Events Calendar

Event Details:  Rising from a milieu of lovelorn singer-songwriters, John Gorka illuminates instead with his trademark wordplay, twisting, turning and tying words and phrases in the way a balloon artist creates complex creatures from simple balloons.  Few contemporary songwriters coax language as deftly as Gorka.  Learn more about him at http://johngorka.com.

Show Time: January 24, 7:30 pm EST

Tickets: $25 with advance ticket purchase or reservation and $30 without an advance reservation

Location: Lansdowne Folk Club, 84 S. Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, PA

Website: www.folkclub.org

PFS Co-op Presents: Fish Harmonics EP Release with special guest Mike Block (of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble)
Friday, January 25, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Secure your tickets here!

$10 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $12 Not-Yet-Members | $15 Doors
PFS is a BYO venue. $2 BYO Wristband (21+ with ID)

Watch Fish Harmonics here!

RSVP on Facebook here.

Join PFS as we celebrate the release of ONE, an EP of original music by Rob Curto with his ensemble, Fish Harmonics, featuring adventurous American roots music that takes you on a whirlwind, toe-tapping ride.

Influenced by celtic, old time, and modern bluegrass sounds, the band brings a unique free-wheeling and improvisational energy to both classic tunes and original compositions. “ONE” features Curto’s mastery of the piano and diatonic accordions, coupled with rhythmic arco bass playing by Chris Coyle (bass); old-timey strings by Brennen Ernst (banjo, guitar), Isaac Stanford (dobro), and Mazz Swift (fiddle); and percussion by Saantis Fenmu Davis with groove-oriented drumming by Doug Hirlinger.

“ONE” is a musical journey in itself, documenting the discovery of a new place, new music, and new collaborations in Philadelphia. Listening to the album will leave you with no doubt that you’ve just heard some of the best players around make something special. The irony? “One” listen isn’t enough. (Handy note: CDs of “ONE” will be available at the show for $10!)

Special guest Mike Block (Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble) will start the evening off with a solo performance on cello. Block is a cello player, singer, and composer who is a Grammy Award-winning member of the Silk Road Ensemble. Block’s solo show features a mixture of original compositions and songs, arrangements of traditional folk music, and classical selections that draw inspiration from his diverse collaborations with artists such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, fiddler Mark O’Connor, Indian tabla player Sandeep Das, and pop stars such as will.i.am, Stevie Wonder, and Bon Iver. www.MikeBlockMusic.com

ABOUT ROB CURTO & FISH HARMONICS

Rob Curto (composer, pianist, and accordionist) has spent the last 8 years touring extensively with his band Matuto, known for its distinctive “Brazilian-bluegrass” sound. Mixing the roots Americana stylings of the great Bill Monroe with rhythmic and melodic elements from Brazil, Curto has been part of a movement to establish the accordion as a versatile and important instrument in contemporary roots music.

In addition to Brazilian music, Curto has gained a reputation as an all-around master of the accordion and has been in high demand across genres. His musical collaborations include performing and recording with Latin Grammy award winner Lila Downs; Klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer; trumpeter/composer Frank London; Punjabi Indian singer Kiran Ahluwalia; and icon of Brazilian Forró, the great accordionist Dominguinhos. Curto is also an enthusiast of Irish button accordion and studies with acclaimed B/C box player, Billy McComisky.

Curto has toured internationally including across parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and has represented the United States State Department abroad. He has been a staple at festivals like Wintergrass, Red Wing Roots, and Rhythm and Roots, and made his Philadelphia Folk Festival debut with his band Forró for All in 2018.

Fish Harmonics is the new project of Curto, featuring an exciting and unusual blend of roots influences and deeply informed by Curto’s own rootings in jazz and improvisational mastery. True to form, the accordion is at the forefront of the group’s sound and there’s no denying the excitement of Curto’s flying fingers once the band starts a groove–and groove they do, with an impressive line-up of some of Philadelphia’s best musicians including Chris Coyle on acoustic bass, Doug Hirlinger on drums, and Brennen Ernst on banjo/guitar. The combination of arco bass with groove-oriented drumming and old-timey strings played with dizzying skill along with the accordion create a sound that’s somehow both familiar and new… and always an adventure. www.fishharmonics.com

ABOUT MIKE BLOCK

Mike Block is a pioneering cello player, singer, composer, and educator, hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as the “ideal musician of the 21st-Century.” Passionate about cross-cultural collaboration through music, Mike is committed to inspiring individuals and connecting communities. At home in a wide range of musical styles, through a multi-genre approach to composition, performance and education, he seeks to inspire audiences and empower musicians to find joy in the full world of music.

