After years of trying to work her into our schedule, we will present Sarah McQuaid in a week and a half on Saturday, September 17 in Beckman Institute Auditorium (Little Beckman) at 8:00 PM. Sarah was born in Spain, raised in Chicago, and now lives in rural England. She tours the world and 2016 is finally the year when our schedule matches up with hers. Originally a folksinger of traditional songs and covers, she has evolved into a songwriter who sings mostly her own songs, with a few other songs interspersed.
Morgan Evans wrote last year in the Kingston Times, “Her latest album, Walking Into White, is a breathtaking collection of somber-but-soul-stirring neo-folk ballads crafted to rekindle sparks in a weary heart.” Eileen McCabe wrote in Irish Music Magazine, “McQuaid has an intensity of vocal, dark, textured and honeyed, that can be likened to the impact of a triple espresso. It leaves you with the feeling you have just reached the other side of an emotional furnace where every thought, feeling and sense of being has smoldered through her songs.” Listen to her sing Sun Goes on Rising and see what you think. Her tour brings her west through the Southern States and after our show, will swing north and east before she returns home. There is no telling when she will be back in California, so don’t miss this chance to hear her. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for Caltech students and children. Call the Caltech Ticket Office Monday through Friday, 9:00AM – 4:00 PM at (626) 395-4652. You can buy tickets online for this show here until Thursday, September 15, and we will also be selling them at the door on the night of the show. Rita Hosking will perform Saturday, October 22. See our web page to find out the other great things ahead!
Still to come in the dwindling season of free shows at Pasadena’s Levitt Pavilion is Albert Lee on Thursday, September 15, Stonehoney on Friday, September 23, and Element Band on Saturday, September 24. Each show is at 8:00 PM.
FolkWorks, the dedicated group that keeps us all informed about folk music in all of its forms in Southern California, will have their Folk/Roots Festival on Saturday, October 8, 10AM – 11PM. There will be workshops- learn about mandolin playing from Tom Corbett, singing from Susie Glaze & Christina Ortega, fiddle, from David Bragger, guitar from Fred Sokolow, and even storytelling from our own Nick Smith! There will be folk dancing (even Morris Dancing!), jamming, and the evening will bring some great performances, featuring the likes of Susie Glaze New Folk Ensemble, Ross Altman, Tracy Newman, Witcher, Recupido, and Leavitt and others. It will be at the Santa Monica Bay Women’s Club at 1210 4th Street. This festival promises to be a delight!
And the Old Time Fiddler’s Convention and Festival is a go the very next day, Sunday, October 9 in Goleta, just past Santa Barbara as you go up Highway 101. They have workshops and performances too, plus you can enter the contest and share your musicianship, with the chance of winning a prize! It is a great family event, near the sea, and includes tours of the historic Stow House. Performers will include Sausage Grinder, Peter Feldman and the Very Lonesome Boys, Thompsonia, Echo Mountain, and others. A wonderful day with jamming and lots of musical energy. We highly recommend this festival. If you don’t mind walking a mile and a half, you can even take the Amtrak train here.
We are saddened to note that Fred Hellerman, the last of the original Weavers, along with Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Lee Hays, has died. See a brief obituary at the FolkWorks web site here.