Since its beginnings in the late 1990s, the Hot Club of Cowtown’s star has been known for jaw-dropping virtuosity and unforgettable live shows. The band has toured extensively worldwide for over twenty years, both on its own and with artists including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Gatemouth Brown, the Avett Brothers, and Dan Hicks, and appeared…
Founded in the late 1990s in Portland, Oregon, Foghorn Stringband specializes in old-time gospel, square dance tunes, ballads, Cajun waltzes, honky-tonk favorites, and pre-bluegrass picking songs. With eight albums, thousands of shows, and more than 15 years of touring under their belts, this acclaimed string band sees itself not as a group of revivalists, but,…
Composer-pianist Vijay Iyer (pronounced “VID-jay EYE-yer”) has carved out a unique path as an influential, prolific, shape-shifting presence in modern music. He was described by Pitchfork as “one of the best in the world at what he does,” by the Los Angeles Weekly as “a boundless and deeply important young star,” and by The New…
Samara Joy recently won the Sarah Vaughn International Jazz Vocal Competition, and released her debut recording. Growing up in the Bronx in a musical family, Samara Joy was influenced by the sounds of gospel and R&B, and artists including Stevie Wonder, Lalah Hathaway, George Duke, and many others. Her first exposure to jazz was at…
An annual highlight of the Acoustic Music Seminar, this special 2022 edition of Mike Marshall’s Stringband Spectacular includes several alumni of the SMF workshop and mentorship program. Allison de Groot (clawhammer banjo) & Tatiana Hargreaves (fiddle, vocals) are an old-time duo that creates a sound that is adventurous, masterful, and original, as they expand on…
Creole-born musician C.J. Chenier delivers soulful vocals along with masterful accordion-driven zydeco and blues. Chenier has performed alongside many internationally-recognized artists including his father, Clifton Chenier (“The King of Zydeco”), Paul Simon, Joe Sample and Ray Parker, Jr. In addition to his Grammy Award nomination in the Best Regional Roots Music Album category, C.J. Chenier…
Allison de Groot (clawhammer banjo) & Tatiana Hargreaves (fiddle, vocals) are an old-time duo that creates a sound that is adventurous, masterful and original, as they expand on the eccentricities of these old songs while never losing sight of what makes them endure. Please note: To ensure the well-being of our patrons, artists, and staff,…
Lakou Mizik is a multigenerational collective of Haitian musicians formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The group includes elder legends and rising young talents, united in a mission to honor the healing spirit of their culture and communicate a message of pride, strength, and hope to their countrymen and the world. Lakou…
REINECKE Trio for Oboe, Horn, and Piano, Opus 188 MOZART Quintet for Winds and Piano in E-flat Major, K. 452 INTERMISSION BRAHMS Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in E-flat Major, Opus 120, No. 2 BEETHOVEN Quintet for Winds and Piano in E-flat Major, Opus 16 The Academy of St Martin in the Fields was…
Lakou Mizik is a multigenerational collective of Haitian musicians formed in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake. The group includes elder legends and rising young talents, united in a mission to honor the healing spirit of their culture and communicate a message of pride, strength and hope to their countrymen and the world. Lakou…
Jon Cleary’s work pays obvious homage to the classic Crescent City keyboard repertoire created by such icons as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Dr. John, and James Booker – while also using it as a launching pad for a style that incorporates such other diverse influences as ’70s soul and R&B,…
Cedric Burnside still lives on several acres not far from the Holly Springs, Mississippi, home where he was raised by “Big Daddy,” his grandfather, the late singer/songwriter/guitarist R.L. Burnside. Cedric was literally born to the blues, more specifically, the “rhythmically unorthodox” Hill country variant which emerged from Mississippi, where he grew up surrounded (and influenced)…
Pianist Emmet Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age 3. In 2011, he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. He recently won the Cole Porter Fellowship, which is awarded every four years by the American Pianists Association. In addition to leading his own trio (with Russell Hall and Kyle Poole),…
For over 30 years, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out have been touring and releasing great, original bluegrass music. After spending a handful of formative years as a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (and recording some legendary bluegrass music in the process), Russell Moore formed IIIrd Tyme Out in 1991 and bluegrass music hasn’t…
Pianist Emmet Cohen began Suzuki method piano instruction at age 3. In 2011, he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. He recently won the Cole Porter Fellowship, which is awarded every four years by the American Pianists Association. In addition to leading his own trio (with Russell Hall and Kyle Poole), Cohen is…
For over 30 years, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out have been touring and releasing great, original bluegrass music. After spending a handful of formative years as a member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver (and recording some legendary bluegrass music in the process), Russell Moore formed IIIrd Tyme Out in 1991 and bluegrass music hasn’t…
