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Alphabetical Listing of 2002 TPFF Performers
Performers are listed alphabetically by last name (if solo performer or dance workshop instructor), group name, or the first appearing surname of a duo or other number of performers.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | H | I | J | K | L
M | O | P | R | S | T | W | Y |
A Bunch of Ballads (Abbott
Stage)
Ballads are stories told in songs. In our local area, the tradition of singing
these narratives in still very active, and we've assembled a half-dozen of
the best local practitioners, scholars and great singers all. See the individual
biographies for more about our balladeers: Martha Burns, Bob Clayton, Judy
Cook, Lisa Null, Ed O'Reilly, and Linda Rice-Johnston.
David
A. Alberding (Grove Stage)
Whether on a festival stage or in a quiet listening room, David's percussive
guitar style and rich, distinctive baritone set the stage for his cast of characters.
By blending together elements of folk, rock, jazz and blues, these characters
come to life and are given a voice that shares insight into the human condition.
David's debut CD, "Way Back," showcases diverse song-writing and
presents a mix of both lighthearted fun and deep introspection. www.davidaalberding.com
Anansegromma
of Ghana (Grassy Nook)
Native Ghanaians Kofi Dennis and Kwame Ansah-Brew of Anansegromma offer an
exhilarating and memorable introduction to West African culture. Audiences
become members of a typical Ghanaian village, gathering with "royal elders" and
court musicians to experience traditional call-and-response songs, stories,
drumming, and dance. Active participation from the audience is not only encouraged,
it's contagious when Kofi and Kwame are on stage. Contact: anansegro@aol.com
Mack
Bailey (Grove Stage)
Mack Bailey is no secret to Washington-area listeners, as he was the winner
of the 1992 Washington Area Music Award for Best Male Vocal in the Traditional
Folk category. Originally from North Carolina, Mack's classical training at
the North Carolina School of the Arts shows in his impressive range and pure,
clean vocals. A member of the Hard Travelers, Mack had the privilege of trading
verses to "Thank God, I'm a Country Boy" with John Denver in front
of 9,000 people. www.mackbailey.com
BanjerDan (Seventh
Heaven Stage)
Dan Mazer, Cathy Fink, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, and Michael
Merenda will share their talents in a Banjo Workshop that features
different styles of individual and group performance. Workshop facilitator, Dan
Mazer, is a solo acoustic performer who can pick it on banjo, guitar,
mandolin, and dobro. His style ranges from straight-ahead bluegrass
to folk, blues, pop, and even a little jazz and classical music. Earlier
this year, Dan headlined at the Jacob's Ladder Folk Festival in Israel
on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. www.banjerdan.com
Noa
Baum (Grassy Nook)
Noa Baum brings stories to life with an energetic, animated style. She enjoys
telling traditional stories based in her rich Jewish heritage as well as personal
stories, multicultural tales from all over the world, and stories of strong
and wise women. Born in Israel, Noa emigrated to California in 1990 and moved
to the Washington, D.C. area last year. noabaum@earthlink.net
Big
Blow and the Bushwackers
(Grassy Nook)
A long-time Folk Festival favorite, this band just loves music with groove!
Without shame they borrow, steal, and write what they like in Celtic, Cajun,
pop-satire, a cappella, old-time music, and country blues. Kids enjoy their
strange instruments — like the dijiridu, the sump-thumper, and the flopophone.
Adults groove to their sounds. www.bigblowandthebushwackers.com
The
Bog Wanderers Ceili Band (Abbott
Stage and Auditorium)
Ceili (kay-lee) is a Gaelic word whose meaning comes from the tradition of
the friendly visit, so much a part of Irish culture. During their set on the
Abbott Stage, Bog Wanderers will perform some of the finest Irish dance music,
such as jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, and slides. Members are: Betsy O'Malley,
tenor banjo, tin whistle and vocals; Joe Dezarn, fiddle, remarks; Danny
Flynn, accordions; Tabby Finch, piano, harp, hammered dulcimer;
and Jesse Winch, drums, percussion, mandola, guitar and harmonica. In
the Auditorium, The Bog Wanderers will be the band for a demonstration of traditional
Irish step-dancing by the Sean Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance and
an Irish set dance workshop featuring the North Kerry set. For the past ten
years, the Bog Wanderers have been the house band for the monthly ceili in
Fairfax, and they welcome all Irish music and dance fans to the event. Contact: jessewinch@hotmail.com
Jerry
Bresee (Grove Stage)
Jerry Bresee's (pronounced breh-ZEE) music reflects the views of a thoughtful
person caught up in the workaday world who comes up for air now and then. His
working life has taken him to nearly every part of the country since leaving
a small northeastern Pennsylvania farm and factory town almost 30 years ago;
his music shows this influence. Come enjoy his driving guitar sounds and edgy
baritone voice. www.shenandoahacoustics.com/jbresee/
Martha Burns (Abbott
Stage)
Martha discovered folk music growing up in New York's Greenwich Village during
the 1950s and 1960s. She spent the 1970s in Ann Arbor, Michigan, then a center
for traditional folk music in the Midwest, and has appeared at major folk festivals
across the United States, Canada, and Great Britain since that time. These
days, Martha lives on Capitol Hill and devotes her time to writing on nineteenth-century
American politics and culture. Her appearance today represents a return to
singing after several years' absence. Contact: Martha_Burns@brown.edu
Capoeira
Angola Foundation, International (Seventh Heaven
Stage)
Now headquartered in Takoma, D.C., the international foundation promotes this
playful Afro-Brazilian "danced fight." Capoeira Angola has its roots
in Bantu tradition and was used by the enslaved Africans of Brazil as a form
of resistance. In keeping with African war strategies, Capoeiristas masked
the art's effectiveness from plantation overseers. Then and today, to uninformed
onlookers the art appeared to be a harmless demonstration of dance, acrobatics,
play, and music. Authorities eventually learned of its power and outlawed the
practice, with death being the penalty for involvement during slavery. For
years Capoeira was practiced in secrecy and was not lawful to practice and
teach until after the 1930s — about 40 years after the abolition of slavery. www.capoeira-angola.org
Chesapeake
Shape Note Singers
(Seventh Heaven Stage)
Shape note singing is an American folk tradition of singing hymns and gospel
songs from books using shaped noteheads to indicate position in the scale.
