Girlyman
with special guest Sara Cox
Saturday November 17 at 7:30 pm
After six years of living, playing and touring together, the chemistry between Doris, Ty, and Nate has never been
more evident. The members of Girlyman, all classically trained, trade off songwriting duties and a slew
of instruments including acoustic guitar, banjo, baritone guitar, djembe and mandolin. “We’re also big
harmony geeks,” adds Greenstein. “Our arrangements definitely reflect that.”
After releasing two CDs (Remember Who I Am and Little Star) on Amy Ray’s hugely respected indie
Daemon Records, the group decided to self-release their latest offering, Joyful Sign. The album is a showcase for memorable, well-crafted songs, graced by the group’s signature three-part harmonies.
Since touring with the Indigo Girls, Girlyman has become a national headlining act in its own right, selling
out major folk venues across the country, playing on internationally syndicated radio shows, and earning
the kind of loyal following that no record label can manufacture.
Tickets $15
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Mary McCaslin
Friday November 16 at 7:30 pm
Mary McCaslin represents an unbroken link between traditional American folksingers and today's "new folk" singer-songwriters. Known for her songs about the West, its landscape, and its outlaws as well as her insightful songs about relationships, Mary has influenced countless other performers. For many years before her current solo career, Mary toured with legendary singer Jim Ringer. Together they helped keep folk music on the map through some very lean years.
Mary was a pioneer of open tunings, using them long before they gained their current popularity. In addition to her flawless fingerpicking style on the guitar, Mary also plays "clawhammer" banjo using it to great (and unique) effect on such unlikely songs as "Blackbird" and "Pinball Wizard." These and other personalized arrangements of popular songs have consistently added to her appeal.
This performance is a benefit for WERU, Community Radio.
Tickets $15
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The Maine-iac
Friday and Saturday October 26 and 27 at 7:30 pm
The almost true story of Carlton Guptill and the Hackmatack Playhouse or "what happens when you mix a restless Maine dairy farmer with a barnyard of opinionated animals, a local Grange of panicked members and a couple of lost Extra Terrestrials?"
Carl Guptill was a Maine Renaissance man—farmer, historian, teacher, lobsterman, dairy man and political scientist. The only way he could have made less money was theater, so he gave it a try. The result was the Hackmatack Playhouse in Berwick, Maine and this is his story as written, produced, and acted by David Kay and David Durham
Using reverse chronology, “The Maine-iac” begins at curtain’s close. Carleton’s curtain speech sets the stage for his search for life’s meaning after the loss of his wife. The dairy man takes comfort and counsel in the form of a bovine confidant, Ethel, a tough cow from Jersey. Resolved to explore drama in its many forms, Carl’s quest for theater becomes his grail, the windmill at which he tilts. Unable to rope actual actors into making a musical version of “Oedipus,” Carl’s eager livestock create summer stock, much to the dismay the local Grange and a disgruntled pig whose sty becomes the dressing room... and that’s about as much as one can safely say without straining credibility.
The show’s full of rapid fire costume changes - the two actors play all twenty roles - great puns, summer theatre-goer in-jokes, snippets of Shakespeare, pop culture, and a whisper of vaudeville across the ages and stages. Think “Animal Farm” meets the Flying Karamazov Brothers meets “Little House on the Prairie”
Kaye and Allyn are both award-winning actors who have performed on television, film and on stages across the US. They have collaborated on many projects, including “The History of America, Abridged”, “Greater Tuna” and Kaye’s 2002 play “And God Said (@#$&*)”a Montreal Gazette “Top Ten Pick” at the Montreal International Fringe Festival. Kaye is a published playwright and was the winner of the 1998 Zornio Play Writing Prize. His work has also been broadcast on PBS.
Tickets $15 and $10 for students.
