Branford Folk Music Society

September 13, 2008: Cliff Haslam with the Ancient Mariners

It's the Branford Folk Music Society's 35th anniversary year and what better way to kick off the celebration on Sept. 13 than with the remarkably rich, full baritone voice of Madison's Cliff Haslam joined by the Ancient Mariners, a Guilford-based chantey group that grew out of the Ancient Mariners Fife & Drum Corps. An interpreter of traditional music of his native British Isles, Haslam was appearing at the Branford Folk Music Society in its formative years and was a featured performer during the society's 30th anniversary season. He offers up boisterous drinking songs, moving ballads and songs of the sea. He is noted for his good-humored, crowd-pleasing performances that require a lot of audience participation on choruses. With the Ancient Mariners Chanteymen - Larry Donahue, Davy Jones, Kevin Brown, Neil O'Brien and Dave Tiezzi - lending their voices, it should be a rousing evening. As part of its 35th anniversary season, the society is also paying tribute to 45 years of Folk-Legacy Records located in Sharon. Haslam is the first of seven artists appearing during this 2008-09 season that have recorded for the record company headed by Sandy and Caroline Paton, who will join us on Dec. 13.

Listen to this audio webcast for the September 13th concert (5 m. 44 s.; MP3 format).

The Ancient Mariners

November 8, 2008: Ed Miller

This is a long overdue return visit to Branford for Ed Miller who has been hailed as "one of the finest singers to come out of the Scottish Folksong Revival" and as "one of Scotland's best singing exports." Originally from Edinburgh, he has for many years been based in Austin, Texas, where he gained graduate degrees in folklore and geography at the University of Texas. He's a true guitar-wielding folkie who wins his audiences over with a sweet but powerful voice, a great ear for material, and equal doses of populist politics and wry humor. His multiple roles and approaches to music and song make his performances and recordings that much more rewarding. One of his seven albums appeared on Folk-Legacy Records.

Listen to this audio webcast for the November 8th concert (4 m. 21 s.; MP3 format).

P.V. O'Donnell

February 14, 2009: P.V. O'Donnell and Dan and Bonnie Milner

It's Valentine's Day and what better way to close out the holiday with that special loved one than with a concert of Irish music courtesy of Connecticut fiddler P.V. O'Donnell and New York-based Dan and Bonnie Milner.

P.V. O'Donnell originally hails from Inishowen in County Donegal - the most northerly peninsula in Ireland. He was born in Buncrana. His father was also a fiddler and P.V. was introduced to the fiddle at a very early age and performed his first recital on stage at a local concert in Buncrana at the tender age of four. P.V. worked in various civil service jobs, but his love for music flourished and in the early 1970s, he left his day job to concentrate solely on a professional career as a fiddle player and a teacher of traditional music. P.V. was instrumental and involved in the forming of the first branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann in Buncrana and through that, he became involved and learned a great deal from the legendary Inishowen fiddler, the late Pat Mulhern of Fallask. He later formed the group "Barley Bree" and was their main fiddle player for many years. In 1977 the band bade farewell to Ireland and for the next ten years they toured the North American continent from coast to coast with great success from their base in Nova Scotia. During that time they released eight albums and fronted a weekly TV series called "Barley Bree" which lasted for a record two years. In 1987, P.V. decided it was time to quit the grueling travel and hectic schedules of touring and he moved to Connecticut where he still resides in Manchester. P.V. became immersed in the local traditional music scene and now hosts a very successful weekly session at the popular Arch Street Tavern in downtown Hartford. P.V. still teaches music and performs regularly. He returns regularly to Ireland to refresh his tunes and to play with many of the modern day musicians and to swap tunes with them.

Dan and Bonnie Milner are husband and wife. Together, and with separate groups, they have performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe. Dan has been involved in the Irish song tradition all his life. The son of a traditional singer, he was raised in Ireland, England, Canada and the United States. Dan is a founding member of The New York Packet, the official maritime song group of South Street Seaport Museum. He is also currently a columnist-reporter for Irish Music Magazine of Dublin, and a contributor to Britain's leading folk song publication, The Living Tradition. His articles have appeared in The Log of Mystic Seaport, South Street Seaport Museum's Seaport Magazine, and in Sing Out!

Bonnie has had a lifetime interest in folk music beginning with her grammar school days singing songs from Carl Sandburg's "American Song Bag". Through her friendship with the late Stan Hugill, sea chanteys and maritime music became a particular interest of hers. She currently performs with The Johnson Girls, one of the foremost a cappella sea chantey groups. Bonnie, with The Johnson Girls, has issued three CDs. Dan is looking forward to the release of his fourth recorded album, and has also authored "The Bonnie Bunch of Roses", a classic book of 150 Irish and British folk songs.

Listen to this audio webcast for the February 14th concert (7 m. 1 s.; MP3 format).

March 14, 2009: Brian Peters

England's Brian Peters is a performer of traditional folk music who combines a high level of skill on three different instruments with a great voice and an energetic stage presence. He's a leading English squeezebox player, doubling on melodeon (button accordion) and Anglo concertina, a fine guitarist well-versed in open tunings, and a passionate singer who can convey drama or emotion, while his carefully constructed accompaniments blend adventure and sophistication. Described as "One of British folk music's finest ambassadors", Brian started out in the folk clubs of England and has taken his performances to stages all over the world, touring regularly in Europe and America, and always retaining a deep commitment to the musical traditions of his native country.

