Seattle Folklore Society

Saturday, February 13

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Walter Strauss

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

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

After seeing his sizzling, packed mainstage showcases at the FAR-West Folk Alliance conference the last couple of years, we just had to get Walter Strauss up here to play for our SFS audience! You do not want to miss the Seattle debut of this amazing guitar player. An utterly captivating performer, he has a stunning approach to the instrument redolent of Michael Hedges, both trance-inducing and breathtaking.

Walter Strauss is a "wizard of the fingerstyle guitar" (Folk and Roots, UK). He masterfully weaves together American roots with stringed music of West Africa and other cultures, layering highly articulated melodies, harmonies, rhythms and counter-rhythms in a way that gives the impression he is playing several instruments at once. "Imagine blending the beauty and strength of Bruce Cockburn's fingerstyle guitar playing, the gravity of Joni Mitchell's jazz, and the elegant simplicity of American roots," writes Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange. Maverick Magazine (UK) calls him "a many-layered, multi-textured, one-man folk festival".

In addition to his solo work, Walter has performed throughout North America, the UK and Ireland with musicians ranging from Grammy nominated kora master Mamadou Diabate to eclectic songsters The Burns Sisters and fiddle legend Vassar Clements.

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

Saturday, February 20

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Grant Dermody and friends

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

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

The Seattle folklore society is pleased to welcome back Northwest favorite, Grant Dermody, for an evening full of brand new Blues-based music! This performance will feature Grant as the featured headliner. Whether he’s playing with an ensemble or by himself, audiences know they will hear quality music.

Dermody, a skilled harmonica player and singer with a rich tone, also is a wonderful soloist with solid rhythmic playing. He can play many different styles while still having his own distinctive sound, which communicates with and connects the listener to the music.

At this concert, Grant will be celebrating the release of his brand new CD entitled, "Lay Down My Burden." It is his second solo CD. Joining Grant will be top-notch musicians Orville Johnson, John Miller, Mark Graham, and Keith Lowe. There might even be some other special guests joining in the music-making. Grant is thrilled with his new CD and looks forward to sharing it and playing as many live tunes as possible at the concert!

The concert will start at 7:30 PM and admission is $15, $13 for SFS and PNA members, and seniors. Please make reservations by telephone, 206-528-8523 or on the SFS website. www.seafolklore.org www.grantdermody.com

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

Saturday, February 27

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Jamie Laval

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

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

ONE OF THE premier Celtic violinists on the international music scene today, Jamie Laval creates rapt audiences with his intensely passionate performances of traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany and Quebec, rendered with hints of classical refinement and ethnic music from around the world. What sets Jamie’s music in a class by itself is the nuance, virtuosity, and musical craftsmanship he brings to an ancient art form. Simple Celtic folk melodies are transformed into epic tonal narratives which take the listener on an emotional journey from quiet melancholy to wild jubilation.

His critically esteemed debut CD recording, Shades of Green, airs regularly on many NPR programs nationwide. Meanwhile, Zephyr In The Confetti Factory, his duo album with mandolinist Ashley Broder, won Best World Traditional Song in the 2007 Independent Music Awards Vox Populi.

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

Saturday, March 6

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

The McKassons

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

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

The McKassons in Concert, Saturday March 6 at Phinney SFS welcomes back local favorites The McKassons! They'll have lots of new material you haven't heard before so don't miss this fantastic show! The ultimate family band (sibs Ryan & Cali McKasson on fiddle/viola and piano, Ryan's wife Brooke McKasson on vocals, and Brooke's brother Matt Jerrell on percussion) has been very busy making new McKassons and even more new music.

If you've heard The McKassons before, at one of their previous SFS shows, a contra dance, or perhaps you've been packed into an overflow crowd listening to them at Folklife, all you need to know is the date and time, because you already know you want to be there. If the band is new to you and you appreciate Scottish fiddle music, you are in for a treat!

Take a gander at this recent music video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7cxh3w1S08

And check out their website, www.themckassons.com

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

Saturday, March 13

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Heidi Muller w/Bob Webb & Dan Maher

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

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

Songwriter Heidi Muller and multi-instrumentalist Bob Webb will return from West Virginia to team up with Eastern Washington’s favorite folksinger, Dan Maher, for a night of round-robin solos, duets and trios. Formerly from Seattle, Heidi is well-known to local audiences for her award-winning songs and clear alto voice backed by guitar and Appalachian dulcimer. Bob, who played in the Mountain Stage Band of public radio fame for nine years, adds skillful accompaniment on mandolin, guitar, dulcimer and electric cello. Dan is a high-energy singer, guitarist and song collector whose repertoire runs from Celtic ballads to cowboy songs and cover tunes. Together the three share harmonies, storytelling and spontaneous humor that spring from their years of friendship and love of the music.

