West Side Folk

After Girlyman’s first gig they earned enough to buy a milkshake. Now they sell out The Barns at Wolftrap, The Old Town School of Folk Music, and The Freight and Salvage. The venues have gotten more famous, but filling the seats is just part of the story of Girlyman’s connection to their audience. Fans drive hundreds of miles to hear their three-part harmonies. If they live overseas, they make a special trip to America. If they bring friends, the newcomers leave hooked.

The Village Voice calls Girlyman “really good, really unexpected, and really different.” When a rabbinical student writes a prayer based on their music, that’s really unexpected. When a fan tattoos their lyrics on her feet, that’s really different. The band’s blend of acoustic, Americana and rock winds its way into your life, whether you’re novelist Anne Beattie quoting the song “On the Air,” or characters listening to the band in The Last Lie written by best selling author Stephen White, or college choral groups who perform a capella versions of Girlyman’s songs.

The three founding members of the Atlanta-based band handle songwriting duties, penning lyrics about love and loss and memory. But, as Slate magazine wrote “Girlyman doesn’t wallow in such emotions; the band approaches them frankly, capturing, in a story or a surprising metaphor, a feeling you’ve had but never heard so well-expressed.” Their music spans genres-they play acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, djembe, and electric baritone guitar-but even in large venues their shows are accessible in the coffeehouse style. They handily finish each other’s jokes. Their improvisational harmonies and on-the-spot songs (about everything from the Antipope to the benefit of firing a cannon in a musical composition) have become cult favorites.

Most recently, Girlyman has been collaborating with comedian Margaret Cho, co-writing songs for her upcoming CD. She also produced their first music video for the song “Young James Dean.” Of Girlyman, Cho says, “It’s the music of my heart and soul. Girlyman is the future and the past and the present.”

“Connie Dover has become an American treasure who has rediscovered the musical synergy that existed between the British Isles and the American West.” (Cowboys & Indians Magazine). “Just occasionally, a voice arrives on the folk scene that is so pure, so beautiful, so magical, that it tells you: this is how to sing a song. Such a voice has Connie Dover.” (The Scotsman) “Heavenly songs bridge the Celtic tradition and the American West. Connie Dover’s shimmering soprano is as pure and clear as the Western sky.” Kansas City Magazine

Acclaimed by the Boston Globe as “the finest folk ballad singer America has produced since Joan Baez,” Connie Dover is a singer, poet and Emmy Award-winning producer and composer. Her soaring, crystal-clear voice and inspired arrangements of traditional music of Scotland, Ireland and the American West display a depth and breadth of range that have earned her a rightful place among the world’s finest traditional singers. Connie, who began her Celtic music career as a lead singer for the Kansas City-based Irish band Scartaglen, has collaborated with musical friends on both sides of the Atlantic, performing on radio, television, and in concert throughout North and South America. Her broadcast performances include guest appearances on NPR’s Weekend Edition, A Prairie Home Companion, Thistle and Shamrock, Mountain Stage and E-Town.

For this concert, Connie will be joined by the outstanding fiddler Douglas Goodhart and guitarist Kelly Werts.

From the hills of Appalachia to the heart of the soul and back again… Two unique voices, one magical sound. That's what you get when you put Tricia Spencer and Cindy Novelo together. The energy and delight these two exude as they perform together is beyond delightful. It is pure unsurpassed joy.

Cindy Novelo thrilled the audience as an opener for last fall's Red Molly show and is back now as part of this wonderful duo. Novelo's music is haunting, soulful, mesmerizing… music that captivates the heart and soothes the soul. Reaching from the mystical sounds of the hollows of Appalachia to the melodies and traditions of both Medieval and Romantic Europe, Novelo blends her classical training with her deep love of folk music into magical interpretations of traditional tunes and original compositions graced with classical lyricism. An award-winning musician and singer/songwriter, Novelo has performed across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.

Tricia Spencer, acclaimed fiddler for the The Prairie Acre, was born into the tradition, learning to play at home from her Grandma and Grandpa, her family immersed in old-time music in a way that's rare to find anymore. She is the real deal, authentic to the core. Picking up her first fiddle at age 4, she traveled the country with her family, attending festivals where she met and was inspired by some of the most well-known fiddlers of the day. While Spencer continues to play and tour with other musical acts, she is also branching out as a solo artist, really making a name for herself in the world of old-timey fiddling and Carter family style singing. Her high-energy, soulful sound is uniquely and utterly inspiring.

