Here’s a last reminder about the Pasadena Folk Music Society’s December show featuring Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick, and friends at Caltech in Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman) this Saturday, December 5 at 8:00 PM. We have two of the finest voices in bluegrass team up with a great band and bringing a flock of outstanding songs with them. Stephen D. Winick of the Huffington Post wrote the following about their their tribute recording to Vern Williams and Ray Price:
“The disc’s material reflects the eclectic repertoire of Vern & Ray’s band, finding the sweet spot among traditional folk music, early country classics, and more modern compositions, with everything from [Stephen] Foster’s Oh! Susanna and My Old Kentucky Home to the Carter Family’s Cowboy Jack and My Clinch Mountain Home, and from folk tunes Black-Eyed Susie and Flying Cloud to Luther Riley’s Bluegrass Style and Ray Park’s Thinkin’ of Home. Themes of home and love, wandering and worrying, and God and prayer come up again and again, presenting the American experience crystallized in country music. This is my favorite bluegrass album in years!”
Listen to them do If I Had My Life to Live Over Again and Happy I’ll Be to get a very good idea of what they can do. Their recording includes 18 gems, and who knows, they may throw in a few other Vern and Ray songs not on the recording. You don’t really have to know anything about Vern and Ray to love this show, but you can read a good short biography of them here and hear a live recording of them doing The Touch of God’s Hand. See Laurie’s web site and Kathy’s at Get an idea of the groundedness of Laurie and her strong connections to folk music here and the same for Kathy here.
Tickets are selling very well. We’re pretty certain that they will still be available at the door, but if you don’t arrive till 8PM, you could be disappointed. If you don’t get advance tickets, you can try calling (626) 616-4559 on Saturday and we’ll give you an idea of where things stand. Before Saturday, call the Ticket Office at (626) 395-4652 or you can order online http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?pid=8130864 until the end of today, Thursday. The Ticket Office is located at Winnett Student Center on campus, and you can buy tickets there without a fee. They are open 9AM-4PM Monday through Friday, but you might give them a call before you go, to confirm that they will be there at the time you come.
And while you’re buying your tickets for this show, get your discounted tickets to hear Mark O’Connor’s Appalachian Christmas in Beckman Auditorium (Big Beckman) on Saturday, December 12 at 8:00 PM. Mark is an amazing man, not only on fiddle/violin, but also on mandolin and guitar. He moves easily from folk stylings to classical and jazz and he is also an established composer. Don’t miss this chance to hear Mark, joined by other musicians in this special seasonal show that has become quite popular in the last few years. He has won 2 Grammy awards, with 6 other nominations, along with 7 Country Music awards. And he has performed in myriad combinations with people as diverse as Yo-Yo Ma, Wynton Marsalis, Chet Atkins, James Taylor, and a host of others. Listen to him do his version of Linus and Lucy with a bluegrass ensemble and an absolutely beautiful extended solo version of Silent Night. Regular prices before the $5 discount (if you mention the Folk Music Society when ordering) are $45; $40; $35 and $10 for youth.
See our web site at https://pasadenafolkmusicsociety.org and get ready for a great Celtic show on January 16 with fiddler Andrea Beaton and Northumbrian smallpiper Dick Hensold. Listen to the beautiful Lady Isabella Wemyss and a medley of Cape Breton tunes to see their livelier side here.
We just learned that the Briton Ensemble, a great chorus of 15-20 voices, will be doing their annual free holiday performance on Sunday, December 20 at the Altadena Community Church. Doors open at 5:30 PM and they do pass a basket for people who wish to donate to the church for kindly allowing the use of their space. See their Facebook page for more information. This show is always a total delight.