Thanks to the Dovetail Ensemble for a great show!

February 13, 2015 • 7:30 p.m.

The Dovetail Ensemble is a flexible company of stellar performers. Each concert is fresh and surprising, inviting audiences into the process of collaboration as well as its thrilling results. A Dovetail Ensemble performance is playful, deep, intricate, and straight to the heart.

Blues harmonica master and songster Phil Wiggins joins Grammy-nominated fiddler Andrea Hoag and cellist Jodi Beder, who has been Princeton Symphony’s principal cellist and played in the rock cabaret band Zen for Primates and as a Jewish liturgical musician. For this show they’re joined by percussive dancer and Hungarian native Agi Kovacs (pronounced AH-ghee KO-vosh) and versatile guitarist Mark Puryear, for an evening that ranges from traditional Swedish music to Latin jazz, from Romanian nigun to Irish jigs, from Purcell to Mississippi John Hurt . . . and does it all with the conviction of artists who have devoted themselves to their traditions over many years, and who LOVE exploring together!

The Dovetail Ensemble arose from the Old Doors/New Worlds project, which from 2009 to 2012 brought together musicians and dancers from different traditions, generations, and parts of the country to create new music.  The project was unique among collaborations in its focus on process as well as product: How do we make what we make? What do we learn about our own art, and about communication, when we collaborate? What do traditional arts mean to us in a world of instant information?

The Dovetail Ensemble is a piece of a larger organization called Freyda’s Hands, whose mission is to provide opportunities for traditional folk musicians and other performing artists to collaborate across genres, and to educate the public about traditional performing folk arts and the collaborative process.

The vision of Freydas Hands is to give young people first-hand knowledge that making music and creating art by hand is an everyday part of life. Experienced artists enjoy opportunities to develop their collaborative skills and to pass on their knowledge, in depth to budding artists, and in breadth to the general public. This exceptional organization values tradition and innovation, intergenerational sharing, open participation, and striving for excellence.

Thank you, Sligo Creek Stompers & Lulu’s Fate

January 9, 2015 • 7:30 p.m.

Sligo Creek Stompers

The Sligo Creek Stompers — Sarah Ford, Adrian Erlanger, Jess Eliot Myhre, and Chris Ousley — play a raucous but refined blend of traditional roots music: Appalachian and Midwestern old time and bluegrass; New Orleans-style traditional jazz; haunted Irish fiddle tunes; honky tonk and classic country; Texas and gypsy swing. Inspired by scratchy 78 rpm records, contra dancing and a good bottle of whiskey, the Stompers are keeping the flame of American stringband music alive in the Washington, D.C., area.

“Hearing the [Sligo Creek Stompers] is like stepping into a time machine.”  —WTOP

Lulu’s Fate

Lulu’s Fate performs a mix of music from the Appalachian, southern string band and country blues traditions, as well as original tunes and covers ranging from Hank Williams to Tom Waits. With Tom Espinola on mandolin and guitar, Kristen Jones on cello, and singer Kara Falck, the trio blends virtuosic instrumentals with lush three-part vocal harmonies to create new interpretations of traditional tunes. Lulu’s Fate is based in the Washington, D.C., metro area and has performed at the Takoma Park Folk Festival, Washington Folk Festival, Institute of Musical Traditions and numerous house concerts throughout the area.

Thank you for your support of Carroll Café.

Thank you, Ramón Tasat, Emmanuel Trifilio, Cristian Perez & trio for a wonderful show!

December 13, 2014

Born in Buenos Aires, Cantor Dr. Ramón Tasat learned Ladino, the language of the Sephardic people, at his grandmother’s knee; his style reflects the rich history and drama of this extraordinary culture. Trained in five different countries, he received a doctorate in voice performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Cantor Tasat has performed at the Kennedy Center and the Israeli Embassy, toured Europe with world-renowned Dr. Robert Shaw, and participated in international festivals on both sides of the Atlantic.

Thanks to Karen Ashbrook & Paul Oorts for a fabulous concert and CD release,
and thanks to the Rolling Scones

November 14, 2014  • 7:30 p.m.

Karen Ashbrook teaches and performs Celtic, contra dance, and Jewish music and works teaching Irish music and culture to children. These days she primarily performs as a duo with her husband Paul Oorts, playing his native Belgian and French music.

Thank you, Kim and Reggie Harris and Ken Whitely, for another great show

October 17, 2014 (The Third Friday) • 7:30 p.m.

Consummate musicians and storytellers, Kim and Reggie Harris
combine a strong folk and gospel legacy with a solid background
in classical, rock, jazz and pop music. Creative curiosity, years
of road and stage experience and interactions with performers
such as Pete Seeger, Ysaye Barnwell, Jay Leno, Tom Paxton,
Bernice Johnson Reagon, Harry Belafonte and others, has led
them to produce music that entertains and inspires.

“Kim and Reggie inspire a sense of joy and exhilaration that lifts the soul… makes you want to sing and celebrate your neighbor!! Music that makes you come alive!” —Philadelphia Daily News

We opened our 2014-2015 season on Friday, September 12, with Jesse Palidofsky: Dancing Toward the Light.