Brian believes strongly in the power and relevance of the old songs and bases his set around them, but he's no diehard, and covers the work of contemporary songwriters from Leon Rosselson to Lyle Lovett and Robin Williamson, as well as contributing songs of his own. He specializes in the great ballads of the British Isles. "Brian Peters plunges deep into the ancient songs, finds their power, mystery, evil, drollery and courage and brings them to us fresh," declared one American writer.

On the instrumental side, Brian has been a mover in the creation of a distinct identity for Northern English dance music, researching, playing and teaching rare tunes from centuries-old manuscripts, as well as composing many tunes in traditional style. He's also become known for daring forays into ragtime, blues and rock 'n' roll on his squeezeboxes, and his stage set achieves startling variety, without ever betraying his traditional roots. Brian presents his material with warmth and unforced humor to appeal to the casual listener as well as the committed folk fan.

As Rock 'n' Reel magazine aptly put it, "No singer outside Nic Jones and Martin Carthy has embraced the tradition and used its wellsprings in as vivid and ingenious a way."

Listen to this audio webcast for the March 14th concert (5 m. 12 s.; MP3 format).

April 11, 2009: Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen

Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen, each well-known and loved for their decades of music making, have joined musical forces in a new duo. Cindy is a superb singer, guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Grey is one of America's finest players of the Irish flute and tin whistle, as well as an accomplished singer and concertina, fiddle, piano and harmonium player. As composers each has contributed to the unique tapestry of contemporary folk and world music as it exists and flourishes in America today. Together, they weave songs and tunes of vibrant color and rich texture.

The duo's repertoire, featured on "Cross The Water," their debut album as a duo, includes Cindy's sparkling original songs, distinctive settings of traditional Irish music, Scandinavian fiddle duets, old-time fiddle and guitar tunes from southern Indiana, and new music that Cindy and Grey are inventing together. There is plenty of variety and breadth of musical territory here, all deeply rooted in folk traditions, and interwoven with the renaissance and baroque counterpoint in which both Cindy and Grey, coincidentally, were immersed while growing up. Included are vocal duets, guitar, Irish flute, Irish alto flute, tin whistle, concertina, harmonium, and duet fiddling, and plenty of stories that put the music into a personal context.

Cindy Kallet has been writing music and playing the guitar since she was 11 years old, and has performed throughout the U.S. for more than 30 years. She has five solo albums to her credit. In the 25 years since the release of her first album, Cindy has built a devoted audience of all ages and from all walks of life. Her fans find many reasons to love her music, from her deep and intricate guitar playing to her clear and heartfelt singing to her honest and intelligent songwriting to her quietly outrageous humor.

Grey Larsen discovered Irish traditional music in the early 1970s and pursues it with devotion to this day. Regarded as one of America's leading Irish flute players, Grey joins the silken grace of the East Galway flute style with the driving momentum found in Irish music at large. He has spent decades learning from elder masters, both in the U.S. and in Ireland, and combines his traditional training with an academic background in composition and early music. While he is best known for Irish music, Grey plays half a dozen instruments and is at home in several musical styles.

Listen to this audio webcast for the April 11th concert (7 m. 34 s.; MP3 format).

May 9, 2009: Bill Staines

For four decades, Bill Staines has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, coffeehouses, folksong societies, colleges, concert halls and clubs. The Branford Folk Music Society has one of his stops on that circuit for most of those 40 years. Singing mostly his own songs, Bill quickly became one of the most popular performers on the folk music circuit and averages about 200 concert dates annually. He weaves a magical blend of wit and gentle humor into his performances, and as one reviewer wrote, "He has a sense of timing to match the best stand-up comic." His music is a pure slice of Americana, reflecting with the same ease, his feelings about the prairie people in the Midwest or the adventurers of the Yukon. With several landmark recordings early in his career for Folk-Legacy Records in Sharon, Bill is part of our season-long honoring of Folk-Legacy’s 45 years of being an integral part of the folk music scene.

A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960s and, for a time, emceed the Sunday hootenanny at the renowned Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. In 1971, after one of his performances, a reviewer for The Phoenix stated that Bill was "simply Boston's best performer." A decade later, both in 1980 and 1981, the annual Reader's Poll of The Boston Globe selected him as a favorite performer. In 1991, Bill entered his fourth decade as a folk performer with an international reputation as an artist.

Interspersed between original songs, Bill also includes songs ranging from traditional folk tunes to more contemporary country ballads and delights in having the audience participate in many of the numbers. He may even do a yodeling tune or two, having won the National Yodeling Championship in 1975 at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville Texas.

A number of Bill's songs have been recorded by other artists including, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Makem and Clancy, Nanci Griffith, Mason Williams, The Highwaymen, Glenn Yarborough, Jerry Jeff Walker, Grandpa Jones, Priscilla Herdman and others. Bill has recorded 22 of his own albums, 15 of which are still in print.

Radio and TV appearances have included "A Prairie Home Companion", "Mountain Stage", "The Good Evening Show" and a host of local programs on PBS and network TV. Bill continues to drive over 65,000 miles a year, doing what he loves, bringing music to people. As Folk-Legacy Records' Sandy Paton said of Bill, "Any new song that can live comfortably beside the well-worn songs of folk tradition has a good chance of surviving the test of time. Such, we believe, are the songs of Bill Staines."

Listen to this audio webcast for the May 9th concert (11 m. 7 s.; MP3 format).

