Walkabout Coffeehouse
2012-2013
Memorial United Methodist Church
250 Bryant Avenue, White Plains, NY 10605
Doors open at 6:30pm, open seating. Walkabout Chorus "Teachabout" at 6:45pm
Featured performance at 7:30pm. Further information see "Logistics"
October 13, 2012
Woody Guthrie Night
Join us for a special evening celebrating the life and work of Woody Guthrie as we commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth.
A highlight of the evening will be an interview with Pete Seeger sharing tales of his friend Woody and taped
especially for Walkabout. Copies of Pete's new two-CD set "Pete Remembers Woody" will be available.
Radio personality Bob Sherman, host of WFUV's "Woody's Children," will also be on hand.
Peter Siegel
Lissa
Shneckenberger
David Bernz
Carolann Solebello
Hope Machine
Rick Nestler
Peter Siegel contributes a radical chord to American Roots music. Influenced by the songwriting of Pete Seeger and
Phil Ochs, the chunking groove of a rugged old time jam, the effortlessly precise playing of trad Northern tunes,
and the gutsy blues of the Stones. He’s played venues like Newport Folk, Clearwater Revival, Falcon Ridge,
Festival for the Eno, Champlain Valley, Old Songs, Solarfest, The Iron Horse and the Kennedy Center.
Lissa Shneckenberger
"World class fiddler... far from just offering one dance tune after another, simple settings allow the
true beauty of the music to shine through."
-- Sing Out!
David Bernz
David is the producer of Pete Seeger’s two most recent Grammy-winning CDs:
Pete Seeger At 89 (2009), and
Tomorrow’s
Children (2011). He is presently at work preparing the 2012 release of their newest collaboration,
Pete Remembers Woody. David is a member of the highly acclaimed quartet "Work o' the Weavers" (see May 11 below!)
Carolann Solebello
For six years Carolann Solebello anchored Red Molly's harmonies with her velvety alto. On her new CD,
Threshold, she steps
confidently into the role of solo performer...
-- John Platt - WFUV Bronx NY
Hope Machine (Fred Gillen, Steve Kirkman, and Eric Puente)
Hope Machine was born at a 2003 Woody Guthrie hootenanny hosted by Woody's granddaughter Anna Canoni. It was named after the
Woody quote: "about all a human being is anyway, is a hoping machine."
Rick Nestler
"… the Bronx-born Mr. Nestler ... is a singer and the writer of the song 'The River That Flows Both Ways'. It has become a
sort of anthem for those who care about the river, and Mr. Nestler himself has become known as the Troubadour of the Hudson.
Herbert Hadad - NY Times by Herbert Hadad
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
November 10, 2012
Martha Redbone Roots Project
Don't you love it when a kindred spirit makes it big? Martha Redbone is recognized by the Smithsonian
Institution National Museum as one of our time’s leading contemporary Native American voices.
Her new album “The
Garden of Love - Songs of William Blake” takes the immortal words of poet William Blake and sets them in
the Appalachian Mountains, bringing her uniquely soulful voice to hollered melodies, lullabies, ancient chants and
inspired hymns. The result, produced by Grammy Award-winning Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founder John McEuen
and David Hoffner, is a wondrous folk, country, gospel and blues reading in which the songs feel like
timeless mountain classics with lyrics that are startlingly fresh and strikingly relevant.
Expressions of love for Martha Redbone's Garden of Love are coming in from NYC to Nashville to the Netherlands!
- "A delightful surprise...Terrific album!" -- Robert Siegel, NPR's All Things Considered
- "Martha Redbone is a charismatic indie-soul diva whose sound is a just-right mix of retro
and modern." -- Time Out New York
- “The Garden of Love is a 12-track CD filled with moving songs that are masterfully crafted and
performed with near perfection." -- Dan Harr, Music News Nashville
- "Poised to be Americana’s next superstar" -- Village Voice
- "Martha Redbone's version of 'The Garden of Love' is a very old timey swampy thing that
I like quite a lot." -- John Schaefer, WNYC, New Sounds
- "The Martha Redbone Roots Project is a real beauty." -- Noel Casey, Dublin City FM
- "The Garden of Love - Songs of William Blake is a landmark album that should propel
her (Martha Redbone) to the forefront of the folk scene." -- Hans Werksman, Here Comes The Flood (The Netherlands)
- "The combining of music with William Blake’s “songs” is an amazing achievement. It is as
though this 18th century poet’s work has been quietly waiting for Martha Redbone....finally,
exquisitely complete." -- Gary Carden, Smoky Mountain News
- "The arrangements have been artfully crafted, the musicians are very skillful and the singer's
voice is magnificent." -- François Mauger, Mondomix (France)
Tune into "All Things Considered" on NPR.org to listen to Robert Siegel's fascinating interview with
Martha Redbone:
NPR Interview with Martha Redbone
You can stream or purchase album at
Martha Redbone Roots Project at BandCamp
More at
Martha Redbone's Website
Join us on November 10 to share the excitement and fall in love with the music!
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
December 8, 2012
Brother Sun
Photo by Jake Jacobson
Pat Wictor, Greg Greenway, and Joe Jencks have formed a dynamic new male trio.
