23

456777

Jeff Black

The Barn Birds (Jonathan Byrd & Chris Kokesh)

Dar Williams

The Stray Birds

John Wort Hannam

Jesse Terry

Rebecca Frazier

Drew Nelson

When you hear artists sing the praises of an audience during a concert, you may be inclined to think it’s part of their nightly shtick – just scripted banter designed to generate applause and appreciation.

But as the Six String Concerts board travels to our annual talent-scouting expedition at the International Folk Alliance Conference, we’re struck by the number of artists, managers, and booking agents who seek us out to tell us we’re truly a “Great Gig”.

These industry insiders say the Six String experience is a highlight of their tour, and how much they would love to return. From the initial booking inquiry, to the moment they arrive at the theater for load-in, to the morning after the concert when they hit the road, artists are given the star treatment – which is far from a regular occurrence in this genre.

Above all, it’s you – our enduring musical FRPPXQLW\��EXLOW�IURP�RXU�ÀUVW�FRQFHUW�LQ�1988 – that makes the experience so special:

• Our Audience – a knowledgeable, appreciative group that sticks with us through the years, shares concerts with your friends, and trusts us to introduce you to new artists

• Our Sponsors & Supporters – who help keep our concerts affordable and accessible

• Our Volunteers – who work tirelessly to make it all possible

Thank you for helping Six String Concerts to grow into a nationally-recognized concert series known among the performing songwriter community as the gold standard of concert-presenting organizations. We wouldn’t be here without you.

IN THIS ISSUE

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SEPTEMBER 2013

www.SixString.org

This season promises more of what you’ve come to expect from Six String Concerts– WKH�ÀQHVW�RI�WKH�WULHG�DQG�WUXH�SHUIRUPLQJ�songwriters and introductions to the next generation of standout artists.

• Jeff Black – A burly, bare-knuckled, blue-collar son of the Missouri plains, with dark Irish blood.

• The Barn Birds – Stellar songwriting meets crystalline vocals.

• Dar Williams – A true leader of the new folk movement.

• The Stray Birds – Jaw-dropping harmonies, expert musicianship, heart-wrenching songs.

• John Wort Hannam – An award-winning Canadian troubadour.

Read on to learn more about these amazing artists. And check our website – www.SixString.org – for the second half of our season which includes the much-requested return of The Steel Wheels and Richard Shindell.

GET READY FOR OUR 26TH SEASON

THINGS TOREMEMBER...

TO PURCHASE TICKETSONLINE: www.SixString.org

MAIL: Send a check to...Six String ConcertsP.O. Box 9330Columbus, OH 43209-0330

DISCOUNTED STUDENT TICKETSStudents with a valid ID can purchase discounted tickets through any of the above methods. Be sure to mention \RX¶UH�D�VWXGHQW��DQG�KDYH�your ID ready at the door.

DISCOUNTED YOUTH TICKETSTo encourage all the future folk fans out there to nurture an impeccable taste in good music, we offer discounted tickets for everyone under 18!

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE��3XUFKDVH�WLFNHWV��/HDUQ�DERXW�XSFRPLQJ�VKRZV��9LHZ�FRQFHUW�SKRWRV��%URZVH�DQ�DUFKLYH�RI� past performances��/LQN�WR�DUWLVW�ZHEVLWHV� & song samples

www.SixString.org

Jeff Black digs into tough topics with a gentle heart. Yet there’s nothing predictable about a Jeff Black lyric other than it will be sung robustly, and it will head toward hope instead of dwelling on despair.

His live shows are funny, moving and equally unpredictable. As one reviewer has written, “What makes a Jeff Black record or show exciting is that, as a listener, you know the singer is there not to perform for you, but to take you on a journey with him.”

Black knew he wanted to be a musician even before he hit his teens. When he was only 10 years old, the Missouri native persuaded his parents to buy him a guitar. Over the next several years, between school and work, Black taught himself to SOD\��7KHQ��JDLQLQJ�FRQÀGHQFH�ZLWK�KLV�instrument of choice, he began writing and singing his own songs.

Though he took a variety of jobs – in warehouses, car washes and gas stations – music was never far from his side. While working as a bouncer at Blayney’s blues FOXE�LQ�.DQVDV�&LW\��%ODFN�JRW�KLV�ÀUVW�EUHDN�– taking the stage to entertain audiences with his original compositions. It wasn’t long before he was touring the nation, opening for Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine and Maria McKee.