May 16, 2009: Bob Zentz

A snow storm prevented Bob from performing for us in January, but we're pleased that we could reschedule him to close our special 2008-2009 35th anniversary season. Bob has been described as a one-man minstrel show and a performer with a smorgasbord of contemporary, traditional and original songs and that he truly is. Hailing from the Norfolk, Va. region, Bob has been performing for more than three decades and offers up a program that is a unique testimony to his vast repertoire and varied personal interests. Concertgoers can expect to hear a concert that includes traditional Celtic tunes and ballads, science fiction songs, sea chanteys, tales of "old timers and old rhymers", and poetry set to music. And, to top it off, Zentz accompanies himself on a variety of acoustic instruments, including guitars, dulcimers, banjos, autoharp, concertina, melodeon, cittern, Jew's harp and harmonica. He has recorded several albums including two on Folk-Legacy that quickly became classics of the American folk song revival. We promise this will be a very special night for those who know Bob's music as well as those who aren't familiar with it (but will soon become fans after hearing him).

Listen to this audio webcast for the May 16th concert (7 m. 47 s.; MP3 format).

September 12, 2009: CornBread

Drawing from traditional roots music from the early to mid-20th century, CornBread is a six-member acoustic blues band formed in 2005 by musicians who have known each other for years, often through affiliations with other bluegrass, jazz and swing bands. They play music that is close to their hearts with passion and a great sense of humor. The group uses up to three guitars, supplemented or traded off with mandolin, Dobro and resophonic guitar, a harmonica and an upright bass. Their repertoire ranges from old jug band numbers to country blues associated with such greats as Lightnin' Hopkins, Leadbelly, Jelly Roll Morton and Memphis Slim.

CornBread's lead singer, lead guitarist and Dobroist is Marty Brennan, who participated in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk and blues revival scene and was a close friend and player with the legendary blues guitarist Ian Buchanan, a protégé of the Rev. Gary Davis. Older BFMS members may remember him as a presence in the New Haven Hoot Era of the early 1960s before he departed for New York. Frank Pergola also plays guitar and is the group's mandolin player. He's played with several lower Naugatuck Valley bands, most notably the Sofa Kings. Rich (Patches) Patchkofsky has devoted most of his adult life to mastery of the styles of blues legends of the early 20th century. He is a perennial winner of picking contests throughout the Northeast.

A key ingredient that binds CornBread together is the nuanced lyrical playing of harmonica by Tim Quinn. Standup bass player Louis Audette got his musical start in the 1960s with college bluegrass and then played with the renowned Greenbriar Boys. Now he keeps the beat not only with CornBread but also with several swing, jump and dance bands in southern Connecticut. The newest addition to the band is Tom Hanford who plays fiddle, guitar and harp and, as band members note, has singlehandedly almost doubled the band's repertoire.

Listen to this audio webcast for the September 12th concert (5 m. 41 s.; MP3 format).

October 10, 2009: Orrin Star and the Sultans of String Trio

An evening of hot bluegrass and good humor comes to Branford Folk on Oct. 10 with a return performance by Orrin Star and the Sultans of String. Star is an award-winning guitar, banjo and mandolin player who's also quite funny. With music ranging from fiddle tunes to topical ballads to western swing, and storytelling both sharp and droll, he has been described as "Arlo Guthrie-meets-Doc Watson". Playing professionally since the early 1970s, Star's history includes three bluegrass bands, a summer with banjo great Bill Keith, and winning the 1976 National Flatpicking Championship (the largest bluegrass guitar contest in the country). He has toured throughout the U.S. and Europe, appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, and recorded three albums for Flying Fish Records, as well as two on his own label, Good Ear. He also worked for five years as a stand-up comic in New England. According to Country Music World, "Star is one of those individuals who seem to be able to do everything musically - and do it well." A Boston Globe music critic referred to him as "one of the finest flatpickers in captivity." Joining Orrin, who now resides in the Washington, D.C., area, will be longtime band mates when he resided in New York City - Russell Scholl, a founding member of the Singing Conquerors bluegrass gospel group, on rhythm guitar and Bill Christophersen on fiddle. Christophersen, known widely in old-time music circles, recently released a widely praised album of fiddle tunes, "Hell & High Water."

Get to the church early for this concert because the last time Orrin appeared at the Branford Folk Music Society, it was a standing-room-only audience - one of the largest audiences ever to attend a Branford Folk event.

Admission for this concert will be $20 for nonmembers, $15 for members, and $5 for children 12 and under.

Listen to this audio webcast for the October 10th concert (5 m. 26 s.; MP3 format).

November 14, 2009: Patrick Ball

Critics agree that Patrick Ball is one the finest Celtic harp players in the world and a captivating spoken word artist. He has conceived and will perform at Branford a critically-acclaimed solo musical theater piece, "O'Carolan's Farewell to Music", which brings to our stage the legendary life, turbulent times and glorious music of Ireland's most celebrated and beloved musician, Turlough O'Carolan. This will be a unique experience not to be missed.

Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries was a troubled, tumultuous place. The old Gaelic order had been shattered by the English, and the poets, the bards and the harp players were set to walking the roads. Yet, this dark period of Irish history produced Turlough O'Carolan - a Celtic harper and composer of such brilliance, grace and character that he is, to this day, regarded as his country's greatest musician.

"O'Carolan's Farewell to Music" was written by Ball and Peter Glazer. Interspersed with performances of fourteen of Carolan's tunes played on the rare wire-strung harp, the play tells the harper's story through the character of poet and harper, Charles MacCabe, Carolan's lifelong friend and traveling companion. Through MacCabe's eyes and Carolan's music, we are drawn into this storm-tossed chapter of Irish history. The play, enriched by Carolan's beautiful melodies and the crystalline sound of Patrick Ball's harp, is charged with Irish wit and pathos, and demonstrates both the power of friendship and the vital role of the artist in troubled times.