The Chesapeake Shape Note Singers will perform, in four-part harmony, selections
from the 150-year-old tune book, The Sacred Harp. Shape note singing
is a participatory event, not a performance. It's even easy for beginners to
share in the exuberant, rhythmic song. www.risingdove.com/shapenotes/
chesapeakeshapenotes.asp
Bob Clayton (Abbott
Stage)
Bob grew up in Iowa surrounded by music, where he says, "Folk music is
something you do rather than something you listen to." He heard songs
that told stories during the folk boom of the '60s and thought he should do
them rather than merely listen. His Masters thesis (American Studies, GWU)
was on five string banjo styles in the Library of Congress Archives of Folk
Music collection. http://hometown.aol.com/rjclayton
Mary
Cliff (Celebrity MC, Field Stage)
Mary Cliff produces and hosts the popular Saturday night folk music program,
Traditions, broadcast on WETA FM 90.9. The four-hour program is known for celebrating
many traditions — traditional folk, revival, singer-songwriters, ethnic,
and world music — while supporting artists and performances in the Washington
D.C. area.
Judy
Cook (Abbott Stage)
Judy as been singing all her life, but began performing professionally in the
early 1990s. Her first recording of unaccompanied traditional songs and ballads, "If
You Sing Songs," was released in 1998, the same year as her first singing
tours. She has quickly come to be well respected on both sides of the Atlantic
as a researcher, singer, and promoter of the old songs. http://judycook.net
Sean
Culkin (Auditorium)
Sean Culkin, the instructor for the Irish step dance workshop, is the director
of the nationally regarded Culkin School of Traditional Irish Dance. Come learn
jig steps from one of the D.C. area's most renowned teachers. www.culkinschool.com
Alicia
Deeny (Grove Stage)
Alicia's music is on the cutting edge of the cross-cultural Latin American
pop music explosion, and in 2000 she was nominated for the Washington Area
Music Association Award for Latino Vocalist of the Year. Inspired by her Puerto
Rican grandfather with whom she spent her summers, Alicia has taken the sounds
of the Caribbean and woven in Latin American and American traditions. Her songs
express a journey through America — train tracks in Richmond, cornfields,
carousels, smoky bars, romance, heartbreak, and family relationships. www.aliciadeeny.com
Archie
Edwards Blues Heritage Foundation (Seventh
Heaven Stage)
The Foundation is an ever-changing mix of new and experienced musicians who
celebrate the blues through concerts and weekly jam sessions. We're delighted
to again have some of the Archie Edwards regulars come to Takoma Park and show
us what happens every Saturday afternoon at the legendary D.C. barbershop at
2007 Bunker Hill Road, N.E. One of the group's members, Eleanor Ellis,
also played at the first Takoma Park Folk Festival in 1978. www.acousticblues.com
Damian Einstein (Celebrity
MC, Grove Stage)
Damian Einstein of WRNR-FM has been one of the Washington area’s most
prominent supporters of new and alternative music for more than three decades.
A regular attendee and participant in house music parties and jams around town,
Damian estimates that he’s attended more than a dozen Takoma Park Folk
Festivals. He even performed at one of the earliest Festivals as part of a
large harmonica band.
Ellen
Engle and Marc Shepanek (Auditorium)
Ellen and Marc, a.k.a. Flying Feet Enterprises, will lead the swing dance workshop.
