PFS Presents Originaire EP Release with Jackson Pines & j solomon

Friday, February 28, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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About Originaire

Ken Shiles and CiBon (Atlantic City) were independently hustling the vibrant, tourist-driven music scene along the Jersey Shore when a serendipitous twist of fate brought the two together. Searching for a singing partner for a last-minute duo gig Ken was introduced to CiBon via Facebook. They connected and booked their first gig with no face-to-face contact or rehearsal! But when they sang together for the first time they recognized a musical connection unlike anything either had ever experienced. They knew immediately this was the beginning of something extraordinary.

Not long after, they met the dynamic, genre-hopping Philadelphia based violinist, Valerie Vuolo in a similar fashion. Inviting her to join them last minute for a high profile performance none of them could have anticipated the chilling synergy that occurred when their voices blended with strings for the first time but they knew it would not be the last!

Entwining soulful strings with sweetly blended male/female vocals Originaire captivates audiences with heartfelt original songs performed with engaging chemistry and seamless musical precision. From rousing, foot-stomping refrains to raw heart-tugging ballads interspersed with candid banter and anecdotes reflective of their unique chemistry and experiences, Originaire keeps an audience captivated from the first note to the last and leaves them wanting more!

About Jackson Pines

“[A] duo from Jersey — Jackson, to be specific, nestled in the pine barrens — core members Joe Makoviecki (vocals, guitar) and James Black (bass) teamed up with some heavy-hitting friends for their debut LP Purgatory Road, which came out on February 8th. Simone Felice produced the record in his Sugar Mountain Studio in Palenville, NY and played drums; James Felice contributed piano and organ throughout the set as well. As such, the record is an expert set of indie folk, drawing on the melodies and arrangements of bluegrass and mountain music but incorporating it tastefully into Makoviecki’s songs, which are very much of the now.” – John Vettese, WXPN, The Key

About j solomon

J SOLOMON IS THE SOLO PROJECT OF JESSE MOLDOVSKY, A SINGER-SONGWRITER BASED IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

OFTEN TOLD THAT HIS LYRICS ARE BEYOND HIS YEARS, HE WOULD DESCRIBE HIMSELF AS A POET FIRST, AND A MUSICIAN SECOND. HE BEGAN WRITING POEMS BEFORE HE COULD PLAY THE GUITAR, AND PUTS A VERY IMPORTANT EMPHASIS ON THE MEANING OF HIS LYRICS. HE AIMS TO WRITE HIS OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES INTO SONG IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY ARE UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED AND UNDERSTOOD.

HE WROTE HIS FIRST SONG AT THE AGE OF 7, AND BEGAN PLAYING GUITAR AT THE AGE OF 12. AFTER SPENDING YEARS SECRETLY HONING HIS CRAFT, HE BROKE OUT OF HIDING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT IN 2018 WITH THE RELEASE OF HIS FIRST SINGLE, HAZEL EYES, FOLLOWED BY HIS FIRST EP, NOCTURNE.

HE HAS PERFORMED AT MANY VENUES IN THE PHILADELPHIA AND SURROUNDING AREAS SUCH AS ORTLIEB’S, BOURBON AND BRANCH, WORLD CAFE LIVE (UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS), AND THE PHILADELPHIA FOLK FESTIVAL.

HE HAS THE DISTINGUISHED HONOR OF BEING SELECTED AS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE PHILADELPHIA MUSIC CO-OP.

PFS February Monthly Concert with Mark Bragg

Saturday, February 29th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Mark Bragg

NEWFOUNDLAND’S #1 ALT-FOLK ARTIST TO MAKE US DEBUT IN PHILADELPHIA!

Mark Bragg doesn’t need much of an introduction in his home town of St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he’s as much a music establishment himself as say, Fred’s Records or The Ship Inn Pub. His Newfoundland fanbase has long been drawn to the tragic-hero protagonists he sings about, and the wild-eyed persona that takes the stage to sing about them.

But for the rest of us, after seeing Bragg play live for the first time, we might wonder which kind of oddball inhabits the character on stage in front of us: is it the harmless socks-with sandals sort of madcap, or the locked in the trunk of a car variety?

While Bragg’s catalogue is full of dark humour and Southern Gothic flavour, his 2018 album “Winter” hosts a subtler cast of characters, making it his most accessible album to date.

This is what Tim Baker from Hey Rosetta said about “Winter”:

“There’s a renewed calmness, a clarity, the words measured to be heard and felt. It feels crafted carefully, yet still so free. Indeed the whole thing is a study in contrasts – it manages to be delicate yet gruff, sad yet playful, humble yet grand, all at the same time… it’s unmistakably Mark Bragg: squinting sideways at the heartbreak and violence of life, somehow with a grimace and a grin and a tear in his eye all at once… growing stronger in the dark. A bear come through “Winter” say, hungry for spring.”

Fans might miss the manic persona and frenetic energy of the Bragg they know and love, but there’s a maturity that makes the songs on “Winter” some of Mark Bragg’s finest.

Currently Bragg is working on his piano chops, learning about the US music market, and walking his dog.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A TEASER VIDEO OF MARK BRAGG

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARK BRAGG

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARK BRAGG

Join us for open mic at our venue at 6156 Ridge Ave, Philly, hosted by Mark Schwab!

Click Here to RSVP on Facebook!

Doors open at 7:00pm
Performances at 7:30pm
Guests will perform 2 songs
Sound will be provided.
We ask for a donation of $3 for members and $5 for non-members in order to continue our programming.
PFS Venue events are BYOB. BYOB wristbands are $2 and require proof of ID.

Open mics will be held on first and third Wednesdays and will feature different hosts and different artists. If you would like to host an open mic or have your act considered as a featured act, please email jnordell@pfs.org (featured acts perform 4 songs around mid-evening).

About our Host:

Spanning a fifty-year career as a musician, and an award-winning chef, Mark started out in his early twenties playing up and down the east coast “Folk Music Circuit” from Boston to New Yok city and Philadelphia. It was at the “Main Point” in Bryn Mar in “73” that he had the opportunity to open for bluesman Taj Mahal when Taj’s opening act cancelled at the last minute and Taj asked for a volunteer to open for him.

Mark credits his early musical style as being influenced by the likes of Taj Mahal, John Prine and Jackson Browne, all whose careers were launched by playing at “The Main Point”.

He finished a successful tour on Nashville’s “Broadway” open mic circuit last year he is now back in the area performing.

As an adopted child, he has just finished writing his “Adopted Childhood Trilogy” after finding out recently that he has a brother and sister he had never known about and were also given up for adoption.

PFS Presents Eli Lev with Ami Yares and Jackson Howard

PFS Presents Mari Black

Friday, March 13, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Mari Black

Called “one of the brightest fiddlers around today” (Brian O’Donovan, WGBH radio), multistyle violinist and champion fiddler MARI BLACK delights audiences around the world with her energetic playing, sparkling stage presence, and dazzlingly virtuosic fiddling. Raised on a rich blend of traditional musical styles, Mari burst onto the international stage when she became Scotland’s Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion, 2-time U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, and 2-time Canadian Maritime Fiddle Champion, all within a three-year period. Ever since then, she has been spreading her love for dance-based music, performing as a featured artist at performing arts centers, Celtic festivals, Scottish Highland Games, celebrated folk venues, world music concert series, and acclaimed classical venues including Carnegie Hall. She can even be heard (and seen!) in the award-winning video game BioShock: Burial at Sea. Mari has appeared with such diverse artists as Irish fiddle master Liz Carroll, Americana master Mark O’Connor, and jazzman Willie Ruff, and been featured on the BBC Radio Scotland, Fox and CBS morning news, and NPR’s “Here and Now.” She has played concerts in Brazil, Scotland, Canada, China, Korea, Zimbabwe, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, and France…and she can’t wait for the next stop! Currently touring nationally with her trio, Mari’s favorite thing to do is sweep audiences away on a spirited musical adventure featuring dance music from around the globe: Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddling, jazz, tango, klezmer, folk, original works, and more!

Mari’s passion for dance-driven music extends far beyond the concert stage, as reflected in her work as a teacher, composer, dancer, competition judge, and musical ambassador committed to connecting people through music. Having earned her Doctorate in Education from Columbia University, Mari is a master teacher who is dedicated to helping students of all ages and levels explore the joy of making music. She teaches regularly at prestigious camps and workshops around the country, including appearances at the Swannanoa Gathering, the Acadia Trad School, the Jink & Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling, the Mark O’Connor fiddle camp, the Tanglewood Festival, the Yale School of Music, and more. Several of her students are now becoming champion fiddlers in their own right, winning top awards at the U.S. Scottish Nationals and other competitions. Mari’s ear-catching compositions draw on a broad range of stylistic influences, and have won several awards, including a Gold Medal from the MASC International Songwriting Competition. Find out more about Mari and her musical adventures at her website: www.MariBlack.com

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARI BLACK

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MARI BLACK LIVE AT NERFA

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARI BLACK ON SPOTIFY

PFS Presents Quarter Horse

Saturday, March 14, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$8 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $11 Not-Yet-Members | $15 Doors

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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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

PFS Presents Miss Tess & the Talkbacks

Sunday, March 15, 2019
Doors 7pm | Music 7:30pm

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

About Miss Tess

“Contemporary and timeless. More than merely emulating her obvious influences, Miss Tess effectively situates herself on a pedestal right beside them, resulting in a set of songs that swings, sways, rocks and evokes her own personal perspective. Baby, We All Know is an excellent compendium of modern Americana distilled in all its forms. Miss Tess is a sweet seductress, one whose charms are increasingly harder and harder to resist. Catch her while you can.” – No Depression

Miss Tess has always been known for creating an eclectic array of vintage blues, country, and jazz sounds. Currently residing in Nashville, she finds no shortage of inspiration in the roots scene there. However varied Tess’ music can be, front and center sits her voice that has been described as “alternately seductive and sexy, and a pure joy to listen to” (Pop Matters). Her music is further heightened by her partner, Thomas Bryan Eaton, who helps to shape the songs and arrangements with a deft touch on guitar & pedal steel. No slouch herself, Tess brings along her Weymann archtop guitar, often trading leads with Thomas.

This past winter the two teamed up with veteran producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) at his studio in East Nashville to create a new record that both reaches back to Tess’ roots, yet also signals a new chapter in her career. The record, to be titled “The Moon is an Ashtray”, is getting its finishing touches and will be released Feb 7.

In over a decade of touring Miss Tess has won fans from New York City to New Orleans and Alabama to Alaska. Over the years she has shared the stage with the likes of Lake Street Dive, NRBQ, The Holmes Brothers, Eilen Jewell, and Todd Snider. Her band has graced stages at Blissfest, Cayamo, Clearwater Jazz Holiday, Floydfest, Ossippee Valley Music Festival, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Burlington Jazz Festival, Green River Festival, Red Wing Roots, Shakori Hills, and more. Miss Tess’s music has been heard from coast to coast on taste maker programs such as XM/Sirius’s The Loft, NPR’s Folk Alley, Santa Cruz’s KPIG and Boston’s WUMB. Her 2016 album, “Baby, We All Know” lived in the top 20 on the Americana Charts for six weeks.

Miss Tess grew up in Maryland, where she took piano lessons at an early age. She went to college in Baltimore, intending to be a graphic artist. While there, she dabbled in guitar, but it wasn’t until the end of her studies that she began taking it seriously. Once she became more interested in becoming a musician, she started studying jazz and writing songs, and put together her first band. Having grown up listening to her parents’ bands playing big band swing, folk, country and dixieland music, rootsy styles came naturally to her.

