Both days from noon until 3pm we have
an open mic. Sign up sheet near the stage. Come and enjoy yourself
on
stage
in front of a captive lunchtime audience!
| |
Saturday, June 16th |
Sunday, June 17th |
| noon -3pm |
Open Mic |
Open Mic |
| 3:00 |
Caravan
Eclectic Berkeley-based quartet serves
up friendly mix of gypsy/ raga/ Latin/ Dead influenced originals |
J Byrd Hosch Trio
This classic country songster from Crosby,
Texas is ever bit as sweet as sweet potato pie. Whether singing
songs that pine for
her cowgirl sweetheart or telling of the simple pleasures of
daily life, J Byrd’s winning stage presence and gorgeous
voice are sure to win your heart. |
| 3:30 |
Mamadou and Vanessa
Award-winning duo mix the sound of the Wassoulou region of Mali
with contemporary American folk. Mamadou is a master of a number
of African stringed instruments and sings in a soft soulful voice.
Vanessa adds sweet harmonies and steady Latin-influenced percussion. |
Back40
Kyra Brown and the boys play energetic country bluegrass originals.
Featuring mandolin, accordion and lively vocals. |
| 4:00 |
Moh Alileche Ensemble
Moh sings passionate traditional songs
of protest in his native Amazigh (Berber) language, accompanied
on the 10-stringed mandol.
Spell-binding and hypnotic. Hearing Moh with his full 6 piece ensemble
live (including banjo, flute, violin, and percussion) is the best
way to experience the driving intensity of this music. His voice
is rich and dynamic; his mandol playing is fluid and intense.
As the pace quickens, band members accent the songs with the characteristic
high keening cries of celebration. Sure to be one of the festival
highlights. Hear
Moh on NPR. |
The Faux Hawaiians
A South Bay based Quartet that plays Vintage Hawaiian Hapa Haole
music, Hot Jazz, and Blues of the 1920s and 1930s. Hot sounds
from the Jazz Age for your afternoon enjoyment! |
| 4:30 |
Ben
Sildelinger of The Shiftless
Rounders
Phill Saylor Wisor and Ben Sildelinger
are a bango/slide-guitar duo reared in the wilds of Maine, now
residing
in Washington state. Somewhere along the they got exposed to the
haunting music of The Old, Weird America (as Greil Marcus likes
to call it). With tight old time harmonies and inspired musicianship,
these fellas explore and deepen the traditional folk sound. Their
covers of the old classics sound like out-takes from the O Brother
Where Art Thou sessions. Their self-penned songs head in a more
Towns Van Zandt, Bob Dylan direction. The result is distinctive
and pleasing enough that one easily imagine this pair serving
as inspiration for an even younger generation of folk troubadours
down the road.
|
Craig Ventresco
Craig has been wowing guitar aficionados
and music lovers across the country nearly 20 years with his incomparable
ragtime and
blues finger-picking style . Robert Crumb once picked him as
one of the 4 best street players he’d ever seen. Featured
on the Crumb and Ghost World soundtracks. |
| 5:00 |
The Sick and Indigent Song Club of Dublin
So this young Dublin songwriter named Gary
FitzPatrick meets up with a young Scottish singer named Angie
McGlaughlin and they
quite by chance get tapped to lead the open mic at the Ha’Penny
Bridge Inn. You see, the normal host had flaked. Within a few
weeks, they and a few like-minded friends started packing the
place on a weekly basis with fans coming to hear their rich and
inspired take on old-time music. They play blues, country, folk,
sea shanties, gospel, burlesque and bluegrass with a vigor and
passion that is infectious. “By broadening their sound with
a range of instruments including ukulele, mandolin, harmonicas,
dobro and washboard, The Sick and Indigent Song Club create the
easy ambience of old time recordings while performing a mixture
of original, traditional and covers with rousing six piece harmonies.” They
bring a little piece of the burgeoning Dublin old time music scene
to our festival for a rare SF appearance. |
The Porchsteps
3 dewy-eyed youngsters from Oakland who
play folksy originals about romance and heartbreak. Yes, children.
Folk music is becoming
cool and sexy all over again. Who’d a thunk it? |
| 5:30 |
Bhi Bhiman
He is just a guy with a guitar when it
comes right down to it. And there are a million of them lately.
I call them The Songwriter
Army. Yet somehow just a few of seconds into one of his songs,
it is apparent that Bhi is not one of your run-of-the-mill songsters.
His voice is urgent and distinctive. It’s true, as his press
kit says, you can hear some Dylan and Bob Marley at times. But
I am reminded of more of Nina Simone, especially in his flair
for the dramatic and in his exceptional vocal range. And they
also share a barely contained outrage, especially when dealing
with social injustice and other global concerns. His songs deftly
mix observations of daily life, pop culture, and broader political
matters. He also has a playwright’s affection for words
and clever turns of phrases. Best of all, he wraps it all up in
a disarming sense of humor. |
Jenny Kerr
She’s blessed with a mighty pleasing
voice and a strong stage presence. A pleasing, eclectic collection
of Americana originals. Just back from their annual barnstorming
tour of Europe, where they are the toast of Antwerp and other
sophisticated localities! |
| 6:00 |
Big Bones
Big Bones has been a fixture of the Bay
Area blues scene for nearly 20 years. He is renown for his funky,
soulful harmonica and
distinctive gravel-voiced semi-rap vocals. He's
also played an important role in San Francisco blues history
through his work with the Blues in Schools program and his work
with local music legends, Paul Pena (Genghis Blues), Charlie
Musslewhite, and Marvin Seals. You’ll want to clap
your hands and dance to the beat with Big Bones rolls into the
Cafe.
|
Buxter Hootn
I can’t quite put my finger on
these guys. But I’ll
tell you what I know. They are Chicago-transplants that now
call SF their home. There are a whole mob of ‘em playing
fiddles, harmonicas, stand-up basses, acoustic guitars and bongos
and whatnot. They look like a scruffy grunge rock band and they
play with rock intensity, but what they play is most decidedly
folk. There is a bit of Garcia and Dylan I guess, but they don’t
quite sound like anybody I can recognize. Their songs start
out in a placid, unassuming gentle groove that builds wave upon
wave. Before you know it, they are all hunched over and digging
in deep with a disarming intensity that almost overwhelms the
tiny stages they play on. Catch them in a small venue while
you still can. |
| 6:30 |
The
Effects of Cable Television
LA-based Americana/folk group from Long
Beach with harmonica/ lap-steel nice vocals mix of trad and modern. |
Michael Gaither Band
A down home troubadour from Watsonville who sings good-natured
songs about cars, traveling on foot, mules, and other conveyances. |