SEPTEMBER 2013

DISCOUNTED SEASON TICKETSSave even more on ticket prices and service charges with our full and half season ticket packages.

Friday, September 20 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTERJEFF BLACK

“Nothing short

of brilliant…

Black is an

artist of

substance.

– Billboard Magazine

“A burly, bare-knuckled, blue-collar son of the Missouri plains, with dark Irish blood.

In 1996, Black appeared on recordings with Iris Dement, Sam Bush and Blackhawk. And just two years after that, he put together his own band and recorded the highly acclaimed Birmingham Road for Arista Records. Since then, several more albums have followed, each more popular than the previous.

His latest release, B-Sides and Confessions,

Vol. 2,�OLNH�WKH�ÀUVW�YROXPH�IURP�������LV�DQ�intimate, soulful, and thoughtful collection of stripped-down music. Vol. 2 is an unexpected treat, considering that his latest CD Plow

Through The Mystic is just a year old.

Black takes raw emotions and crafts them into lyrical stories. He says, “I love songs about freeing the spirit, and treating your individuality as something that’s precious and important.”

Those efforts have garnered reviews that are nothing short of spectacular. Drawing comparisons to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne, music writers have called Black “a musical genius,” a “tremendous vocalist and writer,” and a “holy-roller piano player and a blazing guitarist.”

See Page 7 for opener Jesse Terry

WITHJESSE TERRY

Troubadour is published twice annually by Six String Concerts, Inc., D�QRQ�SURÀW�YROXQWHHU�RUJDQL]DWLRQ�GHGLFDWHG�WR�SURPRWLQJ�UHJLRQDO�and national acoustic performing songwriters not otherwise heard in Columbus. The concerts are held primarily in smoke- and alcohol-free environments which provide mutual satisfaction to the audience and artists.

SUPPORT IS PROVIDED IN PART BY:

BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Kim Wilson, President | Kevin Corkrean | Doug Evans | Toni Hoepf | Matt Mumma | Teresa Schleifer | Wendy Hansen Smith | Jutta Wait

WWW.SIXSTRING.ORGP.O.BOX 9330 COLUMBUS, OH 43209-0330

866-890-5451 INFO@SIXSTRING.ORG

SEPTEMBER 2013

Jonathan Byrd and Chris Kokesh met as teachers at a song academy in Sisters, Oregon, LQ�������(QDPRUHG�ZLWK�&KULV·V�ÀGGOH�SOD\LQJ�and singing, Jonathan invited her to play with him at the Sisters Folk Festival that weekend. They played two encores, and the festival DXGLHQFH�YRWHG�WKHP�WKH�´(QFRUH�3HUIRUPHUµ�to return the following year.

7KH�GXR�WRXUHG�WKH�3DFLÀF�1RUWKZHVW�DQG�Midwest, and came back to Oregon to make WKHLU�ÀUVW�UHFRUGLQJV�LQ�D�EDUQ�LQ�6LVWHUV��Jonathan and Chris had to stop recording when the birds in the walls erupted in song. Their name was born: They called themselves the Barn Birds.

Jonathan Byrd is a preacher’s son, a Gulf War 1DY\�YHWHUDQ��DQG�D�VHYHQWK�JHQHUDWLRQ�1RUWK�Carolinian whose songs you likely have heard, even if you haven’t heard Byrd sing them. The Boston Globe�JXVKHG��´7KLV�URRWV\�1RUWK�Carolinian…displays John Prine’s gift for stark little songs that tell big, complex stories, Guy Clark’s lean melodicism, Lyle Lovett’s wry mischief, and Bill Morrissey’s knack for the revealing image.”

His mother did her best to raise him in a VPDOO�ORJ�FDELQ�RXWVLGH�&KDSHO�+LOO��1&��7R�his own admission, he was a real pain. But once he got his own guitar, he had a place to put all his teen angst. In the early days of his career, Jonathan began to seek out old-time jams and thought, “Wow, there it is.” There wasn’t a reason in the world why he couldn’t write songs like that, so he did. A lot of them.

Chris Kokesh toured 14 years with the all-woman quartet Misty River, and helped create the signature vocal blend of WKLV�1RUWKZHVW�IDYRULWH��&KULV·V�VWXQQLQJ�VRQJZULWLQJ��FU\VWDOOLQH�YRFDOV��DQG�KHU�ÀGGOH�and guitar chops distinguish her as a stand-alone talent.