After a move to Boston, Miss Tess took a few classes at Berklee College of Music and formed a new band with a few fellow jazz students. Miss Tess quickly established herself as a songwriter and performer in the storied Boston music scene, playing regularly at local clubs. Over four years she won a Boston Music Award, and was nominated several other times in the Folk and Jazz categories of the BMAs, as well as the New England Music Awards. Miss Tess later moved to Brooklyn for a 5 year stint in the big city, followed by a move to Nashville, where she is currently based. She has since developed her sound to include more classic country, rockabilly and vintage rock ‘n’ roll, all combining into her ever-developing sense of self and eclectic taste in American roots music.

Miss Tess has been releasing albums and leading a band for over a decade, spanning her career over many different cities including Baltimore, Boston, NYC, and her new home base of Nashville, TN. Straddling her move from New York to Nashville, the new album was recorded in both cities. The recording cast includes her steady band mate and co-producer, Thomas Bryan Eaton, producer Dan Knobler (Rodney Crowell, Tift Merritt), Robin Macmillan, Jake Silver (Lee Fields), Roy Williams, Stefan Zenuik, Eric Frey (The Revelers), Dominic Billet (Andrew Combs), Kai Welch, John Pahmer, Aaron Shaffer-Haiss, Oliver Craven (The Stray Birds), Maya De Vitry (The Stray Birds) and Caitlin Canty.

A follow up to 2012’s Sweet Talk and 2013’s The Love I Have for You, both released on Signature Sounds Recordings, 2016’s Baby, We All Know was released independently and received accolades in the press as well as reaching the Top 20 in AMA Radio Charts and being included in the top 100 albums of the year for 2016.

As she expands and grows more into her own sound, Tess is still hard to categorize. She says “Many times after the show somebody will come up to compliment the band and ask me what kind of music we just played. After mumbling through a few different genres I usually just tell them it’s my music and hope they enjoyed the show”. Enjoyable is just what her music is, propelled by the classic quality of Tess’s vocals, compelling and totally believable. The production throughout is the right balance of punch and rhythm, without getting in the way of the vocals or songwriting, giving this collection of songs a plentiful dose of old-school swagger. Time after time, Miss Tess is able to utilize sounds and styles from a past era combined with modern sensibilities to present an authentic and engaging presence.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MISS TESS

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MISS TESS ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MISS TESS

Join us for open mic at our venue at 6156 Ridge Ave, Philly with Philadelphia Music Co-op member, Rob Lincoln, as our host and featured performer!

Click Here to RSVP on Facebook

Doors open at 7:00pm
Performances at 7:30pm
Guests will perform 2 songs
Featured Artists/Host will perform 4 songs
Sound will be provided.
We ask for a donation of $3 for members and $5 for non-members in order to continue our programming.
PFS Venue events are BYOB. BYO wristbands are $2 and require proof of ID.

Open mics will be held on first and third Wednesdays and will feature different hosts and different artists. If you would like to host an open mic or have your act considered as a featured act, please email jnordell@pfs.org (featured acts perform 4 songs around mid-evening).

Third Wednesday Open Mic co-sponsored by the Philadelphia Area Songwriters Alliance (PASA) . All PASA Members should arrive between 7PM and 7:30PM. First 15 sign-ins are guaranteed a slot. ORIGINAL SONGS ENCOURAGED.

PFS Presents Talisk

**Please Note: This is a dancing room only show. The only seating available will be in the mezzanine**

Saturday, March 21, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF TALISK

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO TALISK ON SPOTIFY

About Talisk

In their five years, Scottish firebrands Talisk have stacked up several major awards for their explosively energetic yet artfully woven sound, including 2018’s Belhaven Bursary for Innovation & 2017’s Folk Band of the Year both at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award.

Mohsen Amini – the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of the Year 2018, Hayley Keenan and Graeme Armstrong seamlessly meld concertina, fiddle and guitar to produce a multi-layered, enthralling signature that has effortlessly captivated audiences from the USA to Australia, and throughout the UK.

Appearances at world-leading festivals – including the Cambridge Folk Festival, Denmark’s Tønder, WOMAD UK and Las Palmas, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Celtic Colours, Milwaukee Irish Festival and five successive outings at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections – have amassed a die-hard following, whilst the world’s folk and world music media have also lauded high credits upon the trio. The release of their hotly anticipated second album, Beyond, in October 2018 was met with a five-star ‘Top of the World’ review in Songlines, praising the band as “incredibly infectious and endearing… fresh, invigorating, accomplished and playfully frisky.”

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TALISK

PFS Presents An Intimate Afternoon with Talisk

Sunday, March 22, 2020
Doors 2:30pm | Music 3:00pm

**Please note: This is a SEATED matinee show**

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF TALISK

About Talisk

In their five years, Scottish firebrands Talisk have stacked up several major awards for their explosively energetic yet artfully woven sound, including 2018’s Belhaven Bursary for Innovation & 2017’s Folk Band of the Year both at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award.

Mohsen Amini – the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of the Year 2018, Hayley Keenan and Graeme Armstrong seamlessly meld concertina, fiddle and guitar to produce a multi-layered, enthralling signature that has effortlessly captivated audiences from the USA to Australia, and throughout the UK.

Appearances at world-leading festivals – including the Cambridge Folk Festival, Denmark’s Tønder, WOMAD UK and Las Palmas, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Celtic Colours, Milwaukee Irish Festival and five successive outings at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections – have amassed a die-hard following, whilst the world’s folk and world music media have also lauded high credits upon the trio. The release of their hotly anticipated second album, Beyond, in October 2018 was met with a five-star ‘Top of the World’ review in Songlines, praising the band as “incredibly infectious and endearing… fresh, invigorating, accomplished and playfully frisky.”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO TALISK ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TALISK

PFS Presents Las Cafeteras

Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$13 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Las Cafeteras

Las Cafeteras have taken the music scene by storm with their infectious live performances and have crossed-genre and musical borders, playing with bands such as Mexican icons Caifanes, Lila Downs, Colombian superstar Juanes, Los Angeles legends Ozomatli, folk/indie favorites Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and most recently with Talib Kweli.

Born and raised east of the Los Angeles river, Las Cafeteras are remixing roots music and telling modern day stories. Las Cafeteras create a vibrant musical fusion with a unique East LA sound and positive message. Their Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes deliver inspiring lyrics that document stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles. Using traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana, requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone) and tarima (a wooden platform), Las Cafeteras sing in English, Spanish, and Spanglish and add a remix of sounds, from rock to hip-hop to rancheras. Las Cafeteras use music as a vehicle to build bridges among different cultures and communities, and create ‘a world where many worlds fit’.

LA Times described Las Cafeteras as “uniquely Angeleno mishmash of punk, hip-hop, beat music, cumbia and rock … live, they’re magnetic.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LAS CAFETERAS COVER PETE SEEGER

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO LAS CAFETERAS ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LAS CAFETERAS

PFS March Monthly Concert with Harrow Fair

Thursday, March 26th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Harrow Fair

Philadelphia Folk Fest Favorites RETURN with new music and a Juno-nominated Miranda Mulholland!

HARROW FAIR IS MIRANDA MULHOLLAND & ANDREW PENNER. ONE PART STOMPING SONGS THAT ECHO EARLY COUNTRY AND ROCK N ROLL. THE OTHER GRITTY BALLADS THAT SOUND SWEET AND HAUNTED. THIS DUO’S EVOCATIVE AND RAPIDLY EXPANDING COLLECTION OF SONGS ARE UTTERLY FOREIGN, ODDLY FAMILIAR AND DEEPLY GRATIFYING. THEIR DEBUT ALBUM “CALL TO ARMS” WAS MET WITH CRITICAL EXCLAIM AS THEY TOURED NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE. THEIR SECOND ALBUM “SINS WE MADE” IS DUE OUT SPRING 2020.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF HARROW FAIR’S INCREDIBLE COVER OF “WICKED GAMES”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO HARROW FAIR

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HARROW FAIR

PFS Presents Martyn Joseph

Friday, March 27, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

About Martyn Joseph

Martyn Joseph is a performer like no other: Shades of Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews there may be – but he stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives delivering his “songs of lyrical intelligence” according to BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris.

Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters….and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night.

He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spanning 30 years, 32 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances.

Compared to Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, he has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerising live performer and stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives. A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, he’s a jaw dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show stopping voice, and has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”

In addition to his 5 top 50 UK hits, the importance of his work has been recognised by programmes such as BBC Radio 2’s prime time series on Singer/Songwriters. Social justice has an essential presence throughout his music, which has been recognised with various humanitarian awards and plaudits.

Concerned with making music that is relevant and vital to his audience, he engages with challenging narratives tackling the complexity of the human condition, underpinned with a promise of hope. In his own words “Really what I do is to try and write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time. A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.”

There is a versatility to Martyn’s music that is hard to categorise. Many have tried, resulting in labels such as Folk, Rock, Soul, Folk Funk and Americana; all of which somehow miss the mark. But sometimes music doesn’t need a defining genre and with the ability to articulate a sense of the bigger picture, Martyn’s music and social commentary manage to empower and speak for many. His songs are pictures, and stories, and feelings all put to music and delivered by a master craftsman.

In 2013 Martyn released a CD of Bruce Springsteen songs, to great public and critical acclaim, with the glowing endorsement of Dave Marsh, acclaimed American music critic, official Springsteen biographer and close friend of the Boss himself.

2014 saw him take the spirit of his music onto a more practical footing with the launch of his “Let Yourself Trust”, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to make a small difference out of great love and commitment by challenging injustice wherever it’s found, educating via advocacy, campaigning for human rights, and raising issues that have been forgotten or ignored via fundraising initiatives, thus bringing about greater awareness for beautiful people in powerless situations. He’s also Patron of Advantage Africa and Festival Spirit in the UK and Project Somos in Canada/Guatemala.

He has won the love of audiences from USA and Canada to Europe through an impressive number of live dates, and has previously toured with the likes of Art Garfunkel, Jools Holland, Ani DiFranco, Suzanne Vega, Mike and The Mechanics, Joan Armatrading, Celine Dion and Shirley Bassey. He is hailed as a raconteur weaving tales on topical concerns, as well as stories on the fragility of love, with a magical ability to reach out to his listeners through his passion and humour. Stunning reviews single him out as an unmissable solo performer whose music stays with you long after the show has ended.

2016 was one of Martyn’s busiest, playing over 170 shows worldwide, he was also asked by the EFDSS and British Parliament to write and perform as part of“Sweet Liberties” with Nancy Kerr, Sam Carter and Maz O’Connor to mark 800 years of British democracy, One of his songs from this, “Nye” celebrating Nye Bevan, the author of the NHS, has been enthusiastically received by audiences everywhere, as well as having BBC national airplay on Mark Radcliffe’s Folk Show and Tom Robinson’s 6 Music show.

He was honoured with a Spirit of Folk Award by Folk Alliance International in Kansas in 2018, and he’s been invited to speak on several occasions at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA.

January 2019 saw the release of his 33rd studio album, “Here Come The Young, produced by Gerry Diver (Tom Robinson, Lisa Knapp and Sam Lee). The album has received praise from all corners including Uncut magazine, which described the songs as “anthems of hope that bigotry and hatred will not prevails” The title track also won the award for “Best Original English Language Song” at the 2019 Wales Folk Awards.

Martyn Joseph. A unique talent driven by passion and love for his trade, continues to write, sing and play from the heart. It’s a road he’s been travelling for most of his life and, as he often tells his audience, ‘you keep turning up and so will I.’

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MARTYN JOSEPH

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARTYN JOSEPH ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARTYN JOSEPH

PFS Presents The Black Feathers

Saturday, March 28, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

CLICK HERE TO SEE A LIVE VIDEO OF THE BLACK FEATHERS

About The Black Feathers

A favorite of the 2018 Philadelphia Folk Festival, and a smash show at PFS in 2019, we are delighted to bring back The Black Feathers to 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.