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Tree By Leaf
Friday October 12 at 7:30 pm
"With 2005’s Of the Black and Blue, Tree by Leaf went from an interesting folk trio living somewhere Downeast to one of the most respected groups of talent in New England,  with a following that began to span continents. The husband-and-wife vocals of Garrett and Siiri Soucy created an ethereal dreamland that alternatingly wrapped you in a warm embrace and forced you frigidly into a cold and driving rain, leaving the listener emotionally drained, but, like a drunk, willing to risk the hangover to go back for more." -- The Phoenix
Tree by Leaf is the unique synergy and musicianship of Garrett Soucy, whose songwriting taps at the pulse of the soul of human experience, but never dips into journal-entry pathos, Cliff Young, whose keyboards slide from roaring command to a mere hum of electricity, and Siiri Soucy, whose voice could draw a heart right out of its body.
Eric Sanders has added the primal rhythm to the latest cd, There is a Vine, as well as to the live shows this year. Migrated from New York, he left the world of the stage and nightclubs to become the backbone of the new TBL sound.
Tickets $10
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Old School Freight Train
Saturday September 29 at 8 pm
This young Charlottesville, VA based group starts out with bluegrass, blends in jazz, Celtic, and pop, and pushes the envelope from there.
Formed in 2000, 
OSFT released their first self-titled record in 2002. The Independent Music Awards picked up on their compelling sound and chose them as finalists for best bluegrass album of the year. With an increase in touring after the release of this record, the band began to establish their identity within the acoustic music world.
Mandolin master David Grisman heard their music in the fall of 2004 and invited the band to record at his Dawg Studios in Northern California where he produced Run, OSFT's dynamic second CD and their first for Acoustic Disc, Grisman's acclaimed independent label.
OSFT is banjoist Ben Krakauer, mandolinist Pete Frostic, vocalist and guitarist Jesse Harper, bassist Darrell Muller, and fiddler Nate Leath.
Tickets $15
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Giveway
Sunday September 23 at 7:30 pm
It is a rare thing when one family produces four musically talented siblings
whose skills and versatility are at a level capable of taking the international
music scene by storm. Giveway is a band with that capability.
Formed in 1998 the group comprises four sisters –
Fiona Johnson, an accomplished fiddle player, vocalist, guitarist, pianist and whistle player; Kirsty Johnson, a skilled pianist, accordion player andsinger; Amy Johnson, a talented drummer and accordion player; and Mairi Johnson, an accomplished piano and keyboard player, vocalist and bass player.
The musical diversity of the group encompasses Scottish traditional and folk music, with haunting airs and lively jigs, energetic blends of folk-jazz, spine-tingling vocals, exquisite harmonies and bold tunes guaranteed to put a smile on your face and stay in your head.
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Mem Shannon
Monday August 20 at 7:30 pm
There’s the entire New Orleans musical tradition, and then there’s Mem Shannon. Clean, simple but transcending genres, he channels the spirits that inspired Fats Domino, Prof. Longhair, the Funky Meters and The Neville Brothers. I’m From Phunkville is the fifth album by a man whose day job was his night gig. For 15 years starting at age 22 he drove a cab in the heart of New Orleans ’ French Quarter from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.
In the decade since Mem Shannon broke onto the scene, he’s expanded the definition of blues. He’s toured the world, performing at prestigious festivals such as King Biscuit Blues Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival. He’s shared the Kennedy Center stage with Gregg Allman, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor and John Hiatt in a Muddy Waters tribute. He’s performed shows with Robert Cray, Karl Denson, Taj Mahal, Toots & The Maytals, and RL Burnside.
He was also been asked to perform at the prestigious New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival for 12 years straight. At the height of his talents, this Crescent City original is still educating the rest of the world on what New Orleans musicians already know. Good music cannot be constrained by form.
Mem was nominated for Soul Blues Album of the Year and Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year 2006 Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards).
“The great blues musicians were also poet-philosophers – to listen to Willie Dixon, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Bessie Smith, or Robert Johnson is to hear stark truths sung in the wilderness of human emotion – and Mem Shannon has a chance to join the pantheon of blues greatness.” Easy Reader, April 14, 2005
This performance is a benefit for Kellie Thornhill. Join us for a potluck dinner starting at 6 pm.
