Past Events
June 2021
Solstice Songs for the Forest with Bethany Yarrow
Bethany Yarrow sings music of power and of praise. She is a song keeper, an earth activist, and a student of the spiritual traditions of the Americas. Onstage, she is a mesmerizing, dancing spirit with a powerful voice and a living prayer for unity at the heart of her music. “Music and activism have always gone hand in hand in my life,” says Bethany, who devotes much of her time to work addressing the climate crisis and land & water protection, and to building collaborative solutions to the existential threats of our time. bethanyyarrow.com
Learn a Scots Gaelic Lullaby with Linn Phipps
Materials for this workshop (No prior knowledge of Gaelic required):
Linn Phipps is a UK-based traditional folk singer, in Gaelic and English. What drives her is her passion for traditional music and especially for Gaelic song, which has been the love of her life. She sing as a soloist, with musician friends, in a folk group, with two Gaelic choirs (Lothian and Còisir Lunnainn),and less formally at ceilidhs in Scotland and the North of England. linnphippsfolk.co.uk
Intermediate Banjo with Hubby Jenkins
Hubby Jenkins is a talented singer and multi-instrumentalist (especially banjo, guitar, and bones). Having delved into his Southern roots, he follows the thread of African American history that wove itself through country blues, ragtime, fiddle and banjo, and traditional jazz. After years of busking around the country and playing with the Carolina Chocolate Drops, as well as Rhiannon Giddens’s band, today he spreads his knowledge and love of old-time American music through his dynamic solo performances. hubbyjenkins.com
Open Sing
Voices and instruments welcome. Hosted by Cate Clifford
Cate Clifford is a powerful voice in the traditional folk genre whose moving performances leave audiences spellbound. She performs solo and collaborates often, seamlessly alternating between strong, clear lead vocals and sensitive, compelling harmonies. She has performed in house concerts, venues and festival showcases across New England and New York, and is featured on Lynz Morahn’s EP, Kick It Off. When she’s not singing, Cate collects songs about Robin Hood and King Arthur, love songs beyond the romantic or libidinous, and little songs (with Ben Gagliardi), and serves on the board of Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival (PMFF). She is proud to say that no set list is immune to a dash of Sondheim or a sprinkle of Shakespeare.
Songs from Larkin Bryant with Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen is a blues musician who plays, for the most part, Southeastern music that used to be found on 78’s, including blues, gospel, country dance music, fiddle tunes, monologues, ballads, classic rags, ditties, country songs, and boogies. As well as a virtuoso finger-style guitarist, he is also an enthusiastic proponent of the dolceola, a kind of miniature (Schroeder-sized) grand piano. andycohenmusic.com
Mist Covered Mountains
Molly Hebert-Wilson, Max Cohen, Alex Bell, & Donna Hébert
Blurring lines between past and present, Mist Covered Mountains delivers traditional and original songs with up to five layered voices. Ballads in English, Irish and French are supported with dynamic instrumentals from traditional and original sources. They break your heart, then they make you dance, usually in that order!
Mist Covered Mountains’ dance-saturated fiddle rhythms take you from Acadie to the land of Faerie — and dare you to sit still! From Celtic melancholy and sly satire to fiddling frenzy, they satisfy their audience’s need for variety while offering the finest of harmonies and lyrics. You’ll leave humming and enchanted.
Scots Gaelic Song Types with Linn Phipps
Linn Phipps is a UK-based traditional folk singer, in Gaelic and English. What drives her is her passion for traditional music and especially for Gaelic song, which has been the love of her life. She sing as a soloist, with musician friends, in a folk group, with two Gaelic choirs (Lothian and Còisir Lunnainn),and less formally at ceilidhs in Scotland and the North of England. linnphippsfolk.co.uk
George Wilson
A talented multi-instrumentalist and singer, George Wilson samples a wide variety of traditional and folk styles. As a fiddler, he has over 500 tunes for dancing and listening — tunes from New England, Quebec, Cape Breton, Scotland, Ireland, and Shetland. His dynamic fiddling, strongly influenced by Cape Breton and French Canadian styles, has been popular with contra dancers and concert-goers since the late 1970s. georgewilsonmusic.com
Of Hard Times and Harmony with Windborne
Windborne is a group of vocal chameleons who specialize in close harmony singing, shifting effortlessly between drastically different styles of traditional music within the same concert. Their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures, but they remain deeply rooted in American folk-singing traditions. Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share a vibrant energy onstage— their connection to each other and to the music is clearly evident. They educate as they entertain, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing.
Bethany Yarrow
Bethany Yarrow sings music of power and of praise. She is a song keeper, an earth activist, and a student of the spiritual traditions of the Americas. Onstage, she is a mesmerizing, dancing spirit with a powerful voice and a living prayer for unity at the heart of her music. “Music and activism have always gone hand in hand in my life,” says Bethany, who devotes much of her time to work addressing the climate crisis and land & water protection, and to building collaborative solutions to the existential threats of our time. bethanyyarrow.com
Jamcrackers
Dan Berggren, Peggy Lynn, and Dan Duggan have combined talents to create Jamcrackers, named in honor of the river drivers who broke up log jams. Those drivers worked hard to find solutions, to get things rolling again, and they couldn’t do the job alone. These three feel the same way about their music. With guitars and dulcimer (and other instruments), the trio showcases unique arrangements and striking harmonies as they present a diverse blend of folk and blues, ballads, gospel, and dance tunes.