“Once in a blue moon, the whole soars far above the sum of its parts. That’s what happens when The Black Feathers perform live”

– Black Mountain News, North Carolina

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. Their music quickly draw the interest of listeners, but it is the stage chemistry that will keep them riveted.

Having already built up a loyal following in the UK, The Black Feathers have been spreading their wings across the US. They have performed at Philadelphia Folk Festival and AmericanaFest, and have also been awarded official showcases at the North East Regional and Far-West Folk Alliance conferences.

With a new single and a live album in the pipeline, these are exciting times for what FATEA refer to as “a duo of undeniable talent”.

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

Join us for open mic at our venue at 6156 Ridge Ave, Philly, hosted by Eli Elkus!

Click Here to RSVP on Facebook!

Doors open at 7:00pm
Performances at 7:30pm
Guests will perform 2 songs
Sound will be provided.
We ask for a donation of $3 for members and $5 for non-members in order to continue our programming.
PFS Venue events are BYOB. BYOB wristbands are $2 and require proof of ID.

Open mics will be held on first and third Wednesdays and will feature different hosts and different artists. If you would like to host an open mic or have your act considered as a featured act, please email jnordell@pfs.org (featured acts perform 4 songs around mid-evening).

About our Host:

PFS Presents J.P. Cormier

Thursday, April 2, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About JP Cormier

Nobody really knows who J.P. Cormier is for sure. That’s to be expected, believe me.

In 1974 he was a five year old boy, discovering an innate talent for playing the guitar, I had a little hand in that, guiding him through the beginning stages. He learned faster than I could teach.

By the mid eighties, not out of his teens, he was a sideman for bands and artists of many different genres in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and all across the deep south. As he traveled and worked he added more and more instruments to his arsenal of capabilities. He became indispensable to the bands he worked for.

In the early Nineties, he became a sideman for one of Canada’s favourite sons, Stompin’ Tom Connors and also became a staple of the recordings at Studio H in Halifax. His work with the CBC there spanned musical, production, and arranging duties.

All this before he was 20.

In the mid nineties he reentered the musical scene of his beloved East Coast and the Island called Cape Breton. He exploded onto the trad music scene there as a fiddler, performing some of the most difficult music ever produced by legends like Winston Fitzgerald and Angus Chisholm with a facility that stunned onlookers. Especially those who knew he wasn’t born there, but born in Ontario to Cape Breton parents. Somehow, some way, his music was the real thing, sounding like he had been steeped continually in a handed-down brew of family tradition from the old country.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

His previous gig was in Nashville playing mandolin and banjo in a grammy nominated bluegrass gospel band and performing on the Opry, and playing television shows with the likes of Waylon Jennings. All those people also thought he was one of them, American, reared in the ways of bluegrass, old time and Americana music. They knew he was from Canada, but it just didn’t seem possible.

Then in 1997, something amazing happened.

An album released in Canada, out of nowhere, called Another Morning. This time it was him as a songwriter and a lead singer.

And what a songwriter he turned out to be. Some of the performances on that album are literally part of the musical vocabulary today in the East Coast. Songs like the title cut, and Kelly’s Mountain, The Molly May (co written with his cousin Gervais) and others. It inspired, 25 years ago, some of the biggest names in the business today. People like Dave Gunning, Matt Andersen, David Myles, Joel Plaskett, all of which will tell you: that record changed things.

The Canadian industry thought so too, and it received a juno nomination and won an ECMA.

And that was just the beginning.

36 years later after stepping on stage as professional union musician for the first time at the tender age of 13, JP is still going, and frighteningly, still getting better.

16 albums followed the success of Another Morning, winning 12 more ECMA’s, another Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award and 5 Music Nova Scotia Awards. Each album was a snapshot of each thing that he can do. There are fiddle albums, Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar, tribute records, songwriting collections, a purely astounding spectrum of talent and musical vision.

His catalogue of recordings and the 150 or so records he’s produced on other artists, resemble the tapestry he weaves in live performance. Where he used to carry 3 and 4 piece bands, he tours alone now.

Just him and the instruments.

People still leave his shows confused, amazed and wondering what they just saw. Did they see a storyteller? A Songwriter? Arguably one of the best guitar players in the business today? Someone who crosses the lines between different instruments like there are no lines? Who was that masked man, anyway?

Accolades aside, and there are many from people like Chet Atkins, Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennings, Gordon Lightfoot; JP sees himself as just a performer. He’s shy, but has a razor sharp wit and lightning sense of humour. He can be reserved or edgy to the point no return. He speaks for soldiers, first responders, other artists, the forgotten and lost. He speaks sometimes only for himself and refuses rebuttal.

Of all the things he is, foremost he is an entertainer. I think one of the best. After you’ve seen what he does, I’m certain you will too.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF JP CORMIER

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PFS Presents Marion Halliday & Roger Street Friedman

Saturday, April 4, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About Marion Halliday

Marion Halliday, a native Kentuckian now living in Philadelphia PA, is proud purveyor of her own special blend of bluegrass and bourbon-infused, original, women-powered, Americana. While she has been a professional singer for many years, Marion only began focusing on her songwriting in 2016. She released her debut solo album Rings Around Saturn on July 1, 2019 and in its first month, both the album and Marion (as artist) were ranked #3 on the US/International Folk DJ charts (data compiled by Folk Alliance International); Marion was also #3 artist that month and had two songs in the top 10.

Marion has great breadth as a songwriter. She has found inspiration, for example, in the history of her new home-town, writing a range of songs that touch on Philly’s rich and varied past. This includes songs about an escaped convict from Eastern State Pen, the forlorn beauty of Laurel Hill Cemetery, the statue to the Lenape in Wissahickon Park, and the revolutionary war memorial at Washington Square, among others. Through her “Philly Songs Project,” Marion is available for special programs in schools and organizations around Philly that might wish to have her share with audiences interesting and historical tales through the medium of her beautiful, Philly-oriented original music.

Marion has also written songs on more universal, contemporary topics such as domestic abuse, gun violence, suicide, and the scourge of heroin and meth addiction ravaging our country. Lastly, Marion’s music also includes amusing reflections on the challenges of relationships, as well as an abiding love of bourbon.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MARION HALLIDAY

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About Roger Street Friedman

Roger Street Friedman is an award winning singer-songwriter based in Sea Cliff, NY. His critically acclaimed 2017 album Shoot The Moon reached #2 on the Roots Music Report Americana Country Album Chart. The album recalls the singer-songwriter tradition of Marc Cohn, Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, Mark Knopfler and Robbie Robertson. Roger’s song “Sun Never Sets” is being used in human rights curriculum in universities and high schools in the Northeast. Roger’s live shows are infused with emotion and will make you laugh and maybe even shed a happy tear. He’s a frequent performer on the music festival circuit and actively tours with his band. Roger’s third full-length album, Rise, produced by the Grammy-winning Larry Campbell (known for his work with Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, David Bromberg, Hot Tuna and more) will be out this spring.

“One moment he’s turning out harmonically rich Paul Simon-esque art-folk; the next he’s digging into the kind of good ‘n’ greasy Americana groove John Hiatt would kill for.”—Jim Allen, CultureSonar

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF ROGER STREET FRIEDMAN

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PFS Presents Corey Laitman

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

$8 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $10 Not-Yet-Members | $13 Doors

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About Corey Laitman

WBUR Tiny Desk finalist and 2018 Passim Iguana Fund recipient Corey Laitman has released Seafoam, their lush and lyrical sophomore album, ushered into the world with a sold-out show at The Parlor Room in Northampton, MA. Produced by Mark Miller (J Mascis, The Pixies) and Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Anand Nayak (Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Pamela Means, Alastair Moock), Seafoam boasts 13 expertly crafted alternative folk-pop ballads with hushed, spiritual undertones.

Laitman’s music is set apart by its layered, poetically conceived narratives that surprise and disarm. The complexity of the songs on Seafoam inspire repeated listening: They are protective of their vital mystery, present in their comfort.

Nayak colors the album with electric guitar, banjo and mandolin arrangements as generous and soaring as the songs themselves.

Like the work of Deb Talan or Anais Mitchell, Laitman’s characters are stark, compelling, and deeply human. Worlds of people are woven and realized; the beings inhabiting these worlds of song are imbued with searing imagery, and undeniable integrity.

In a testimonial, Laitman’s work was praised by American poet Gordon Massman as being among “those few singer-songwriters who, through undeniable talent, climb over the competitive frenzy into the public sphere. Corey Laitman is of that caliber, and I entreat you to listen.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF COREY LAITMAN

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PFS Venue 2 Year Anniversary Party with Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards and Piper & Carson

Saturday, April 18, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About Piper & Carson

From festival stages to intimate house concerts, Piper & Carson remind us of why we go to see live music. Their songwriting is free and fiercely personal; as if it’s been running in the woods, washing in cold water, and howling with wolves.

The couple’s undeniable chemistry and onstage presence draws the audience into the conversation. Piper’s immersive storytelling provides context and familiarity bringing their original music to life. After first meeting on Carson’s father’s organic vegetable farm, they’ve spent the last four years touring Canada coast-to-coast, showcasing at international folk conferences, touring overseas in the Netherlands and to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In December 2017 they released the album ‘Piper & Carson’ together. Their work is deeply rooted in intention and both strive to use their platform to forward social change and promote mental health awareness.

This duo will make you believe that folk music can change the world.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF PIPER & CARSON LIVE FROM NERFA

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About Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards

Laura Cortese and The Dance Cards are an indie-folk band made up of four singing string players. The Dance Cards’ sound moves seamlessly from gauzy, ethereal vocal harmonies (“The Low Hum”) to rowdy indie-rock percussion (“Stockholm”) to propulsive fiddle melodies directly from Appalachia or Scotland (“Swing & Turn”). At first glance, the band may resemble a string quartet – there are no guitars to be found. But from the moment Cortese kicks off the title track of her album CALIFORNIA CALLING with angular, percussive strumming and a powerfully sultry vocal, it’s clear that this is something else. This is post-folk that seriously rocks.

The Dance Cards’ most recent release, CALIFORNIA CALLING, is based in the lyrical rituals of folk while bringing the band’s pop sensibilities to the fore. CALIFORNIA CALLING won glowing reviews on both sides of the Atlantic and significant radio exposure, including as the Album of The Week on the Radcliffe & Maconie show on BBC Radio 6. When the band was flown in as one of the main features at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards wowed a full-to-capacity crowd at the city’s Royal Concert Hall and went on to be featured in associated radio and TV programs, including BBC Radio Scotland’s Another Country with Ricky Ross and BBC Alba’s Seirm.

Since then, the band has been preparing new music for release in 2020. This last winter Cortese felt more inspired than ever while spending six months in Belgium waiting for the spring touring season to arrive. In this time, she set out to write the band’s next record which she describes as, “full of groove-centric pop songs that make you want to move your body and shake off the endless tension of daily life.”

Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards is a band who draws inspiration from diverse experiences, communities, and musical traditions, melding them into a refined sound that’s broad-minded but clear-eyed. It’s not a stringband, not a string quartet, not an indie band, but somehow all of those at once, all while staying firmly rooted in an identity as folk instrumentalists. It’s adventurous and complex music delivered with power and heart.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF LAURA CORTESE & THE DANCE CARDS

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PFS Presents Gathering Sparks with Special Guest Cheryl Prashker

Thursday, April 23, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

**GATHERING SPARKS WILL BE JOINED ONSTAGE BY PERCUSSIONIST TO THE FOLKIES: CHERYL PRASHKER!**

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About Gathering Sparks

You will come to listen, and walk away singing. GATHERING SPARKS is the graceful collision of Eve Goldberg and Jane Lewis—musical friends who blend tight harmonies, finely crafted songs, and a love of participatory singing to create an intimate and uplifting experience. Their inclusive approach embraces folk, pop, blues and gospel influences tastefully played on acoustic guitar, piano, accordion, and ukulele.

