JouJou
Jennifer Tait, Kalonica McQuesten, Cynthia Vazquez
are three women in San Francisco who sing songs that hail from the rich
and passionate
folk traditions of the world, including the Gypsy/Eastern European
diaspora. JouJou's music can range in mood from poignant to comically
raucous, and leap from rich lyrical harmonies to mysterious eerie
dissonance in a heartbeat. Fans of Kitka and wonderful acapella
singing in general won’t want to miss this.
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The Chris Cotton
Trio
Calling what Chris does blues music might give people the wrong idea.
It bears little resemblance to the urban blues music of today, with its
shrill whining electric guitars and dull thudding bass lines. This sound
is raw, percussive and decidedly more rooted in the earlier folk blues
sound of Blind Willie McTell and Gary Davis. Though he does some enlightened
covers featuring deft Piedmont-style finger-picking, Chris is mainly known
for his original songs, some of which deal with the hard scrabble realities
of living at the economic fringes of society and some of which just want
to get the party started. |
Down Not Out
High energy acoustic Americana. These fellows
love old time folk and it shows. There’s a definite Jerry Garcia influence in the sweet
harmonies and the swift, flowing mandolin and guitar picking. The core
of DNO is founding members Andrew Freeman and Eric Kurztrock. Around them
gather a collection of some of the Bay Area’s finest, including
Brad Russell and Choco Jacques from the Waybacks. They attract the best
players because their vocals, arrangements, and musicianship are of the
highest order. I dare you not to be blown away!
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Calaveras
Fans of the easy listening modern folk sounds of James Taylor and Peter,
Paul, and Mary will love this acclaimed Bay Area trio. Their award-winning
songs have won them fans across the country and have been featured in
films and on television. The vocals are clear and commanding. The picking
is clean and exemplary. The songs are well-crafted and easy on the ears
and psyche. Their live performances flow with the grace and ease of the
Sierra river of the same name. |
Swing Theory
Kerry Parker (exciting, lyrical fiddling), and
her fellow swing scientists, Tom Murrary (Django gypsy guitar stylings),
Hal Glatzer (old-fashioned,
ultra-modernist guitar and vocal accompaniment) , and Myron Grossman (venerable
upright bass stalwart) love the mid-Twentieth Century pop standards. They
play with the old gems with verve and conviction, while approaching these
classics with a decidedly modern touch. These long-time Folk Clubbers
have been delighting SF Folk Festival crowds with their jamming in the
hallways for years, and now it's your chance to enjoy them on the
big stage. |
East Bay Harmony Chorus
Directed by Mark Bernfield, this joyful, large, long-lasting acapella
Oakland group does folk to madrigals to jazz to rock, with numerous soloists. |
Culann’s Hounds
This young quintet plays traditional Irish folk
music with fire and intensity. After 5 years of honing its chops at the
Blackthorn Tavern in SF’s Inner Sunset, the Hounds are taking their
act on the road, wowing Irish music lovers coast to coast. They specialize
in presenting the old chestnuts in dynamic new arrangements. But what
really makes their rabid fans go wild is their high energy, dynamic stage
show. Come see why they are being hailed as one of the best traditional
music bands in America today. |
Faith Petric
Faith is the SF Folk Music Club’s resident
nonagenarian agitating folksinger. I think it’s safe to say she’s
the only performer gracing our stage that was born in a log cabin. Heck,
with a resume like
that she could run for president (and probably should). Luckily for us
she would rather spend her time performing and spreading her love of folk
music. She has done more than any one in town, through the bi-monthly
song swaps she hosts and through her performances, to introduce and, in
some cases, rekindle an interest in social singing and folk music. She’s
well-known as a walking music library because she knows so many songs.
But this is not a dusty collection of museum pieces. In Faith’s
hands, these songs remain warm and alive, and sound as fresh as when first
sung. But it’s the way she connects with an audience that remains
her greatest gift. There’s some special alchemy at work here: the
huge smile, the tilt of the head, the way she looks right at you as if
she’s singing just for you (fledgling performers take note!). The
woman knows how to work a room. I’ve watched her take the noisiest,
wildest, hipper-than-thou Haight Street crowd and have them as gentle
as lambs before the first song was through. This year marks Faith return
after far too long an absence. She will close out the festival on Sunday
on the stage that now bears her name. SF Chronicle article |
Grupo Germinal
This 7 piece San Jose ensemble takes listeners on a stirring guided tour
through Latin American folk music and Nueva Cancion. Their varied repertoire
includes Mexican corridos, Colombian cumbias, and music from the Andes.