Onstage, Kokesh reveals the inner workings of her heart with grace and a wry sense of humor. Some performers are louder. Some are showier. But Chris’ strength is in her emotional connection with the song and the music. She believes in the stories she tells, and that comes through.

Friday, October 18 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

THE BARN BIRDS

“What a treat to hear

someone so deeply rooted

in tradition, yet growing in

his own beautiful way.

– Tom Paxton

ABOUT BYRD:

““

Chris Kokesh is writing

songs that stand up

with the best.

– Oregon Public Broadcasting

ABOUT KOKESH:

“

Stellar songwriting meets crystalline vocals.

(JONATHAN BYRD & CHRIS KOKESH)

WITHJESSE TERRY

SEPTEMBER 2013

Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners

Dar Williams has played a major role in the UHVXUJHQFH�RI�WKH�1HZ�(QJODQG�IRON�VFHQH�

Her love of folk stems from her admiration of its integrity toward honesty and real emotion, and a creative freedom not found in more popular music genres. An idiosyncratic songwriter who writes folk songs from a unique, often insightful perspective, Williams takes pains to avoid the coy and the quirky. Her songwriting and performing style has been compared to that of Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, but with a few acidic and at times hilarious twists.

Williams has been torn between her folkie instincts and the guilty pleasures of pop music just as long as she’s divided her songs between smart, witty character studies and explicitly activist political material.

Williams began playing the guitar at age nine. She writes from personal experience, and many of her songs are based on people she grew up with. Recurrent themes in Williams’ songs include religion, adolescence, gender issues, anti-commercialism, misunderstood relationships, loss, humor, and geography. Basically, life. But a life experienced and then told as only she can.

In 1998, Williams joined the acoustic trio, Cry Cry Cry, with fellow Six String Concerts favorites Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell. Along with a little help from their friends, Cry Cry Cry produced an eponymously titled album comprised largely of cover songs of lesser-known DUWLVWV��7KH�WULR�WRXUHG�IURP������XQWLO�������leaving audiences spellbound with their unique three-part harmonies.

1HDUO\����\HDUV�DIWHU�VKH�PDGH�KHU�ÀUVW�DOEXP��her most recent release, In the Time of Gods, shows how as Williams is maturing, she’s shifting WKH�ZD\�WKHVH�LQJUHGLHQWV�ÀW�WRJHWKHU��XVLQJ�SRS�textures to burnish material that still feels quiet and contemplative, even when the dynamics are at their most dramatic.

As a result, Williams has created some of the richest music and most evocative writing of her career. Says this seasoned artist, wife and mother: “To see the world today as epic, instead of doomed, is helpful for me. These stories and characters helped me make sense of it.”

Morse Road Family Dental Group, LLC 6XSSRUWHU�VLQFH�������ZZZ�/LNH1LFH7HHWK�FRP

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0RRG\¶V�3ULQWLQJ��2IILFH�6XSSOLHVSupporter since: 1991��������������

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Greater Columbus Arts CouncilSupporter since: 1990www.GCAC.org

“Dar aims for the

brain and heart,

and always

scores a

bull’s-eye.

– Elmore Magazine“

A true leader of the new folk movement.

Saturday, November 9 / $28 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTERDAR WILLIAMS

SEPTEMBER 2013

Bandmates Oliver Craven, Maya de Vitry, and Charles Muench were raised on music within a few miles of farmland from each other in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their tangible passion for acoustic music is certainly a testament to three musically rich childhoods.

Oliver Craven took beginning classical violin lessons at a young age, then began SHUIRUPLQJ�RQ�WKH�ÀGGOH�DORQJVLGH�KLV�parents in the Craven Family Band. Their repertoire of folk, bluegrass, and country tunes included many of his father’s original songs. Upon graduating high school he turned down several football scholarships, picked up the mandolin and guitar, and headed to Philadelphia to attend Temple University. While studying African American Literature and History, he wrote songs, played a few open mics, and began to record his original music.