Tickets $15
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April Verch
Thursday August 16 at 8 pm 
A performer since early childhood, April Verch launched her professional career by winning the Canadian Grand Masters Fiddle Championship and Canadian Open Fiddle Championship (the first and only female to win both). She has since applied her formidable technique to encompas a wide range of styles. Her previous three Rounder albums were marked by convincing forays into old-time string band music, Brazilian rhythms, and contemporary instrumentals and originals. Her latest album Take Me Back, produced by Dirk Powell, boasts a similarly eclectic range.
When you see twenty-seven year old April Verch perform, the first thing that strikes you is the pure energy that infuses her fiddle playing and stepdancing. When you listen to Take Me Back, though, what draws you in are more subtle things-her confident, winsome singing, the finely detailed elegance of her fiddle phrasing and the depth of a repertoire that ranges through material from Americana mainstays Buddy and Julie Miller, to simple country songs and rollicking tunes from her native Ottawa Valley to sparkling original instrumentals.
Tickets $15
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Bryan Lee
Sunday August 12 at 7:30 pm 
Bryan Lee is a true New Orleans name with over 30 years performing on Bourbon Street. Bryan is a unique presence in the blues touring circuit. A true grit blues show as fun to watch, as it is to hear. An accomplished songwriter and guitarist with several well distributed and critically acclaimed recordings. 60 years old, blind and still a dominating image in any festival. Bryan has recently gotten a lot of air play as the featured single on Kenny Wayne Shepherd's 10 Days Out CD/DVD.
Tickets $15
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The Greencards
Friday August 10 at 8 pm
When speed doesn't kill, it can thrill, and the lightning-strike success of The Greencards has been decidedly of the latter variety.  Four short years ago, a green card was an immigration document. Now The Greencards are an acoustic music phenomenon that's played around the world, headlined major festivals, won awards, and toured with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. In March, their latest album, Viridian, hit #1 on the Billboard bluegrass chart.
These new stars of Americana aren't American. McLoughlin is English. Warner and Young are Australians. But all three grew up in households full of honest American roots music, from Merle, Lefty, Ricky, Dolly, Loretta and their blessed ilk.
"This imported trio is creating some of the finest Americana around." – RollingStone.com
Tickets $15
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Cara
with special guests The Rowan Brothers
Saturday August 4 at 8 pm
"Anam Cara" is Irish for "soulmates", "Cara" means "friend".
Cara is a recently (2003) formed band, rooted in Irish and Scottish traditional music, but with ambitions to create a new and unique sound. Each of the four musicians has made a name for themselves at home and abroad through their involvement in various projects and got together in this line-up to create the music of their dreams. CARA members have played with More Maids, Adaro, DeReelium, Steampacket, La Marmotte - not including countless guest studio and stage appearances. Cara, is a band that is on a level with the best of the best in Irish music today. Whether it is doing very authentic traditional styles, or soaring to new heights with a very original song, this band knows its stuff.
Tickets $15
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Cabin Dogs
Friday July 27 at 8 pm
"The Cabin Dogs' newest release, Electric Cabin, is a pure joy to experience: at times sounding like classic groups Poco or The Band and at other times jam bands like Phish or Assembly of Dust. Their music is feel-good contagious and is sure to put a smile on your face and get your feet tapping. The heart of the band are the Kwait brothers Rich and Rob: they share vocal duties, play guitars, bass, banjo, and harp, and wrote all of the songs except "One Of These Days" (one of the best covers of a Neil Young song evah)! I really love "Settle Down", "Phoenicia", "Golden Rule", and "Inspiration". Watch for these guys' music to be moving up in the Americana charts" ...
Brother Al - WERU 89.9 FM.
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The Toughcats
with special guests The Rowan Brothers
Friday July 20 at 8 pm
 A three piece indie folk band from the Fox Islands in Penobscot Bay,
the Toughcats lend a contemporary and interesting feel to Scruggs-style bluegrass, deep South ragtime, and singer-songwritery folk that shows a great feel for songwriting and fine musicianship.
The trio showcases Jake Greenlaw on suitcase, percussion and vocals; Colin Gulley on banjo, mandolin and vocals; and Joe Nelson on guitar and lead vocals.