The arrangements draw on an extensive selection of instruments including
guitar, charango, Venezuelan cuatro, flute, quena, and several types of
indigenous percussion such as the Andean charchas and Aztec teponazxtle. |
Yore Folk Dance Ensemble
As the first nonprofit Turkish folkdance troupe
in the Bay Area, Yore has quickly developed to be the main center of teaching
and learning ethnic folkdances from Turkey. Yore, participated in
numerous local and international festivals. In it's third year of Stanford
Turkish folk dance group operation, Yore secured one of 24 slots out of
nearly 120 dance companies and made its debut in the San Francisco Ethnic
Dance Festival in 2004. (www.worldartswest.org) Yore dancers also organized
a one-time show in March called "Anatolian Spirit: The Journey of
Dance", at Pleasanton/California (www.anatolianspirit.org) December
9th, 2006Yore collaborate with Ahmet Luleci and his group Collage and
organized a major show called "Moon Fire/Anatolian Rhythms" in
San Francisco. |
Elaine Dempsey and friends
This group incorporates music in the acoustic
traditions with gospel music sensibilities. Elaine is joined by members
of the St. Andrew
Presbyterian Choir of Marin City, CA; in the presentation of original
songs as well as songs of others that inspire and continue to create
change in the world around. Elaine is a member of the nationally
touring acoustic trio “Big Wide Grin”. Ann Jefferson
has performed with Big Wide Grin, Linda Tillery & Lighthouse
Singers of Marin. Ann is a Bay Area treasure in the world arrangements,
composition and teaching of of music in the gospel and spiritual
tradition. Lauretta Williams and Delores Talley bring rich vocals
that elevate the message of the song to another level. Michael Cobbina
is the newest member of this group (previously known as the St.
Andrew Sisters). His percussive magic brings the heartbeat into
the song.
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Sauce Piquante
At the mere mention of their name, the 2-step aficionados
start salivating and grab their dancing shoes. Could get slippery! Anyone
who enjoys a
good ol’ raucous music time will not want to miss these purveyors
of classic Cajun/Creole tunes. They spice things up with a healthy portion
of accordion and some mellow fiddle for sweetening. Just the recipe for
a spirited celebration of tradition French Louisiana music culture. Allons
danser!. |
Folk This!
Back in the heyday of 1940s/1950s coffeehouse folk
scene, a trio of songsters belting out labor classics like Banks of Marble
wouldn’t
have raised an eyebrow. In today’s jaded, media-saturated
times, Folk This’s back-to-the-basics style is, well, just
what the shop steward ordered. These 3 longtime political activist/music-makers,
Susan Appe, Marcus Duskin, and Ramsey Kaanan, perform their favorite songs
of struggle and revolution with gusto and verve. They’ll
make you want to pull out your Little Red Songbook and sing along!
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Karpov
Karpov is a quintet of young American-born musicians
with roots in Eastern Europe now living in SF’s Mission District.
You can hear the influence of gypsy and klezmer, thanks to the driving
accordion and clarinet, in the dark swirling melodies of their songs.
But there is a country bluesy feel as well. Throw in a little of Tom Wait’s
avant pop sound for good measure and you’ll start to get an idea
of this band’s unique klezmer folk rock cabaret sound. It’s
no easy trick to blend all these influences, but Andre’s songs have
immediate appeal and stay with long after hearing them. The songs are
by turns rye and intensely personal, filled at times with some pretty
dark, gritty imagery. But he has a knack for writing catchy melodies,
and there’s a warm humanity flowing through these songs that gives
them immediate appeal. Hear what NPR
has to say about them. |
World Harmony Chorus
Founded by Daniel Steinberg in 1999, the World
Harmony Chorus is a community chorus that performs songs from around
the world. The chorus is based in Mountain View and Oakland, and is
welcome to singers of all ages and experience levels. |
Dunsmuir Scottish Country
Dancers |
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