With their infectious mix of styles and compelling vocal blend, Gathering Sparks has been making some big waves. Their debut 6-song CD was nominated for a 2014 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, and they have quickly become an audience favourite. Whether they are belting it out a capella style, tugging on your heartstrings with a folky original, crooning a jazzy swing tune, or getting into the spirit with a gospel-inflected singalong, Gathering Sparks performances make fans out of listeners with their stellar harmonies and fine musicianship.

EVE GOLDBERG has lifted audiences across North America with her heartfelt and insightful songs and solid instrumental work. Her fluid vocals embrace all the styles she loves—folk, blues, country, bluegrass, old time, and jazz—with equal affection and mastery.

JANE LEWIS has followed her love of words from the printing press to the spotlight with soul-bending lyrics, transcendent compositions, and crystal clear vocals. Her thoughtful piano and accordion playing, mastery of harmony, and upbeat presence add a sparkle to any stage.

As solo performers, Eve, Jane, and original band member Sam Turton had each carved out their own niche in the folk/roots scene. But when they came together for a one-time triple bill in 2012, there was a certain “spark” that couldn’t be denied. The three loved the magic that came from the gathering of their songs, voices, instruments and styles, and a performing group was born. When Sam retired from the group to focus on other pursuits, Eve and Jane committed themselves to continuing as a dynamic duo. Since then, they have toured across Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces, British Columbia and the Northeast United States.

Their newest album, All That’s Real, was released in September 2019 on Borealis Records. The lead-off track, Bringing in the Light, has been recognized with a Folk Music Ontario “Songs From the Heart” award in the singer-songwriter category.

“What a delight! Great songs, great singing and lovely harmonies.
I’m singing along as if I’ve known these songs forever.”
— Sharon Hampson of Sharon, Lois & Bram

“Plumbing the depths of gospel, folk, and singer-songwriter traditions with talent and grace makes Gathering Sparks one of the most entertaining [acts] our audience has seen. They couldn’t stop raving about them.”
— Bob LeDrew, BobCat House Concerts, Ottawa

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF GATHERING SPARKS

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**GATHERING SPARKS WILL BE JOINED ONSTAGE BY PERCUSSIONIST TO THE FOLKIES: CHERYL PRASHKER!**

PFS Presents Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes and Meghan Cary

Saturday, April 25, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes

Scott Wolfson and Other Heroes sing the music of, by, and for outcasts and outliers.

When Scott Wolfson and Other Heroes take the stage, they’re not just playing a show. Their vibe is party, reunion, and catharsis in one – the energy of their tunes is hard to miss, but each song carries the weight of humanity’s dark corners. When Ron Olesko at Sing Out! Magazine wrote of “their inspiring set” creating “a spontaneous celebration,” he witnessed a celebration in the face of pain and loss – of outcasts finding their people.

A Scott Wolfson and Other Heroes show is an exercise in the unexpected. As No Depression said, “…Wolfson will not only defy the norm, but all expectations as well.” Their mix of talent and wit has brought acclaim as Most Wanted Artists in the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Formal Showcase Artists at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance, and frequent performers at The Philadelphia Folk Festival. And now, with two airplay-charting albums under their belts, they have begun recording their most ambitious and expansive studio work yet.

The songs are new, the stories universal, but their message is clear. As one of Scott’s lyrics says: “We may be broken, but we are not alone.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO TO INTRODUCE YOU TO SCOTT WOLFSON & OTHER HEROES

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About Meghan Cary

Meghan Cary didn’t mean to be a musician. When her fiancé unexpectedly died, she picked up his guitar, figured out how to play it, and wrote her debut, earning her Billboard Magazine’s Critic’s Choice for Best Newcomer. “I wrote my grief into song, and sang my way out of the abyss. I keep making music to help others connect with their own stories and find their joy.” Known for her unabashed willingness to connect with her audience, Cary brings listeners to their feet and at times to tears with high-energy tunes, masterful storytelling, and deeply personal lyrics that resonate universally. After pushing pause on performing to raise two children, Cary launched back onto the scene at Philly Folk Fest and was awarded an Emerging Artist Showcase at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Cary’s smoky voice, emotional singing, and vulnerable writing garner favorable comparisons to Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin, and even Bruce Springsteen.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MEGHAN CARY

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CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MEGHAN CARY

PFS “May” Monthly Concert with Elisapie

Thursday, April 30th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

FREE for Members *While Supplies Last* | $16 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

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When you have the opportunity to present one of the greatest indigenous artists in the world for a Monthly Concert… but the only available day is off by one: you do it anyway! Our “MAY” Monthly Concert will be held on the last day of April.

About Elisapie

Director, composer, singer-songwriter and activist, Elisapie Isaac comes from the Arctic.

“The North is not at the other end of the world. It’s at the heart of mine.”

Through myriad projects, Elisapie has established herself as a true Inuit icon. She was first discovered in 2003 as the director of her documentary If the Weather Permits, a film which thrust viewers into her own origin story. The following year, she released her first album with the duo Taima, winning a Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year. She has since released two solo albums, There Will be Stars (2009) and Travelling Love (2013). The most recent one was awarded a Félix for Anglophone Album of the Year.

In September 2018, Elisapie released her fourth album, The Ballad of the Runaway Girl, through Bonsound and Yotanka. In the self-doubt that arose from a tumultuous postpartum depression, Elisapie has found comfort and hope in ancient Indigenous folk tunes. While she was imagining recording an inuit folk cover songs album, inspiration came by simply strumming her guitar and new songs came in naturally. Intimate pieces of her own identity, such as her adoption, her exodus and the role of women in society, have woven themselves into her work to form a whole. The Ballad of the Runaway Girl is a poetic gesture driven by urgency, doubt, gentleness, sensitivity, grace and motherly love.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF ELISAPIE

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PFS Presents Dave Gunning

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

$15 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $18 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

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About Dave Gunning

Dave Gunning is best defined as a master craftsman. Over the course of 23 years and 11 earlier albums, the Nova Scotian folk singer/songwriter has diligently sharpened his skills, developing into a poetic storyteller and emotionally convincing singer with few equals.

The fruits of those labours are now vividly on display in his latest collection of songs, Up Against The Sky. The relaxed and intimate feel of the record reflects its method of creation. “I focused a lot on tones and the vibe, rather than strategic parts on this one. Many of these tunes were sung and played at the same time, and that prevented me from being able to go back and edit, forcing a little more honesty.”

The sessions in Dave’s home studio were co-produced by Gunning and Jamie Robinson. Gunning contributed the bulk of the instrumentation, including all the bass parts and even drums on every song but one. Musical guests include his close musical comrade J.P. Cormier on fiddle on “Celebrate The Crop,” and Andrew Alcorn on horns on “In The Time I Was Away”, while the Atlantic String Machine added subtle yet atmospheric strings on four tracks.

Eight of the ten songs here are co-writes, with Dave’s writing partners including Jamie Robinson, Ray Stewart, Thom Swift, Paul McKenna, and Mark Lang. The two solo compositions are “The Loyal Fisherman,” an epic ballad of love and betrayal, and “Celebrate The Crop,” a lovely fiddle-fuelled celebration of the simple pleasures of the farming life “everyone’s coming over and we’ll share all that we’ve got.”

The first single taken from the album is “In The Time I Was Away,” a gently reflective look at the changes wrought by absence. “When you’re away from home for large chunks of time on a regular basis you miss things that have happened. Sometimes they’re big things and sometimes they’re the little things,” says Dave. Written with Mark Lang, it is punctuated by a horns accompaniment that shows Gunning’s ability to add unconventional yet effective musical touches to his material.

There’s also a philosophical feel to “All That’s Yet To Come,” the opening track on Up Against The Sky, and another highlight of an album devoid of lowlights. It faces the future with an optimistic tone – “I’m proud of the past and all that’s yet to come.”

Gunning explains that this is one of a number of songs influenced by a local Pictou County issue that has taken a great deal of his time and energy in recent years. He is a very active member of a group opposed to the release of 70-90 million litres of treated effluent, per day from an older style bleached kraft pulp mill. The proposal is threatening the Northumberland Strait fishery and a Legislated commitment made to the Pictou Landing First Nation community to end what even the Premier of Nova Scotia has called “Environmental Racism.”

Another song inspired by this situation is “Wish I Was Wrong,” a mournful yet defiant tune that reaffirms Gunning’s ability to pen potent protest songs. “We want a safe harbour, we want a clean shore” he declares, while playing banjo in a tribute to a key inspiration, Pete Seeger.

Another politically-tinged tune that has had a major impact is “Sing It Louder,” from Gunning’s previous album, 2015’s acclaimed Lift. It was the most played song on folk radio in the US for the month of May 2016, and Dave says “I think that it may have resonated with people because it was released during the US election and it’s a call to action song.”

Last year, Dave Gunning and J.P. Cormier released a duo album, Two, one recently nominated for a 2019 East Coast Music Award. “It was just two guitars and two voices. We have played together on and off for 20 years so it is comfortable for us,” explains Dave.

Along with richly-deserved peer respect, Dave Gunning has earned a shelf full of music industry honours. That tally currently stands at eight East Coast Music Awards and two Canadian Folk Music Awards, plus a 2012 Juno Award nomination in the Roots & Traditional Solo Album of the Year category for his album … a tribute to John Allan Cameron, a compelling homage to another of Dave’s Maritime musical heroes.

His songwriting skill has also been internationally recognized, with tunes scoring victories and high placings in major international songwriting competitions. As a fervent hockey fan, Dave was also thrilled to win the CBC’s hotly-contested Hockey Night In Canada Song Quest in 2014 with “A Game Goin’ On”, a co-write with David Francey. Gunning has also remained in demand as a producer working with many artists.

For now, though, his concentrated focus is on Up Against The Sky. The record, and all that’s yet to come from this compelling artist, can be looked forward to with great anticipation.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF DAVE GUNNING

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PFS Presents David Myles

Saturday, May 16th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About David Myles

“Nattily dressed in a suit and tie, wearing his trademark specs, he looks like Buddy Holly transposed to an after-hours supper club. But Myles’s music conveys a populist appeal that leaves no one lacking.” – No Depression

The role of the song and dance man is a noble calling. But restricting himself to only a couple creative pursuits would just not be enough for David Myles. Sure, the Maritime music maker’s song and dance mastery keeps getting more and more impressive—2017’s award-winning, vintage rock ‘n’ roll hip-swiveler Real Love and the spectacular, lush Francophone pop of 2018’s Le grand départ stand testament to that—but Myles is compelled to sally forth toward new challenges and accomplishments. This past year he released Santa Never Brings Me a Banjo, a children’s book based on his beloved modern holiday classic, and dove back into the world of public radio, broadcasting his smooth baritone over Alberta’s CKUA airwaves on his new show Myles From Home. Not to mention he does it all while adhering to an unrelenting tour schedule that has seen him and comrades Kyle Cunjak (bass) and Alan Jeffries (guitar) grace stages ‘round the world.

