West Side Folk

Ellis Paul

Ellis Paul is a critically-acclaimed singer, songwriter, poet, and troubadour originally hailing from a potato farming family in northern Maine. He is the recipient of thirteen Boston Music Awards, second only to multi-platinum act, Aerosmith. Over the course of fifteen years, Ellis Paul has built a vast catalog of music which weds striking poetic imagery and philosophical introspection with hook-laden melodies. “Literate, provocative, urbanely romantic.” - Boston Globe

Drew Nelson (Danny McGaw opens)

Michigan-born Navy veteran Drew Nelson is a storytelling songwriter. A fly fisherman and world traveler, he writes as a witness to the lives and journeys of those he has met along the way, mixing Americana and roots-rock with traditional folk styles.Drew has toured across North America and Europe, performing solo and opening for popular rock artists like Melissa Etheridge and Edwin McCain as well as esteemed folk singers like John Gorka. “Drew Nelson is one of my favorite new artists,” John Gorka says. “His songs sound like the rest of us feel… dazed, angry, amazed and climbing.”

Born and raised in Northern England, Danny McGaw's pursuit of a musical career led him to Los Angeles, where the L.A. Times wrote that he “is soon to be discovered on a national scale” and “lyrically he is an original, with a solid voice that is distinct and memorable” and where two of his songs were placed in major motion pictures. He's now living in Kansas City and getting acclaim for this new CD, Eccles Road.

Tracy Grammer

“Tracy Grammer is a brilliant artist and unique individual. Her voice is distinctive, as is her mastery over the instruments she plays.” - Joan Baez
“Tracy Grammer has that elusive quality of being able to speak directly to another person's heart - instantly bypassing all of the usual infrastructure - the moment she starts singing. She's great.“- Richard Shindell“

“Tracy has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard in my life. There's also a sadness and sorrow and pain and depth of knowledge to Tracy's playing. I really think there's nobody like her in the world.”- Dave Carter,

Cheryl Wheeler

There is poet-Cheryl, writer of some of the prettiest, most alluring and intelligent ballads on the modern folk scene. And there is her evil twin, comic-Cheryl, a militant trend defier and savagely funny social critic. The result is a delightful contrast between poet and comic. More confidently and beautifully than ever before, she proves that the poet and the comic are one and the same.  (Scott Alarik)

Brother Sun

National touring artists Joe Jencks, Greg Greenway and Pat Wictor have made their mark as veteran touring singer-songwriters. But Brother Sun is no songwriter's round.  The trio's harmonies, as much as their lyrics, tell what they are about:  warm as a campfire, stirring as a gospel church, rousing as a call to arms.  Fusing folk, Americana, blues, pop, jazz, rock, and a cappella singing, Brother Sun is an explosion of musical diversity and harmony, in the finest of male singing traditions.