They have won swing dance championships from Virginia to Australia. Popular
local area dance instructors for the past 10 years, Ellen and Marc teach at
Glen Echo Park and at Timpano Chophouse in Rockville. Marc and Ellen believe
that the best dance move in the world is a smile, and as long as you take care
of your partner and those around you, there are no wrong moves, there are only
new moves. www.erols.com/flyfeet
Exuberance (Auditorium)
Exuberance
is a group of young fiddlers brought together by their teacher, Ellen
Jacobs, to energize Folk Festival audiences for another year. They
will be playing music for the free waltz on the Auditorium Stage. Their
enthusiasm and technique, rarely heard among pre-teen and teen fiddlers,
has resulted in numerous concert and festival invitations in the past
three years. They explore a range of fiddle styles and take great joy
in the creative possibilities of making music as a group. In addition
to Ellen, the group will be backed by Mark Vidor, Richard
Seidel, and Larry Robinson.
Fabrangen
Fiddlers (Courtyard Stage)
In 1971, David Shneyer and Alan Oresky founded the Fabrangen
Fiddlers, the first music collective devoted to the rediscovery of Jewish folk
music and the development of new Jewish liturgical folk music. With the interplay
of the fiddle and the clarinet, they helped pave the way for the "Klezmer
Revival" of the later 1970s. David and Alan will be joined onstage by Sue
Roemer, Theo Stone, and Larry Robinson. Contact: amkolel@aol.com.
Cathy
Fink & Marcy Marxer (Field Stage)
Multiple Grammy Award nominees Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are nationally
known for their folk, country, and children's recordings. Cathy and Marcy also
have produced instructional videos on banjo, mandolin, and harmony singing.
We're honored to once again showcase this duo, whose repertoire ranges from
country classics by Ola Belle Reed and Hank Williams to their original compositions
that already are modern classics. www.cathymarcy.com
Fire
and Earth (Grassy Nook)
Amikaeyla "Ami" Proudfoot Gaston and Deborah "Spice" Kleinmann send
traditional and original folk songs down new pathways with their powerful
harmonies, that will make you laugh and cry and feel all squishy inside.
They have performed on the Clearwater Boat on the Hudson River, as
well as many D.C. area venues.
Hambo in the Barn (Courtyard
Stage)
Sing Out! magazine called "Hambo in the Barn" CD by Andrea
Hoag, Loretta Kelly, and Charlie Pilzer "remarkable
not only for the brilliance of the playing and the beauty of the recording
itself, but also for the range and depth of the material collected." (For
more information see each individual's biography.)
Michael Hart and Sharon Schiliro (Pre-Festival
Dance)
Michael Hart and Sharon Schiliro have been teaching Cajun and Zydeco dance
styles in the Washington, D.C. region for several years. Michael has been a
member of the Washington Swing Dance committee since 1985. Sharon has studied
and taught dance for over 20 years. They will be the guest instructors for the
dance that will held on the night before the Festival.
Joe
Hickerson (Abbott Stage)
Since 1953, Joe Hickerson has performed over a thousand times at a wide range
of venues and before audiences in the United States, Canada, Finland, and Ukraine.
He has been referred to as the "folksinger's folksinger" and has
a repertoire that includes occupational and labor songs, children's songs,
parodies, Irish-American songs, and sea songs. Joe also was the author of the
fourth and fifth verses of the folk classic, "Where Have All the Flowers
Gone?" Contact: jhick@starpower.net.
Andrea
Hoag (Courtyard Stage and
Auditorium)
The queen of Takoma Park fiddlers, Andrea will share the stage for the "Hambo
in the Barn" performance with Loretta Kelley and Charlie Pilzer. She delights
with her passionate and lyrical musical touch that ranges across her original
tunes and Swedish, southern Appalachian, Celtic, English, and jazz traditions.
Andrea's talent will be on display with Hambo in the Barn on the Courtyard
Stage and alos for the English Country Dance in the Auditorium. Julie Gorka and Susan
Wright will join Andrea for the dance. www.andreahoag.com
Jinny Marsh's Hot Kugel Klezmer Band (Field Stage)
Jinny
Marsh's Hot Kugel Klezmer Band brings its innovative version of Jewish folk/dance
music to the Folk Festival for the first time. The all-star band is led by
vocalist Jinny Marsh, who is an accomplished cantorial soloist with
a background in theater and New York cabaret. Band members are: violinist Vladimir
Gamarnik; bassist Sy Zucker; trombonist Seymour Greene; clarinetist Seth
Kibel; pianist Andrew Zatman; and drummer Ken Krohn. www.hotkugelband.com
Pat
Humphries and Sandy Opatow (Grove Stage)
Activist musician and award-winning songwriter Pat Humphries performs with
a power and conviction that one critic said, "can hush an audience." Pat's
much-acclaimed anthems, "Keep on Moving Forward (Never Turning Back)," "Common
Thread," and "Swimming to the Other Side," are sung at peace
and justice events around the world and have been translated into seven languages.
Pat and her partner, Sandy Opatow, were in the process of moving to the D.C.
area from New York City last September. On Sept. 14, they led 1,000 people
at a D.C. vigil in singing "We Believe in Peace," their first song
in response to the events of Sept. 11, and 10,000 people at a N.Y.C. peace
rally on October 7th. www.pathumphries.com
Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Sandy Opatow
has worked with Pat Humphries since 1994, when Pat joined forces with Sandy's
folk group, Petronella, for the Womenfolk Tour. Originally headed for a career
as a Renaissance lutenist, Sandy has performed a wide range of styles, including
Afro-Brazilian and international dance music.
