(with Amy Rose and Zach Danziger opening the show)

Hey everyone, here’s another fabulous off-series concert before our next show on June 7th…

Copper Hill, an incredibly talented group of musicians (all Eastman School of Music students or alumna), who blend their influences together to create a unique chamber folk sound. They are Katie Knudsvig & Willa Finck (violin, vocals), Caroline Samuels (bass), and Ethan Cypress (banjo & bone).

The band’s honest and relatable music creates a uniquely engaging concert experience. Aiming to connect a variety of audiences, Copper Hill combines the defining aspects of each genre: the accessibility of folk music, the technicality of classical music, the intimate singer-songwriter perspectives, and the spontaneity and active engagement of jazz. It is Copper Hill’s passion and love for these genres, for their individual elements and the way they can be combined into a more meaningful and evocative musical style, that drives and inspires them to create folk-art music. The band’s thoughtful arrangements of traditional folk tunes are harmoniously coupled with their sweet yet sometimes (heavily) sarcasm-tinged style of songwriting.

Hear them here:

And here they are on facebook:

We’re pleased to present Emma’s Revolution on Friday May 10th! 

Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow

Special for this concert only: $15-$25 sliding scale donations.

“Fervent and heartfelt” ~The New York Times

Emma’s Revolution is the dynamic, award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O, whose songs have been sung for the Dalai Lama, praised by Pete Seeger, and covered by Holly Near. With beautiful harmonies and genre-defying eclecticism, Emma’s Revolution delivers the energy and strength of their convictions, in an uprising of truth and hope for these tumultuous times.

“The powers that be can control the media but it’s hard to stop a good song… Pat’s songs will be sung well into the 22nd century.” — Pete Seeger (All Things Considered, NPR)

Emma’s Revolution’s 2019 shows include songs and stories in celebration of the 100th birthday of Pete Seeger, a friend and mentor to the duo. Pat’s nearly 30-year friendship with Pete spanned performances at NYC’s Symphony Space to helping gather sap from the maple trees on his property to swapping stories and sharing holidays with Pete and his wife, Toshi. As Pat recounts on stage, “I was at Pete’s bedside when he died. When I heard he was in the hospital, I drove up to NY, joining a steady stream of family and friends who came to sing Pete’s songs back to him in gratitude for all the times he had left home to sing to us. As the day and evening wore on, a small circle of family and friends remained. We sang our last songs together, sending Pete off onto his next adventure with our love.”

The duo’s latest CD, Revolution Now, includes “Sing People Sing”, the tribute Pat began writing that night that captures Pete’s unique ability to empower an audience with harmony and hope. Revolution Now, garnered top acclaim from radio stations across the country: Top Artist #20 (after Joan Baez), Top Album #24 (after Bela Fleck) and Top Song #25 “Sing People Sing” (after Rhiannon Giddens). The recording covers issues from reproductive justice to refugees and Black Lives Matter to the sustaining power of love and includes Sandy’s beautiful setting of Woody Guthrie’s plaintive lyric, “Revolutionary Mind”, one of the many lyrics Woody left behind without an existing melody. With a core sound featuring their signature exquisite harmonies and acoustic guitars, the duo’s songs span styles from folk to jazz and funk to rock.

“Emma’s Revolution invokes Woody Guthrie and the revolutionary mind on ‘Revolution Now’, a rocking new album brimming with songs that inspire, enlighten and unify.” — Mary Sue Twohy (The Village, SiriusXM) Emma’s Revolution continues to write songs that are tools of inspiration and motivation to fuel today’s resistance movements. Their stunningly powerful song and video, “I Believe Her”, written in support of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, Dr Anita Hill and all survivors, was heralded by The Daily Kos in an article titled “We Have An Anthem, Folks”, called “the musical equivalent of breaking news” by KPFA Radio and shared heavily on social media.

The duo debuted their latest song, “Trumpty Dumpty (That’s An Emergency)”, at the Day of Action opposing President Trump’s national emergency declaration. The song is being shared on social media and played on radio. Emma’s Revolution are winners of the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and the first Phil Ochs Award. Their music has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and Pacifica’s Democracy Now. The duo were featured performers at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, performing to an audience of 10,000, and are contributors to the Grammy-nominated CDs, Singing Through the Hard Times – A Tribute to Utah Phillips and Seeds: The Songs of Pete Seeger Vol 3. In the spirit of Emma Goldman’s famous attribution, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution,”

Emma’s Revolution brings their uprising of truth and hope to concerts, festivals, conferences and justice events. The duo has given thousands of performances throughout the US and around the world in Canada, Chile, Korea, Scotland, England, Israel, Palestine, Nicaragua and Cuba. Emma’s Revolution consistently delivers performances so powerful, audiences leap to their feet to demand more.