In a first for the SMF chamber music series, we travel to the magnificent surroundings of the Metal Building at Trustees’ Garden, for a program of fantasy and drama. In a semi-staged, partly programmatic concert, Impressionist France meets the mysterious world of Edgar Allan Poe, with a reading of Poe’s macabre tale “The Masque of…
This one-time-only bill showcases several giants of the six-string. Formed in 2004, the John Jorgenson Quintet is the only American act to ever headline the prestigious Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in France. While the band’s style has been called “Gypsy Jazz” for its dynamic string-driven swing sound based on the music played by Django Reinhardt…
This one-time-only bill showcases several giants of the six-string. Formed in 2004, the John Jorgenson Quintet is the only American act to ever headline the prestigious Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in France. While the band’s style has been called “Gypsy Jazz” for its dynamic string-driven swing sound based on the music played by Django Reinhardt…
Based on a mutual love of bluegrass, country, blues, western swing, and string band music of all kinds, Dobro and lap steel specialist Rob Ickes and acoustic/electric guitarist Trey Hensley formed a partnership in 2015 after their debut album, Before The Sun Goes Down, was nominated for a Grammy. Since then, the duo has performed…
In this palindromic program we are treated to arguably two of the greatest Piano Quintets ever composed. Much has been written and discussed concerning the fascinating relationship between Brahms and Schumann (and indeed Clara Schumann’s involvement) and whilst that aspect adds an interesting twist to proceedings, ultimately the music of these two great masters is…
There is perhaps no better way to conclude the chamber music series for 2022 than a special concert dedicated to the great master Ludwig van Beethoven. Arguably one of the greatest exponents of the chamber music medium, the program opens with his electric and fiery C Major String Quintet, affectionately known as “The Storm.” It…
A compelling fusion of dance, call-and-response singing, and percussion (consisting of hand-clapping and beating a stick on the floor), the ring shout tradition of the Georgia and South Carolina coast has African origins but also contains strong elements of Christian belief. NEA National Heritage Fellows the McIntosh County Shouters are the foremost practitioners of this…
MOZART Piano Sonata in C Major, K. 545, I. Allegro (04:29) NYMAN 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer, K1 (03:47) MOZART Piano Sonata in C Major, K. 330, II. Andante cantabile (06:12) NYMAN 6 Piano Pieces for Sebastian Knauer, K2 (04:06) MOZART Piano Sonata in F Major, K. 332, III. Allegro assai (04:56) NYMAN 6…
In this co-bill, two distinct storytelling traditions come together in the desert blues and tende of Niger and the blues of the American South. Les Filles de Illighadad come from a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. Fatou Seidi Ghali, lead vocalist and guitarist,…
In this co-bill, two distinct storytelling traditions come together in the desert blues and tende of Niger and the blues of the American South. Les Filles de Illighadad come from a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. Fatou Seidi Ghali, lead vocalist and guitarist,…
Les Filles de Illighadad come from a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. Fatou Seidi Ghali, lead vocalist and guitarist, is one of the only female Tuareg guitarists in Niger. Les Filles de Illighadad perform tende music, a traditional form dominated by women and…
In our second of three distinctly different celebrations for the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, mandolinists Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg will play a program from their rich duet repertoire. Beethoven wrote four pieces for mandolin and Mrs. Lichtenberg performs two of these accompanied by Adam Jaffe on fortepiano. These works were written…
Don’t miss this powerhouse bluegrass co-bill on opening night! Balsam Range is the 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year and has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 8 critically-acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences…
Don’t miss this powerhouse bluegrass co-bill on opening night! Balsam Range is the 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, and has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 8 critically-acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences…
Called “one of the most exceptional violinists and fiddlers of his generation” by WGBH, Grammy-nominated violinist and composer Jeremy Kittel’s music inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities. According to The Bluegrass Situation, Kittel & Co. has “accomplished a feat of new acoustic, string band-rooted…
Called “one of the most exceptional violinists and fiddlers of his generation” by WGBH, Grammy-nominated violinist and composer Jeremy Kittel’s music inhabits the space between classical and acoustic roots, Celtic and bluegrass aesthetics, and folk and jazz sensibilities. According to The Bluegrass Situation, Kittel & Co. has “accomplished a feat of new acoustic, string band-rooted…
Celebrated harpist Bridget Kibbey and the renowned Dover Quartet are collaborating for the first time in a celebration of the “father” of all Western composers, J.S. Bach. An acclaimed soloist and chamber musician who has toured and recorded with Dawn Upshaw and Placido Domingo, Bridget Kibbey brings virtuosic brilliance and musical charisma to her performances….
