Songbag Concert Series
FALL 2014
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A monthly concert series presented by the Carl
Sandburg Historic Site Association in the
"Barn" at Carl Sandburg's Birthplace, in an
intimate smoke, and alcohol, free environment,
showcasing acoustic music in the traditional and
folk style. 313 E 3rd Street, Galesburg IL,
(309) 342-2361. The concerts are free and open
to the public, however a $3.00 donation is
greatly appreciated. All shows start at 7:00pm. |
Date |
Performer |
Saturday,
August 30, 2014
7:00pm
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Roundstone Buskers
www.roundstonebuskers.net
Roundstone Buskers are Tom Jones, Bruce Burton
and Shannan Sullivan. Originally formed in
2001, and named after Roundstone, Ireland, the
hometown of the great bodhran maker Malachy
Kearns, the "Buskers" consisted of Shannan
Sullivan (fiddle), Tom Jones
bodhran/percussion/whistles) & Tom Grafton
(guitar/ hammer dulcimer). The original trio
played through 2003, released a successful
self-titled CD and eventually disbanded yet
remained good friends.
Later that year, Shannan and
guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Bruce Burton
started a duo simply named SullivanBurton. They
played through 2007 and released the CD, “Monkey
Bars” which won praise from Dirty Linen
magazine. In 2007, Tom Jones joined Bruce and
Shannan and the three restarted the Roundstone
Buskers.
"The Buskers" have not looked back since
regaining their name becoming somewhat of an
acoustic power trio claiming traditional and
contemporary celtic as part of their sound. They
have been called "cheeky", "punxy" and "on
point" and they are fine with that.
They all sing, they all play, but most
importantly.....they all listen.
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Saturday, September 27, 2014
7:00pm
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Dave Moore
Dave Moore is one of the great songwriters to
come out of the state of Iowa. Known for
his elegant songwriting and instrumental prowess
on blues guitar, button accordion and harmonica
he has become somewhat of a legend.
In 1980 Dave teamed up with local songwriter
Greg Brown who was just beginning to develop a
national reputation. For the next few
years Dave backed up Brown on recording
projects, extensive tours and several
appearances on Garrison Keillor's popular A
Prairie Home Companion on NPR.
In 1984 at a little folk festival, Dave won a
contest whose prize was free recording time in a
studio. He took the oppurtunity to record
Jukejoints and Cantinas, an album that
brilliantly pulled together all of the American
roots influences that had been stewing in him
for years. He passed its 14 sizzling blues
and Conjunto tracks on to Bob Feldman of Red
House Records, who enthusiastically offered to
put it out.
In 1986 Garrison Keillor invited Dave to perform
on A Prairie Home Companion and after frequent
appearances, he became the show's band leader on
tours to Alaska and Hawaii. A year or two
earlier he had quietly started writing his own
song and in 1990 he released Over My Shoulder,
an 11-song collection that has become a cult
classic.
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Saturday, October 25, 2014
7:00pm
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Keith Reins and Tara McGovern
www.folksongsyouneversang.com
Folk Songs You Never Sang in Grade School is one
folk musician's effort to document, honor and
share a collection of folk songs and personal
history with them through research, essays, and
performance.
Keith Reins, the son of a former big band
saxophonist, began his musical life at the age
of five with piano lessons. In junior high and
high school, following in his father’s
footsteps, he began playing clarinet and
saxophone in concert and jazz band. At
fourteen, he started playing professionally at
country clubs and dance halls with his father
and older brother.
After a brief flirtation with rock’n'roll piano
in high school, Keith started hugging guitars
and quickly became obsessed with traditional
music. At various times throughout the last
four decades or so he has played bluegrass, old
time, classic country, country blues, all manner
of American folk songs and most recently,
traditional Irish music. The eclectic,
improvisational nature of Irish guitar
accompaniment allows Keith to synthesize all of
his diverse musical influences. He is now one
of the top Irish-style guitarists in the region.
Tara McGovern, a fiddler
from the age of 3, blends her Irish roots with
her classical and jazz training from The
University of Iowa. Tara’s mother, Carmel, is a
fiddler from Swanlinbar, County Cavan, Ireland
and her paternal great-grandfather, Homer
Rayburn, was a bluegrass and old time fiddler.
In
addition to performing and parenting their two
sons with her husband and bandmate Joe Dutcher,
Tara runs the McGovern
Music Studio,
located in the West
Music Conservatory in
Coralville.
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Saturday, November 29, 2014
7:00pm
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Small Potatoes
www.smallpotatoesmusic.com
Nineteen years ago, Jacquie Manning and Rich
Prezioso, the Chicago-area duo known as Small
Potatoes, decided to hit the road. “In one year,
we quit our jobs, bought a house, bought a car,
and became full-time folk singers--not exactly
the greatest combination, financially speaking,
or what most people would call a sound business
model. We didn’t throw darts at a map, but we
might as well have.”
They might not have had
the best plan, but what they did have were great
songs and musicianship, and the ability to put
on a show. Eighteen years, more than a million
miles, 3000 shows, and five Dodge Caravans
later, they are listed as a “favorite act” by
many coffeehouses, clubs and house concerts
across the U.S. They have made repeat
appearances at major folk festivals, including
the
Kerrville Folk Festival,
the
Walnut Valley Festival,
and the
Philadelphia Folk
Festival.
From the start, they’ve called themselves
eclecto-maniacs and described their music as
“Celtic to Cowboy”. They say it has taken them
“years of careful indecision” to come up with a
mix of music that ranges from country, blues,
and swing to Irish, with songwriting that
touches on all of those styles and more. Their
four recordings,
Alive!, Waltz of the Wallflowers, Time Flies
and
Raw
demonstrate that “indecision” can be wonderfully
entertaining . They both sing, they both play
guitars and an array of other instruments. They
even yodel.
musical
influences..
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We are
grateful to
John Heasly who has coordinated the Songbag Concert
Series for so many years for the Association.
A donation of $3.00 per
person is suggested as the door (or gate)
entry fee. These door receipts go to the
Songbag Concert performers to supplement a base
amount paid by the Carl Sandburg Historic Site
Association. If you enjoy the concert,
please be generous in support of our performers.
Songbag Concert Series performers and
refreshment costs are underwritten by the Carl
Sandburg Historic Site Association and its
members at a cost of approximately $2,500 per
year. If you would like to support the Songbag
Concert Series, become a member of the
Association, and/or feel free to make a donation
to the Carl
Sandburg Historic Site Association, PO Box 585,
Galesburg, IL 61402-0585.
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