Website: EmmasRevolution.com FaceBook: facebook.com/emmasrevolution/ Instagram:
instagram.com/emmas_revolution/ Twitter: @emmasrevolution Email: emmasrevolution@me.com

April 12th at First Second Friday Concerts at Coho:

Jay Mankita

Hey everyone, this time I’m talking about myself, because I’m the featured artist on April 12th. Because I help Rob run the series, I don’t feel right taking your money, so it’s a free concert this time, following a potluck. Doors open at 6. Potluck runs from 6:30 to 7:30, then the concert.  I hope to see you there. I realize that after 16 years of living in the Valley, there are some of you who don’t know my music – possibly because I hardly ever gig anymore, so here’s a link to a youtube page with a bunch of my songs.

(the playlist for all the songs is on the upper left hand corner of this first video)

I’ll be singing some of my own songs, along with some favorite collected ones. Be prepared to be entertained, and to sing along, too. We’re the cheapest game in town that night, so bring your friends!

My jaymankita.com website is down right now, so if you really want to know more about me, where I’ve played, who I’ve played with, who sings my songs, who says what about me, and what color my dog is, you’re kind of out of luck this time, but if you come to the show, you’ll probably end up knowing more about me than you need to know anyway!

Other than that, there are a bunch of videos of me singing my songs on the youtube playlist. Please check them out!

Also, if you use facebook, please talk to the facebook event here and let it know you are coming if you are, and what food you’re bringing, if you are.

See you then, I hope!

Jay

MARCH 1ST CONCERT CANCELLED DUE TO FLU!

We’re sorry to say that we’ve had to cancel this months concert. But have no fear, we will reschedule. And look forward to our April concert happening on the second Friday, April 12th, featuring our own intrepid songwriter, Jay Mankita.

Cindy Kallet & Grey Larsen

Happy Holidays everyone! Start it out right with a new concert by Claudia Schmidt at Coho!

CD Release! Claudia is back with a new CD, “Concinnity”. Claudia opened this series 6 years ago, and we’re glad to have her back again!

More than 4 decades as a 
touring professional have found 
Michigan native Claudia Schmidt 
traversing North America as well as 
Europe in venues ranging from intimate 
clubs to 4,000 seat theaters, and festival 
stages in front of 25,000 rapt listeners. 
She has recorded nineteen albums of 
mostly original songs, exploring folk, 
blues, and jazz idioms featuring 
her acclaimed 12-string 
guitar and mountain 
dulcimer playing.

Claudia Schmidt has been perfecting her craft of performing for almost four decades. It is a quirky and wonderful hodge-podge (her word!) of music, poetry, story, laughter. drama, and celebrating the moment. Work in clubs, theaters, festivals, TV, radio has added depth and dimension, and since she has always included her original work along with very personal versions of the work of others, what you get is a unique look at the world from someone who says what she sees with clarity, humor, and wonder. 

The San Francisco Bay Guardian said: Schmidt’s shows are a lot like falling in love. You never know what’s going to happen next, chances are it’s going to be wonderful, every moment is burned into your memory and you know you’ll never be the same again.” More succinctly, Garrison Keillor said “when Claudia sings a song, it stays sung”

Here’s the facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/318076475700593/ – let us know you’re coming!

Bill Staines in the house Friday, Dec 7th!

(with opening act – our own illuminating Kit Johnson and Swing Set!)

Anyone not familiar with the music of Bill Staines is in for a special treat. For more than forty years, Bill has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960’s and for a time, emceed the Sunday Hootenanny at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. From the time in 1971 when a reviewer from the Boston Phoenix stated that he was “simply Boston’s best performer”, Bill has continually appeared on folk music radio listener polls as one of the top all time favorite folk artists. Now, well into his fifth decade as a folk performer, he has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer. Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular and durable singers on the folk music scene today, performing nearly 200 concerts a year and driving over 65,000 miles annually. He weaves a blend of gentle wit and humor into his performances and one reviewer wrote, “He has a sense of timing to match the best standup comic.” Bill’s music is a slice of Americana, reflecting with the same ease his feelings about the prairie people of the Midwest or the adventurers of the Yukon, the on-the-road truckers, or the everyday workers that make up this land. Many of Bill’s songs have appeared in grade school music books, church hymnals, and scouting campfire songbooks; he is one of only a few songwriters to have eight songs published in the classic song collection, Rise up Singing. Composer David Amram recently described Bill as “a modern day Stephen Foster…his songs will be around 100 years from now.” Over the decades, you have heard Bill singing on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, HBO’s award winning series Deadwood, and Public Radio’s Mountain Stage. Additionally, his music has been used in a number of films including Off and Running, with Cyndi Lauper, and The Return of the Secaucus Seven, John Sayles’ debut as a writer- director. In 1975, Bill won National Yodeling Championship in Kerrville Texas. Another important recognition was given to him in 2007. Presented by the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association, The Jerry Christen Award recognized Bill’s contribution to New England folk music. Currently, Bill has recorded 26 albums; The Happy Wanderer and One More River were winners of the prestigiousParents’ Choice Award, taking a gold medal and silver medal respectively. His songs have been recorded by many artists including Peter, Paul, and Mary, Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, The Highwaymen, Mason Williams, Grandpa Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, Nanci Griffith, Glen Yarborough and others. As well as recordings, over 100 of Bill’s songs have been published in three songbooks: If I Were a Word, Then I’d Be a Song, Movin’ It Down the Line, and Music to Me, the latter published by Hal Leonard Corporation. His song, All God’s Critters, has been recently released as a Simon and Schuster children’s book with illustrations by Caldecott honor-winning artist, Kadir Nelson. “Folk music is rich in the human spirit and experience. I’ve always wanted to bring something of value to people through my songs.” With these thoughts, Bill continues to drive the highways and back roads of the country year after year, bringing his music to listeners, young and old. In the fall of 2015 Yankee Magazine, New England’s premiere magazine, published it’s “80th Anniversary Issue.”In the issue, along with the likes of Stephen King and Katherine Hepburn, Bill was chosen as “One of the 80 gifts New England has given to America.” A true honor.