Mike is member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble (SRE), having joined in 2005 while a student at The Juilliard School. Touring extensively throughout the world with SRE, he has been featured as cello and vocal soloist, contributed arrangements and compositions, and earned a Grammy Award in 2017 for their album, Sing Me Home. Mike also served as Music Director for SRE’s acclaimed opening concert of New York City’s Central Park SummerStage 2011 season “Night at the Caravanserai: Tales of Wonder”.

Acclaimed by the NY Times for his “vital rich-hued solo playing,” Block’s solo performances offer a rich mixture of core classical repertoire with original compositions. He has collaborated in performance and recordings with a variety of diverse musicians, including Will.i.am, Edgar Meyer, Stevie Wonder, The New York Philharmonic, Bon Iver, Zakir Hussain, Rachel Barton Pine, Allison Krauss, Mark O’Connor, Bobby McFerrin, Darol Anger, and Julian Lage. Mike is an active recording artist of original material, folk music and cross-cultural collaborations. He has an ongoing project to record all of the Bach cello suites in acoustically glorious bathrooms of famous concert halls, BachInTheBathroom.com.

Benefit Concert for Working While Playing

Saturday, January 26 @ 1:00 p.m.

655 Old York Road, Warminster, PA 

BEHIND THE ART: A fundraising event supporting
WORKING WHILE PLAYING & ABW PERFORMING ARTS

The event will be help at Archbishop Wood High School In the ABW South Gym.
Doors open @ 12:30 PM

Live music by:
Adam Monaco, Diane Ocean, Black & Blue, Rusty & Jan, Chris Caulder, and Kristen Brug.

Art Displayed by:
Lewis Shaw, Eric Sollenberger, Ren Martin, Hadley Stacks, & more!

Tickets:
$5 dollars advanced purchase
$7 at the door.

This Nashville-style in-the-round features singer-songwriters Aaron Nathans, Blair Bodine, Sonja Sofya and Avi Wisnia. The artists will swap songs and tell the stories behind them.

Aaron Nathans is an award-winning singer-songwriter from the Philadelphia area. His mission is to write songs about things that no one else has written about before. He describes his songs as “wild-mind, bittersweet acoustic music.” Nathans’ shows include humorous, meandering stories that will keep you every bit as captivated as the music itself – beautiful guitar work, catchy melodies, and his sweet baritone voice and incredible vocal range. He was named a New Folk finalist at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in both 2018 and 2011. In addition to performing solo he is one-half of the guitar-cello duo with Michael G. Ronstadt. They released “Hang On for the Ride” in 2018 and it includes “The Strength to Not Fight Back,” Nathans’ tribute to Jackie Robinson and the power of nonviolence. Nathans has opened for Lucy Kaplansky, Tracy Grammer, Vance Gilbert and other folk luminaries. In addition to collaborating with Ronstadt he has written with Craig Bickhardt and Phil Henry. For more information visit www.aaronnathans.com.

Sonja Sofya honed her musical chops through intense classical piano and voice study, and then found a creative outlet through songwriting at an early age. “I had some friends who formed an indie-rock band my freshman year of high school, she recalls, But though I begged, they wouldn’t let me join – it wasn’t something girls were supposed to do. So I decided I’d write my own music instead!” Years later, Sofya has carved out a reputation for nimble pianowork and powerhouse vocals (Philly Current Magazine) and has performed throughout Philadelphia and the mid-Atlantic region at venues including Milkboy, Boot & Saddle, The Tin Angel and North Star Bar in Philadelphia; Caffe Vivaldi, Jalopy Theatre and Petes Candy Store in New York City; Club Passim in Boston; and The Black Fox in Washington, DC. Sofya released the album “Patterns We Know” in 2016. For more information visit www.facebook.com/sonjasofya.

Award-winning singer-songwriter Avi Wisnia presents an eclectic mix of refreshingly original songs and inventive covers, finding inspiration in Brazilian bossa nova, acoustic American folk, 1950s west-coast jazz and contemporary pop. Wisnia’s clever lyrics give a knowing nod to his contemporaries, while his smooth vocals and deft piano skills assure you that this is truly something new. He has toured around the world  from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City to The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC to concerts in Warsaw, Poland and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His latest single “Sky Blue Sky” was recorded via satellite between Philadelphia and Brazil, winning recognition from the Philadelphia Songwriters Project and Mid-Atlantic Song Contest. In addition to being a performing songwriter, Wisnia has also given a TED talk about “The Nature and Nurture of Bossa Nova” and performed with The Moth storytellers. For more information visit www.aviwisnia.com.

Winner of the American Songwriter magazine grand prize for lyric writing in 2015, Blair Bodine has been hailed as a “songbird with heart.” Her songs are rich in storytelling traditions, bridging the genres of folk, soul and Americana.

