FOREVER FOLK

“Summer Entertainment on a Roll”

by Hank Weisman

The Savannah Folk Music Society kicked of its 15th year of First Friday for Folk Music on Friday, July 2nd with a show that really sizzled. This monthly showcase of local and touring folk music talent draws 200 folk enthusiasts to First Presbyterian Church at 520 Washington Avenue in Savannah every month. It is wholesome, family entertainment starting at 7:30 PM and for the bargain of a $2 per person recommended donation.

July’s First Friday for Folk Music opened with Roll on Rodney, an eclectic quartet in terms of members and music. The group includes veteran Savannah musician John Powers with his son, Zach, Rob Robertson and Mary Joe Adams. John arranges the group’s unique approach to songs old and new, provides most of the humor and plays a myriad of instruments; Zach plays keyboard and saxophone (yes, a sax in a folk show!); Rob lays down some great guitar riffs and vocals; and Mary Joe does many of the lead vocals and gives the group some much-needed good looks! You can always expect the unexpected when Roll on Rodney rolls onto the stage.

Bill and Eli Perras also made their second visit to First Friday. The many inspired lyrics given to and interpreted by Eli Perras, combined with Bill Perras’s bluesy finger-style guitar playing create a uniquely modern take on true Americana music in its purest form. Receiving recognition for their tightly woven musical creativity, they humbly remain true to their personal values. They speak out with strong heartfelt lyrics accompanied by soulful genuine pentatonic rhythms against social injustices, corporate greed, and daily follies in everyday life. They can grip your heart, search your soul, change a mindset, or softly strike a funny bone, all the while leaving the audience with a sentiment for the common good desired in all mankind.  They have opened for Bill Staines, Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, Michael Smith, John Gorka, Jack Williams, Anne Feeney, Scott Ainslie, Small Potatoes, Emma’s Revolution, Paul Geremia, Panama Red and many more nationally recognized entertainers. They are regulars at the many Florida folk music venues and festivals and frequently travel the country sharing their music beyond the Sunshine State.

Besides the 14th anniversary edition of First Friday for Folk Music which occurred before this issue of Tybee Times hit the stands, there were two other June events sponsored by the Society. On June 12th at the Frank Murray Community Center on Whitemarsh Island, the last Old Time Country Dance of the season took place at 8 PM. Dances will resume in September when its not as brutally hot as it is in July and August. Playing the dance was the Glow in the Dark Stringband and the steps were called by Bob Beatiie and Joyce Murlless.

A Pot Luck Pickin’ Jam was held at 2 PM on June 13th at the home of Bill Morris on Wilmington Island. Bill’s waterfront home has plenty roomy for lots of folks to bring instruments, voices, enthusiasm and of course, their favorite dish to share.

Looking ahead, the Fall will bring more great music. Concerts have already been planned featuring Mark Erelli & Meg Hutchinson, David Jacob-Strain and Phil Minissale. First Fridays will include such notable performers as Dana Cooper and Buddy Mondlock. And the Oct. 8-10 Savannah Folk Music Festival includes Karla Bonoff, Otis Taylor, Sam Pacetti and Carl Jones & Beverly Smith. And one more thing….is your teenager working on an original song to submit by September 1st for the Youth Songwriting Competition??? Keep folkin’ !

For information about SFMS, call Hank Weisman at 912-786-6953. Visit: http://www.savannahfolk.org.

Our Mission:To promote the preservation, enjoyment and continuation of the living art of folk music...

Back by popular demand, “Montana Skies” will be in Concert on May 14th. A must see and hear experience, this is a duo with the full spectrum of an orchestra crossed with the energy of a rock band. Jennifer and Jonathan Adams create a “new acoustic” sound with their pairing of cello, six-string electric cello, Spanish/classical guitar, and steel string guitar. Award winning musicians, they delve into music from Pink Floyd and Rush to Vivaldi, House of the Rising Sun, and Bach, as well as their own originals that have been featured everywhere from NPR to the Travel Channel. Using a wide range of effects, Jennifer Adams’ blazing electric cello and Jonathan Adams’ guitar wizardry combine to create a sound that is truly remarkable. Montana Skies has an extensive tour schedule which has taken them all across the US, Canada and to Asia.