One could argue that this astounding rate of production was in the cards for Myles all along. The New Brunswick-born songwriter grew up in Fredericton surrounded by musicians. It was through family that he was exposed to classical music and musical theatre—which might explain why he’s such a natural on stage, under the bright lights—and thanks to them that he found himself working through the intricacies of trumpet with Canada’s Royal Conservatory. Eventually, he found himself grooving and crooning to the classic sounds of legends like Elvis, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash. But it wasn’t until he found himself studying Chinese in Hangzhou, China, writing songs on a $30 plywood guitar, that he realized he had to make a radical change in direction. Instead of heading to law school, he decided on a life dedicated to music, and symbolized his devotion to the craft by promising his father, Jim Myles, that he’d wear a suit and tie every single day he went to work. The elder Myles, a former science teacher who directed musicals, and passed away in 2017, left an indelible mark on his son, informing the heavy, poetic spirit of Le grand départ. And David continues to don well-tailored suits on every stage he sets foot on.

His work ethic, too, has paid dividends. Since making that promise, David has gone on to release a dozen records in just over a decade, building a catalogue that spans numerous genres, has spawned countless musical friendships, and helped soundtrack the lives of music fans all over the globe. Real Love’s retro rock and country and Le grand départ’s adventurous chansons are just the most recent sonic territory he’s explored. You can find unabashed, bouncy pop on Here Now; delicate, romantic folk tunes and old-school rhythm and blues on So Far; and classic crooning and swingin’ arrangements on In The Nighttime. He’s dusted off the sleigh bells and put his vibrant stamp on yuletide classics—as well as penning a few new original ones—for It’s Christmas, which continues to delight December audiences every year. And he’s partly responsible, along with fellow east coaster Classified, for Canada’s best-selling rap single of all-time, the deliriously catchy, JUNO Award-winning “Inner Ninja.”

If there’s a musician on earth who can keep up this wild pace and keep growing as an artist, it’s the incomparable David Myles. One need only get themselves down to the theatre or auditorium or club that he’s headlining in their town—singing his big heart out, dancing his slick shoes ragged, and relishing every moment of it—to confirm that. There’s no other kinda life for this song and dance (and radio and writing and everything else) man. “I don’t care if it kills me,” Myles sings on fan favourite “When It Comes My Turn,” over a life-affirming swell of pedal steel. “I’m gonna do what it takes to keep some warmth in my heart and a smile on my face.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF DAVID MYLES

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PFS Presents The East Pointers

**Please Note: This is a MIXED seated/dancing room show. Please arrive early for best seating**

Sunday, May 31, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$18 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $20 Not-Yet-Members | $25 Doors

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About The East Pointers

Redefining the ever-evolving genre – modern folk – with Billboard-worthy pop hooks, deep acoustic groove, trance-like trad breakdowns and three-part harmonies, Tim Chaisson (vocals/fiddle/percussion), Koady Chaisson (banjo/tenor guitar/moog) and Jake Charron (guitar/keyboards), already internationally acknowledged as musical trailblazers, have made sure their new album, Yours To Break, will light a path for a new generation of music lovers who don’t care for labels.

What We Leave Behind was one of the international standout albums of 2017, nominated for the ‘Traditional Roots Album of the Year’ at the 2018 JUNO Awards and attracting over four million streams on Spotify. In the short time between their 2015 JUNO Award-winning debut Secret Victory and the upcoming album Yours To Break, the band has performed over 450 shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the UK, Europe, Mexico, the USA, and Canada.

Yours To Break sits uneasily in a classic genre demarcation. The East Pointers have always been musically complex and technically brilliant, the core is definitely traditional Celtic, but on the new album, fiddle tunes are grounded in complex rumbling bass lines, a dirty Americana exploration turns on a dime into a lighthearted guitar feature with flamenco reference palmas, playful keyboard tones turn traditional solos into urgent dance-party journeys, and off-the-leash festival jam sessions give rise to vocal numbers that are either perfect pop songs or moving tributes to the home and people they love. “I feel like this album is the best expression to date of the band’s appreciation for so many different types of music and the fact that we as a band are comfortable enough in our own musical voice to start expressing those influences and loves.” says Koady Chaisson, who plays either banjo or tenor guitar on stage, along with the bass pedals underpinning much of the groove of this album.

Taken from a line in the song ‘Elmira’ – a tune named for a town in Prince Edward Island near where fiddler, Tim Chaisson, and his cousin, banjo player Koady Chaisson, grew up – Yours To Break puts a pin in the creative landscape in which the band currently sits, as well as where they may be headed.

Although conceived as a “love letter to home,” Tim Chaisson says: “’Elmira’ is as much about getting back to the places and things that matter as it is about not being afraid to break away from what’s holding you back. It’s about all the relationships and connections you form throughout life, and that it’s in your control to keep those connections, or part ways and take a different path.”

That’s a sentiment the band picks up on lead single, ‘Wintergreen’.

“I was diagnosed bipolar about five years ago and there was so much darkness, so many extreme highs and extreme lows,” Koady says. “It’s actually a song I kind of wish I could have heard then; a vote of confidence from the perspective of someone who loves you regardless of which end of that spectrum you’re at.”

At the core, ‘Wintergreen’ is about offering a light in the darkness to those who need it. That theme is woven into the material on Yours to Break; a decision the band made to be wholeheartedly themselves and to speak to the relationships and connections formed in life with people, places, items or substances, and the choice we have to either keep these connections or part ways. Koady says “There is also an element of trust, surrounding yourself with the right people, getting back to the place and things that matter the most. And musically, trusting your foundation and traditions, which give you a strong platform to break away and do your own thing. Ultimately, musically and philosophically we have a lot of hope for humanity despite our frailties – that’s the essence of Yours to Break.”

The album was written across the globe, with Koady in Australia, Jake in England and Tim in Costa Rica while they were working on the album. Each of those experiences and sense of place played into the creation of the album.

Produced by Nova Scotia-born, multiple Grammy and JUNO Award winning songwriter and producer, Gordie Sampson (LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts), Yours To Break finds the band drawing on their historical Canadian Celtic roots and looking forward in equal measure.

“We’ve always had a hard time putting our music in a specific genre,” Jake says, “so with this album we stopped thinking about that and just made music that felt fun to play.”

Yours To Break also showcases the band’s willingness to let loose themselves and expand dramatically on the traditional music they grew up playing and singing. Doing so was a big part of The East Pointers’ mission this time out – a mission that’s clearly reflected on purely instrumental tunes like ‘Country Cable’ and ‘Power To Move’ – a fearless blend of traditional and modern textures that’s as relentlessly hooky as it is powerful.

“We wanted to make an album someone could put on and basically have a dance party to” Koady puts in. ‘We’re passionate about tradition, yes, but it doesn’t belong in a box in the attic, getting dusted off for special occasions and boring the pants off kids. Traditions belong to the people who shepherd them into the next generation.”

In addition to their own songwriting and touring, The East Pointers run the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival on Prince Edward Island, originally founded by Tim and Koady’s grandfather in 1976. Jake Charron, now an honorary islander, has been an in-demand touring musician for the majority of his life and met Tim and Koady on tours to Atlantic Canada.

The East Pointers’ ten-track album Yours To Break is out October 25, 2019, followed by worldwide touring, including a national Canadian tour in November 2019.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE EAST POINTERS

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CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EAST POINTERS

PFS Presents Screaming Orphans

Friday, June 12, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$14 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $16 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

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About Screaming Orphans

Screaming Orphans, an all-sister band from Bundoran, Co. Donegal, Ireland, are one of the most sought after Celtic bands with a powerful, award-winning sound, combining their original melodic pop songs with a unique take on traditional Irish music and song. From an early age, the Diver sisters performed with their mother Kathleen Fitzgerald (a well-known céilí singer in Ireland) and when they hit their teenage years, they formed their own Celtic pop band, Screaming Orphans, which led to a signing by Warner Music UK.

As Screaming Orphans, the band first came to prominence when Sinéad O’Connor asked them to tour with her as her back up vocalists and opening act. The band are renowned for their trademark spine-tingling four part harmony which has led to many collaborations on recordings with artists such as Martin Furey, Baaba Maal, Afro Celt Sound System, Peter Gabriel and Joni Mitchell. The band continues to tour and play extensively across North America and Europe.

The band’s 2017 Folk/Irish album Taproom charted No. 1 in the iTunes World Music charts and No. 10 in the Billboard World Albums charts. Taproom was named 2017 Folk/Pop/Rock Album Of The Year by the Folk’n’Rock magazine.

Screaming Orphans’ 2019 pop album, Life in a Carnival, produced by internationally distinguished producer John Reynolds, charted No. 24 in the iTunes Pop Music charts (U.S.), No. 7 in the Billboard World Albums charts, No. 1 in the iTunes Singer/Songwriter charts (IE), and No. 3 in the overall iTunes music charts (IE).

As of this year, the band has released 14 albums of both original pop and Folk/Irish music.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO TO MEET SCREAMING ORPHANS

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PFS Presents Carrie Elkin and Danny Schmidt

Sunday, June 14, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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CARRIE ELKIN & DANNY SCHMIDT TOGETHER

Two Great Songwriters, One Great Night

It’s a special treat when Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin share the stage together. These two great songwriters from Austin, TX generally tour solo and separately, but if the chemistry seems especially amorous, they come by it honestly, as they are a rare breed: a romantic partnership in real life, as well as a musical partnership in artistic life. And the two together on stage makes for a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

Danny Schmidt is best known for his riveting poetic lyrics, which have drawn favorable comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt for their depth and complexity. And Carrie Elkin is best known for her incredibly soulful and dynamic vocals, which have drawn favorable comparisons to Patty Griffin at her most powerful, and Nanci Griffith at her most intimate.

Together, the respective strengths they each bring, individually, merge into a much greater whole, a performance of great energy and spirit, and one that audiences seem to be able to connect with on a multitude of levels at once: Emotionally, Spiritually, and Intellectually.

About Danny Schmidt:

Named to the Chicago Tribune’s list of the “50 Most Significant Songwriters in the Last 50 Years,” Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Danny Schmidt has amassed a cult following for his stunningly poetic, poignant lyricism. He is considered a preeminent writer of generational significance. Sing Out Magazine proclaimed: “Schmidt is a force of nature: a blue moon, a hundred-year flood, an avalanche of a singer-songwriter. His songs are a flood of poetry, mythology, folk wisdom, and surprise. He is perhaps the best new songwriter we’ve heard in the last 15 years.”

About Carrie Elkin:

Carrie Elkin is one of those rare artists with a tidal wave singing voice, and a stage whisper writing voice that brings you to the edge of your seat, emotionally. Like Patty Griffin or Brandi Carlile, she straddles the Americana, Folk, and Indie Rock worlds, where meaningful songs meet the fierce-yet-fragile voices of powerful women. Like these other seminal artists, Elkin has the gift of projecting very personal intimate moments into transcendent universal experiences that move us all. Maverick Magazine said it best, after a recent festival performance: “I have never seen a performer so in love with the act of singing. That’s the gospel truth, and from what I’ve subsequently learned, I’m not the only one to believe or state that. Onstage, Elkin was simply a force of nature.”

Don’t miss these two great artists in a rare split-bill performance, sharing songs back and forth, and lending their voices to each other’s tunes, in harmony.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF DANNY SCHMIDT

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO DANNY SCHMIDT ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DANNY SCHMIDT

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF CARRIE ELKIN

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO CARRIE ELKIN ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CARY ELKIN

PFS Presents Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys

Saturday, June 27th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$15 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $18 Not-Yet-Members | $23 Doors

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About Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys

Grammy Award winning artist Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys are currently touring in support of their 2019 Stanley Family Records release, the Billboard chart topping ‘Lord Help Me Find The Way.’ This is their second release after dropping a self-titled album in 2017 that was the first release for the group since Ralph II took over the Clinch Mountain Boys band name per the wishes of his late father Dr. Ralph Stanley.

With three #1 singles in his career; including, the 2019 hit “Beautiful Hills of Home,” R2 is in heavy radio rotation across the country and on Bluegrass Junction, World Wide Bluegrass, iHeart Radio and Sirius XM.