0D\D�GH�9LWU\�ÀUVW�SHUIRUPHG�GXULQJ�“show & tell” in kindergarten. She strummed three chords on a tiny guitar and sang Iris DeMent’s “Our Town”. She took piano lessons with her grandmother, who was a gifted composer, and she OHDUQHG�ÀGGOH�WXQHV�IURP�KHU�IDWKHU��ZKR�performed in several local bands. She left WKH�8QLYHUVLW\�RI�1RUWK�&DUROLQD��$VKHYLOOH�

after one restless semester, taking time to travel before continuing her studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Charles Muench was inspired by his bass-playing father to take bass lessons in a public elementary school string program. $V�KH�JDLQHG�ÁXHQF\�RQ�WKLV�ODUJH�DQG�versatile instrument, his passion and interest in music education heightened—FXOPLQDWLQJ�LQ�D�0XVLF�(GXFDWLRQ�GHJUHH�from West Chester University. In the midst of this classical music education, Charles found another musical outlet, a weekly bluegrass pick in the woodshed of a nearby horse farm where he also learned bluegrass harmony singing.

0D\D�DQG�2OLYHU�ÀUVW�VKDUHG�D�VRQJ�LQ�-DQXDU\��������0D\D�KDG�MXVW�UHWXUQHG�IURP�(XURSH��ZKHUH�VKH·G�EHHQ�WUDYHOLQJ�by bike and train, making her way as a ÀGGOLQJ�VWUHHW�SHUIRUPHU��2OLYHU�KDG�EHHQ�FULVV�FURVVLQJ�1RUWK�$PHULFD�IRU�WZR�\HDUV�DV�D�KDUPRQ\�YRFDOLVW��ÀGGOHU��DQG�JXLWDULVW�for the Grammy-nominated Americana artist Adrienne Young. With their good friend Charles laying down the bass lines, The Stray Birds landed their sound.

See Page 7 for opener Rebecca Frazier

THE STRAY BIRDSFriday, December 6 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Ohio Arts Council6XSSRUWHU�VLQFH������www.oac.state.oh.us

Linda McDonald Photography6XSSRUWHU�VLQFH������www.LindaMcDonaldPhoto.com

Guitar House Workshop6XSSRUWHU�VLQFH������www.GuitarHouseWorkshop.com

The Lamp Shade6XSSRUWHU�VLQFH������www.TheLampShade.com

“Super-talented acoustic

trio whose virtuosity

doesn’t get in the

way of their soul.

– Fly Magazine

“

Jaw-dropping harmonies, expert musicianship, heart-wrenching songs.

WITHREBECCA FRAZIER

SEPTEMBER 2013

ON OUR WEBSITE:

www.SixString.org

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From the prairies in Southern Alberta comes one of Canada’s best folk/roots songwriters, John Wort Hannam.

)RU�ÀYH�\HDUV�:RUW�+DQQDP�WDXJKW�grade 9 language arts on the largest UHVHUYH�LQ�&DQDGD�²�7KH�.DLQDL�1DWLRQ��part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. But LQ������KH�KHDUG�D�/RXGRQ�:DLQZULJKW�III record and was hooked by the music and stories. In 1998 he bought a guitar DQG�OHDUQHG�VRPH�FKRUGV��,Q������KH�quit teaching and began to pursue the dream of being a working musician.

John Wort Hannam comes from a long line of people who make a living using their hands. His great-great grandfather drove horse and buggy for the village doctor. His great-grandfather was a stevedore, his grandfather, a farmer and his father still works as a master carpenter.

+H�KDV�DFKLHYHG�VRPH�ÀQH�DFFRODGHV�LQ�D�IHZ�VKRUW�\HDUV�LQFOXGLQJ������Canadian Folk Music Award for Contemporary Album of the Year, three Grand Prizes at the Calgary Folk Fest Songwriting Competition, and other numerous nominations and awards.

With comparisons to Gordon Lightfoot, James Keelaghan, and John Prine, John Wort Hannam is a born storyteller with a keen eye for the quirky and lyrics that create stories behind the songs.

+H�LQGHSHQGHQWO\�UHOHDVHG�KLV�ÀUVW�two CDs, Pocket Full of Holes�LQ������and Dynamite and ‘Dozers LQ�������,Q�������Queen’s Hotel was a Juno Award nominee for Roots and Traditional Album of the Year. His latest release, ����·V�Brambles and Thorns, has also received critical praise.