JawBone (Grassy
Nook)
JawBone is Eric Maring, Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston, and Gregory
Heelan. Using energetic harmonies and a wide array of instruments (from
an African djembe, Peruvian charango, guitar, and a donkey jawbone), they perform
an eclectic mix of folk music from around the world. Their improvisational
sing-alongs encourage participation from audiences of all ages. www.ericmaring.com
Xiaoshi (Michelle) Jin (Abbott
Stage)
One of our three participants in a Hammered Dulcimer Workshop, Xiaoshi Jin
is a junior at Sidwell Friends High School in Washington, D.C. Since starting
piano lessons at age six in China, where she was born, Xiaoshi has also learned
to play traditional Chinese instruments: Yangqi (108 strings) and Zheng (18
strings). Since moving to the United States in 1998, Ziaoshi has been invited
to perform as Yangqin soloist and Zheng soloist for many audiences.
The
Jones Family (Abbott Stage)
The Jones Family — the folk trio, that is — began in the family car.
Father Chuck, mother Brenda, and daughter Chenoa would
sing together wherever they drove, especially on long trips to visit relatives.
The family rarely sang in public until 1997, when they began participating
in their parish's talent show. In October 2000, a parishioner approached Chuck
about the possibility of making a CD. The result was "Unquiet," released
on the Shambling Gate Records label in December 2001. The CD was described
as a "debut CD of unusual beauty and confidence" by Sing Out! magazine. www.jonesfamilysing.com
Loretta
Kelley (Courtyard Stage)
Loretta will share the stage for the "Hambo in the Barn" performance
with Andrea Hoag and Charlie Pilzer. A Takoma Park resident, Loretta is the
premiere American player of the hardingfele (Hardanger fiddle), an instrument
unique to Norway. A gifted storyteller and musician, Loretta often tells her
audiences the story behind the tunes she performs and explains the origins
of the several-hundred-year-old hardingfele and its unusual, "sympathetic" sound.
Contact: loretta.kelley@ibm.net
Lori Kelley (Grove
Stage)
Story songs, peculiar topics, and songs about obsession. Folk, country, Western,
rock, pop, alternative, adult contemporary, topical. When Lori Kelley (pictured
below with Cletus Kennelly) takes the stage, almost anything can happen. With
sister and brother-in-law she formed Twice Shy, a band that twice topped the
list of the D.C. area's "Top 20 Best Live Performances", so Lori
is sure to be entertaining. Her next CD, "Like Sea Glass," is due
out in fall 2002. www.lorikelley.com
Cletus
Kennelly (Grove Stage)
Cletus Kennelly (pictured here with Lori Kelley) has made a habit of winning
Washington Area Music Association Awards in the past few years: Best New Artist
in 2000; Songwriter of the Year in 2001; and Best Contemporary Folk Vocalist
in 2001. His eclectic music incorporates urban folk and elements of melodic
pop and alternative rock, which he presents in clear, passionate vocals and
a 12-string acoustic guitar. Vivid character portraits and social commentary
emerge in songs about people — some actual, some fictional — but
all real. www.cletuskennelly.com
Steve
Key (Seventh Heaven Stage)
Steve Key and a his talented friends Reuben Musgrave and John Erwin will
spend some time commemorating the inspiring music of Woody Guthrie in an interactive
workshop. Steve returned to Washington after five years in Nashville, where
he hosted weekly songwriter shows, co-wrote with staff writers on Music Row,
and placed songs with a number of country, folk, and blues artists. He will
be playing locally throughout the fall and hosts the Red Rover Concerts, held
on third Sundays at the River Road Unitarian Church in Bethesda. www.folkdude.com
Wendy
Lanxner and Jon Seligman (Grassy Nook)
Flute, drum, guitar, and games all add up to a celebration of music from around
the world. Jon's extensive knowledge and love of world percussion combined
with Wendy's multi-lingual singing and guitar- and flute-playing make for a
varied and engaging program. Musical threads may lead you from France to Egypt
to Africa to Ireland to your own backyard. www.bottomland.org/wendy.htm
Last
Train Home (Field Stage)
Washington's very own country-western express is on the fast track, and we're
happy Last Train Home is making a return stop at this year's festival. Last
Train Home's fame is spreading beyond the region, with the band having made
recent appearances in Nashville and Australia. Led by Washington Post music
critic Eric Brace, the nine-piece band combines bluegrass and Texas
swing favorites with authentic originals to produce a classy, brassy blend. www.lasttrainhome.com
Donal
Leace (Abbott Stage)
The word "craftsmanship" implies not only careful technique, but
also a love of and pride in one's craft. In this sense the word "craftsman" can
be aptly applied to singer-songwriter Donal Leace. His voice, says one critic, "Resonates
and vibrates like a hollow steel drum, then rings clear as a crystal bell." Donal
has performed with many of the nation's most outstanding jazz, folk, blues,
pop, gospel, rock, and country artists, such as Roberta Flack and Nancy Wilson.