Though you might peg them as a bluegrass band, the Tough Cats have just as much Tom Waits as twang in their sound. Their second album, 2006’s "Pinata," combines old-timey picking with a rock edge, all buoyed by a sense of humor, some wicked vocal harmonies and a whole lot of energy.
Net proceeds from this performance will benefit Friends of Unity Wetlands
Tickets $15
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Women's Works
Friday and Saturday July 13 and 14 at 7:30 pm
For the second year, Unity Centre for the performing arts will host this unique and original evening of dance. This performance is presented by all women. In addition to three local professional performers, Shana Bloomstein, Helena Melone and Kateina Keller, there are two artist joining them again from New York City. Jesse Phillips-Fein and Sarah Sibley have been dancing professionally in NYC for the past 8 years and will perform original solo works and collaborate with local artist to create new works for this show. This performance will incorporate many idioms of dance including, Modern, Middle Eastern, West African, Ballet and Flamenco. Please come experience the beauty and richness of movement.
Tickets $15
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The Mammals
Friday June 22 at 8 pm
Here's what folks are saying about The Mammals:
“When The Mammals took the stage at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in September, it was easy to mistake them for a bluegrass band . . . instead all five musicians attacked the old fiddle tune at once, hooting and hollering, pushing the beat and improvising simultaneously. They sounded like an inspired garage-rock band using hillbilly instruments.” - New York Times
The Mammals "create a collectively harmonized howl as thrilling and rocking as any band currently subverting folk traditions." – No Depression
“Combining a modern pop sensibility with organic musical honesty, you hear everything from string sections to claw-hammer banjo. The band's ability to unite disparate forms to create fresh amalgamations makes them special among the young bands.” – Vintage Guitar
“The Mammals are the finest young bluegrass/old-timey band in the country, the country-branch house band for the new weird America. They perform total energy, off-kilter folk that more resembles the twisted quirk of the Holy Modal Rounders than the clean jeans or alter-ninnies currently clawhammering banjos.” LA Weekly
Opening for The Mammals will be the Toughcats.
Tickets $15&
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Feufollet
Friday June 8 at 8 pm
Formed in 1995 when accordionist/singer Chris Stafford was 8 and fiddler Chris Segura was 11, Feufollet quickly became known as one of the most exciting Cajun bands in Louisiana, not because of their youth but because of their obvious musical ability and the vivacity with which they approached the traditional music of the area. The musical core formed by Stafford's accordion and Segura's fiddle and their combined interest in giving breath to old songs has remained the same. Singer Anna Laura Edmiston, a native French speaker who grew up in Montreal and Louisiana, brings passion and talent to the songs she sings and guitarist Josh Caffery, formerly of The Red Stick Ramblers, adds the ingredient of strong acoustic and electric lead guitar to Feufollet's sound. The rhythm section, anchored by the furiously solid drumming of Stafford's younger brother Michael and Taylor Guarisco's exuberantly funky bass lines, has never been tighter.
“They're just really a hot, young group….their music is made for dancing; its hard to stay in your seat.”
Tickets $15
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Two Old Friends: Mac McHale and Emery Hutchins
Friday March 30 at 7:30 pm
McHale and Hutchins, affectionately known at Mac & Hutch, have recently joined forces to sing and play songs from Ireland, the mountains and the sea. They traveled and recorded with The Winds for 18 years.
For the past 17 years, McHale has led a Mac McHale & the Old Time Radio Gang. Hutchins has been an important part of the Angel Band, a world famous Irish music group.
They will be performing some of their favorites from The Northeast Winds as well as some very old-time traditional country music. Instruments featured will include the banjo, guitar, mandolin, concertina, bodran and the octave mandolin. The program is sure to include some hot picking instrumentals and sing-a-longs.
Tickets $10
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Cynthia MacLeod and Gordon Belsher
Thursday March 15 at 7 pm
Prince Edward Island's Cynthia MacLeod has been making waves in Atlantic Canada's Celtic music scene.