Accompanying Wort Hannam on ÀGGOH�LV�&DOJDU\�EDVHG�6FRWW�'XQFDQ���Duncan is an energetic, passionate performer who enjoys playing all styles, LQFOXGLQJ�DOO�&HOWLF�ÀGGOLQJ��EOXHJUDVV��folk, classical, swing, country, and singer/songwriter accompaniment. Duncan has been performing with Wort +DQQDP�VLQFH�������DQG�KDV�SOD\HG�and toured with several other groups, including Calgary Fiddlers, Fiddlers GF and Barrage, SteeleHeart, and The Polyjesters.

See Page 7 for opener Drew Nelson

Saturday, January 18 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

JOHN WORT HANNAM

An award-winning Canadian troubadour.

“Astutely crafted collection

of musical narratives.

– Pasadena Weekly

“

WITH DREW NELSON

SEPTEMBER 2013

Jesse Terry is an award-winning singer-songwriter and road warrior.

Terry has won Grand Prize in several international songwriting competitions, including WKH�-RKQ�/HQQRQ�6RQJZULWLQJ�&RQWHVW��WKH�&07�16$,�6RQJZULWLQJ�&RPSHWLWLRQ��WKH�2XU6WDJH�FRP������)LQDOV�DQG�WKH�:H�$UH�/LVWHQLQJ�6LQJHU�6RQJZULWHU�DZDUGV��7KH�HVWHHPHG�´1HZ�0XVLF�6HPLQDUµ�UHFHQWO\�VHOHFWHG�7HUU\�DV�RQH�RI�WKH�7RS�����8QVLJQHG�“Artists on the Verge”.

“Terry is a pop-folk troubadour whose style suits the coffeehouse rather than the Grand Ole Opry. A Berklee College of Music grad, he brings a sophisticated melodic touch to KLV�WHQGHU�PXVLQJV�DERXW�ORYH�DQG�ÀQGLQJ�KLV�place in the world,” raves reviewer Michael McCall from Nashville Scene.

JESSE TERRY

“Great singer, great guitar

player, great songwriter.

The real deal.

– Craig Carothers

“

Opening for Jeff Black

0LFKLJDQ�ERUQ�1DY\�YHWHUDQ�'UHZ�1HOVRQ�LV�D�VWRU\WHOOLQJ�VRQJZULWHU�DQG�PXOWL�instrumentalist. He writes as a witness to the lives of those he has met in his world travels, mixing Americana and roots-rock with traditional folk styles.

'UHZ�KDV�WRXUHG�DFURVV�1RUWK�$PHULFD�DQG�(XURSH��SHUIRUPLQJ�VROR�DQG�RSHQLQJ�IRU�SRSXODU�URFN�DUWLVWV�OLNH�0HOLVVD�(WKHULGJH�DQG�(GZLQ�0F&DLQ�DV�ZHOO�DV�HVWHHPHG�IRON�singers like Josh White Jr. and John Gorka.

When Drew is not on the road, he enjoys reading, rooting for the Detroit Tigers, doing hot yoga and working as an amateur luthier, building guitars and octave mandolins.

DREW NELSON

“Drew’s songs sound like the rest of us feel. His

characters are anything but defeated. They

are dazed, angry, amazed and climbing.

– John Gorka

“

Opening for John Wort Hannam

For bluegrass artist Rebecca Frazier, the guitar has always been a means of transporting KHU��ZKHWKHU�WR�D�GLIIHUHQW�VWDWH�RI�PLQG��WR�D�FDPSÀUH�EOXHJUDVV�FLUFOH��RU�RQWR�WKH�VWDJH�of one of the hundred-plus festivals at which she has performed.

Rebecca co-founded Hit & Run Bluegrass, an award-winning, Boulder, Colorado-based EDQG��ZKLFK�PDGH�KLVWRU\�E\�EHFRPLQJ�WKH�ÀUVW�EDQG�WR�ZLQ�ERWK�SUHVWLJLRXV�5RFN\*UDVV�and Telluride Bluegrass Festivals.

Rebecca married and relocated to 1DVKYLOOH��+LW��5XQ�FRQWLQXHG�WR�WRXU��albeit not full-time. Rebecca continued her studio work and used her spare time to write, ultimately releasing a solo CD, When We Fall, a collection of self-penned bluegrass and Americana songs.

REBECCA FRAZIER

“Rebecca Frazier is a triple threat.

She is a wonderfully engaging singer,

a compelling songwriter and an

accomplished guitarist to boot.

– Allison Brown

“

Opening for The Stray Birds

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