Jonathan and Jennifer met while studying music at the University of Georgia. Recognizing a kindred spirit in each other’s devotion to their music, the desire to share music together was ignited immediately. The two assumed they would be performing classical recitals and great works for the cello and guitar; then, in one trip to the library to select music, their whole world of classical intentions came crashing down. The discovery: music written for cello and guitar was as rare as the combination itself — no great classical works existed. What resulted from this new musical freedom of expression between the two was the formation of Montana Skies, and a unique style of music that would garner instant recognition and praise. Jonathan explains, “The fact that ‘ready made’ repertoire is not available for our combination of instruments is really what pushes us to be more creative with our music. We love composing and arranging, and appreciate the opportunity to present old favorites, along with newer music, to our audiences.”

The Montana Skies concert will be in the gardens (under a tent) at the Ships of the Sea Museum, 41 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., on Friday, May 14th at 7:30 PM. Tickets, available at the door, are only $8 for adults and $5 for children and students, thanks to the support of a Grassroots Art Program grant from the City of Savannah’s Department of Cultural Affairs. These funds are from the National Endowment for the Arts through the Georgia Council for the Arts and an appropriation of the Georgia General Assembly.

On Friday, June 4th, the Savannah Folk Music Society marks the 14th anniversary of its monthly coffeehouse-style series, “First Friday for Folk Music.” As has become tradition, the evening will feature surprises and giveaways as well as the best in folk music. Appearing will be Nashville’s Joni Bishop and Canadian Tia McGraff, also an anniversary tradition.

Joni Bishop’s introduction to the world of music began when she got her first guitar at age 9 and discovered the folk/ roots music of singers like Mississippi John Hurt and Elizabeth Cotton. Not only did the music captivate her, but the faces on the LP jackets as well. It was then that she began to develop a love for both music and art and to discover her own gifts for writing songs, singing, playing finger-style guitar, and for sketching pencil portraits of the musicians she loved to hear. Since those early days, Joni’s career as a singer-songwriter has become well established on the American folk music scene. She has toured extensively throughout the US and in Europe. Her distinctive songwriting-vocal-guitar style won her recognition in many noted song festivals here and abroad and landed her a staff-writing deal with Galleon Music Publishing Co. in Los Angeles before arriving in Nashville in 1989. She was a New Folk winner in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, has recorded for CBS Records, BWE Records and released 5 CDs on her own independent label Polestar Records. Joni’s songs have been recorded by other artists as well, among them country singer Crystal Gayle, pop group 3T, Australian country artist Shanly Dell and numerous folk artists and bluegrass groups and her music continues to receive airplay around the country on Americana, college and public radio.

According to Randy Bachman (Bachman Turner Overdrive and the Guess Who),“Tia McGraff is a fantastic singer with her own vocal personality which reminds me of an early Linda Ronstadt. She is a very intuitive songwriter who knows what a song needs to make it tick. A joy to work with, it’s just a matter of time till that magic moment when everyone agrees it’s Tia’s time.” Port Dover, Ontario songstress Tia McGraff, is an international artist who is reaching beyond all boundaries and into the hearts of music lovers from Australia to West Yorkshire. After receiving critical acclaim and top reviews, Tia’s latest album release, “Day in My Shoes” has been nominated for “Alt Country album of the Year”, at the 2008 Hamilton Music Awards. In April of this year, Tia received word from Australia that her song, “All of Us” (Tia McGraff/Tommy Parham/Henry Priestman), was selected for use in a TV commercial campaign promoting multi-culturalism. Then to add to the honor, Tia’s version of the same song, was aired in a video presentation during the Pope’s visit to Sydney on World Youth Day and viewed by over 500,000 in attendance.