The band includes Clinch Mountain Boy John Rigsby on fiddle, mandolin and vocals; Landon Fitzpatrick on banjo and vocals; Randall Hibbitts on the upright bass and vocals; and Ralph Stanley II on the guitar and lead vocals. This band configuration brings a lot of talent, energy and humor to the stage as they perform old-time favorites, bluegrass hits and new original material.

Ralph II has had two Grammy nominations on previous albums he recorded with Rebel Records. In 2002 he earned his first Grammy along with his father Dr. Ralph Stanley for their collaboration with Jim Lauderdale on ‘Lost in the Lonesome Pines.’ Ralph II has proven to be an accomplished songwriter and has 6 solo albums under his belt, along with the highly acclaimed duet album with his father titled ‘Side by Side.’

Playing more than 200 shows a year, Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys are an audience favorite at festivals, clubs, arenas, amphitheaters, country fairs and wherever the blue bus might take ‘em!

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF RALPH STANLEY II AND THE CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS

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CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT RALPH STANLEY II AND THE CLINCH MOUNTAIN BOYS

PFS Presents AJ Ghent

Saturday, April 25th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

About AJ Ghent

AJ Ghent [j-ent] and His Singing Guitar construct a musical sound that can be heard howling from the church to the streets to the clubs. His style can be defined as fresh, nostalgic, electrifying and roots rock, — fusing blues, funk, rock, and pop, mashing it into a genre he likes to call, NEO BLUES. The energy and passion which resonates from AJ’s music, from the strum of the guitar and the conviction of the vocals, the pounding rhythm of the drums, to the thought provoking lyrics, is sure to be felt by any crowd. AJ aims to create an unforgettable experience for music lovers, with the hopes of taking them to a musical paradise. A little hip-shaking, finger snapping, head nodding is all you need for this tuneful travel excursion. He calls James Brown, Prince, and his family heritage as influences. He can be heard picking, sliding and strumming all over those strings, whether it’s one of his custom built 6 or 8-string lap steel hybrids or his acoustic resonator. What is different from most lap steel players is AJ performs standing upright like a guitar player, using his over handed technique to play slide, so that he can dance, and have more mobility during his live shows. AJ was born to fly!

AJ Ghent [J-ent] is a musician hailing from Fort Pierce, Florida and growing up was all about the music. Music has truly been running through his family for generations; such as his great uncle Willie Eason, the creator of the “Sacred Steel Tradition,” and his grandfather Henry Nelson, the founder of the “Sacred Steel” rhythmic guitar style. This style is played by many names today, such as Robert Randolph, The Campbell Brothers, and more. “Forged in the congregational hotbox of the Southern Pentecostal House of God church, sacred steel music is an electrified rhythm, punctuated by sharp blasts of soaring solos, played on amplified lap steel guitar. It’s an open tuning, on an eight-stringed instrument, and sometimes it can sound like the roaring, whooping and hollering voice of God himself has joined the gospel fervor.” (reference Connect Savannah, 2013) So around 12 years old, the young AJ got a hold of something special; “it was one of the first sacred steel CDs, with my father, my grandfather and my great uncle on there. At that point, I became interested in the instrument, and I would listen to that thing until I broke it.” (reference: Connect Savannah August 2013) After High School, AJ traveled down to the West Palm Beach, FL area with his sister, Tiffany Ghent to explore the city’s range of genres, from hip-hop to R&B, while playing in Top 40 music bands. However, AJ was in search of something more, a style that was uniquely his own.

Something was bubbling…Fresh with his marriage to his bride MarLa, a singer herself, he set his eyes on Atlanta, GA. When he arrived in Atlanta, AJ took on sideman jobs, studio session work. Not long after, AJ met the legendary Colonel Bruce Hampton who began to mentor him; teaching him what mattered the most; “time – tone and space” for all his music and life journeys. AJ was invited to play in Hampton’s band, Pharaoh’s Kitchen, which he did for about a year — and like true Colonel Bruce style, the elder statesman always reminded AJ to be ‘true to himself.’

He has had a colorful career thus far playing and opening for such legendary acts like Zac Brown, The Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks, Robert Cray, and Gov’t Mule. He can be heard on various recordings with Zac Brown, Luther Dickinson, and featured on Zac Brown’s 2013 Grohl Sessions Vol. 1 alongside Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters). AJ’s band has had various formations, from a trio to a full-size live band with horns, playing small clubs to mid-large sized festivals and arenas; dazzling audiences everywhere. In 2015, he released a DVD/CD called LIVE AT TERMINAL WEST – recorded and filmed at the Terminal West venue in the old King Plow factory in Atlanta, GA. This was well-received by fans and critics praising the fearless leader! “The 11-song album is a relentless, high-energy romp through gospel, soul and funk-infused landscapes, with a couple of cool-down moments just so the audience can catch their collective breath.” (Relix, 2015)

At the age of 31, AJ Ghent [J-ent] knows where his talent comes from and isn’t afraid to explore other sounds. His new album titled The Neo Blues Project is something different: A musical fusion form that takes art and skill to master, something that AJ Ghent [J-ent] has spent his whole life perfecting. The album debuted #7 on the Billboard Blues Charts on its release week in March 2018.

PFS Presents Originaire EP Release with Jackson Pines & j solomon

Friday, February 28, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About Originaire

Ken Shiles and CiBon (Atlantic City) were independently hustling the vibrant, tourist-driven music scene along the Jersey Shore when a serendipitous twist of fate brought the two together. Searching for a singing partner for a last-minute duo gig Ken was introduced to CiBon via Facebook. They connected and booked their first gig with no face-to-face contact or rehearsal! But when they sang together for the first time they recognized a musical connection unlike anything either had ever experienced. They knew immediately this was the beginning of something extraordinary.

Not long after, they met the dynamic, genre-hopping Philadelphia based violinist, Valerie Vuolo in a similar fashion. Inviting her to join them last minute for a high profile performance none of them could have anticipated the chilling synergy that occurred when their voices blended with strings for the first time but they knew it would not be the last!

Entwining soulful strings with sweetly blended male/female vocals Originaire captivates audiences with heartfelt original songs performed with engaging chemistry and seamless musical precision. From rousing, foot-stomping refrains to raw heart-tugging ballads interspersed with candid banter and anecdotes reflective of their unique chemistry and experiences, Originaire keeps an audience captivated from the first note to the last and leaves them wanting more!

About Jackson Pines

“[A] duo from Jersey — Jackson, to be specific, nestled in the pine barrens — core members Joe Makoviecki (vocals, guitar) and James Black (bass) teamed up with some heavy-hitting friends for their debut LP Purgatory Road, which came out on February 8th. Simone Felice produced the record in his Sugar Mountain Studio in Palenville, NY and played drums; James Felice contributed piano and organ throughout the set as well. As such, the record is an expert set of indie folk, drawing on the melodies and arrangements of bluegrass and mountain music but incorporating it tastefully into Makoviecki’s songs, which are very much of the now.” – John Vettese, WXPN, The Key

About j solomon

J SOLOMON IS THE SOLO PROJECT OF JESSE MOLDOVSKY, A SINGER-SONGWRITER BASED IN PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

OFTEN TOLD THAT HIS LYRICS ARE BEYOND HIS YEARS, HE WOULD DESCRIBE HIMSELF AS A POET FIRST, AND A MUSICIAN SECOND. HE BEGAN WRITING POEMS BEFORE HE COULD PLAY THE GUITAR, AND PUTS A VERY IMPORTANT EMPHASIS ON THE MEANING OF HIS LYRICS. HE AIMS TO WRITE HIS OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES INTO SONG IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY ARE UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED AND UNDERSTOOD.

HE WROTE HIS FIRST SONG AT THE AGE OF 7, AND BEGAN PLAYING GUITAR AT THE AGE OF 12. AFTER SPENDING YEARS SECRETLY HONING HIS CRAFT, HE BROKE OUT OF HIDING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT IN 2018 WITH THE RELEASE OF HIS FIRST SINGLE, HAZEL EYES, FOLLOWED BY HIS FIRST EP, NOCTURNE.

HE HAS PERFORMED AT MANY VENUES IN THE PHILADELPHIA AND SURROUNDING AREAS SUCH AS ORTLIEB’S, BOURBON AND BRANCH, WORLD CAFE LIVE (UPSTAIRS AND DOWNSTAIRS), AND THE PHILADELPHIA FOLK FESTIVAL.

HE HAS THE DISTINGUISHED HONOR OF BEING SELECTED AS THE YOUNGEST MEMBER OF THE PHILADELPHIA MUSIC CO-OP.

PFS February Monthly Concert with Mark Bragg

Saturday, February 29th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About Mark Bragg

NEWFOUNDLAND’S #1 ALT-FOLK ARTIST TO MAKE US DEBUT IN PHILADELPHIA!

Mark Bragg doesn’t need much of an introduction in his home town of St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he’s as much a music establishment himself as say, Fred’s Records or The Ship Inn Pub. His Newfoundland fanbase has long been drawn to the tragic-hero protagonists he sings about, and the wild-eyed persona that takes the stage to sing about them.

But for the rest of us, after seeing Bragg play live for the first time, we might wonder which kind of oddball inhabits the character on stage in front of us: is it the harmless socks-with sandals sort of madcap, or the locked in the trunk of a car variety?

While Bragg’s catalogue is full of dark humour and Southern Gothic flavour, his 2018 album “Winter” hosts a subtler cast of characters, making it his most accessible album to date.

This is what Tim Baker from Hey Rosetta said about “Winter”:

“There’s a renewed calmness, a clarity, the words measured to be heard and felt. It feels crafted carefully, yet still so free. Indeed the whole thing is a study in contrasts – it manages to be delicate yet gruff, sad yet playful, humble yet grand, all at the same time… it’s unmistakably Mark Bragg: squinting sideways at the heartbreak and violence of life, somehow with a grimace and a grin and a tear in his eye all at once… growing stronger in the dark. A bear come through “Winter” say, hungry for spring.”

Fans might miss the manic persona and frenetic energy of the Bragg they know and love, but there’s a maturity that makes the songs on “Winter” some of Mark Bragg’s finest.

Currently Bragg is working on his piano chops, learning about the US music market, and walking his dog.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A TEASER VIDEO OF MARK BRAGG

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PFS Presents Eli Lev with Ami Yares and Jackson Howard

PFS Presents Mari Black

Friday, March 13, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About Mari Black

Called “one of the brightest fiddlers around today” (Brian O’Donovan, WGBH radio), multistyle violinist and champion fiddler MARI BLACK delights audiences around the world with her energetic playing, sparkling stage presence, and dazzlingly virtuosic fiddling. Raised on a rich blend of traditional musical styles, Mari burst onto the international stage when she became Scotland’s Glenfiddich Fiddle Champion, 2-time U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, and 2-time Canadian Maritime Fiddle Champion, all within a three-year period. Ever since then, she has been spreading her love for dance-based music, performing as a featured artist at performing arts centers, Celtic festivals, Scottish Highland Games, celebrated folk venues, world music concert series, and acclaimed classical venues including Carnegie Hall. She can even be heard (and seen!) in the award-winning video game BioShock: Burial at Sea. Mari has appeared with such diverse artists as Irish fiddle master Liz Carroll, Americana master Mark O’Connor, and jazzman Willie Ruff, and been featured on the BBC Radio Scotland, Fox and CBS morning news, and NPR’s “Here and Now.” She has played concerts in Brazil, Scotland, Canada, China, Korea, Zimbabwe, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, and France…and she can’t wait for the next stop! Currently touring nationally with her trio, Mari’s favorite thing to do is sweep audiences away on a spirited musical adventure featuring dance music from around the globe: Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddling, jazz, tango, klezmer, folk, original works, and more!