Variety magazine said of Ball's theater piece: "Hauntingly beautiful ballads and lilting storytelling...it might spring from the 17th century...but the play seems as current as the latest troubles in Belfast ... Patrick Ball's acting is fine, his musicianship outstanding...A small gem."

Listen to this audio webcast for the November 14th concert (5 m. 15 s.; MP3 format).

December 12, 2009: Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys

The old-time, twangy bluegrass music of Appalachia and the South will meet the soulful melodies of Jewish music from pre-war Russia and Eastern Europe when the society once again presents Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountains Boys. Margot, the globally renowned clarinetist of today's klezmer music revival, teams up with a group of New York City-based bluegrass all-stars, including fiddle virtuoso Kenny Kosek (yes, the Nashville studio fiddler in the popular Viagra television commercial) to explore the shared musical spirit of two genres literally worlds apart. The resulting medleys and improvisations are at once raw, funny, melancholic and footstomping.

Margot has been in the forefront of the klezmer music revival. A founding member of the Klezmatics in 1986 and Mikveh in 1999, Leverett also enjoys a solo career. Together with renowned mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff, she formed the Klezmer Mountain Boys in late 2001 as part of her own exploration of taking various types of fiddle tunes for transposition to clarinet.

The group has released two critically acclaimed albums, the most recent one being 2008's "Second Avenue Square Dance" on New York's Traditional Crossroads label. It was chosen by three music critics as one of the "Top 10" world and roots music CDs of last year. The group's music has been featured by New York City's Paul Taylor Dance Company and the Philadelphia Orchestra and the ensemble has toured Europe twice.

For their Branford Folk appearance the group will include Margot, Kenny, guitarist Joe Selly, a studio musician who is featured on countless recordings, including jazz and swing music, and bassist Marty Confurius who has appeared with virtually all the top performers in bluegrass and klezmer music. His credits include work with Vassar Clements, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas and klezmer legends Andy Statman and Dave Tarras.

Admission for this concert will be $20 for nonmembers, $15 for members and $5 for children 12 and under.

Reservations are strongly suggested. Paid reservations for the Margot Leverett and The Klezmer Mountain Boys concert can be sent to BFMS, P.O. Box 441, Branford, CT 06405. The reservations must be received by Wednesday, Dec. 9. We are taking paid reservations only. Arriving by 7:45 p.m. is recommended. The reservation guarantees a seat in the event the concert is sold out and allows first entry into the concert hall.

Listen to this audio webcast for the December 12th concert (5 m. 15 s.; MP3 format).

January 9, 2010: Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger

Bruce Molsky and Darol Anger, two of most influential American folk fiddlers of this generation, will appear together in this special, not-to-be-missed concert. Not only is Bruce Molsky renowned throughout the world as a master fiddler, he is also a remarkable guitarist, banjo player and vocalist. His high-spirited music melds the archaic mountain sounds of Appalachia, the power of blues and the rhythmic intricacies of traditional African music. A Minneapolis Star-Tribune music critic called him "old-time music's answer to Ry Cooder - a commanding musician with a voracious appetite for traditional music styles." Similarly, Darol Anger, another award-winning violinist, composer, producer and educator, is at home in a number of musical genres, some of which he helped to invent. With the jazz-oriented Turtle Island String Quartet, Anger developed and popularized new techniques for playing contemporary music styles on string instruments. The virtuosic "chambergrass" groups Darol Anger's Republic Of Strings, Psychograss, and the long-lived Anger-Marshall Duo feature his compositions and arrangements. His Grammy-nominated folk-jazz group Montreux was the original musical model for the New Adult Contemporary radio format. The David Grisman Quintet forged a new genre of acoustic string band music with Darol's fertile inventiveness, surprising touches and technical mastery often in the forefront.

Molsky makes a return visit to Branford Folk fresh from a tour in the fall of the United Kingdom and Ireland with Mozaik, the world music supergroup led by Ireland's Andy Irvine which also features master musicians from Hungary and Holland. In addition, he will join in May for a rare United States tour with Swedish fiddle virtuoso Ale Moller. Molsky's solo recording "Poor Man's Troubles" (Rounder Records) won a 2001 "Indie" Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording and his band Fiddler's Four (with Anger, Michael Doucet and Rushad Eggleston) snared a 2003 Grammy nomination for the group's debut album. Molsky has more than a dozen recordings to his credit.

Anger's work has expanded not only the acoustic violin's boundaries, but has also contributed to the development of violin synthesizer repertoire and technology. Anger's main projects are his Republic Of Strings ensemble, playing with the classical vocal group the Anonymous 4 and related chamber music work and recording with pianist Phillip Aaberg. Anger appears as a guest with a wide array of traditional, jazz, and pop music ensembles.

Admission for this concert will be $20 for nonmembers, $15 for members and $5 for children 12 and under.

Listen to this audio webcast for the January 9th concert (7 m. 15 s.; MP3 format).

February 13, 2010: Gerard Edery

Gerard Edery explores several of the world's musical traditions. Commanding songs in some dozen languages, he brings an ancient repertoire to the contemporary stage, while fueling the evolution of Sephardic music with new arrangements and original compositions. Gerard and his wife Elspeth Strang, who will appear with Gerard for the concert, will present a varied program of Sephardic songs, English ballads, French Renaissance folksongs, and Spanish and American folk tunes. From joyous hymns of celebration to poignant ballads of loss, from flamenco-inspired pieces to holy works of praise, their instrumental virtuosity and passionate performance make for an unforgettable musical experience.