In the fall of 2008, Tia and her partner Tommy Parham, toured the UK for 3 weeks and proved once again to their live audiences why they are on their way to becoming household names. An ambitious tour that included 18 performances, 3 sold out shows, and a number of appearances with the talented UK band, The Storys. On one of the rare days off during the tour, Tia and Tommy were visiting their friend, Charlie McKenna, and it was here (at his stone farmhouse) in Hebden Bridge, that the three were inspired to write, “Christmas in Hebden Bridge.” Produced by Tommy Parham, arranged and co-produced by Nashville’s Scott Brasher (Billy the Early Years), Tia McGraff gives a stunning performance of this “soon to be holiday classic,” and proves that she is a world class singer/songwriter who can deliver a song from the heart for the heart.

The 14th Anniversary edition of First Friday for Folk Music is Friday, June 4th at First Presbyterian Church, 520 Washington Avenue in Savannah. He program starts at 7:30 PM and a variety of beverages and fresh baked cookies are available for purchase. A $2 donation per person is recommended.

For information about SFMS, call Hank Weisman at 912-786-6953, or visit the Savannah Folk Music Society online at savannahfolk.org.

April/May 2010 – Springtime and There’s Music in the Air!

Hank Weisman

It’s April…the Spring has sprung…and the Savannah Folk Music Society will offer the wonderful music that is part of every year’s renewal and rebirth.  Take two wonderful singer/songwriters and put them together and you have magic. You also have Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen – http://www.compassrosemusic.com/gillette (Steve) and http://www.compassrosemusic.com/mangsen (Cindy) have been performing together for 20 years, bringing together their love of traditional music and their wealth of original songs. Accompanying themselves with guitar, concertina and banjo, their live performances are known for rich harmony, compelling songs and a good dose of humor.

Steve Gillette has been writing songs since the 1960′s. His songs have been covered by Ian and Sylvia, John Denver, Garth Brooks, Linda Ronstadt, Tammy Wynette, and many others. But Steve’s own versions are some of the best, with his warm baritone voice and his unique finger-picking guitar style (using a flat-pick and two fingers). Steve has many solo and duo (with Cindy Mangsen) recordings available. His most recent solo album, Texas and Tennessee, was named one of the Top Ten Folk Albums of the Year by Tower Records. Steve has conducted songwriting workshops all over the US and Canada, and is on the Board of Directors of the Kerrville Folk Festival. He is author of the book Songwriting and the Creative Process, a standard text in songwriting groups.

Cindy Mangsen is “one of the finest singers in American folk music” (Come for to Sing). Accompanying herself on guitar, banjo, concertina, or mountain dulcimer, Cindy is known for her compelling interpretations of traditional ballads, as well as for her own writing and her wonderful ear for harmony. She has recorded several solo albums (Songs of Experience received the Editor’s Choice Award from Crossroads), as well as collaborations with Steve Gillette, Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, and Michael Smith. Her latest solo album, Cat Tales, is devoted to “songs of the feline persuasion.” Cindy has led singing and ballad workshops at the Augusta Heritage Center in West Virginia and The Woods in Ontario, Canada.

The Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen (left) concert will be Friday, April 16th at 7:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church, 520 Washington Avenue in Savannah. Thanks, in part, to a grant from the “Grassroots Art Program” and the City of Savannah’s Cultural Affairs Department, tickets will be only $8 for adults and $5 for children and students. This one should not be missed!

Also in April will be a Pot Luck Pickin’ Jam from 2:00 to 6:00 PM on Sunday, April 18. This will be at Randy Wood Guitars in Bloomingdale. Grab an instrument, a covered dish and someone who loves music, then come on out to Randy’s for some picking, grinning and eating!

First Friday for Folk Music falls on May 7th and we will have local troubadour Jason Bible (below) and Florida’s Ken Skeens and Leigh Goldsmith (left). Jason is a Texas transplant who frequently appears with the band, The Trainwrecks and his writing and song interpretation shows the influences of Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty.

Ken Skeens is a folksinger, guitarist of Appalachian heritage and an award-winning songwriter. His subjects range from the environment to songs about spirituality, social issues, politics, personal development, Americana, heart and home, and philosophy.