Magpie
For more than forty years, Magpie has brought its unique sound and breathtaking versatility to audiences everywhere. From traditional songs to vintage blues, from swing and country to folk classics to contemporary and stirring original compositions, they cover a lot of musical ground. They bring to the stage powerful voices and harmonies and excellent instrumental arrangements on guitars, mandolin, harmonica, dulcimer, and concertina. Songwriters, musical historians, and social activists, Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner promise a presentation that is highly entertaining as well as provocative and deeply moving.
Heard
Heard is a collective of musicians who bring their skills and passion for world music, jazz, and improvisation together to create irresistible grooves set in a unique sonic tapestry. Together for a decade, their vibrant sound incorporates influences from West Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean, and beyond. The core quintet: Jonathan Greene (woodwinds), Bobby Kendall (bass), Brian Melick (drums), Zorkie Nelson (percussion/vocals), Forsino Nelson (percussion and dance), and Elizabeth Woodbury Kasius (keyboard/vocals).
Clawhammer Banjo for the Beginner, a Short Lesson with Jim Lloyd
An Appalachian barber, musician, storyteller, presenter, music teacher, banjo historian, and radio host, Jim Lloyd has musical roots that extend through at least four generations of fiddlers, guitar players, dancers, and singers from the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia While accomplished on many instruments, he is known especially for his skills on guitar (finger-picking style) and banjo (claw-hammer and two-finger styles).
Stories from the Liars Club – Adirondack Tall Tales with Joseph & James Bruchac
For over forty years, Joe Bruchac has been creating literature and music that reflect his indigenous heritage and traditions. He is a proud Nulhegan Abenaki citizen and respected elder among his people. Although his American Indian heritage is only one part of an ethnic background that includes Slovak and English blood, those Native roots are the ones by which he has been most nourished. He continues to work extensively in projects involving the preservation of Abenaki culture, language and traditional Native skills. His son Jim—author, storyteller, cultural and wilderness educator—will join him this year.
Scott Ainslie
Steeped in traditional music from both sides of the color line, Scott Ainslie is a renowned acoustic blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, with expertise in Piedmont and Delta Blues as well as Southern Appalachian fiddle and banjo traditions. Armed with a variety of instruments—vintage guitars; a fretless gourd banjo; a one-string diddley bow (aka cigar box guitar)—Ainslie brings the history, roots music, and sounds of America alive.
Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen
Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen bring together their love of traditional music and their wealth of original songs. Steve is considered one of the finest singer-songwriters around, with a warm baritone voice. He is also an accomplished fingerstyle guitarist (using a flat-pick and two fingers), Cindy also writes some original songs, but she is probably better known as a singer, mostly of traditional songs, with a wonderful ear for harmony, as well as a musician (guitar, banjo, concertina, mountain dulcimer).
Ustad Shafaat Khan
World-renowned Indian classical musician Ustad Shafaat Khan has enthralled audiences around the world with his unique concert presentations. The first artist known to attain excellence on the sitar, the surbahar, and the tabla, Mr. Khan’s performances include Indian classical and folk music on sitar, tabla, and vocal; Sufi-inspired compositions; and a multi-cultural fusion of genres ranging from western classical, jazz, and rock to pop, flamenco, and African rhythms.
Cool Guitar Tricks! with Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen is a blues musician who plays, for the most part, Southeastern music that used to be found on 78’s, including blues, gospel, country dance music, fiddle tunes, monologues, ballads, classic rags, ditties, country songs, and boogies. As well as a virtuoso finger-style guitarist, he is also an enthusiastic proponent of the dolceola, a kind of miniature (Schroeder-sized) grand piano. andycohenmusic.com
Young Tradition Vermont
The 2020/2021 Young Tradition Touring Group consists of teen players, singers and dancers who focus on learning and performing a variety of traditional music and dance repertoire over the course of 9 months, starting in September 2020. Group members learn from and are supported by manager Mark Sustic and artist leaders Oliver Scanlon, Fern Tamagini-O’Donnell and Hilary Menegaz Weitzner, in addition to exchanges with young performers and host
organizations during a virtual April tour. Members ranging in age from 11 to 19. Though most members are from Vermont, this year members also represented Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Ontario.
They did the annual spring tour virtually in late April 2021. Previous in-person tours have includedEngland, Ireland, Cape Breton, New Brunswick, Scotland, Japan and metro New York/New Jersey. This year the group visited Sweden, England, New Brunswick, Quebec, Orkney, the Hudson River Valley, Scotland, Ireland and Japan to share music with other trad youth groups, learn in master classes and participate in peer-to-peer socializing.
For more information contact mark.sustic@gmail.com
June 2023
Rum Ragged
Performance — Newfoundland music at it’s best.
Open Mic
with Kate Blain
Where the applause is for you!
Late Night Sing
with Cate Clifford
Earth Songs
with Magpie*, Tret Fure, Geoff Kaufman, and Anne Hills
Stringing us Along
with Bruce Molsky*, Andy Cohen and Corner House
Discovering Traditions
with The Vox Hunters* & Flannery Brown, Jake Blount, and Alex Cumming
55 is No Limit
with Steve Gillette, Anne Hills, and Magpie
Hands Across the Water
with Máire Ní Chathasaigh* & Chris Newman, and Gangspil
Open Mic
with Kate Blain
Late Night Sing
with Matt Watroba
Songwriters’ Open Mic
with Debra Burger
Mixed Tongues
with Beppe Gambetta*, Anita Best & Pamela Morgan, Armand Aromin of The Vox Hunters
Take Action
with Tret Fure*, Geoff Kaufman, Magpie, ,
Blues Brothers
with Guy Davis* and Andy Cohen
Banjo in Song
with Anne Hills*, Evie Ladin, John Roberts, Sara Grey & Kieron Means