PFS Presents Quarter Horse
with Special Guests Roanoke

Saturday, February 2, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

$8 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $11 Not-Yet-Members | $16 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Quarter Horse

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF QUARTER HORSE

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO QUARTER HORSE ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT QUARTER HORSE

About Roanoke

Meeting at a junction of Americana, indie rock, and folk, Roanoke first began their journey in 2014. Taking on Nashville’s music scene like many pilgrims before them, the core of Roanoke consisting of Taylor Dupuis (Vocals, Guitar), Joey Beesley (Vocals, Lead Guitar), Zach Nowak (Mandolin, Vocals, Guitar), Kyle Breese (Percussion, Harmonica), and John Fiorentino (Guitar) quickly grew into a close-knit musical collective after endless hours of rehearsal and miles on the road. In May 2016, the band released their debut, self-titled album Roanoke, which won the hearts of fans and words of critics at outlets like HuffPost, Bluegrass Today, and No Depression, who described their sound as, both ageless and expressive.

Having earned a reputation for spirited live performances, Roanoke has spent as much time as they can muster on tour. “I have fallen in love with being on the road, it’s been such a replenishing experience,” admits Taylor Dupuis. After the decision to embark on a new album, Roanoke took the time amidst a midwest run to get a little lost and see what they could find. The band ventured out to an isolated cabin in Harrison, Michigan, miles from the nearest paved road and cellphone reception, much less civilization. “A lot of my childhood was spent lost in the woods in Michigan, so spending a few days between the trees with my best friends/bandmates was an incredible experience that really helped us discover something new,” says Dupuis, who acts as one of the chief songwriters in addition to providing vocals. During their time in Michigan’s wilderness, the band spent their days collaboratively writing and demoing songs that would eventually become their forthcoming release Where I Roam.

Where I Roam is more than a collection of songs —it’s an invitation to lose yourself and to keep searching-using those moments to remember where you once were, and to find home wherever you are.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ROANOKE

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ROANOKE ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF ROANOKE

PFS February Monthly Concert with Courtney Hartman and Tom West

Thursday, February 7, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

**FREE FOR MEMBERS** While Supplies Last
**$10 For Not-Yet-Members**

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Courtney Hartman

You’ve seen Courtney Hartman as part of award-winning folk bluegrass act Della Mae at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, but you’ve never seen her like this before. Courtney Hartman is an acclaimed guitarist, singer and writer whose songs are luminous and expansive, drawing from the shadowed spaces of the intimate and natural. Acoustic Guitar Magazine recognizes her as a “distinctive guitar stylist… and a songwriter that delights and disturbs.” Her early years were spent playing folk and bluegrass with her siblings at festivals around the country. After leaving Colorado for the Northeast, Courtney joined up with folk quintet, Della Mae, touring internationally for seven years, releasing three records and garnering a GRAMMY nomination.

Her first solo release, Nothing We Say, drew ears to her work as a songwriter and solo artist. The EP runs with ruminations from the road, influenced by the Colorado foothills where she was raised and the Brooklyn window sill from where she wrote. In 2017, following the release, Courtney was nominated by Americana Music Association for Instrumentalist of the Year. Bill Frisell, Mike Campbell, Buffy St. Marie and Shazhad Ismaily are a few of the artists Courtney has created with as she continues to collaborate across cultures and disciplines, always seeking to bring voice to the hushed and inexpressible. Her newest release, a duo with Canadian songwriter Taylor Ashton, was met with anticipation and acclaim, hailed by PopMatters as “a delicate light glistening softly in the darkness.”

Whether she is following the thread of her traditional roots or exploring the rim of her own songwriting, Courtney continues to make music both timely and compelling, pulling on the antinomies that define her. She is currently based in Colorado and will be touring in 2019 in support of her next solo album.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF COURTNEY HARTMAN

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO COURTNEY HARTMAN ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COURTNEY HARTMAN

About Tom West

Tom West is an Australian singer-songwriter performing music that traverses the rocky and undulating ground between simple, whimsical folk tunes and grand and moody soundscapes. Delivering shows where his purposeful songwriting, unforgettable voice and intricate arrangements come to the fore. Effortlessly shifting between performing solo or with his band where banjos, saxophones & guitars complete the ramshackle wall of sound he has drawn comparisons to the likes of Volcano Choir, Andrew Bird, The Lumineers, Of Monsters & Men & Ben Howard. West’s latest work explores new boundaries in his writing and composing.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A PERFORMANCE OF TOM WEST

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO TOM WEST ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TOM WEST

**Ticketing Policy**

The Philadelphia Folksong Society is proud to offer its’ members one or two free tickets (depending on membership level) to our selected Monthly Member Concert and Monthly House Concert every month. Due to the large number of members and limited seating, we ask that members reserve tickets when they know they can attend. If a member has reserved a ticket and cannot make it to the member concert of their choosing, they must contact the PFS office by phone or email prior to the event to cancel. Failure to do so will result in an inability to reserve your free member ticket to the following member concert.

