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Moira Smiley & VOCO

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Moira Smiley & VOCO is a visionary blend of voices - redefining harmony singing with the power & physicality of folksong, the avant-garde fearlessness of Béla Bartók and delicious, vaudevillian accompaniment of cello, banjo, ukelele, accordion and body percussion. Moira Smiley's award-winning original music and spell-binding American and East European folksongs light up the stage … Continue reading Moira Smiley & VOCO →

Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

We are extremely pleased to welcome back Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands to our series from Berkeley, California. Laurie is certainly one of the most prominent women of bluegrass today, with her voice, guitar, and fiddle, but her songwriting and song interpreting sets her apart from the bluegrass world. She can do a great job … Continue reading Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands →

Jeni & Billy

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Update: We just got word that Jeni & Billy have arranged to have a full band for this show! Joining them will be Craig Eastman (fiddle, lap steel, and mandolin), Dillon O’Brian (keyboards and harmony vocals), Denny Weston Jr. (percussion), David Jackson (bass &accordion), and Dave Way (percussion & guitar), and maybe (if he can resolve schedule … Continue reading Jeni & Billy →

T Sisters

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

We were planning to take December off, and just kick back and enjoy the return of Danú to the larger stage of Beckman Auditorim (Big Beckman) in Caltech's Public Events series the next week. But late in September, we were contacted by the agent for T Sisters, an Oakland trio who would be down this … Continue reading T Sisters →

Danú – A Christmas Gathering: Féile na Nollag

Beckman Auditorium (Big Beckman) at Caltech 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA, United States

Presented by Caltech Public Events, with the Folk Music Society as marketing partner Danú performed in our own series twice, back in 1997 and then again in 2001. They were a young, newly formed Irish band, based in Waterford, just starting to make a name for themselves. Now, they are better known and command a … Continue reading Danú – A Christmas Gathering: Féile na Nollag →

Jim Malcolm

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Jim Malcolm has performed in our series four times and also once or twice when he was a member of Old Blind Dogs. The pattern has been to have him every other year, but because of a scheduling conflict in 2014, we're making up for missing him last January. Jim continues to be one of … Continue reading Jim Malcolm →

Celtic Fiddle Festival

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Many have asked when the Folk Music Society will be bringing Irish fiddler, Kevin Burke back, and we've been working on that for awhile. Sometimes things just fall into place, and we are not only getting Kevin, but we have the entire Celtic Fiddle Festival, featuring Christian Lemaître (Brittany), André Brunet (Québec), and Nicholas Quemener … Continue reading Celtic Fiddle Festival →

Socks in the Frying Pan

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Socks in the Frying Pan is young band just now making a name for themselves on the international scene. We are only too happy to help introduce them to the US audience and vice versa. Having gained a fan-base from four years of gigging around the west of Ireland, this exciting group has recently started branching … Continue reading Socks in the Frying Pan →

Paddy Keenan

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Paddy Kennan was a founding member of the almost legendary Bothy Band, the Irish group that did so much to bring about a resurgence in traditional Irish and other Celtic music. The Bothy Band forever changed the face of Irish traditional music, merging a driving rhythm section with traditional Irish tunes in ways that had … Continue reading Paddy Keenan →

Katy Moffatt

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Katy Moffatt is a fine Texas-born singer who has written a most impressive body of songs over the years. Her signature sound is her heart-melting voice, which she uses to great effect on songs that range from country-tinged story ballads to Hank Williams honky-tonk country numbers, and more. She also has a knack for finding … Continue reading Katy Moffatt →

RUNA

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

We welcome the return of the fine young band, RUNA for their second appearance at Caltech. Led by step-dancer, Shannon Lambert-Ryan, who was nominated for Best Female Vocalist (individual/traditional) in the 2012 and 2013 Irish Music Awards, RUNA was nominated for Best Song in the world/traditional category, for Amhran Mhuighinse (Somewhere Along the Road), at the 12th … Continue reading RUNA →

Bryan Bowers

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Though other talented folks have followed in his footsteps, Bryan Bowers continues to be the pinnacle of autoharp playing in the folk music world, and he delivers a fine mix of songs, instrumentals, and stories. Six years have slipped by since his last visit here, as we could never coordinate a date that fit with … Continue reading Bryan Bowers →

Susie Glaze & The Hilonesome Band

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Susie Glaze & The Highlonesome Band are coming back for a fourth appearance at Caltech! They have been likened to the classic British bands Pentangle and Fairport Convention in that they blend classic folk music with rough-edged stories of tragedy and fate, all with orchestral arrangements sounding like chamber music gone folk! A lush newgrass … Continue reading Susie Glaze & The Hilonesome Band →

Marina V and Aireene Espiritu

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Save the date for this special double bill! Marina V is a talented singer-songwriter with an unusual back story. She grew up in Moscow and was trained as a classical pianist. Then she was exposed to English-language pop music through cassette tapes smuggled into Russia. She spent a year in the U.S. as an exchange student … Continue reading Marina V and Aireene Espiritu →

John Flynn

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

John Flynn had already released his first ten or so albums before he got around to approaching us to do a show. One reason was that he had taken time out from touring to raise children, but he was still creating and performing. Kris Kristofferson wrote some of his liner notes. He accompanied Arlo Guthrie, … Continue reading John Flynn →

Kathy Kallick Band

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

The Kathy Kallick Band is one of California's finest bluegrass bands, and they soar both vocally and instrumentally. They are known both for honoring the music of some of the towering influences on early bluegrass (Bill Monroe, the Louvin Brothers, and many more), and for adding plenty of wonderful original songs and tunes to the … Continue reading Kathy Kallick Band →

Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

We'd like to welcome another pair of newcomers to our series: Claudia Russell and her partner, Bruce Kaplan, from Berkeley, California. She's a second generation musician whose father—Gilbert Russell aka Val Rosing—was a famous singer in the 1930s, best known for being the vocalist on the original BBC recording of "A Teddy Bear's Picnic." Claudia … Continue reading Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan →

The Good Lovelies

Beckman Auditorium (Big Beckman) at Caltech 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA, United States

Presented by Caltech Public Events, with the Folk Music Society as marketing partner The Good Lovelies are one of Canada's premier folk bands. Funny and upbeat, with just a pinch of sass, their  textbook three-part harmonies, constant instrument swapping, and witty stage banter have enlivened the folk music landscape since they joined forces in 2006. … Continue reading The Good Lovelies →

Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick

Beckman Institute Auditorium at Caltech 400 S. Wilson Avenue, Pasadena, CA, United States

Laurie Lewis Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick were founding members of a group called the Good Old Persons, a seminal California bluegrass band that included some amazing musicians who have gone on to achieve a great deal. It turns out that they had influences themselves, and for Laurie and Kathy, the musicians who taught them … Continue reading Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick →

Mark O’Connor’s “An Appalachian Christmas”

Beckman Auditorium (Big Beckman) at Caltech 332 S. Michigan Ave., Pasadena, CA, United States

This show is presented by Caltech Public Events, with the Folk Music Society as marketing partner Call it violin or call it fiddle, Mark O'Connor is without a doubt one of the giants of our time on this instrument. He is also an outstanding mandolin and guitar player, as well. He is as comfortable with … Continue reading Mark O’Connor’s “An Appalachian Christmas” →

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