Mari’s passion for dance-driven music extends far beyond the concert stage, as reflected in her work as a teacher, composer, dancer, competition judge, and musical ambassador committed to connecting people through music. Having earned her Doctorate in Education from Columbia University, Mari is a master teacher who is dedicated to helping students of all ages and levels explore the joy of making music. She teaches regularly at prestigious camps and workshops around the country, including appearances at the Swannanoa Gathering, the Acadia Trad School, the Jink & Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling, the Mark O’Connor fiddle camp, the Tanglewood Festival, the Yale School of Music, and more. Several of her students are now becoming champion fiddlers in their own right, winning top awards at the U.S. Scottish Nationals and other competitions. Mari’s ear-catching compositions draw on a broad range of stylistic influences, and have won several awards, including a Gold Medal from the MASC International Songwriting Competition. Find out more about Mari and her musical adventures at her website: www.MariBlack.com

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARI BLACK

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MARI BLACK LIVE AT NERFA

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARI BLACK ON SPOTIFY

PFS Presents Quarter Horse

Saturday, March 14, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$8 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $11 Not-Yet-Members | $15 Doors

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About Quarter Horse

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF QUARTER HORSE

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PFS Presents Miss Tess & the Talkbacks

Sunday, March 15, 2019
Doors 7pm | Music 7:30pm

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

About Miss Tess

“Contemporary and timeless. More than merely emulating her obvious influences, Miss Tess effectively situates herself on a pedestal right beside them, resulting in a set of songs that swings, sways, rocks and evokes her own personal perspective. Baby, We All Know is an excellent compendium of modern Americana distilled in all its forms. Miss Tess is a sweet seductress, one whose charms are increasingly harder and harder to resist. Catch her while you can.” – No Depression

Miss Tess has always been known for creating an eclectic array of vintage blues, country, and jazz sounds. Currently residing in Nashville, she finds no shortage of inspiration in the roots scene there. However varied Tess’ music can be, front and center sits her voice that has been described as “alternately seductive and sexy, and a pure joy to listen to” (Pop Matters). Her music is further heightened by her partner, Thomas Bryan Eaton, who helps to shape the songs and arrangements with a deft touch on guitar & pedal steel. No slouch herself, Tess brings along her Weymann archtop guitar, often trading leads with Thomas.

This past winter the two teamed up with veteran producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) at his studio in East Nashville to create a new record that both reaches back to Tess’ roots, yet also signals a new chapter in her career. The record, to be titled “The Moon is an Ashtray”, is getting its finishing touches and will be released Feb 7.

In over a decade of touring Miss Tess has won fans from New York City to New Orleans and Alabama to Alaska. Over the years she has shared the stage with the likes of Lake Street Dive, NRBQ, The Holmes Brothers, Eilen Jewell, and Todd Snider. Her band has graced stages at Blissfest, Cayamo, Clearwater Jazz Holiday, Floydfest, Ossippee Valley Music Festival, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Burlington Jazz Festival, Green River Festival, Red Wing Roots, Shakori Hills, and more. Miss Tess’s music has been heard from coast to coast on taste maker programs such as XM/Sirius’s The Loft, NPR’s Folk Alley, Santa Cruz’s KPIG and Boston’s WUMB. Her 2016 album, “Baby, We All Know” lived in the top 20 on the Americana Charts for six weeks.

Miss Tess grew up in Maryland, where she took piano lessons at an early age. She went to college in Baltimore, intending to be a graphic artist. While there, she dabbled in guitar, but it wasn’t until the end of her studies that she began taking it seriously. Once she became more interested in becoming a musician, she started studying jazz and writing songs, and put together her first band. Having grown up listening to her parents’ bands playing big band swing, folk, country and dixieland music, rootsy styles came naturally to her.

After a move to Boston, Miss Tess took a few classes at Berklee College of Music and formed a new band with a few fellow jazz students. Miss Tess quickly established herself as a songwriter and performer in the storied Boston music scene, playing regularly at local clubs. Over four years she won a Boston Music Award, and was nominated several other times in the Folk and Jazz categories of the BMAs, as well as the New England Music Awards. Miss Tess later moved to Brooklyn for a 5 year stint in the big city, followed by a move to Nashville, where she is currently based. She has since developed her sound to include more classic country, rockabilly and vintage rock ‘n’ roll, all combining into her ever-developing sense of self and eclectic taste in American roots music.

Miss Tess has been releasing albums and leading a band for over a decade, spanning her career over many different cities including Baltimore, Boston, NYC, and her new home base of Nashville, TN. Straddling her move from New York to Nashville, the new album was recorded in both cities. The recording cast includes her steady band mate and co-producer, Thomas Bryan Eaton, producer Dan Knobler (Rodney Crowell, Tift Merritt), Robin Macmillan, Jake Silver (Lee Fields), Roy Williams, Stefan Zenuik, Eric Frey (The Revelers), Dominic Billet (Andrew Combs), Kai Welch, John Pahmer, Aaron Shaffer-Haiss, Oliver Craven (The Stray Birds), Maya De Vitry (The Stray Birds) and Caitlin Canty.

A follow up to 2012’s Sweet Talk and 2013’s The Love I Have for You, both released on Signature Sounds Recordings, 2016’s Baby, We All Know was released independently and received accolades in the press as well as reaching the Top 20 in AMA Radio Charts and being included in the top 100 albums of the year for 2016.

As she expands and grows more into her own sound, Tess is still hard to categorize. She says “Many times after the show somebody will come up to compliment the band and ask me what kind of music we just played. After mumbling through a few different genres I usually just tell them it’s my music and hope they enjoyed the show”. Enjoyable is just what her music is, propelled by the classic quality of Tess’s vocals, compelling and totally believable. The production throughout is the right balance of punch and rhythm, without getting in the way of the vocals or songwriting, giving this collection of songs a plentiful dose of old-school swagger. Time after time, Miss Tess is able to utilize sounds and styles from a past era combined with modern sensibilities to present an authentic and engaging presence.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MISS TESS

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MISS TESS ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MISS TESS

PFS Presents Talisk

**Please Note: This is a dancing room only show. The only seating available will be in the mezzanine**

Saturday, March 21, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF TALISK

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO TALISK ON SPOTIFY

About Talisk

In their five years, Scottish firebrands Talisk have stacked up several major awards for their explosively energetic yet artfully woven sound, including 2018’s Belhaven Bursary for Innovation & 2017’s Folk Band of the Year both at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award.

Mohsen Amini – the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of the Year 2018, Hayley Keenan and Graeme Armstrong seamlessly meld concertina, fiddle and guitar to produce a multi-layered, enthralling signature that has effortlessly captivated audiences from the USA to Australia, and throughout the UK.

Appearances at world-leading festivals – including the Cambridge Folk Festival, Denmark’s Tønder, WOMAD UK and Las Palmas, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Celtic Colours, Milwaukee Irish Festival and five successive outings at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections – have amassed a die-hard following, whilst the world’s folk and world music media have also lauded high credits upon the trio. The release of their hotly anticipated second album, Beyond, in October 2018 was met with a five-star ‘Top of the World’ review in Songlines, praising the band as “incredibly infectious and endearing… fresh, invigorating, accomplished and playfully frisky.”

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TALISK

PFS Presents An Intimate Afternoon with Talisk

Sunday, March 22, 2020
Doors 2:30pm | Music 3:00pm

**Please note: This is a SEATED matinee show**

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

CLICK HERE TO RSVP ON FACEBOOK

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF TALISK

About Talisk

In their five years, Scottish firebrands Talisk have stacked up several major awards for their explosively energetic yet artfully woven sound, including 2018’s Belhaven Bursary for Innovation & 2017’s Folk Band of the Year both at the BBC Alba Scots Trad Music Awards, and a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award.

Mohsen Amini – the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of the Year 2018, Hayley Keenan and Graeme Armstrong seamlessly meld concertina, fiddle and guitar to produce a multi-layered, enthralling signature that has effortlessly captivated audiences from the USA to Australia, and throughout the UK.

Appearances at world-leading festivals – including the Cambridge Folk Festival, Denmark’s Tønder, WOMAD UK and Las Palmas, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, Celtic Colours, Milwaukee Irish Festival and five successive outings at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections – have amassed a die-hard following, whilst the world’s folk and world music media have also lauded high credits upon the trio. The release of their hotly anticipated second album, Beyond, in October 2018 was met with a five-star ‘Top of the World’ review in Songlines, praising the band as “incredibly infectious and endearing… fresh, invigorating, accomplished and playfully frisky.”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO TALISK ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT TALISK

PFS Presents Las Cafeteras

Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

$13 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $15 Not-Yet-Members | $20 Doors

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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About Las Cafeteras

Las Cafeteras have taken the music scene by storm with their infectious live performances and have crossed-genre and musical borders, playing with bands such as Mexican icons Caifanes, Lila Downs, Colombian superstar Juanes, Los Angeles legends Ozomatli, folk/indie favorites Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, and most recently with Talib Kweli.

Born and raised east of the Los Angeles river, Las Cafeteras are remixing roots music and telling modern day stories. Las Cafeteras create a vibrant musical fusion with a unique East LA sound and positive message. Their Afro-Mexican beats, rhythms, and rhymes deliver inspiring lyrics that document stories of a community seeking love and justice in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles. Using traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana, requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone) and tarima (a wooden platform), Las Cafeteras sing in English, Spanish, and Spanglish and add a remix of sounds, from rock to hip-hop to rancheras. Las Cafeteras use music as a vehicle to build bridges among different cultures and communities, and create ‘a world where many worlds fit’.

LA Times described Las Cafeteras as “uniquely Angeleno mishmash of punk, hip-hop, beat music, cumbia and rock … live, they’re magnetic.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH LAS CAFETERAS COVER PETE SEEGER

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO LAS CAFETERAS ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LAS CAFETERAS

PFS March Monthly Concert with Harrow Fair

Thursday, March 26th, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

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About Harrow Fair

Philadelphia Folk Fest Favorites RETURN with new music and a Juno-nominated Miranda Mulholland!

HARROW FAIR IS MIRANDA MULHOLLAND & ANDREW PENNER. ONE PART STOMPING SONGS THAT ECHO EARLY COUNTRY AND ROCK N ROLL. THE OTHER GRITTY BALLADS THAT SOUND SWEET AND HAUNTED. THIS DUO’S EVOCATIVE AND RAPIDLY EXPANDING COLLECTION OF SONGS ARE UTTERLY FOREIGN, ODDLY FAMILIAR AND DEEPLY GRATIFYING. THEIR DEBUT ALBUM “CALL TO ARMS” WAS MET WITH CRITICAL EXCLAIM AS THEY TOURED NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE. THEIR SECOND ALBUM “SINS WE MADE” IS DUE OUT SPRING 2020.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF HARROW FAIR’S INCREDIBLE COVER OF “WICKED GAMES”

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO HARROW FAIR

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HARROW FAIR

PFS Presents Martyn Joseph

Friday, March 27, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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About Martyn Joseph

Martyn Joseph is a performer like no other: Shades of Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews there may be – but he stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives delivering his “songs of lyrical intelligence” according to BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris.

Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters….and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night.

He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spanning 30 years, 32 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances.

Compared to Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, he has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerising live performer and stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives. A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, he’s a jaw dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show stopping voice, and has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”

In addition to his 5 top 50 UK hits, the importance of his work has been recognised by programmes such as BBC Radio 2’s prime time series on Singer/Songwriters. Social justice has an essential presence throughout his music, which has been recognised with various humanitarian awards and plaudits.