Representing the new generation of Cajun musicians, The Revelers blend the fundamental elements of Cajun music with pop, rock, and R&B to create their signature brand of Louisiana-bred party music. Between them, Blake Miller (accordion), Chas Justus (guitar), Daniel Coolik (fiddle, guitar), Chris Miller (saxophone), Trey Boudreaux (bass), and Glenn Fields (drums) are connected with…
Representing the new generation of Cajun musicians, The Revelers blend the fundamental elements of Cajun music with pop, rock, and R&B to create their signature brand of Louisiana-bred party music. Between them, Blake Miller (accordion), Chas Justus (guitar), Daniel Coolik (fiddle, guitar), Chris Miller (saxophone), Trey Boudreaux (bass), and Glenn Fields (drums) are connected with…
Founded in 2000 by composer-arranger Oscar Hernández, the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra is one of the most formidable, thrilling and authentic Latin jazz collectives working today. Born into a large Puerto Rican family living in the Bronx, near Spanish Harlem, Hernández started playing trumpet at age 12, then switched to piano. By the 1970s, he…
With a vivid onstage presence, dazzling technique, and keen musicianship, Russian-American pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation. She was born into a family of musicians in Russia and began studying piano at the age of five, and at seventeen was awarded first prize at the Rachmaninoff…
Christian McBride is a six-time Grammy Award-winning bassist/composer, the host of NPR’s Jazz Night in America, and artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival. Since the early 1990’s Christian McBride has recorded on over 300 dates as a sideman. However, he’s been a leader from his debut recording in 1995. Aside from various stints with…
Founded in 2000 by composer-arranger Oscar Hernández, the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra is one of the most formidable, thrilling and authentic Latin jazz collectives working today. Born into a large Puerto Rican family living in the Bronx, near Spanish Harlem, Hernández started playing trumpet at age 12, then switched to piano. By the 1970s, he…
Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honour of the Irish god Lugh, Lúnasa was formed in 1997 by members of some of the greatest Irish groups of the previous decade. An early review from Folk Roots magazine described the band as an “Irish music dream team.” From the start, the band’s complex arrangements…
In the first of two contrasting programs featuring French music, we hear two fabulous Piano Quartets, one by Saint-Saëns and one by Fauré, interspersed with the colorful and humorous classic Carnival of the Animals. The original idea was to feature Saint-Saëns in 2021 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death, and although we weren’t…
A rising star of the explosive and multi-dimensional Colombian music scene, Diana Burco is a singer-songwriter and accordion player. A native of Bucaramanga in the Andes mountains district of Santander, Burco has played and investigated Colombia’s traditional music since she was a child. She has traveled throughout Colombia searching out the country’s varied forms and…
A rising star of the explosive and multi-dimensional Colombian music scene, Diana Burco is a singer-songwriter and accordion player. A native of Bucaramanga in the Andes mountains district of Santander, Burco has played and investigated Colombia’s traditional music since she was a child. She has traveled throughout Colombia searching out the country’s varied forms and…
An SMF Encore Production Perhaps best known as the bassist for The Meters, George Porter, Jr. is one of the progenitors of the modern funky New Orleans sound. During the course of a career spanning more than four decades, Porter has worked with a galaxy of stars including Paul McCartney, Jimmy Buffett, David Byrne,…