Gerard, a vocalist, composer, cantorial soloist and guitar and saz player, is recognized as a leading musical folklorist and a master singer and instrumentalist. He has at his command a remarkable range of ethnic folk styles and traditions from around the world. Not only does Gerard regularly uncover and preserve songs from Europe, the Middle East, South America and ancient Persia, he energizes these repertoires by interpreting them for contemporary audiences and by teaming up with some of the world's most highly acclaimed virtuoso musicians.

Considered one of the world's leading interpreters of Sephardic song, Gerard has been honored with the Sephardic Musical Heritage Award. In addition to a busy concert schedule, he also has 12 CD releases to his name as well as a critically acclaimed Sephardic songbook released by Tara Publications and Sefarad Publishing. The New York Jewish Week calls Edery and his ensemble "among the best interpreters of Sephardic music in the business."

Elspeth Strang Edery sang before she could talk. She sang throughout her childhood in church choirs and in school productions. At age 11 she moved with her family from Rhodesia, present day Zimbabwe, to New Brunswick, Canada.  She continued singing but also started playing the flute. Though Elspeth has trained extensively in dance therapy and social work, she is now a practicing psychoanalyst in New York City. They are recording a children's album which will be released on Sefarad Records later this year.

As a prelude to the performance of Gerard and Elspeth Edery, New Haven-area oud player Nick Laggis will offer musical selections in the church hall lobby.

Listen to this audio webcast for the February 13th concert (8 m. 1 s.; MP3 format).

March 13, 2010: John Whelan & Friends

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day early as seven-time All-Ireland button accordion champion John Whelan brings his uniquely passionate energy and stirring Irish tunes to the Branford Folk Music Society for a return visit. Whelan, a resident of Milford who has been referred to as the modern-day king of button accordion, will lead an ensemble for the concert that includes Jerry O'Sullivan, widely acknowledged as America's premier uilleann pipes player, and fiddler Rose Flanagan, one of the original members of Cherish the Ladies, the renowned all-women's traditional Irish music group.

John has recorded seven solo albums, appeared as a guest artist on numerous Celtic compilation albums, performed at hundreds of shows and festivals, played on the "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" television show and appeared in three major motion pictures including Ang Lee's "Ride With the Devil" and "Gods and Generals" starring Robert Duvall. His unique musical vision and high-energy live performances led to him being named "Traditionalist of the Year" in 1998 by Irish Echo, the national newspaper's highest honor for traditional folk music. John was raised on the sounds and spirit of the Irish fiddle and pipes. Born to Irish parents living in Dunstable, England, John spent his early years learning his ancestral music and by age 14 had recorded his first album in honor of his father, "The Pride Of Wexford." John's artistry fully blossomed in 1980 when he immigrated to the United States. He appeared in the original production of the Broadway musical "Riverdance" and then teamed with Eileen Ivers, the show's fiddler, to record a cutting-edge album entitled "Fresh Takes" for Green Linnet Records. Following that came a cascade of innovative albums for Narada Records combining Celtic music's brightest lights with American and world music stars such as country music's Kathy Mattea, Broadway's Bernadette Peters, Latin guitarist Oscar Lopez and Ugandan superstar Samite. In recent years, John has returned to his roots with release of several albums of traditional Irish music.

Jerry O'Sullivan long ago achieved a reputation for technical and melodic mastery of the uilleann pipes, an Irish bagpipe known for its subtlety and expression. Jerry is also widely recorded on the tin whistle, the low whistle, the Highland bagpipes, and the Scottish smallpipes. He has appeared on more than 90 albums and has performed or recorded with diverse artists such as The Boston Pops, Don Henley, Paul Winter, James Galway, Dolly Parton, The Colorado Symphony Orchestra, The Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Eileen Ivers, and many others. He was a featured soloist on Paul Winter's GRAMMY-winning album, "Celtic Solstice."

Rose Conway Flanagan is a traditional Irish fiddle teacher from Rockland County, New York who originally began music lessons as a child with Martin Mulvilhill while was growing up in the Bronx.  She further developed her Sligo style of playing with the help of Martin Wynne and her older brother Brian. Rose was an original member of "Cherish the Ladies" and currently conducts a large music school in her hometown of Pearl River, N.Y. In her spare time she has been a teacher at the Alaska fiddle camp as well as a regular instructor at the Catskills Irish Arts Weeks, runs various sessions, and plays with her group the Green Gates Ceili Band in the tri-state area.

Listen to this audio webcast for the March 13th concert (7 m. 13 s.; MP3 format).

April 10, 2010: Sparky and Rhonda Rucker

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker hail from Tennessee and offer performances that are steeped in American history and tradition. The Ruckers have performed throughout the United States singing songs and telling stories from American tradition. Their concerts are not only entertaining but also educational.

Sparky Rucker has been performing over 40 years and is internationally recognized as a leading folklorist, musician, historian, storyteller, and author. He accompanies himself with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, banjo, and spoons. Rhonda Rucker is an accomplished harmonica, piano, banjo, and bones player, and also adds vocal harmonies to their songs.

Together they take their audience on an educational and emotional journey that ranges from poignant stories of slavery and war to an amusing rendition of a Brer Rabbit tale or witty commentaries on current events. Their music includes a variety of old-time blues, slave songs, Appalachian music, spirituals, ballads, work songs, Civil War music, cowboy music, railroad songs, and their own original compositions.