If you arrive at a PFS member concert and have not reserved a ticket, you will only be seated ten minutes before show time if seats are still available.

If a member concert is listed as “sold out,” please contact Katie Kresz at kkresz@pfs.org to secure your spot atop the waitlist. You will be notified prior to the concert if seats become available.

PFS asks that all members show respect to their fellow members and the Society through following this policy.

Winter Doldrums Concert for Suicide Prevention
at The Ardmore Music Hall

2pm Doors
2:30pm Show

$15 ADV// $20 D.O.S// $25 Seated// $50 Premium Table

Tickets on sale now >> http://bit.ly/WinterDoldrumsBenefit

Featuring:

Andrew Lipke
Mason Porter
Tin Bird Choir
Black Horse Motel
Lovers League
Andrea Nardello
Michele Lynn’s Vilomahed Project
Ross Bellenoit
Marion Halliday
Vilebred
Dwight Remington
Sonja Sofya
Episcopal Academy Middle School Singers
& More!

PFS Presents OSOG

Friday, February 22, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $18 Doors

Get your tickets here!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About OSOG

OSOG stands for “On Shoulders Of Giants,” honoring their musical roots, and on the way to their unique sound, they have done some deep listening. You may be tempted to think: Americana, and that would be true, because their life-water comes from the same well. But the creature nurtured on it, was born on the crossroads, in the Middle East, with the world in its ears. The nine-person band features acoustic instruments, yet they are played with a 21st century sensibility. A song may open with poetic imagery and fingers pick out a delicate melody on the ukulele or mandolin, like a folk tune coming from an old soul, then something happens, a portal opens to the dark side, and everything changes. But in that intensity, you realize that it was always all there, paradise and the inferno are all part of the same whole. There’s a religious fervor to many of the songs, that resonates profoundly. It sounds like traditional Gospel and Blues, not because it is written in that manner or in imitation; if you listen to the music you soon realize that it is a raging devil-child of diverse influences (blues, folk, rock, punk, reggae – to name a few) and striking originality. OSOG’s music feels like traditional blues or gospel because they are harnessed to the same, ultimately subversive task: truth-telling.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF OSOG

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OSOG ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OSOG

PFS Presents Melanie Brulée

Get your tickets here!

Saturday, February 23, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$10 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $12 Not-Yet-Members | $15 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MELANIE BRULÉE

About Melanie Brulée

Born in Cornwall Ontario to bilingual parents, Toronto-based Melanie Brulée interweaves her native language into her art like she crisscrosses musical genres: with ease. From the first listen, you can hear how her years living in Australia and France have influenced her style and sound. The first offering rich surf-style guitar tones and catchy hooks and the latter blurring the lines between audience and performer, like a speakeasy cabaret. What most might call Americana, folk-rock or country music, Melanie colours with her own distinctive essence, bringing a vintage respect to a modern sound. Seeing her ease onstage, it’s clear that’s where she feels most at home, quickly winning over audiences with her charisma.

Melanie’s striking stage presence, unique vocal stylings and expressive confidence have opened several doors for her since the release of her French album Débridée (2015), giving her the chance to build a solid team including management, booking, distribution and publishing. Critically acclaimed by media in Québec as well as across Canada, the album earned Melanie a Stingray Music Rising Star Award as well as three Trille Or nominations at Canada’s largest recognition of excellence in the arts outside of Québec. Melanie was featured on the official Ontario 150 anthem ‘A Place to Stand’ which was highly distributed across the province during 2017.

Her singles have been on regular rotation on CBC, Radio-Canada as well as Sirius XM satellite in Canada and the USA, allowing her to build a following and tour the continent playing near 100 shows per year. Most recent highlights include opening for Kathleen Edwards, Whitehorse and Amanda Marshall as well as performances at renowned festivals such as Mariposa Folk Fest, Luminato, Francofolies, Montreal Folk on the Canal and multiple performances at Yonge-Dundas Square. Most recently, Melanie has been spending significant time honing her craft as a songwriter in Nashville with some of Music City’s finest in preparation for her upcoming 2018 release.