Their 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. Calling upon contemporary songwriting, and informed by the deep roots
of gospel, blues, and folk, the trio weaves a tapestry of harmony that is brilliantly
fresh and yet familiar.
On WFUV in New York City, John Platt, host of "Sunday Breakfast," and Bob Sherman, host of "Woody's Children,"
both picked Brother Sun for their "Best of 2011" list.
More at
Brother Sun Website
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
January 12, 2013
The Kennedys
Photo by Hub Wilson
The story of Pete and Maura Kennedy's personal and professional relationship, now in its second decade, is somewhere
between fate and a fairytale.
How else can you explain a chance meeting in Austin between two East Coast-born
musicians that immediately sparked a songwriting collaboration, a first date at Buddy Holly's grave, an enduring
romance, and a creative partnership that radiates warmth, positive energy, and captivating music?
“The folk-rocking husband/wife team of Pete and Maura Kennedy have created a cohesive, often infectious and sometimes
poignant song cycle inspired by dreams: the dreams that come in the night, and dreams of a better
world. (5 stars)”
– Mike Regenstreif, Montreal Gazette
More at
The Kennedys Music website
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
February 9, 2013
Garnet Rogers
Photo by Lyn Macintyre
Garnet Rogers has established himself as one of the major talents of our time. Hailed by the Boston Globe
as a "charismatic performer and singer", Garnet has a powerful physical presence - close to
six and a half feet tall - with a voice to match. With his "smooth, dark baritone" (Washington Post),
his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics
alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere.
His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic
in detail, his songs "give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart" (Kitchener Waterloo Record).
An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes
and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humour
and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.
"Garnet Rogers may be the greatest male interpreter and vocalist performing in the contemporary folk
scene... a first rate writer...musical integrity and powerful performance..."
- Sing Out! Magazine
More at
Garnet Rogers website
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
March 9, 2013
Vance Gilbert
“...The voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of both...”
- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“Gilbert took the stage, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, a whimsical sense of humor, and
an astonishingly smooth tenor voice. But that proved to be more than enough.”
- Chicago Tribune
“...Among the quintessential musical poets.”
- Dirty Linen
Vance Gilbert burst onto the singer/songwriter scene in the early 1990's when the buzz started spreading in the
folk clubs of Boston about an ex-multicultural arts teacher who was knocking 'em dead at open mikes. Then Shawn
Colvin invited Gilbert to be a special guest on her Fat City national tour. Vance Gilbert took audiences acress the
country by storm, as he has done countless times since.
More at
Vance Gilbert Website
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
April 13, 2013
The Nields
photo by Kris McCue
Nerissa and Katryna Nields have been the darlings of the coffeehouse/festival scene since 1991, with
tunes ranging from off-the-hook idiosyncratic to kicking to heartbreaking.
For their latest CD, what does a folk-rock sister duo write about after twenty years in
the music business; a career which produced fifteen CDs,
three books, a DVD, a thriving children’s music educational empire, four children and two husbands (one apiece)?
The "full catastrophe" of course, taken from the line from Zorba the Greek: "I'm a man, so I married. Wife, children,
house, everything. The full catastrophe."
The Nields sisters have created a powerful, passionate, thoughtful,
humorous work that explores the crazy ride that is this insane twenty-first century idea that in a post-feminist
world it might somehow be possible for a woman to raise her children, maintain her relationship and
career and contribution to her community while tending to her artistic soul at the same time.
The Nields come damn close with The Full Catastrophe, their sixteenth album in two full decades of work.
"Their harmonies are tight and soulful, their spirits unflagging..."
— Mike Joyce, The Washington Post
More at
The Nields website
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
May 11, 2013
Work o' The Weavers
Photo © Brian Kanof
Since its 2003 inception, Work o’ The Weavers has played to enthusiastically participatory audiences
in 28 states, Canada and Israel.
“This faithfully arranged and sung tribute…rings with such rousing familiarity…that there are moments
when you may find yourself thinking that the group’s original members are all within range of the microphones.”
- The Washington Post
“Through the years it’s really been very nice, our fans have been wonderful, the way they’ve come up to
me and said, ‘Oh God, The Weavers are so wonderful’ and ‘You’ve changed my life,’ and all these
wonderful things. And I always felt a little cheated because I never had the chance to sit out front and
listen to The Weavers. But that changed tonight.”
– Fred Hellerman
“Four wonderful people who’ve…picked up where the Weavers left off. I put on the recording and had to
listen to it twice. FANTASTIC!”
– Pete Seeger
“You really do sound like The Weavers!”
– Ronnie Gilbert
More at
Work 'o' The Weavers webite
Tickets:
In advance: $18.00 - At the door: $23.00
Preview of 2013-2014 Season:
- October 12, 2013 - John McCutcheon
- November 9, 2013 - Guy Davis
- December 14, 2013 - Garnett Rogers
- January 11, 2014 - Robin & Linda Williams
- February 8, 2014 - Magpie
- March 8, 2014 - Sara Thomsen
- April 12, 2014 - Seamus Kennedy
- May, 10, 2014 - John Gorka