Sparky and Rhonda have numerous recordings, and their 1991 release, Treasures and Tears, was nominated for the W.C. Handy Award for Best Traditional Recording. The duo contributed to the 2009 anthology tribute CD dedicated to the late Bruce "Utah" Phillips entitled "Singing Through the Hard Times" This CD was nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Traditional Folk category.

They also had a role in the syndicated television miniseries "The Wild West" and their unique renditions of "John Henry" and "Jesse James" were used in the National Geographic Society's media project "Storytelling in North America." Their special passion for the American Civil War inspired the development of "The Blue and Gray in Black and White", a historical program that tells stories from the war in music and narrative. They have just released a new album of entirely original songs entitled "One Earth".

Listen to this audio webcast for the April 10th concert (8 m. 8 s.; MP3 format).

May 8, 2010: Lorraine and Bennett Hammond

Multi-instrumentalists Lorraine and Bennett Hammond are the featured performers for the concluding coffeehouse of Branford Folk's 2009-2010 concert series. "Quite simply, acoustic music at its finest," says Dirty Linen Magazine of the Massachusetts duo, both of whom have earlier roots in Connecticut. Lorraine was raised in the rural northwestern corner, while Bennett spent part of his childhood in the state.

Lorraine Hammond is a renowned master of the Appalachian dulcimer and also plays five-string banjo and Celtic harp and is an expressive singer and songwriter. Her virtuosity on the Appalachian dulcimer is such that she has been called the "Jimi Hendrix of the dulcimer" for the way she can pick an electrically-amplified instrument or apply a blues guitar slide, while also being critically praised for her "light, gentle style that emphasizes bright melody lines...."

Bennett Hammond is a superb fingerstyle guitarist who names "the three Bs" - Bach, the blues and Buddy Holly - as his major influences. He also has a penchant for the occasional Hank Williams tune.

This is a welcome return visit to Branford. Together they play and sing in perfect complement: blending their instruments with consummate skill, they create a new voice for music that ranges in style from classical through Celtic, blues and contemporary. They sing both original and traditional songs. Between them they have appeared on over 30 recordings, including four of their own albums as a duo.

As folk music writer and fellow performer Scott Alarik wrote in the Boston Globe, "The Hammonds are folk missionaries of the first order, devoted cultural activists, teachers, event organizers, and performers who love to introduce people to the joys of traditional music."

The couple resides in Brookline, Mass. Their most recent album as a duo is "Jingalo Gypsy" which Dirty Linen magazine characterized as "a warm, enveloping, well-thought-out recording." Bennett's latest solo work is "Rockafolky Banjo Tapes" and Lorraine's is "Muddy River Suite." All are released on Snowy Egret Music, an independent folk label.

Listen to this audio webcast for the May 8th concert (4 m. 46 s.; MP3 format).

September 11, 2010: Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society

The Society kicks off its 37th season of concerts with the rollicking and rousing Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society, a Massachusetts-based ensemble known for its diverse music ranging from a lively mix of Celtic jigs and reels, American Colonial-era tunes and sing-along sea chanteys to original songs of colorful people and places from New England's rich history. From ragtime to old-time, the band's friendly style is fun for all ages. Count on singing along to songs about Old Ironsides, a Boston Harbor ghost, the Great Sea-Serpent of Cape Ann, and sundry ships of the High Seas. The six-person band layers vibrant vocals and hearty harmonies with 16 different instruments, including fiddle, flute, banjo, tin whistle, accordion, mountain dulcimer, and guitar. Founder David Rosen plays the age-old delights of bones, spoons, bodhran, and pogocello, a percussion instrument that can be heard in the skiffle bands of England, jug bands from the United States, as well as some blues, bluegrass, folk and rock bands. The group trades off on an unusual four-string washtub bass, which adds a most amazing thump to their sonic landscape. The Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society enjoys performing around New England at concerts and coffeehouses, museums and historic sites, maritime festivals and outdoor summer series, and private events. Founded in 1971, the band, as one presenter of folk music characterized them, is "A band that's become a New England tradition unto itself!"

Listen to this audio webcast for the September 11th concert (7 m. 13 s.; MP3 format).

October 9, 2010: Hanneke Cassel Trio

Mark your calendars with a big red circle for this fast-approaching concert. Hanneke Cassel ranks as one of the Celtic music world's finest fiddlers, offering a personal style that is elegant and graceful but also fiery and tenacious. As a music critic in the Boston Globe aptly observed, "She is already a rising star in the Celtic skies…her musical ideas are savvy and sophisticated, but her throaty, gusting style is deeply banked in the Scottish and Cape Breton traditions." A native of Oregon but now based in the Boston area, Hanneke is the 1997 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, holds a Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance from Berklee College of Music, and has performed and taught across North America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and China. On her latest album, "For Reasons Unseen", which was released late last year, she is joined by an all-star cast of musicians, including Alasdair Fraser, Natalie Haas, Rushad Eggleston, Casey Driessen, Brittany Haas, Keith Murphy, and Aoife O'Donovan of Crooked Still. On the album, influences from Scotland to China, along with grooves and musical innovations from the hip Boston bluegrass/Americana scene, fuse together to create a uniquely American approach to Scottish music. In addition to her trio and solo performances, Hanneke tours regularly with the Baroque/Celtic group Ensemble Galilei, and has performed with the Cathie Ryan Band, Cherish the Ladies, Alasdair Fraser, and Matt Glaser and the Wayfaring Strangers. She is an active member of Boston-based band Childsplay (featuring 20-plus fiddles made by Bob Childs) and co-founder (with Laura Cortese and Lissa Schneckenburger) of the Celtic chick band Halali. Admission: $20 for nonmembers, $15 for members.