In January 2000 he was inducted into the Washington Area Music Association "Hall
of Fame." Contact: dleace@aol.com
Liz
Lerman Dance Exchange (Abbott
Stage)
Takoma Park's own Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, fresh off of a three-year tour
of the United States and an August production of "Hallelujah/USA" at
the University of Maryland, brings its distinctive brand of dance and story
back to our Folk Festival. Full of visual delights, exuberant movement, humor,
and piercing insights, the performance offers festival-goers a full theatrical
experience. Take advantage of this special opportunity to see the Dance Exchange's
professional intergenerational company. www.danceexchange.org
Sally
Love / Gary Ferguson Bluegrass
Band (Field Stage)
Returning from a rousing reception at last year's festival, Takoma Park bluegrass
recording artist Sally Love returns with another all-star ensemble. Sally's
recordings with the Gary Ferguson Bluegrass Band have received rave reviews
and generated a strong following in the Mid-Atlantic. Live performances by
the band often includes surprise appearances by a local legend or two. www.garyandsally.com
Magpie (Field
Stage)
Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner began to play music together
at Kent State University in 1973. In the years since, they have toured
and recorded extensively, entrancing audiences with their uncanny ability
to find the perfect harmony line and blend their voices and music.
Terry's voice is a truly impressive instrument, both versatile and
powerful, and she plays the harmonica, mandolin, fretted dulcimer,
and rhythm guitar. Greg is an outstanding guitarist whose fingerstyle
approach is the solid basis of Magpie's sound, providing whatever is
needed, from a hard-driving rhythm to a ringing lyrical beauty. www.magpiemusic.com
The
Mammals (Field Stage & pre-festival
concert on Sept. 21)
A new generation of roots music lovers, including many recently converted "O
Brother Where Art Thou?" fans, are unearthing the common threads that
connect indie-rock Americana acts, dyed-in-the-wool bluegrass bands, and banjo-toting
singer/songwriters. Enter The Mammals, who will be performing at the pre-festival
benefit on Saturday night and then at the festival itself on Sunday. Tao
Rodriguez-Seeger, grandson of the legendary Pete Seeger, has teamed up
with Michael Merenda, art-pop songwriter, and Ruth Ungar, daughter
of Grammy Award-winning fiddler/composer, Jay Ungar. The Mammals create a strongly
grounded acoustic sound that is beautiful, energized, and raw — preserving
the timeless appeal of American roots music, while leading its evolution. The
band's new CD, called "Evolver," will have its debut in the D.C.
area on Festival weekend. www.themammals.net
Bob Mathis (Auditorium)
Bob Mathis will be calling the community dance in the Auditorium Stage. It's
our first-ever "family dance" workshop, so get the next generation
of folk dancers on the floor! Bob, who has been leading community dances
for several years, mostly at Glen Echo, strives to encourage intergenerational
folk dancing. He is also a founding member of Terpsichore's Holiday, a dance
event held annually in late December and has been its director for the last
five years. In his other life, Bob is the Social Studies Resource Teacher
at Walt Whitman High School and has been known to have his students push
the desks back so that he can call an in-class dance.
Walt
Michael (Abbott Stage)
A virtuoso performer on the hammered dulcimer, Walt has literally led the resurgence
in interest in the instrument and broadened musicians' understanding of its
potential. Walt brings alive old-time Southern Appalachian and Celtic music,
and he has written many breath-taking original compositions. His various musical
incarnations have spanned 27 years and taken him from the coal camps of Appalachia
to the Closing Ceremonies of the 13th Olympic Winter Games. Walt is the Artist
in Residence at McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College) and Director
of Common Ground on the Hill, a traditional arts organization that seeks to
promote interracial harmony through the arts. www.waltmichael.com
Christina
Muir (Grove Stage)
Christina Muir is a member of the trio Hot Soup!, which has played numerous
times at the Folk Festival. Christina will celebrate her first solo CD, "Feet
First," by treating us to her melodic guitar and dulcimer sounds. "Harmony
is all about contact, connection, leaning into, and being met…a weaving
and blending of eyes, breath, shape and tone," she says. "It is heaven!" www.hotsouptrio.com
Lisa Null (Abbott
Stage)
Lisa grew up in a musical family and began singing professionally in the 1970s.
She's sung at coffeehouses, pubs, and festivals all over the U.S., Canada and
Britain, appeared on "A Prairie Home Companion," and recorded two
albums, primarily of ballads. A folklorist, writer, and voice teacher, she
was a co-founder of Green Linnet records. Contact: elisabeth.null@tcs.wap.org
Stream Ohrstrom (Seventh
Heaven Stage)
Stream Ohrstrom is a drummer, a drum circle facilitator, and a flute-player.
