves their music or giving an unknown Zimbabwean boy a great guitar to play after he built his first one out of an oil can, raw wood and stripped bicycle brake cables; there are hundreds of stories to tell. Kate and Steve are delighted to share many of these stories and songs with a Seattle audience.

Not only will this be a lovely SFS concert, but it will be a celebration. February 14th is Valentine’s day, and it is also Kate and Steve’s wedding anniversary. For Kate and Steve, there’s no better way to celebrate love than by doing what they love and by sharing it with a loving audience. Come celebrate with Kate and Steve and spend a night that will be full of thought provoking, inspirational, and sweet folk music.

Reserve online, or by calling 206-528-8523.

Saturday, February 7

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Jim Malcolm

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $15
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Jim Malcolm has been called one of the finest Scots traditional singers of his generation. The former lead singer for the power group Old Blind Dogs has long shown his admiration for the Scottish national poet Robert Burns, and recently released a stunning tribute CD. With his rich voice, confident guitar work and subtle harmonica, he stamps his unique identity on the songs. 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, and in celebration Jim will be dressing up as the poet himself for the second set of his concert, to pay tribute in song (and in humour, of course) to Scotland's most outstanding cultural figure. It will be highly entertaining and may never be repeated. The first half of the evening will feature some of Jim's best-loved songs and a handful of beautiful new songs from his latest CD, The First Cold Day, which will be on sale for the first time on this tour.

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, January 31

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Dick Weissman

with opening act Sarah Sample

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Dick Weissman is a tremendously multifaceted talent: a fantastic banjo and guitar player, a brilliant storyteller, a great composer, writer, teacher... he could be on stage a week and you wouldn't get bored. We'll only have a few hours with him to scratch the surface, so don't miss a minute.

Dick's career has ranged from his early days in The Journeymen with John Phillips and Scott McKenzie, through years of doing studio work in NYC, teaching in a wide range of settings, and writing numerous books, all the while actively performing and recording. His publications include best-selling books on the music business, a fascinating history of folk music, and quite a few instructional books for banjo and guitar. There's only room here for the tip of the iceberg - you'll find much more info at www.dickweissman.com.

From Dick's captivating music to his fascinating and insightful stories from a lifetime in the music business, this will be an evening to remember.

Opening the show will be Seattle singer/songwriter Sarah Sample, who has lately been hauling in awards from the national festival circuit. "I knew was listening to a singer filled with confident clarity," Vance Gilbert writes of Sarah, "I knew I was listening to a singer that can make big things happen with a whisper, and do it all to material that was provocative, clearly crafted, and smart." www.sarahsample.com

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, November 22

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Cosy Sheridan with T.R. Ritchie

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Cosy Sheridan’s songs have been played everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Dr Demento Show. Captivating and often hilarious stories, masterful guitar work and superbly crafted songs --Cosy Sheridan gives one of the most entertaining and intelligent concert performances on the folk circuit. She weaves children’s stories into Buddhist-like koans: Harold and his Purple Crayon meets Ferdinand the Bull. She describes a modern Persephone who falls in love with a biker named Hades. Ants that sew a heart back together; Hannibal crossing the Alps. Sheridan's storytelling is an intricate part of her concerts. She places the fast-paced life of 21st century America into a timeless, mythic context and we are spell-bound.

Cosy teaches songwriting at workshops and camps across the country, has released 8 CD’s, and written a one-woman-show (and accompanying CD) entitled "The Pomegranate Seed – An Exploration of Appetite, Body-Image and Myth in Modern Culture". She recently composed a song-cycle for best-selling author Robert Fulghum’s new book Third Wish – which has been selling wildly in Europe since last year and will be released this winter in the United States.

Cosy Sheridan will perform with her partner and bass player TR Ritchie. TR brings us thoughtful and inventive songs with uncanny observations and juxtapositions and a poet’s love of language. When he and Cosy share the stage there is magic and a lot of laughter. Don’t miss this show!

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, November 15

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Anais Mitchell

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

From her birthplace on a Vermont sheep farm to Beirut cafes, and Austin recording studios, Righteous Babe Records recording artist, Anais Mitchell, has been around. In her SFS debut concert, Mitchell promises to wow Seattle listeners with her honest and intimate voice, her delicate guitar work and her disarming lyricism. Acoustic Guitar magazine describes her as "a songwriter of startling clarity and depth, equally skilled at turning a melody or lyrical phrase into what you didn't know you needed until you heard it."

Anais has been writing and performing since the tender age of 17. She released her first (now out-of-print) record in 2002 and the following year was honored as a New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival. Mitchell released her second record, Hymns for the Exiled, on Waterbug Records in 2004... The record eventually reached the ears of folk icon Ani D'Franco, who invited Anais to join Ani's own Righteous Babe Records label. Mitchell released her third record, The Brightness, last February ~ It debuted at #4 on Billboard's Northeast chart. Anais writes with grace and knowing detail about such diverse themes hobo adventures and mythic heroes; love, loss & longing; war and the innocence of childhood. "She brilliantly intertwines the mundane and the profound, singing with the same intimacy about a a carefree night on the town and wandering the warring towns of Israel" -- Boston Globe. Her voice whispers and rages as necessary, lilts and proclaims.

This is Mitchell's first Seattle appearance in several years. Come hear this rising star in a small listening room while you still can!

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.

Saturday, November 1

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Tom Rawson/The Wanderers

Phinney Neighborhood Center (Brick Building), 7:30PM

General Admission: $14
$2 off for SFS & PNA members and seniors, kids half price

Folksinger Tom Rawson is the Northwest’s very own version of Pete Seeger. Armed with longneck banjo and other weapons of mass delight, Tom is a master of warmth and wit who loves to share his musical treasures with an 'I know something you don't know and you're gonna love it too' kind of smile. From gospel to contemporary, profound to downright silly, Tom will have you singing, clapping, and laughing along all night.

The Wanderers are the duo of Carl Allen and Bill Murlin. They met in a folk trio at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., in 1959. After winning a campus talent show, the trio, including Al Hansen, appeared regularly at campus dances and fraternal functions. The trio split up after college; however Carl and Bill started singing together again a few years later. In September of 2009, Carl and Bill will celebrate fifty years of a wonderful musical partnership!

The Wanderers feature folk songs from the 1950's to today. They focus on good harmonies backed with well-blended guitars and banjo. In addition to singing songs written by such people as Bill Staines, David Rea, and Terry Gilkeson, Carl has also written some songs for the duo.

In addition to those great old songs, they specialize in the Columbia River songs by Woody Guthrie written in Portland, Oregon, in May 1941. Aside from their regular concerts, they also present educational workshops which elaborate on Woody Guthrie and his songs and time in the North West. Their programs include Woody's quotes, known and unknown songs, and stories about how the songs were written. The Wanderers will be presenting such a workshop on Sunday, November 2, 2008, at Dusty Strings Acoustic Music Shop from 2:45-4:45.

Join Tom and The Wanderers for an evening of humorous stories, user-friendly songs, and acoustic folk philosophy that's guaranteed to leave you smiling. Tune up your vocal chords; you'll need 'em!

Reserve online, or by calling 206/528-8523.