Listen to this audio webcast for the October 9th concert (3 m. 59 s.; MP3 format).

November 13, 2010: Finest Kind

Finest Kind is the remarkable folk trio of Ian Robb, Shelley Posen and Ann Downey from Canada whose exquisite harmony singing and brilliant vocal arrangements bring a fresh sense of excitement and discovery to the performance of old songs. This is a most welcome return visit to the Branford Folk Music Society for this group, which next year will celebrate its 30th year together as a trio. Their glorious sound, served up with easy-going humor, has won a devoted following across North America. Ian, originally from London, England, is renowned as one of North America's most gifted performers of British folksong, a concertina player extraordinaire and composer of such folk standards as "The Old Rose And Crown." Ann hails from the southwestern United States and plays guitar, banjo and bass, and has performed in bands playing old-time and cowboy music, bluegrass, klezmer, jazz and swing. Shelley is a professional folklorist originally from Toronto and is a versatile singer and multi-instrumentalist who has spent a lifetime researching, teaching, writing about, performing and sometimes composing songs. Finest Kind's vocal arrangements are a creative tour de force. Tradition-based yet curiously modern, the trio's harmonies are an enchanting feast of opulent chords and ever changing textures. The trio just recently released a new album, "For Honour & For Gain", that's already harvesting acclaim from music critics. The music blog, The Sound of Blackbirds, said the album's "another winner from Finest Kind. If you're a fan of classic English-style folk singing, this disc is a must-have."

Listen to this audio webcast for the November 13th concert (5 m. 32 s.; MP3 format).

December 11, 2010: Stacy Phillips and Paul Howard

What better way to close out the 2010 portion of the society's concert series than with Connecticut's very own Grammy Award winner Stacy Phillips and Paul Howard. The duo performs genre-bending Americana and world music originals that, as they note, "celebrate the cultural salad of the United States" and incorporate a wide range of music from swing and jazz standards, Hawaiian hulas and bluegrass to klezmer, Caribbean dances and Eastern European gypsy music. Stacy Phillips is a multi-instrumentalist who is a longtime fixture on the state's folk music scene. He was one of the featured artists on the 1994 Grammy and International Bluegrass Music Association award-winning album, "The Great Dobro Sessions." However, he is equally known for being the author of more than 20 books dealing with various aspects of violin and Dobro playing and is a regular contributor to several music magazines including Sing Out! Likewise, Paul Howard is a veteran of the New England music scene and an accomplished songwriter, vocalist and guitarist. He was a founding faculty member of the highly respected National Guitar Workshop and has authored several instruction books and videos.

Listen to this audio webcast for the December 11th concert (8 m. 20 s.; MP3 format).

The concert is being conducted with the support of a grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

March 12, 2011: Jerry Bryant

Jerry Bryant is a native of the state of Maine who for the last 30 years has performed folk music all over the United States. Performing on guitar, concertina, banjo, melodeon and other acoustic instruments, his repertoire includes hundreds of traditional and contemporary folk songs, with a particular interest in the music of sailors. Jerry enjoys giving people a glimpse of our maritime heritage through the songs he presents. He carefully researches the material, so that his performances are not only full of good music but are peppered with historical insights as well. Jerry writes songs, too, using the tradition as inspiration and actual people and events as subjects. Of his original songs, "The Ballad of Harbo and Samuelsen" is among his best known and has been recorded by several other performers including William Pint and Felicia Dale and Rick Lee.

Jerry has been featured in the San Francisco National Maritime Historic Park's sea music concert series, Mystic Seaport Museum's annual Sea Music Festival, South Street Seaport in New York, and many others. His recording The Ballad of Harbo and Samuelsen showcases old and new songs. He can also be heard on the Mystic Seaport CD American Sea Chanteys, and on Contentment by Rick Spencer. His latest release, Roast Beef of Old England, is a collection of traditional songs from the man-of-war days of the British Navy, and is a companion to the seafaring novels of Patrick O'Brian.

As a special treat for this concert, we're bringing back the S.S. Chanteens, a singing group from New Haven's Sound School Regional Aquaculture Center. They will perform a short opening set.

Listen to this audio webcast for the March 12th concert (6 m. 39 s.; MP3 format).

March 19, 2011: Mike Kachuba

Snow and ice forced postponement of Mike's January concert, but we've rescheduled him and forecast better weather for his return to the Branford Folk Music Society. Mike offers up folk music in the tradition of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie and is a former Connecticut State Troubadour. He's been bringing his blend of traditional and contemporary acoustic music to concert halls, coffeehouses, festivals, theaters, libraries and community centers for more than three decades. His songs tell stories, entertain, and bring together audiences of all ages. Playing hammered dulcimer, mountain dulcimer, guitar, "squeezeboxes," and other instruments, he presents songs that beg for audience participation.

Mike has been a popular performer on the Connecticut folk scene, both as a solo performer and as a member of the Ash Creek String Band, one of the state's longest running string bands. He was designated as Connecticut State Troubadour in 1996, an honor that led to his recording the album "It Happened In Connecticut", a collection of 13 original songs about people and events from Connecticut's history between the 1600s and the 1900s. For his Branford appearance, Mike will be joined by Jeff McQuillan, another former state troubadour.

Listen to this audio webcast for the March 19th concert (6 m. 10 s.; MP3 format).

