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

Secure your tickets here!

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

Watch Fish Harmonics here!

RSVP on Facebook here.

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

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

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

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

ABOUT ROB CURTO & FISH HARMONICS

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

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

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

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

ABOUT MIKE BLOCK

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

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

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

Benefit Concert for Working While Playing

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

655 Old York Road, Warminster, PA 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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