He has hosted a weekly drum circle, "BeatJam," since 1988. Whether
facilitating drum circles at conferences and institutions or leading workshops
at local universities, Stream teaches drumming not only as a skill, but as
a way of becoming more creative, more confident, and more adventurous in life.
He has appeared solo as well as in collaboration with other artists at The
Kennedy Center, The Sackler Gallery, The Library of Congress, and elsewhere.
He directs and performs with his own bands "The Blue Dragons" and "Cairo
Connexion." Contact: stream@thebluedragons.com
Ed O'Reilly (Abbott
Stage)
Known for his mordant wit and songwriting skills, Ed is a performer steeped
in English musical traditional from both sides of the Atlantic. A ballad scholar
by training, Ed also plays banjo and guitar. His long-awaited CD will be released
soon. Contact: eboreilly@hotmail.com
Pam
Parker & Joe Uehlein (Abbott
Stage)
Pam's angelic mezzo-soprano and Joe's rich baritone create beautiful harmonies
with a message. From labor songs to love songs, traditional folk to blues,
in their perfect pitch and delicacy of phrase we all come together as one.
Joe was the front man for the Bones of Contention, a hard-driving, labor-oriented
rock band, for 12 years. Pam was a soprano with the SATB Capitol Hill Chorale
and a lead with the Heart of Maryland Chorus before finding her true voice
as a singer in small, progressive ensembles such as the D.C. Labor Chorus.
Both Joe and Pam will soon release CDs. www.cdbaby.com.cd.pamparker
Peascods Gathering (Auditorium)
Peascods Gathering will perform during the free waltz and couple dancing that
opens the day at the Auditorium Stage at 11 a.m. Their wide repertory belies
the fact that these performers are all amateurs. Come hear them perform some
of their favorite waltzes and Scandinavian couples dances, like polkas, schottishes,
and hambos. The group has been performing locally for more than 25 years. www.peascods.org
Al
Petteway & Amy White (Field
Stage)
Homegrown folk favorites Al Petteway & Amy White have built quite a following
with their intricate harmonies and lyrical, original compositions. They've
performed at the Folk Festival more times than we can count, and we always
welcome another hour of their Celtic and other traditional songs, as well as
their original work. Listen and you'll hear why together they have earned Washington
Area Music Association awards across such categories as: Best New artist, Best
Instrumentalist, Best Recording, Best Celtic, and Best New Age. www.alandamy.com
Charlie Pilzer (Courtyard
Stage)
Charlie will be sharing the stage in the "Hambo in the Barn" performance
with Andrea Hoag and Loretta Kelley. Charlie Pilzer is a longtime member of
Spaelimenninir, internationally known performers of traditional Scandinavian
music. Charlie also has been a guest musician on albums for the Celtic group
Ceoltoiri, folk singer Tom Paxton, and many others. He has been the traditional
music director of Washington Revels and is a Grammy-Award winning recording
engineer. www.azaleacityrecordings.com
Linda Rice-Johnston (Abbott
Stage)
Introduced to ballads during the 1960s folk music revival, Linda started to
sing seriously when she met some people who played in a pipe band. They encouraged
her to learn Scottish ballads (for when the band took a break), and she was
immediately hooked. Linda has sung at Folklore Society of Greater Washington
events, at Robert Burns' nights, and in the Washington, D.C., Christmas Revels
as a featured soloist. Contact: RiceJnston@aol.com
Shahriar Saleh (Abbott
Stage)
One of three participants in our Hammered Dulcimer Workshop, Shahriar Saleh
has been playing, recording, teaching, and performing Persian classical music
in different cultural and educational institutions for nearly 30 years. He
and his NAVA group have performed on the Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center
several times as ambassadors of Persian music. For the past 18 years he has
led music classes in santur, violin, zarb, guitar, and voice. Contact: salehs@ors.od.nih.gov
Sarenica (Auditorium)
Sarenica (pronounced sha-REN-eet-sa) will be performing for dancers during
the Balkan dance workshop. Sarenica plays music from the American and Yugoslav
tamburica traditions, including Croatian, Serbian, Slovak, Macedonian, Greek,
and Russian. Their repertoire ranges from the drinking songs, to listening
music (what the Germans call "tafelmusik"), to music for dancing-kolo,
drmes, polka, waltz, lesnoto, and Balkan line and circle dances. Their instruments
include the small tamburica called prim, the small guitar-shaped brac, and
the larger rhythm instrument called bugarija, as well as the four-string
celo, which resembles a bass guitar. Contact: craig@cal.org
Lisa
Shochat (Abbott Stage)
Lisa will be leading the Balkan dance workshop, a dance style she learned 13
years ago. A California native and third-generation folk dancer, Lisa has taught
dances at various cultural events and community dance clubs in the United States.
Lisa now lives in Silver Spring and works with Search for Common Ground on
creative applications of television and radio for promoting inter-ethnic understanding
in Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Indonesia.