Now 18 years old, Cynthia has made quite a name for herself. Since her first performance at Avonlea Village in Cavendish, PEI when she was 13 years old, she has performed for audiences throughout Canada. She has performed with the likes of Buddy MacMaster, Wayne Rostad, Slainte Mhath and Ashley MacIsaac, to name a few.
Her dynamic, high energy performances and sparkling stage presence, as well as her wildly popular debut CD "Head Over Heels", released in May 2002, have received rave reviews.
Gordon Belsher is the Reel thing. On the strength of his "Reel in the Flickering Light" CD, he was honoured with a nomination for "Roots/Traditional Solo Artist of the Year" at the 2003 East Coast Music Awards in Halifax.
Together they offer a lively and engaging stage show filled with singable tunes and the pure joy of entertaining.
Tickets $12
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Beolach
Thursday March 8 at 7:30 pm
Beolach is a Gaelic word meaning ‘lively youth’, and it fits well, since the band is one of Cape Breton’s most exciting new young bands. Featuring piano, pipes, whistles, guitar and two fiddles, they perform a very energetic mix of Cape Breton, Scottish, and Irish tunes. This is a captivating Celtic performance which includes showing off their versatility as stepdances, a witty presentation, and a wonderfully energetic live show....a real crowd pleaser!
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Hot Strings
Saturday February 17 at 7:30 pm
The Hot Strings high energy, eclectic approach includes elements of Jazz, Bluegrass, Celtic, Reggae, and Newgrass. Their third CD "Uncharted," released in April of 2005, was produced by produced by Newgrass Revival legend Pat Flynn. 
The band has been together for eleven years although the oldest member is 23 years old. Josiah was the 1998 Colorado State champion at age 14, and won the National Mandolin championship in 2000 at age 16. Carson was crowned Colorado state fiddle champion in 1998 at age 12! Their first "paying gig" was playing for tips, at the bus stop, at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival(1996). Four years later they opened that festival.
"The quartet is burning with youthful enthusiasm, playing with a ferocious intensity and unbridled imagination—traversing various genres and the sound barrier with heart and soul." -- Dave Higgs in Bluegrass Now Magazine.
Tickets $15
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Eric Lindell Band
Saturday January 27 at 7:30 pm
California-born, New Orleans-schooled singer/songwriter/vocalist Eric Lindell is a roots rocker with dozens of original songs that combine soul-shaking rhythm & blues, reggae grooves, swamp pop and blues. Lindell is a fan favorite in his northern California turf and his adopted home of New Orleans (where he was featured on the cover of OffBeat magazine and performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival). He is accomplished on guitar, harmonica, keyboards and bass, and has performed with some of the Crescent City's top musicians as well as some of the jam band community's biggest names (including members of Galactic).
His new release Change in the Weather is full of delights and surprises. The laid-back grooves and hook-laden melodies hint of 1970's-era Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen, but are not throwbacks as much as they are powerful, rootsy, thought-provoking and danceable contemporary songs. Traces of Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Ray Charles and Sly And The Family Stone can be found in Eric's originals, with foot-stomping grooves coming around every corner and horns punching in all the right places. Guests on the CD include War drummer Harold Brown, Ivan Neville and Galactic’s Stanton Moore.
Tickets $20
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Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams
Friday January 12 at 7:30 pm
In 1998 The Circus emerged from the misty hills of Sleepy Hollow, New York with their stunning self-produced debut release, "A Good Thief Tips His Hat".  The quirky quartet then began touring throughout the northeast and rapidly developed a fiercely loyal, all-ages following. Featured recently in Relix Magazine, the New York Times and on the CBS hit show, Joan of Arcadia, the band's charismatic live performances and whimsical blend of folk, rock, hillbilly and pop have simply captivated audiences and critics alike.
The music of Slambovia has been described as "Hillbilly-Floyd, folk-pop", "alt-country roots-rock, and "surreal Americana". Yet as earthy as their music seems, The Circus has a spiritual side - "Talkin' to the Buddha," "Call to the Mystic," "Living with God," "Flapjacks from the Sky". Dancing freely between existing religious and philosophical mythologies, their music is not only uplifting and empowering but fun, a lot of fun.
Tickets $15
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