This concert is being conducted with the support of a grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, which also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

April 9, 2011: The Johnson Girls

The Johnson Girls, an energetic, all-woman a cappella folk music group whose emphasis is maritime music, will help us welcome in the spring. The Johnson Girls formed in 1997 at the close of the annual Sea Music Festival at Mystic Seaport, are unique in that they have burst through the barrier of a previously male-dominated musical genre. Each member of the group - Joy Bennett, Alison Kelley, Bonnie Milner and Deirdre Murtha - brings a specialty and style to the ensemble, including songs with Afro-Caribbean influence, songs of the inland waterways and fishing, along with Irish, Scottish, American, English, Italian and French ballads and work songs. The group's music is infused with vitality and gorgeous harmonies and encourages plenty of singing from the audience. This will be their third appearance at the Branford Folk Coffeehouse.

The Johnson Girls are widely acclaimed for their powerhouse performances of rousing work songs and haunting ballads and laments. The ensemble has performed at major festivals, clubs, coffeehouses, book-signings and more across the United States, in Canada, England, Wales, the Netherlands, and Portugal, including the prestigious Mystic Seaport Museum's Sea Music Festival. The audience becomes part of the show, singing along with many of the songs. Sea music, as perhaps the first "world music," captured the imagination of these women singers many years ago and several participate in other maritime music groups. Sailors were heavily influenced by the music they heard while traveling around the world. Ships were often melting pots with crew members who introduced their cultures to the rest of their shipmates, and who incorporated the different rhythms and styles into the work songs and other music aboard ship.

The music of The Johnson Girls has been described as "exciting", "haunting", "uplifting", and "full of harmony" and their performances have been characterized as "hair-raising". One newspaper account of The Johnson Girls at the Wadebridge Festival in Cornwall, United Kingdom said it aptly: "The Johnson Girls, shanty singers from America, took the place by storm.... Those who thought a shanty singer had to be male, bearded and with a beer gut, had better think again."

Listen to this audio webcast for the April 9th concert (6 m. 34 s.; MP3 format).

May 14, 2011: Debra Cowan with John Roberts

The Branford Folk Music Society will close its 2010-11 concert season with a special presentation of Debra Cowan and John Roberts, internationally known and respected folk singers. For both performers, their pairing up for concerts all began with a question in 2009: "How are you getting to Chicago?" And with that, John and Debra decided to team up for a series of small concerts in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois before arriving as separately booked artists at the Fox Valley Folklore Society's annual festival. The combination of car-pool and mini-tour was successful enough that John and Debra decided to do more performing together both in the United States and the United Kingdom. They met for the first time at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in 1999 where John and his long-time musical partner Tony Barrand were performing a concert of maritime songs. Afterwards, they continued to meet at various folk music events in New England and became friends, often appearing on stage together at New England folk festivals. John and Debra both share an enthusiasm and passion for the old songs and ballads that have been handed down through oral tradition in the English-speaking world. Even though a John Roberts and Debra Cowan evening will certainly include many traditional songs, there will be contemporary songs as well, some by writers personally known to both performers. Be prepared to join in and sing along!

Debra Cowan's appearance at this special Branford Folk concert is funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.

Special start time for this concert: 8:30 PM

The internationally-renowned klezmer duo of Deborah Strauss and Jeff Warschauer will make a return visit on Sept. 10 to open the 38th season of our Branford Folk Music Society concerts.

It will be a special night of music, storytelling and, yes, dancing. If you were present for the first concert offered several years back by the Strauss/Warschauer Duo you'll surely remember the marvelous dancing at night's end. Opening for Strauss and Warschauer will be Connecticut's own Henry "Hank" Savin, a teller of stories, legends and folktales, many of them from Eastern Europe. One important note: This concert - and this concert only for this season - will have an 8:30 p.m. starting time.

For more than two decades, the Strauss/Warschauer Duo has been at the forefront of the international klezmer and Yiddish music scene. Deborah and Jeff were both long-time members of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, one of the premier groups of the klezmer music revival, and have performed in concert and on film with legendary classical violinist Itzhak Perlman. They lead some of the most popular klezmer music, Yiddish song and traditional dance workshops throughout North America and Eastern and Western Europe.

October 15, 2011: Sara Grey and Kieron Means

Once you have heard Sara Grey you will never forget her. She has a certain quality of voice that compels you to give her your undivided attention. Her voice is both powerful and sweet with a distinctive and lovely tremolo. It is a voice well suited to folk music's timeless ballads from Ireland, Scotland and America. Add to Sara's marvelous talents the musicianship of her son Kieron Means and this concert will be a special night of traditional folk music at Branford. Kieron is a singer primarily of traditional songs but also of his own contemporary songs and a guitar player of great merit. One of the best things about Sara Grey's singing is that it reflects her great knowledge of and feeling for traditional music. She just seems to know what is right in the interpretation of a traditional song. She is a ballad singer of great strength with a fine understanding of the importance of understatement. Her singing is richly emotional and she is equally at home with a gentle lyric or a harsh account of life on the frontier. On many of her songs Sara accompanies herself by frailing a five-string banjo and, when playing dance tunes, it is obvious why she is regarded as one of the foremost exponents of the clawhammer style. As well as singing and playing, Sara is well known for her storytelling – specializing in stories from New England where she grew up learning many of the stories from her father. Sara was born in the United States and resided in several states but has been living in Scotland and briefly in England for the last 38 years. As a youngster in North Carolina she first heard mountain music and her love for old time banjo music and songs stems from this experience. She has carried this interest into her adult life, studying folklore and collecting and performing traditional tunes and songs from the various areas in which she has lived. Kieron often tours with his mom and for the past decade has also performed as a solo act.

Listen to this audio webcast for the October 15th concert (5 m. 52 s.; MP3 format).