Lou Shapiro (Auditorium)
Lou Shapiro will be the caller for the contra dances and square dances of the
Folk Festival's always-popular country dance workshop. A dance caller since
1974, Lou first learned to call in the Boston area, and his calling shows
influences of his wide travels since — international folk dance, Appalachian
clogging, and big circles, with a bit of modern western and traditional western
squares thrown in as well. Lou was the main force in setting up the Friday
Night Dance at Glen Echo and has called dances up and down the Atlantic Coast.
Silk
Road Dance Company (Courtyard
Stage)
The Silk Road Dance Company (performing today with Ensemble Mumtaz)
features the dance traditions and colorful costumes from the Silk Road that
was the primary trade route from East to West for more than a millennium. The
dance company was founded in 1995 by Laurel Victoria Gray, and has performed
locally and nationally. The Kennedy Center has recognized Silk Road Dance Company
for its artistic work. www.silkroaddance.com
Slaveya (Abbott
Stage)
One of three Eastern European choruses that will share the Abbott Stage, Slaveya's
repertoire is drawn from the primarily Slavic vocal heritage of Bulgaria, Bosnia,
Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Russia, Poland, and Ukraine. Traditionally sung
by women, the lyrics reflect the constants of village life: the harvest; war
and its heroes (folk and real); matchmaking; flirtation; loves lost and found;
birth and death. The a cappella music often features multi-part harmonies and
strong melodic solo or "call" lines. Members are Thea Austen, Karen
Chittenden, Helen Fedor, Andrea Loewenwarter, Miriam Rollin,
and Diane Weinroth. Contact: andreaandjim@erols.com
The
Slavic Male Chorus of Washington, D.C. (Abbott
Stage)
One of three Eastern European choruses that will share the Abbott Stage, the
Slavic Male Chorus of Washington, D.C. brings forth heartfelt interpretations
of the folk songs and sacred hymns of Russia and many Slavic lands. Founded
by its current conductor, Gregory V. Oleynik, the a capella Chorus
has a repertoire that includes traditional Slavic folk songs and sacred music
by composers such as Chesnokov, Kastalsky, Tchaikovsky, Bortniansky, as well
as the ancient monastic chants. www.slavicmalechorus.org
Jen
and Scott Smith of Naked Blue (Grove
Stage)
Mid Atlantic singer/songwriter/guitarists Jennifer and Scott Smith's slightly
alternative, mainstream Americana rock sound has been compared to Shawn Colvin,
Sheryl Crow, and the early Lindsey Buckingham/Stevie Nicks collaborations.
Whether performing as a duo, trio, or with the full band, their quirky and
heartfelt pop harmonies and pleasingly crunchy guitars never fail to charm
audiences. www.nakedblue.com
Stephanie Smith (Auditorium)
Stephanie will be the caller for English country dancing, which she has been
teaching in the U.S. and Britain since 1978. She has been one of the regular
callers for the Folklore Society of Greater Washington weekly English dance
since 1993. A folklorist and librarian, Stephanie works for the Smithsonian's
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage as an archivist, 
and
has co-directed the ongoing English Country Dance Video Documentation Project
since 1999.
Dick Spottswood (Celebrity
MC, Field and Abbott Stages)
Archivist, producer, radio host, and author, Dick Spottswood can be heard on
WAMU 88.5 on Sunday afternoons. He’s a national expert on traditional
folk music and ethnic music.
Squeeze
Bayou (Playing for a Cajun Dance at the pre-festival
benefit on September 21)
Squeeze Bayou may be a local band, but it plays some of the most authentic
Cajun dance music that can be heard anywhere. The band's specialties are two
steps and waltzes. Most of their material comes from traditional sources (and
the vocals are sung in Cajun French), but they blend in country music, blues,
and Creole influences. The band includes Karen Collins (fiddle, vocals), Matt
Levine (steel guitar), Fred Feinstein (guitar), Kevin Enoch (bass),
and David Lopez (drums). http://squeezebayou.com
Sudrabavots (Abbott
Stage)
One of three Eastern European choruses that will share the Abbott Stage, newcomers
Sudrabavots is keeping alive a thousand-year-old Latvian vocal tradition. The
seven members create unique harmonies that reflect and recall ancient methods
of communicating a culture steeped in an earth-friendly, feminine-centered
spirituality. None of the performers — Daina Bolsteina, Zile
Dzenitis, Kristina Kilpe, Andris Rutins, Daiga Rutina, Brigita
Viksnina, and Helena Viksnina — are trained singers. This truly
is folk music!
Sultans
of Swing (Auditorium)
The Sultans of Swing will celebrate the music of the Swing Era, bringing life
to some of America's most recognizable and enduring contributions to popular
music: Dixieland, swing, and ballroom dance. You'll enjoy the swing of Jack
Bryce (clarinet, tenor and soprano saxes), Norm Cone (tenor and
alto Saxes and clarinet), Russ Doughty (bass), Hugh Collins (drums),
and Dave Littlefield (keyboard). http://americanmusiccaravan.com
Franklin
Taggart and Band (Abbott Stage)
Franklin Taggart's music features confident songwriting with deceptively simple
themes and lyrics that conjure evocative images and familiar situations. Spot-on
arrangements, beautiful guitar work, and a crack band create a grooving but
understated presence. The Franklin Taggart Band includes the extraordinary
talents of Avril Smith on mandolin, Lorna Harrison on bass, and David
Lopez on percussion. Nominated for seven Washington Area Music Association
awards in 2001, Franklin was awarded the Traditional Folk Instrumentalist Wammie. www.franklintaggart.com
Terpsichore (Auditorium)
Terpsichore consists of fiddler Elke Baker and pianist Liz Donaldson.