Darrell Lea and Megan Hurt began performing together in the early '90's as two founding members of the band Uncle Dirtytoes. They soon found themselves playing outside the band as a duo, and released their "Season of Change" CD in spring of 1995. Though musical projects have come and gone for each of them since, they continue to explore and refine the sound they create as a duo. Their sound ranges from traditional tunes to modern folk/rock arrangements and original songs

"This debut album is the most refreshing, lyrically impacting record I've heard in ages. A stunning debut."
Maverick Magazine (UK)

Antje Duvekot has solidified her reputation as one of Boston's top singer songwriters with "Big Dream Boulevard" her debut studio release and "the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer" her follow-up CD. The debut CD was produced by Seamus Egan, founder of the Irish super group, SOLAS. It was voted "#1 Folk Release of 2006" by the Boston Globe and was named to the "Top10 Releases of the Year" by National Public Radio's, Folk Alley. Maverick Magazine (UK) said "This debut album is the most refreshing, lyrically impacting record I've heard in ages. A stunning debut.". Her follow up album "The Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer" was produced by Richard Shindell and along side with Richard features other "folk royalty" such as John Gorka, Lucy Kaplancky and Mark Erelli. It was voted #1 album of the year 2009 by WUMB 91.9 fm in Boston. And Antje will have a brand new CD when she returns to Lawrence, where she did a wonderful opening set for Richard Shindell in January, 2010. Richard Shindell says "What a blessing to have worked with someone as talented as Antje. With a voice like hers, and songs as good as these, a producer (especially a first-time producer!) just tries to get out of the way, to do no harm, and to let the artist speak for herself."

Former Rolling Stone music editor Dave Marsh says (about Antje's debut 'Big Dream Boulevard'): "This is a brilliant, brilliant album. I have had this reaction once in the last 10 years and that was the first time I heard Patty Griffin." while the Boston Glove said "Duvekot has gotten hotter, faster than any local songwriter in recent memory. Her songs feel at once fresh faced and firmly rooted, driven by the whispery sensuality of her voice. She believes in the redemptive power of the shared secret; and is utterly unafraid to mine the darkest corners of her life for songs that turn fear into resilience and isolation into community".

Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious, Kerrville (TX) "Best New Folk Award" and in one of the nation's top music markets, she won the Boston Music Award for "Outstanding Folk Act", three of the top prizes in the singer songwriter world.

Darrell Scott is a songwriter, an in-demand instrumentalist and an acclaimed performer and recording artist - all achievements earned while burning his own path instead of playing by the accepted rules of the music industry. Scott has long since proven that his songs deserve recognition. As a songwriter, he's contributed a string of hits that reads like a list of the best modern country music has to offer. There's the Grammy Award winning "Long Time Gone" and "Heartbreak Town," both top hits for the Dixie Chicks. "Great Day to be Alive" helped Travis Tritt complete his comeback; "Born to Fly" was a No. 1 hit for Sara Evans, while "Family Tree" was successful for Darryl Worley and "When No One's Around" extended Garth Brooks' run. "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" was cut in the same year by both Patty Loveless and Brad Paisley. He's also spent much of the last year touring the world as part of Robert Plant's Band of Joy, following the release of his 6th solo album, A Crooked Road, where Scott wrote all the songs, and played all the instruments, and did all the singing. It recounts the bruises and blessings of 30 years of love relationships, in an intimate, intense, and introspective way.

Rolling Stone says Scott matches "Guy Clark and Bruce Springsteen at their best" while Vintage Guitar says "he ranks as the most outstanding and underrated songwriter and performer in the United States today." Entertainment Weekly lauds his "powerful writing, passionate vocals, and masterful picking" while the Houston Press says "His songs are every bit as good as those of Steve Earle, John Prine or....Guy Clark, and when he lays into a Les Paul or a vintage Martin, sparks fly....One of the baddest cats in Nashville. Or anywhere."

Fellow musicians gush about Darrell Scott. Says Sam Bush, "His playing is unreal. He's just limitless in his approach and knowledge of instruments." Nick Forster, of Hot Rize and host of E-Town, adds "Nobody else can do what he does." Rodney Crowell notes "that soulful voice and the gift of playing any instrument in the room--exceedingly well."