The success of Débridée opened another unexpected door, allowing her to begin a conversation about mental health with her audience. She began running workshops on self-confidence with students across North America, encouraging young people to talk about their fears and anxieties, offering tips and tricks on dealing with depression, and sharing her story as a suicide loss survivor. “After my father’s passing, I remember being so angry. The truth is that without being able to express myself through songwriting, I’d be an absolute mess. Sharing my story with others has helped me get through the pain and loss and I hope that I can offer the same refuge to others through music and open conversation.” Melanie’s third full-length album Fires, Floods & Things We Leave Behind further explores themes of family, loss and addiction and will be released October 2018.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MELANIE BRULÉE ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MELANIE BRULÉE

Saturday, Feb 23 2019   8 pm

Terry Kitchen & Mara Levine split bill with Robin Greenstein

People’s Voice Café

Community Church of New York , 40 East 35th Street , New York, NY 10016

$20 suggested contribution — more if you choose, less if you can’t; no one turned away.
For PVC subscribers, students, and youth, the suggested contribution is $12.

http://www.peoplesvoicecafe.org

Mara Levine FACETS OF FOLK CD Release Concert

Split bill with Gathering Time

Sunday, February 24 1:30 pm Doors open at 1

Borderline Folk Music Club

Nanuet Library

149 Church street, Nanuet, NY

$20

for reservations Greta at intrend@yahoo.com

or www.borderlinefolkmusicclub.org

Michael Braunfeld is, first and foremost, a storyteller.  His songs capture the everyday triumphs and struggles of ordinary people.  His characters – though trapped in the particular circumstances of their own lives – appeal to a universal audience.  Check him out athttp://www.michaelbraunfeld.com.

Kirsten Maxwell is a New York raised singer/songwriter, now based out of Nashville.  She has toured extensively over the past 4 years, and shared stages with such musical greats as Melissa Etheridge, Ferron, and Karla Bonoff.  Learn more about her at http://www.kirstenmaxwell.com.

Show Time: Doors 7:00 pm, Music 7:30 pm EST

Tickets: $17 with advance ticket purchase or reservation and $20 without an advance reservation: http://folkclub.org/ticket-sales/

Location: Lansdowne Folk Club, 84 S. Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, PA

Website: www.folkclub.org

PFS Presents Bon Débarras

Friday, March 1, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $18 Doors

Get your tickets here!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Bon Débarras

Bon Débarras unites the worlds of music, dance and poetry through a collaboration between Montreal artists Dominic Desrochers, Jean-François Dumas and Marie-Pierre Lecault. The group brings together a fusion of Quebecois folk music, traditional step-dancing and global influences, for a show that is full of fun and inventive energy. On guitar, banjo, violin and harmonica, the trio opens a door to their recollections of America and their music is at the intersection of various traditions. Bon Débarras’ energy taps into the rhythms of today and ventures boldly on the multi-faceted road to tomorrow’s dreams, in an atmosphere that transcends boundaries and ages.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF BON DÉBARRAS

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO BON DÉBARRAS ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BON DÉBARRAS

PFS Presents The Black Feathers

Saturday, March 2, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $18 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BLACK FEATHERS PERFORM

About The Black Feathers

A favorite of the 2018 Philadelphia Folk Festival, we are delighted to be hosting The Black Feathers in the PFS venue!

The ability to write songs that are both modern and ancient is a rare thing. The product of an arcane art of weaving in traditional influences so thoroughly that they become the warp and weft of fresh creations.The Black Feathers, made up of Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler, are two such talents. They first became aware of the magic between them while collaborating on several musical projects, becoming The Black Feathers and life partners in 2012.

Americana, Folk, and Acoustic Indie Rock sensibilities coexist comfortably in their musical world, with Hughes’ guitar work buoying the kind of harmonies often only heard in family bands. It’s been an incredible couple of years for the The Black Feathers. Their debut album was met with critical acclaim and broke into the Top 10 in the iTunes Country chart and the Official UK Americana Chart. A live album recorded at The Convent in Stroud has also just been released and very well received. Tours in the UK, as well as an Irish tour supporting Eddi Reader, have kept Sian and Ray busy. They could easily rest on their laurels, but instead have been spending their downtime working on new material to be released as their ‘The Ghosts Have Eaten Well’ EP in 2018 with more new music on the way!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A MUSIC VIDEO OF THE BLACK FEATHERS

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BLACK FEATHERS ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BLACK FEATHERS

PFS Presents Rev. Sekou

Saturday, March 9, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $18 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

CLICK HERE TO WATCH REV. SEKOUS’ TINY DESK CONCERT

About Rev. Sekou

Rev. Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou
Osagyefo (oh-sah-GEE-fo) Uhuru (ooh-WHO-roo) Sekou (SAY-koo)

Noted activist, theologian, author, documentary filmmaker, and musician, Reverend Osagyefo Sekou was born in St. Louis, Missouri and raised in the rural Arkansas Delta. Rev. Sekou’s music is an unique combination of North Mississippi Hill Country Music, Arkansas Delta Blues, Memphis Soul and Pentecostal steel guitar. In May 2017, he released “In Times Like These” produced the six-time Grammy nominated North Mississippi Allstars. AFROPUNK heralded the ”deep bone-marrow-level conviction” of his first album, “The Revolution Has Come”. The single, “We Comin’”–was named the new anthem for the modern Civil Rights movement by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A consummate entertainer, Paste Studio celebrated his barn-burning performance saying: “Rev. Sekou delivers the spiritual performance we need now.”