Ken won the Will McLean Award for songwriting in 1992.  His three entries finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.  He also placed 1st in the “I Remember Gamble” song contest in 2002.  Ken and Leigh have been singing together since 1993. They sing at various venues and folk festivals around Florida. They are members of FOFF (Friends of Florida Folk) and Ken’s song “Old Florida River” was used as part of a radio program (Appalachiacola Doin’ Time) that won the “Edward R. Murrow Award” for best radio documentary in 2000.

Finally, for all you dancers, there will be Old Time Country Dances on April 17th and May 8th at 8:00 PM at Notre Dame Academy gymnasium, 1709 Bull Street in Savannah. Come dance circles, squares, reels, waltzes and contra dancing for great fun and good exercise, Tickets for the dances are only $8 for general public and $6 for SFMS members and students.  Come and enjoy the fun!

For information about SFMS, call Hank Weisman at 912-786-6953.
Visit: http://www.savannahfolk.org.

An Open Invitation from Hank Weisman & The Savannah Folk Music Society

Hank Weisman

The 165th “First Friday for Folk Music,” Savannah’s monthly showcase of local and touring folk musicians, takes place on March 5th. It features first-time visiting artists, Dorian Michael and Cosy Sheridan. The show begins at 7:30 PM at First Presbyterian Church at 520 Washington Avenue. It’s smoke-free, alcohol-free and family-friendly. There is a recommended donation of $2 per person. Beverages and fresh baked goods are available for purchase at nominal prices.

Dorian Michael started playing guitar as a seven-year old in Los Angeles just as folk music was about to have a renaissance of sorts and earthy acoustic music was his first guitar experience. He has been a working guitarist for four decades and in that time has played plenty of blues and folk, jazz and rock and roll. There has always been a huge variety of playing experience from smoky honky-tonks to theater orchestra pits. At some point along the way he started playing a few solo fingerstyle instrumentals, made a CD and decided he needed to hit the road and see if he could sell them. Three solo CDs and four ensemble CDs later Dorian is still playing throughout the States and Canada. He calls his solo music “contemporary traditional”- original music that reflects his interest in a number of styles of music. These influences come through in his original material, but it is a contemporary music that grows from, rather than mimics, those influences. When he plays someone else’s music or a traditional piece, he always manages to add a few surprises. Says Dorian, “Some music makes you feel, some makes you think and some music is just for the fun of it. I try to get to all those places in the space of a performance.”

Cosy Sheridan has been called “one of the era’s finest and most thoughtful singer/songwriters.” She has played everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Philadelphia Folk Festival and is the winner of numerous songwriting awards. Her music has appeared in best-selling author Robert Fulghum’s book, Third Wish, as well as on The Dr. Demento Show and NPR’s Car Talk.

Sheridan is a storyteller as well as songwriter; she moves seamlessly from lyrical story into song and back again. Her modern renditions of mythology (meet Hades as a biker) have won her fans and praise from the press. The Cornell Folksong Society says, “Sheridan is frank, feisty, sublimely and devilishly funny. She fuses myth with modern culture – Persephone with Botox.” She first appeared on the national folk scene in 1992 when she won the songwriting contests at both the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and released her critically acclaimed CD, Quietly Led on Waterbug Records. Folk Music Quarterly wrote: “When she’s accepting her Grammy, we can say we knew her when.”

Anyone not familiar with the music of Bill Staines is in for a special treat when he plays in Concert on Saturday, March 20th at 8:00 PM. For over thirty five years, Bill has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston- Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960′s and, for a time, emceed the Sunday hootenanny at the renowned Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. In 1971, after one of his performances, a reviewer for The Phoenix stated that Bill was “simply Boston’s best performer.” A decade later, both in 1980 and 1981, the annual Reader’s Poll of The Boston Globe selected him as a favorite performer. In 1991 , Bill entered his forth decade as a folk performer with an international reputation as an artist.

Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular singers on the folk music circuit today and averages around 200 concert dates a year. Bill weaves a magical blend of wit and gentle humor into his performances, and as one reviewer wrote, “he has a sense of timing to match the best stand-up comic.” His music is a slice of Americana, reflecting with the same ease, his feelings about the prairie people of the Midwest or the adventurers of the Yukon. Interspersed between original songs, Bill also includes songs ranging from traditional folk tunes to more contemporary country ballads and delights in having the audience participate in many of the numbers. He may even do a yodeling tune or two- having won the National Yodeling Championship in 1975 at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville Texas. A number of Bill’s songs have been recorded by other artists including, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Makem and Clancy, Nanci Griffith, Mason Williams, The Highwaymen, Glen Yarborough, Jerry Jeff Walker, Grandpa Jones, Priscilla Herdman and others. Bill has recorded twenty-two of his own albums, fifteen of which are still in print. Additionally, Bill’s songs have been published in four songbooks, If I Were A Word, Then I’d Be A Song, River, Music To Me, The Songs of Bill Staines, and All God’s Critters Got A Place In The Choir. Two of the books contain nearly one hundred of Bill’s songs. Radio and TV appearances have included A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, The Good Evening Show and a host of local programs on PBS and network TV. Bill continues to drive over 65,000 miles a year, doing what he loves, bringing music to people. The Bill Staines concert will be at First Presbyterian Church as well and tickets, available at the door, are only $8 for adults and $5 for students and children. For information, call Hank Weisman at 912-786-6953, or visit: http://www.savannahfolk.org

An Open Invitation from Hank Weisman & The Savannah Folk Music Society

AREA FOLK MUSIC STARTS THE NEW YEAR WITH A BANG!

Hank Weisman

New Year’s fireworks goes on all of January as the Savannah Folk Music Society starts 2010 with great music and lots of it!

First, there is “First Friday for Folk Music”, the area’s monthly showcase for both local and touring folk music talent. January’s “First Friday” will be on January 8th, avoiding the hangovers, football and other distractions of the 1st. Starting at the usual 7:30 PM at Stewart Hall of the First Presbyterian Church at 520 E. Washington Avenue in Savannah, it will be “girls on guitars.” Opening will be local favorite Jan Spillane (below) followed by Atlanta-based Rebecca Loebe (left). Both are singer/songwriters with several outstanding CDs to their credit. “First Friday” is free with a recommended donation of $2 per person.

Our Mission:To promote the preservation, enjoyment and continuation of the living art of folk music...

Next come the “Old Time Country Dances.” Yes, that is “dances” plural as two are set for January. The first is Jan. 9 and the second is Jan. 30, both at Notre Dame Academy gym at 1709 Bull Street. The first dance features the music of the Glow-in-the-Dark String Band and the second features The Hungry Monks (middle left) from Charleston, SC. Lessons for novices are at 7:30 PM and the dancing (contra, circles, squares, reels and waltzes) starts at 8:00 PM. Admission is $8 per person general public and $6 for SFMS members and students.

Last, but with great excitement and anticipation, is a concert with “The Work o’ the Weavers.” (below right) This outstanding quartet faithfully recreates the sound of the iconic folk group, The Weavers, the group that changed everything about American folk music.  The concert not only includes the best songs performed and often written by the Weavers, but tells the story of the Weaver’s formation, rise to stardom, tribulations during the infamous blacklisting period and their ultimate triumph and place in history. Their second time in Savannah, The Work o’ the Weavers delivers a great and powerful show that should not be missed. Making it even more attractive, funds from the City of Savannah’s Cultural Affairs Department and the Southern Arts Federation make it possible to have this show and a question-and answer session that follows only $8 for adults and $6 for children and students.

Looking ahead in 2010 is also exciting. “First Fridays” will include such outstanding acts a Small Potatoes, Buddy Mondlock, Dana Cooper, and the South Carolina Broadcasters. Ticketed concerts include Scotland’s Tannahill Weavers, New Englander Bill Staines, Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangson, and Montana Skies. And the 2010 Savannah Folk Music Festival will be headlines by Karla Bonoff. All in all, there’s much to please everyone in 2010’s folk music future.

For information, call Hank Weisman at 912-786-6953, or visit: http://www.savannahfolk.org