Concerned with making music that is relevant and vital to his audience, he engages with challenging narratives tackling the complexity of the human condition, underpinned with a promise of hope. In his own words “Really what I do is to try and write songs that might step up and make some sense of a moment in time. A good song makes you feel like you’re not alone in the world.”

There is a versatility to Martyn’s music that is hard to categorise. Many have tried, resulting in labels such as Folk, Rock, Soul, Folk Funk and Americana; all of which somehow miss the mark. But sometimes music doesn’t need a defining genre and with the ability to articulate a sense of the bigger picture, Martyn’s music and social commentary manage to empower and speak for many. His songs are pictures, and stories, and feelings all put to music and delivered by a master craftsman.

In 2013 Martyn released a CD of Bruce Springsteen songs, to great public and critical acclaim, with the glowing endorsement of Dave Marsh, acclaimed American music critic, official Springsteen biographer and close friend of the Boss himself.

2014 saw him take the spirit of his music onto a more practical footing with the launch of his “Let Yourself Trust”, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to make a small difference out of great love and commitment by challenging injustice wherever it’s found, educating via advocacy, campaigning for human rights, and raising issues that have been forgotten or ignored via fundraising initiatives, thus bringing about greater awareness for beautiful people in powerless situations. He’s also Patron of Advantage Africa and Festival Spirit in the UK and Project Somos in Canada/Guatemala.

He has won the love of audiences from USA and Canada to Europe through an impressive number of live dates, and has previously toured with the likes of Art Garfunkel, Jools Holland, Ani DiFranco, Suzanne Vega, Mike and The Mechanics, Joan Armatrading, Celine Dion and Shirley Bassey. He is hailed as a raconteur weaving tales on topical concerns, as well as stories on the fragility of love, with a magical ability to reach out to his listeners through his passion and humour. Stunning reviews single him out as an unmissable solo performer whose music stays with you long after the show has ended.

2016 was one of Martyn’s busiest, playing over 170 shows worldwide, he was also asked by the EFDSS and British Parliament to write and perform as part of“Sweet Liberties” with Nancy Kerr, Sam Carter and Maz O’Connor to mark 800 years of British democracy, One of his songs from this, “Nye” celebrating Nye Bevan, the author of the NHS, has been enthusiastically received by audiences everywhere, as well as having BBC national airplay on Mark Radcliffe’s Folk Show and Tom Robinson’s 6 Music show.

He was honoured with a Spirit of Folk Award by Folk Alliance International in Kansas in 2018, and he’s been invited to speak on several occasions at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA.

January 2019 saw the release of his 33rd studio album, “Here Come The Young, produced by Gerry Diver (Tom Robinson, Lisa Knapp and Sam Lee). The album has received praise from all corners including Uncut magazine, which described the songs as “anthems of hope that bigotry and hatred will not prevails” The title track also won the award for “Best Original English Language Song” at the 2019 Wales Folk Awards.

Martyn Joseph. A unique talent driven by passion and love for his trade, continues to write, sing and play from the heart. It’s a road he’s been travelling for most of his life and, as he often tells his audience, ‘you keep turning up and so will I.’

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MARTYN JOSEPH

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARTYN JOSEPH ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARTYN JOSEPH

PFS Presents The Black Feathers

Saturday, March 28, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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CLICK HERE TO SEE A LIVE VIDEO OF THE BLACK FEATHERS

About The Black Feathers

A favorite of the 2018 Philadelphia Folk Festival, and a smash show at PFS in 2019, we are delighted to bring back The Black Feathers to 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.

“Once in a blue moon, the whole soars far above the sum of its parts. That’s what happens when The Black Feathers perform live”

– Black Mountain News, North Carolina

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. Their music quickly draw the interest of listeners, but it is the stage chemistry that will keep them riveted.

Having already built up a loyal following in the UK, The Black Feathers have been spreading their wings across the US. They have performed at Philadelphia Folk Festival and AmericanaFest, and have also been awarded official showcases at the North East Regional and Far-West Folk Alliance conferences.

With a new single and a live album in the pipeline, these are exciting times for what FATEA refer to as “a duo of undeniable talent”.

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 J.P. Cormier

Thursday, April 2, 2019
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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About JP Cormier

Nobody really knows who J.P. Cormier is for sure. That’s to be expected, believe me.

In 1974 he was a five year old boy, discovering an innate talent for playing the guitar, I had a little hand in that, guiding him through the beginning stages. He learned faster than I could teach.

By the mid eighties, not out of his teens, he was a sideman for bands and artists of many different genres in Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, and all across the deep south. As he traveled and worked he added more and more instruments to his arsenal of capabilities. He became indispensable to the bands he worked for.

In the early Nineties, he became a sideman for one of Canada’s favourite sons, Stompin’ Tom Connors and also became a staple of the recordings at Studio H in Halifax. His work with the CBC there spanned musical, production, and arranging duties.

All this before he was 20.

In the mid nineties he reentered the musical scene of his beloved East Coast and the Island called Cape Breton. He exploded onto the trad music scene there as a fiddler, performing some of the most difficult music ever produced by legends like Winston Fitzgerald and Angus Chisholm with a facility that stunned onlookers. Especially those who knew he wasn’t born there, but born in Ontario to Cape Breton parents. Somehow, some way, his music was the real thing, sounding like he had been steeped continually in a handed-down brew of family tradition from the old country.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

His previous gig was in Nashville playing mandolin and banjo in a grammy nominated bluegrass gospel band and performing on the Opry, and playing television shows with the likes of Waylon Jennings. All those people also thought he was one of them, American, reared in the ways of bluegrass, old time and Americana music. They knew he was from Canada, but it just didn’t seem possible.

Then in 1997, something amazing happened.

An album released in Canada, out of nowhere, called Another Morning. This time it was him as a songwriter and a lead singer.

And what a songwriter he turned out to be. Some of the performances on that album are literally part of the musical vocabulary today in the East Coast. Songs like the title cut, and Kelly’s Mountain, The Molly May (co written with his cousin Gervais) and others. It inspired, 25 years ago, some of the biggest names in the business today. People like Dave Gunning, Matt Andersen, David Myles, Joel Plaskett, all of which will tell you: that record changed things.

The Canadian industry thought so too, and it received a juno nomination and won an ECMA.

And that was just the beginning.

36 years later after stepping on stage as professional union musician for the first time at the tender age of 13, JP is still going, and frighteningly, still getting better.

16 albums followed the success of Another Morning, winning 12 more ECMA’s, another Juno nomination, a Canadian Folk Music Award and 5 Music Nova Scotia Awards. Each album was a snapshot of each thing that he can do. There are fiddle albums, Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar, tribute records, songwriting collections, a purely astounding spectrum of talent and musical vision.

His catalogue of recordings and the 150 or so records he’s produced on other artists, resemble the tapestry he weaves in live performance. Where he used to carry 3 and 4 piece bands, he tours alone now.

Just him and the instruments.

People still leave his shows confused, amazed and wondering what they just saw. Did they see a storyteller? A Songwriter? Arguably one of the best guitar players in the business today? Someone who crosses the lines between different instruments like there are no lines? Who was that masked man, anyway?

Accolades aside, and there are many from people like Chet Atkins, Marty Stuart, Waylon Jennings, Gordon Lightfoot; JP sees himself as just a performer. He’s shy, but has a razor sharp wit and lightning sense of humour. He can be reserved or edgy to the point no return. He speaks for soldiers, first responders, other artists, the forgotten and lost. He speaks sometimes only for himself and refuses rebuttal.

Of all the things he is, foremost he is an entertainer. I think one of the best. After you’ve seen what he does, I’m certain you will too.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF JP CORMIER

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO JP CORMIER ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT JP CORMIER

PFS Presents Marion Halliday & Roger Street Friedman

Saturday, April 4, 2020
Doors 7:30pm | Music 8pm

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

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFO

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About Marion Halliday

Marion Halliday, a native Kentuckian now living in Philadelphia PA, is proud purveyor of her own special blend of bluegrass and bourbon-infused, original, women-powered, Americana. While she has been a professional singer for many years, Marion only began focusing on her songwriting in 2016. She released her debut solo album Rings Around Saturn on July 1, 2019 and in its first month, both the album and Marion (as artist) were ranked #3 on the US/International Folk DJ charts (data compiled by Folk Alliance International); Marion was also #3 artist that month and had two songs in the top 10.

Marion has great breadth as a songwriter. She has found inspiration, for example, in the history of her new home-town, writing a range of songs that touch on Philly’s rich and varied past. This includes songs about an escaped convict from Eastern State Pen, the forlorn beauty of Laurel Hill Cemetery, the statue to the Lenape in Wissahickon Park, and the revolutionary war memorial at Washington Square, among others. Through her “Philly Songs Project,” Marion is available for special programs in schools and organizations around Philly that might wish to have her share with audiences interesting and historical tales through the medium of her beautiful, Philly-oriented original music.

Marion has also written songs on more universal, contemporary topics such as domestic abuse, gun violence, suicide, and the scourge of heroin and meth addiction ravaging our country. Lastly, Marion’s music also includes amusing reflections on the challenges of relationships, as well as an abiding love of bourbon.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF MARION HALLIDAY

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MARION HALLIDAY ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MARION HALLIDAY

About Roger Street Friedman

Roger Street Friedman is an award winning singer-songwriter based in Sea Cliff, NY. His critically acclaimed 2017 album Shoot The Moon reached #2 on the Roots Music Report Americana Country Album Chart. The album recalls the singer-songwriter tradition of Marc Cohn, Randy Newman, Warren Zevon, Mark Knopfler and Robbie Robertson. Roger’s song “Sun Never Sets” is being used in human rights curriculum in universities and high schools in the Northeast. Roger’s live shows are infused with emotion and will make you laugh and maybe even shed a happy tear. He’s a frequent performer on the music festival circuit and actively tours with his band. Roger’s third full-length album, Rise, produced by the Grammy-winning Larry Campbell (known for his work with Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, David Bromberg, Hot Tuna and more) will be out this spring.

“One moment he’s turning out harmonically rich Paul Simon-esque art-folk; the next he’s digging into the kind of good ‘n’ greasy Americana groove John Hiatt would kill for.”—Jim Allen, CultureSonar

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF ROGER STREET FRIEDMAN

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO ROGER STREET FRIEDMAN ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ROGER STREET FRIEDMAN

PFS Presents Corey Laitman

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

$8 for Members *While Supplies Last* | $10 Not-Yet-Members | $13 Doors

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFO

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About Corey Laitman

WBUR Tiny Desk finalist and 2018 Passim Iguana Fund recipient Corey Laitman has released Seafoam, their lush and lyrical sophomore album, ushered into the world with a sold-out show at The Parlor Room in Northampton, MA. Produced by Mark Miller (J Mascis, The Pixies) and Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist Anand Nayak (Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, Pamela Means, Alastair Moock), Seafoam boasts 13 expertly crafted alternative folk-pop ballads with hushed, spiritual undertones.

Laitman’s music is set apart by its layered, poetically conceived narratives that surprise and disarm. The complexity of the songs on Seafoam inspire repeated listening: They are protective of their vital mystery, present in their comfort.

Nayak colors the album with electric guitar, banjo and mandolin arrangements as generous and soaring as the songs themselves.

Like the work of Deb Talan or Anais Mitchell, Laitman’s characters are stark, compelling, and deeply human. Worlds of people are woven and realized; the beings inhabiting these worlds of song are imbued with searing imagery, and undeniable integrity.

In a testimonial, Laitman’s work was praised by American poet Gordon Massman as being among “those few singer-songwriters who, through undeniable talent, climb over the competitive frenzy into the public sphere. Corey Laitman is of that caliber, and I entreat you to listen.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF COREY LAITMAN

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO COREY LAITMAN ON SPOTIFY

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT COREY LAITMAN