Pasadena Folk Music Society

We welcome back Patrick Ball, who has honored our series by appearing 7 times before, with completely different shows and different musical configurations, combining elements of music, storytelling, theater and literature. Patrick is an extraordinary steel string Celtic harpist and an equally talented storyteller. In an article entitled, An Irish Bard Plucks at Heartstrings the … Continue reading Patrick Ball: Celtic Harp and Story →

The Pasadena Folk Music Society moves off the Caltech campus for the first time ever to present a special Sunday morning concert featuring the fine voices and guitar work of Eric Uglum and Bud Bierhaus, also known as the Vintage Martins. Eric and Bud impressed us greatly some years back when they performed at one … Continue reading Sunday Morning Bluegrass Gospel in the Garden! →

Dan Frechette, guitar/vocals, and Laurel Thomsen, violin/vocals will be making their Caltech debut at this show. We are happy to be presenting this fine duo who we expect you will be hearing much more about in the future. They prove that musical magic is not only possible, but as described by The Monterey Herald, “a … Continue reading Dan Frechette and Laurel Thomsen →

Born in Spain, raised in Chicago and now living in rural England, Sarah refuses to be pigeonholed, segueing easily from one of her emotive originals into a 1930s Cuban jazz number, a 16th century lute piece or an unexpected contemporary cover. Like its predecessors, her fourth solo CD has drawn international critical acclaim: The Musician … Continue reading Sarah McQuaid →

Singer/songwriter Rita Hosking, from Northern California, returns for her second appearance at Caltech. She continues to gain attention for her original songs and her personable style. She was winner of Best Country Album (Vox Pop) in the 2010 Independent Music Awards, winner of the '08 Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Sisters Folk Festival, … Continue reading Rita Hosking →

An inventive guitarist, now living in Salt Lake City, Chris Proctor has 11 fine albums to his credit. Chris is a musical adventurer whose voice is the acoustic six and the twelve string guitars. His music takes listeners through a fascinating world of moods and textures. His influences include traditional American folk, Celtic, blues and … Continue reading Chris Proctor →

Witcher, Recupido & Levitt perform a very satisfying country tinged style of bluegrass music. This band evolved from the Witcher Brothers, who were long one of the mainstays of Southern California bluegrass. Appearances became less frequent as two of the Witcher sons struck out on their own, with young fiddler extraordinaire Gabe Witcher moving east … Continue reading Witcher, Recupido & Levitt →

Caltech's Public Events presents a sensational evening of joy, hope, laughter, friendship, and celebration, of life through storytelling, music, song and dance in a night that sparkles with life and a bit of "magic!" Musically, they will feature pipes, flutes, fiddles, button accordion and bodhráns and, of course, plenty of singing! The Irish traditional musicians … Continue reading Caltech Public Events presents An Irish Christmas! Receive a $5 discount if you mention the Folk Music Society when ordering tickets! Saturday, December 17 in Beckman Auditorium (Big Beckman) at 8PM →

Brad Colerick has been an important factor for the Los Angeles area songwriters and performers. You might be familiar with his music series in South Pasadena, where he presented, performed with, and learned from many other fine songwriters and musicians as his own world view and voice continuted to evolve. His songwriting is personal, his … Continue reading Brad Colerick →

We've got a real Southern band, a Louisiana band, coming to Caltech for this show. They are so big in size (6 members), stature, and anticipated audience size that we're moving over to Ramo Auditorium, a short walk beyond our usual digs in Beckman Institute Auditorium. The Revelers consists of most of the members of … Continue reading The Revelers →

We're going to fill up our little stage space with this great young band, based in Lochaber in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, an area as much renowned for its scenic beauty as for its rich musical and cultural heritage. Taking their name from the Gaelic word for kinship, Dàimh (pronounced dive) fused together … Continue reading Dàimh, quintet from Scotland, in Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman) →

Michael is hugely known as the songwriter of The Dutchman, a song recorded early on by Steve Goodman and then performed and recorded by all kinds of great singers since then. If you don't know the song by it's name, maybe the line, "Long ago I used to be a young man, and dear Margaret … Continue reading Michael Smith, extraordinary songwriter, singer, guitarist to appear at Caltech Saturday, March 11 →

Don't miss the opportunity to hear the return of Alasdair Fraser, Scottish fiddler extraordinaire and Natalie Haas on cello! Alasdair, now living in the Sierra Nevada foothills, has long been a favorite in his adopted country. He performs solo, as well as with groups as diverse as the Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Waterboys and … Continue reading Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas →

Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald will be making their first appearance at Caltech in Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman.) They have been playing together for about four years, blending the rich traditional sound of the Cape Breton fiddle, with the fiery edge of the Scottish Border pipes. Combining their creative vision with influences from Old … Continue reading Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald →

Brocelïande (Margaret Davis, Kristoph Klover, and Kris Yenney) will return to Caltech with music from the British Isles, Medieval and Renaissance music, and original settings of the songs of J.R.R. Tolkien. Featuring stellar vocal and instrumental harmonies, their enchanting sound is built on the interweaving of 3-part vocals with Celtic harp, guitar, cello, octave mandolin, … Continue reading Brocelïande, Celtic and Early Music Ensemble →

Jim Kweskin's name has long been associated with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, which defined an important niche in popular music, showcasing traditional, jugband, and ragtime music in an era (the 1960's) when more and more musicians were writing their own songs.  This band reached back and made music from the past shine. The band … Continue reading Jim Kweskin and friends →

The Recollective, a Celtic quartet, based in Ireland, consists of Calum Morrison, from Glascow, Scotland on vocals, guitar, banjo, tenor guitar, bodhran and Highland Bagpipes, Karen Hickey, from County Mayo, Ireland on fiddle, Michael Coult, originally from Glossop (close to Manchester), England, on traditional Irish flute and whistles, and Kieran Leonard on drums percussion, and … Continue reading The Recollective →

Phil Salazar has been one of the mainstays in Southern California bluegrass for a good many years. He has pulled bluegrass in many directions and he has played in many memorable configurations during this time. One of these groupings began as the Phil Salazar Band back in 1983. This is such an amazing grouping and … Continue reading Phil Salazar and the Kin Folk →

The Pasadena Folk Music Society is co-sponsoring a memorial for Rosalie Sorrels with some of her friends and family on Sunday, August 20 at 7:00 PM in our familiar Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman.) Rosalie, a terrific singer, songwriter, musician and storyteller passed away on June 11 and this will be a chance for friends, a … Continue reading Rosalie Sorrels Memorial →