With the Deep Abiding Love Project, he has helped trained over five thousands activists in militant nonviolent civil disobedience through the United States. He spent 6 weeks on the ground in Charlotteville, VA training clergy in response to the Unite the Right rally. Reverend Sekou is featured in Orlando de Guzman’s 2015 documentary film Ferguson: A Report from Occupied Territory. He was arrested multiple times during the Ferguson Uprising, including for ‘Praying while Black’ outside the Ferguson Police Department in September, alongside over 40 clergy, faith leaders and community members during the 500-strong Moral Monday protest during last year’s Ferguson October convergence, and, more recently, on Moral Monday 2015, as part of more than 50 people and faced federal charges following a sit-in at the Department of Justice.

His documentary short film, Exiles in the Promised Land is based on his visit to a refugee camp and lecture in Beirut, Lebanon. It was selected for the Amnesty International Human Rights Film Festival (2009). He is a founding national coordinator for Clergy and Laity Concerned about Iraq (CALC-I), which represented over 300 faith-based institutions and organizations working to end the war in Iraq.

Rev. Sekou co-led an interfaith delegation to Haiti one month after the tragic earthquake. He built toilets alongside the Haitian people. Based on a Lecture he delivered in Beirut, Lebanon, his short documentary film, Exiles in the Promised Land: The Quest for Home focuses on the plights of Palestinians, Iraqi, and post-Katrina New Orleans. The film was accepted at the Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival. Rev. Sekou was a delegate to the People’s World Climate Change Conference in Bolivia. He was a delegate to the Interdependence Day Conferences in Istanbul, Turkey and Berlin, Germany.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO REV. SEKOU ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT REV. SEKOU

March Monthly Concert with John McCutcheon

Sunday, March 10, 2019
Doors 1:30pm | Music 2pm

Get your tickets here!

FREE for Members *While Supplies Last* | $10 Not-Yet-Members | $15 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About John McCutcheon

No one remembers when the neighbors started calling the McCutcheons to complain about the loud singing from young John’s bedroom. It didn’t seem to do much good, though. For, after a shaky, lopsided battle between piano lessons and baseball (he was a mediocre pianist and an all-star catcher), he had “found his voice” thanks to a cheap mail-order guitar and a used book of chords.

From such inauspicious beginnings, John McCutcheon has emerged as one of our most respected and loved folksingers. As an instrumentalist, he is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare and beautiful hammer dulcimer. His songwriting has been hailed by critics and singers around the globe. His thirty recordings have garnered every imaginable honor including seven Grammy nominations. He has produced over twenty albums of other artists, from traditional fiddlers to contemporary singer-songwriters to educational and documentary works. His books and instructional materials have introduced budding players to the joys of their own musicality. And his commitment to grassroots political organizations has put him on the front lines of many of the issues important to communities and workers.

Even before graduating summa cum laude from Minnesota’s St. John’s University, this Wisconsin native literally “headed for the hills,” forgoing a college lecture hall for the classroom of the eastern Kentucky coal camps, union halls, country churches, and square dance halls. His apprenticeship to many of the legendary figures of Appalachian music imbedded a love of not only home-made music, but a sense of community and rootedness. The result is music…whether traditional or from his huge catalog of original songs…with the profound mark of place, family, and strength. It also created a storytelling style that has been compared to Will Rogers and Garrison Keillor.

But it is in live performance that John feels most at home. It is what has brought his music into the lives and homes of one of the broadest audiences any folk musician has ever enjoyed. People of every generation and background seem to feel at home in a concert hall when John McCutcheon takes the stage, with what critics describe as “little feats of magic,” “breathtaking in their ease and grace…,” and “like a conversation with an illuminating old friend.”

Whether in print, on record, or on stage, few people communicate with the versatility, charm, wit or pure talent of John McCutcheon.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF JOHN MCCUTCHEON

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**Ticketing Policy**

The Philadelphia Folksong Society is proud to offer its’ members one or two free tickets (depending on membership level) to our selected Monthly Member Concert and Monthly House Concert every month. Due to the large number of members and limited seating, we ask that members reserve tickets when they know they can attend. If a member has reserved a ticket and cannot make it to the member concert of their choosing, they must contact the PFS office by phone or email prior to the event to cancel. Failure to do so will result in an inability to reserve your free member ticket to the following member concert.