What Other People Are Saying About Bill

Alice Howe

Colleen is a favorite here, and if you haven’t been to one of her concerts here, we encourage you to come check her out. She’s a friend of both Rob and Jay through the Peoples’ Music Network, so she’s going to make wonderful music and hit the issues hard at the same time.

Opening Act: John O’Connor, another very talented songwriter and activist)
https://johnpauloconnor.com/

Here’s more…

http://www.colleenkattau.com

“Ever since childhood Kattau has been imbued with a voice that haunts with its clarity and range”– Syracuse New Times.

“Pitch-perfect vocals, superb sound quality”, Professor Louie (musician and former producer of The Band)

Colleen Kattau is a  bilingual vocalist, song-crafter and dynamic performer of Latin-influenced indy eclectic folk. Colleen toured with Holly Near, and performed on Democracy Now and with Pete Seeger who said “she’s a great singer and organizer at the same time”. Colleen performs solo and with her group Dos XX,  that performs “gringa-grooves from the heart”.  She won the 2016 String-buster songwriting contest at the 2016 Great Labor Arts Exchange, is a selected showcase artist at NERFA, and of course, a long time member of PMN.

She is a musician deeply rooted in her community who performs throughout Central New York and in the Northeast, singing for the Onondaga Nation, the Syracuse Community Choir, and for Renewable energy campaigns in CNY. She often performs in Phil Ochs Night concerts throughout the Northeast.

Colleen will be joined by bandmates, Jane Zell on lead guitar and vocals and virtuoso bassist, Mike “train and catman” Brandt.

Here are some videos:

“Your place of freedom” documenting the 2016 Border Mobilization Nogales, AZ/ Sonora, Mexico: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3EZJ-CFVZk

Live performances: Mni Wiconi March in solidarity with Standing Rock, Syracuse NY 2016:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvIP_XcNMRU

This Hen’s Gonna Crow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYdfiC9MJoU

If I do nothing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8-iMdmExso

Opening act: Swing Set. Cohousing’s own Kit Johnson leads this awesome local vocal jazz group!

From Jay: Marc is one of my songwriting and guitar heroes. I hope you’ll come and be with us for this intimate concert. He really must be heard.

Marc Black plays a finger style blues in the traditions of Mississippi Hurt and the great Tim Hardin. A proud road warrior, he was inducted into the New York Chapter of the Blues Hall of Fame in June of 2014. He’s performed and recorded with Art Garfunkel, Taj Mahal, Richie Havens, Rick Danko and Pete Seeger to name a few. He was recently named Folk Artist of the Year on ABC Radio, and a winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival. Noted for his “timeless songs, deep grooves and excellent playing”, Marc was inducted into the New York Chapter of the Blues Hall of Fame in June of 2014.

He’s performed and recorded with many luminaries including Art Garfunkel, Rick Danko, Richie Havens, Taj Mahal and Pete Seeger. He was chosen by Levon Helm to play one of the Midnight Rambles and was recently named Folk Artist of the Year on ABC Radio.

Marc is currently working on a multi-media campaign to help folks who have been gagged by corporate bullying, called Sing for the Silenced. But his song subjects range from his love for the New York Mets, to good coffee and just about everything in between. His fingerstyle blues is reminiscent of Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin’ Hopkins.

Marc spends most of his time on the road— playing festivals, clubs, arts centers, libraries and house concerts. He was a finalist in the prestigious Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition. Sometime a Spark, his song about Mohamed Bouazizi and the Arab Spring, caused an international stir that led to an interview on Tunisian State Radio.

While still in high school, his band, the Blades of Grass, reached the top forty and performed along side the biggest acts of the day including the Doors, Van Morrison and Neil Diamond. He has since recorded more than a dozen CDs including one ‘pick hit’ in Billboard Magazine and another that was recognized as a ‘minor masterpiece’ by famed music producer John Hammond Sr.

Marc’s song, No Fracking Way – recorded with John Sebastian and Eric Weissberg (of “Dueling Banjos” fame), and some 100 Woodstock, NY citizens — has been sung at rallies as far away as South Africa, Ireland and Australia, and has become a worldwide anthem for the anti-fracking movement.

Click to hear more of Mark’s songs