They perform for Scottish, contra, and English dances, festivals, and musical
events all over the world. Their vast repertoire includes Scottish, Irish,
Welsh, English, Shetland, Cape Breton, American, and original compositions.
Elke, the 1995 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, is a faculty member
of the Washington Conservatory of Music. Liz is well known in the greater Washington
area and beyond for her exciting innovative piano playing, which provides great
rhythmic drive to strathspeys, reels, and jigs. She teaches Scottish Dance
music workshops and teaches and calls for Scottish, English, and American dances. http://members.aol.com/bakerez1/
Tinsmith (Grove
Stage)
Since 1998, John McLoughlin, Brooke Parkhurst, and Rowan Corbett have
been creating a unique sound that can be classified as post-modern Celtic rock.
They use the name Tinsmith — a nod to their music's Celtic roots and to
the wandering bands of tinsmiths that kept alive the traditional music and
stories. The group combines traditional instruments, tunes, and songs with
electronic effects, unique arrangements and R&B, blues, and jazz influences. www.tinsmith.net
Tisza Ensemble and Táncház Band (Courtyard
Stage)
Tisza
Ensemble has been bringing the rich tradition of Hungarian folk dance
to audiences throughout the eastern United States and Canada since
1982. The energetic dancers present fast-paced and authentic performances,
including virtuoso men's dances, women's dances with bottles balanced
on heads, Roma (Gypsy) improvisations, and csardas (couple dances with
dizzying turns). The Ensemble's repertoire reflects Hungarian customs,
including courtship, the wine harvest, herdsmen's skills contests,
and the officers' recruiting dance from the time of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire. www.tisza-ensemble.org
Sue
Trainor (Seventh Heaven Stage)
Sue Trainor is well known in the Baltimore / Washington area for her parodies
and humorous commentary on contemporary life. On the Seventh Heaven Stage,
she'll teach the rest of us how to have fun with song in a song-performance/song-writing
workshop — just like she does for schoolkids across the state as a Maryland
State Artist-in-Education. Sue's energy and enthusiasm capture workshop participants'
attention, and her sense of humor and down-to-earth approach keep it. Sue also
is a member of the nationally touring vocal trio Hot Soup! For her performance
at the Grassy Nook, Sue encourages parents and their children to "follow
your imagination along some creative new paths of playful songs and stories." www.hotsouptrio.org
David
Welna (Celebrity MC, Grassy Nook Stage)
National Public Radio’s congressional correspondent David Welna lived
and worked in Latin America for more than twenty years, reporting stores ranging
from monarch butterflies to Third World debt. His coverage includes award-winning
features on Tito Puente, Son del Tropico, and Muddy Waters.
We're
About 9 (Grove Stage)
Nominated for two Washington Area Music Association awards including best duo/group
and best new artist, We're About 9 is quickly emerging from the rich texture
of the Baltimore/D.C. folk music scene. Katie Graybeal, Pat Klink,
and Brian Gundersdorf extend their formidable individual skills into
the chemistry of an ensemble. Multi-instrumentalists, they bring their own
brand of songwriting to life with striking three-part harmonies, acoustic guitars,
and electric bass. Their lyrics are smart, honest, engaging, intellectual,
passionate, intimate, and funny — often all at once. www.circanine.com
Whiskers Before Breakfast (Auditorium)
Decades of experience playing for contra dances have shaped the musical personality
of the three members of Whiskers Before Breakfast. Al Taylor (fiddle)
and Ritchie Schuman (mandolin) earned their stars in the Glen Echo
Open Band, and both continue to perform regularly with various local groups. Steve
Benka (hammer dulcimer) comes out of the Chapel Hill, N.C., old-time
and contra dance scene, where he played with Moose Chowder. Together, the
trio plays with both lilt and drive, sure to put the beat in your feet. Contact: ritchie_schuman@yahoo.com.
Yarawi (Courtyard
Stage)
Yarawi ("song of the corn") uses more than 15 instruments typical
of the Bolivian Andes area. Yarawi's musical arrangements and original compositions
are reflect a strong commitment to preserve Andean folklore, folklife, and
music. For a special opportunity to hear this ghostly, melodic music, listen
to this quartet: Gustavo Azuga, who plays charango (10 strings); Sikus
Dirk Bayer (Diego), who plays quena, moseno, and sirus (wind instruments); Edgar
Marami, who plays the guitar and drums; and Juan Ore, who plays
guitar and drums. Contact: yarawi@erols.com.
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