This concert is the seventh in the Good Road Tour that Heidi, Dan and Bob have been doing since last November. Heidi’s song "Good Road" has been the theme song of Dan’s Inland Folk radio show for the last 20 years. For almost three decades, Dan has hosted the weekly show heard on Northwest Public Radio and broadcast over the internet. "Good Road" has become a favorite of his radio audiences and one of Heidi’s most-requested songs. Heidi and Dan have performed concerts together over the years, including sharing sets at Northwest Folklife, Yakima Folklife and Tumbleweed festivals, and they have recorded several duets together.

Heidi and Dan’s CDs, songbooks and Good Road Tour t-shirts will be available for sale at the concert. For more information, please visit www.heidimuller.com.

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

Saturday, March 20

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Si Kahn

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

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

Si Kahn comes to the Phinney Neighborhood Center to celebrate his music and his retirement as the Executive Director of Grassroots Leadership. The Farewell to Grassroots Leadership Tour is Si's most ambitious U.S. concert tour ever and will focus on reconnecting with fans of many years, both personal and organizational; making new friends; sharing a host of recent songs in a warm concert setting; and raising funds to help ensure the organization's sustainability after his retirement.

Si Kahn has worked for 45 years as a civil rights, labor and community organizer and musician. His songs of family, community, work and freedom such as Aragon Mill, Wild Rose of the Mountain and Gone, Gonna Rise Again have been recorded by hundreds of artists. The farewell tour features Si’s 16th CD Courage about the quiet heroism of everyday people, with Kathy Mattea, harmony vocalist, and Jens Krüger of the Krüger Brothers accompanist.

Also featured on the tour is Si’s new book Creative Community Organizing: A Guide for Rabble-Rousers; Activists and Quiet Lovers of Justice, with forewords by Angela Davis and Jim Hightower.

Purchase tickets in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com

Tickets will be available at our ticket outlets, or by mail - phone 206/528-8523.

Saturday, March 27

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Ellis Paul

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

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

SFS is thrilled to welcome Ellis Paul back to the Phinney stage on March 27! His last show a few years ago to a full house of very happy listeners. Get your tickets soon to make sure you don't miss out!

Ellis Paul is one of the leading voices in American songwriting. He was a principal leader in the wave of singer/songwriters that emerged from the Boston folk scene, creating a movement that revitalized the national acoustic circuit with an urban, literate, folk pop style that helped renew interest in the genre in the 1990's.

His charismatic, personally authentic performance style has influenced a generation of artists away from the artifice of pop, and closer towards the realness of folk. Though he remains among the most pop-friendly of today's singer-songwriters - his songs regularly appear in hit movie and TV soundtracks - he has bridged the gulf between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger more successfully than perhaps any of his songwriting peers.

Between 1993 and 2004, he won an unprecedented 13 Boston Music Awards, and his songs were heard on hit TV shows Ed and MTV's Real World; and in the soundtracks of several Farrelly Brothers films, including "Me, Myself, & Irene," starring Jim Carrey, and "Shallow Hal," with Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow. Director Peter Farrelly has called Paul "a national treasure." www.ellispaul.com

For this show there will be no reservations taken online or by phone. Some tickets will be available at prior SFS shows, and tickets can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets.

Direct link to the Brown Paper Tickets website to buy tickets for this concert:

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/91837

Or you can call BPT at 1-800-838-3006, 24/7, to buy tickets over the phone.

Saturday, April 3

Saturday Nights on Phinney Ridge

Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel

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

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

From Salem, Oregon, acoustic power duo Kristen Grainger and Dan Wetzel deliver what Neal Gladstone has called, "Great guitar playing, great singing, powerful harmonies, and most of all terrific, smart original songs." Kristen and Dan are known as members of bluegrassers, True North, and they have branched out, recording their duet CD, Part Circus, Part Rodeo, in 2008.

Join them at the Phinney Neighborhood Center for the great songs and singing.

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