If you arrive at a PFS member concert and have not reserved a ticket, you will only be seated ten minutes before show time if seats are still available.

If a member concert is listed as “sold out,” please contact Katie Kresz at kkresz@pfs.org to secure your spot atop the waitlist. You will be notified prior to the concert if seats become available.

PFS asks that all members show respect to their fellow members and the Society through following this policy.

PFS Presents Les Poules à Colin

Friday, March 15, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $18 Doors

Get your tickets here!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Les Poules à Colin

Taking their name from a traditional song, Colin’s Hens (formed in 2009) are five descendants of trad musicians who have been raised behind the scenes of folk festivals. They learned their trade with some of Quebec’s greatest traditional musicians in an area famous for its living heritage: Lanaudière.

Their strong stage presence demonstrates a contagious pleasure and projects the audience in a family and festive atmosphere. It is in 2010 that they record their first album. It is with Hébertisme Nocturne that they take to the stage in major cities in Canada, the United States and France, including festivals such as the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the Tadoussac Song Festival, the Sunfest , the Memory and Roots Festival, and many others.

These young artists continue their work of creation and record in 2014 their second album, Ste-Waves. The latter was nominated at ADISQ 2015 in the category Traditional Album of the Year. Broadcast on Quebec, the album has become a hit in record stores and the official video has exceeded 35,000 views. Ste-Waves has earned them a place on the North American and European folk trades scene by playing in several major festivals such as the Vancouver Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, the Vancouver Island Music Festival, the Festival du Voyageur and the International Festival. from Louisiana.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF LES POULES À COLIN

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PFS Presents Catherine Britt

Friday, March 22, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Catherine Britt

When you look at modern country music you can identify a diverse range of styles that have evolved from the traditional roots form. From pop country to bush ballads, acoustic folk-leaning songs to rousing country rock and the polymorphic blend of Americana. One Australian artist that can lay claim to all of these strains is Catherine Britt, a songwriter who has already packed a respected and highly acclaimed career into her first two decades as a recording artist. Now, in 2018, a new chapter begins with the release of her seventh studio album, Catherine Britt & The Cold Cold Hearts.

From Newcastle to Nashville, Catherine made the move to the home of country music at just 17 years old. It proved to be a brave decision that gave her immeasurable experience as a musician, insight into the machinations of the industry and a contract with the legendary RCA Records. Upon returning to Australia in 2009, Catherine set about recording her debut full length album Dusty Smiles and Heartbreak Cures, the first of five consecutive albums nominated for Album Of The Year at the CMAA (Country Music Awards of Australia). The accolades didn’t stop there. Along the way she has received five Golden Guitar Awards, the CMA Global Artist Of The Year award in 2010 and six ARIA Award nominations for Best Country Album.

Life has a way of throwing curveballs, both good and bad, and the last three years have seen Catherine fight and win a battle with breast cancer, marry her husband James and most recently, give birth to their first child. Out of those highs and lows comes Catherine Britt & The Cold Cold Hearts, an album that rattles and rolls with life, energy and honest, autobiographical songwriting.

The album was recorded in Catherine’s own studio, built in her backyard and dubbed the Beverley Hillbilly Studios. With engineer Jeff McCormack behind the desk, Catherine and The Cold Cold Hearts (Michael Muchow & Andy Toombs) self-produced the album with Bill Chambers guesting on all the tracks. “I came up with this idea three years ago on our honeymoon while we were traveling in our camper in WA. I didn’t know what to do next after Boneshaker but I knew I didn’t want to do the overseas thing again and that I wanted to do something more organic and at home. I thought of building the studio and doing it ourselves. I’ve always wanted to do one of those ‘artist and a band’ projects like Ryan Adams & The Cardinals and Emmylou Harris & The Hot Band. It’s still the artist but they have this band of mates behind them. When I was writing the album I was going back to when I was a kid and rediscovering that music that I grew up on. I thought about who would get that and pull it off and these guys were perfect. When you’re making a record and going out on the road it’s really important that there’s a good vibe and you’re all on the same page.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF CATHERINE BRITT

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Event Details:  These purveyors of Americana infused Gypsy Jazz just celebrated their 30th Anniversary and are continuing to take their listeners on a ride ranging from the music of the Hot Club sounds of Paris to the deepest blues of the Memphis Delta to the folk scenes across “every town” America into their 4th decade of existence.  The Wail are sublime entertainers, great educators and they’ve mastered the art of lifting spirits.  Check them out at https://wail.com.

Show Time: Doors 7:00 pm, Music 7:30 pm EST

Tickets: $17 with advance ticket purchase or reservation and $20 without an advance reservation

Location: Lansdowne Folk Club, 84 S. Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, PA

Website: www.folkclub.org

PFS Presents Ana Egge and Antje Duvekot

Friday, March 29, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Ana Egge

When Ana Egge got bit by the music bug as a teenager, she took matters into her own hands, building her own guitar, and moving to Austin, TX to observe, absorb and take musical risks. The striking depth and unusual maturity of her singing, playing, and songwriting got her noticed, and she recorded her first album, River Under the Road (1997) with the legendary western swing band, Asleep At The Wheel. The Austin Music Awards named her “Best Singer/Songwriter” and “Best Folk Artist.” Over the ensuing years and 8 subsequent CDs, Ana has made good on that promising debut. She has worked with producers Martin Terefe, Jason Mercer, Joel Plaskett, Steve Earle, and Stewart Lerman, and recorded full albums with The Stray Birds and The Sentimentals. Now, in 2018, she has released White Tiger, her tenth album, a new batch of Egge originals of such singularly articulate and affecting honesty and sensitivity, as to once again deserve USA Today’s accolade, “[Ana] can write and sing rings around” her contemporaries.

Ana wrote the song “White Tiger” as encouragement for a dear friend going through hell, and in need of her spirit guide (Keep your eyes on the tiger / Feed him, let him be your guide / Teach him freedom, that he might lead you / Through to the other side). Ana, herself, fiercely honest and compassionate, is not unlike that animal, near-miraculous, rare but real, and she, too, can take us through, enlighten our lives. She still plays that guitar she made herself all those years ago, and is still possessed by a self-determined sense of who she is and what she wants to do. As Lucinda Williams once told some friends, “Listen to her lyrics. Ana is the folk Nina Simone.” According to Shawn Colvin, “Ana has the rare gift of being so eloquent and simple that she takes your breath away. I just love her.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF ANA EGGE

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About Antje Duvekot

former Rolling Stone music editor Dave Marsh says: “This is a brilliant, brilliant album. I have had this reaction once in the last 10 years and that was the first time I heard Patty Griffin.”

Antje Duvekot has solidified her reputation as one of Boston’s top singer songwriters with “Big Dream Boulevard” her debut studio release and “the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer” and “New Siberia” her follow-up albums. The debut CD was produced by Seamus Egan, founder of the Irish super group, SOLAS and the project was released on songwriter Ellis Paul’s label and quickly attracted international attention for Antje. It was voted “#1 Folk Release of 2006” by the Boston Globe and was named to the “Top10 Releases of the Year” by National Public Radio’s, Folk Alley. Her follow up albums “the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer” and “New Siberia” were produced by Richard Shindell and along side with Richard feature other “folk royalty” such as John Gorka, Lucy Kaplancky and Mark Erelli. 

Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious, Kerrville (TX) “Best New Folk Award” and in one of the nation’s top music markets, she won the Boston Music Award for “Outstanding Folk Act”, three of the top prizes in the singer songwriter world.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF ANTJE DUVEKOT

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PFS Presents The Kennedys

Saturday, May 11, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

$12 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $18 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About The Kennedys

At well over a million miles of roadwork, including two stints as members of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra, Pete and Maura Kennedy show no signs of slowing down either on tour or in the creative realm.

Originally based in Austin, Texas, they spent a few years in the Washington DC area before moving to the East Village in New York City, where they have been based for most of the last two decades. The Kennedys are known nationwide as the hosts of the late lamented Dharma Café program on Sirius Satellite Radio, and on Broadway, they are regular cast members of Theatre Within’s annual tribute to John Lennon — working in that capacity with Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, Jackson Browne, Cyndi Lauper and a host of others.

Life on the road and time spent in the creative ecosystem of the Village have informed their songwriting over the course of 14 duo albums and half a dozen side projects, and Safe Until Tomorrow is true to that tradition. What sets the album apart is the inclusion of several anthemic, rocking songs of social consciousness that convey a strong message best summed up in one of the song titles: “Be Silent No More.” The Kennedys’ music has been described as uplifting, empowering and encouraging. In these turbulent times, they rise to the occasion with Safe Until Tomorrow.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE KENNEDYS

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PFS Presents Irish Mythen

Thursday, May 16, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

Get your tickets here!

$14 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $17 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Irish Mythen

Irish Mythen was born in Ireland and now resides in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island Canada.

“This Island creates music and musicians, art and artists. I found a shift to take things more seriously when I moved here.” And she did just that. Her latest release, the self titled Irish Mythen, gained her recognition around the globe with nominations and wins coming from Music PEI, East Coast Music Association, Folk Alliance International and Socan. Write-ups in Australian Guitar Magazine, the Rolling Stone, and a plethora of online publications world wide have helped plant Irish firmly on the map of ‘Must See Artists’.

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