1. hobbies and interests
2. guitar

SEPTEMBER 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
2
3
4
5
6
7
7
7
Jeff Black
The Barn Birds
(Jonathan Byrd
& Chris Kokesh)
Dar Williams
The Stray Birds
John Wort Hannam
Jesse Terry
Rebecca Frazier
Drew Nelson
YOU’VE EARNED QUITE A REPUTATION!
When you hear artists sing the praises of
an audience during a concert, you may be
inclined to think it’s part of their nightly shtick
– just scripted banter designed to generate
applause and appreciation.
But as the Six String Concerts board travels
to our annual talent-scouting expedition at the
International Folk Alliance Conference, we’re
struck by the number of artists, managers,
and booking agents who seek us out to tell us
we’re truly a “Great Gig”.
These industry insiders say the Six String
experience is a highlight of their tour, and
how much they would love to return. From
the initial booking inquiry, to the moment they
arrive at the theater for load-in, to the morning
after the concert when they hit the road, artists
are given the star treatment – which is far
from a regular occurrence in this genre.
Above all, it’s you – our enduring musical
1988 – that makes the experience so special:
• Our Audience – a knowledgeable,
appreciative group that sticks with us through
the years, shares concerts with your friends,
and trusts us to introduce you to new artists
• Our Sponsors & Supporters – who help
keep our concerts affordable and accessible
• Our Volunteers – who work tirelessly to
make it all possible
www.SixString.org
Like us on
Facebook!
Thank you for helping Six String Concerts
to grow into a nationally-recognized
concert series known among the performing
songwriter community as the gold standard
of concert-presenting organizations. We
wouldn’t be here without you.
GET READY FOR OUR 26TH SEASON
This season promises more of what you’ve
come to expect from Six String Concerts–
songwriters and introductions to the next
generation of standout artists.
• Jeff Black – A burly, bare-knuckled,
blue-collar son of the Missouri plains,
with dark Irish blood.
• The Barn Birds – Stellar songwriting
meets crystalline vocals.
• Dar Williams – A true leader of the
new folk movement.
• The Stray Birds – Jaw-dropping
harmonies, expert musicianship, heartwrenching songs.
• John Wort Hannam – An award-winning
Canadian troubadour.
Read on to learn more about these amazing
artists. And check our website –
www.SixString.org – for the second half
of our season which includes the muchrequested return of The Steel Wheels and
Richard Shindell.
SEPTEMBER 2013
THINGS TO
REMEMBER...
JEFF BLACK
WITH
JESSE TERRY
Friday, September 20 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
TO PURCHASE TICKETS
ONLINE: www.SixString.org
MAIL: Send a check to...
Six String Concerts
P.O. Box 9330
Columbus, OH
43209-0330
DISCOUNTED STUDENT TICKETS
Students with a valid ID can
purchase discounted tickets
through any of the above
methods. Be sure to mention
your ID ready at the door.
DISCOUNTED YOUTH TICKETS
To encourage all the future
folk fans out there to nurture
an impeccable taste in good
music, we offer discounted
tickets for everyone under 18!
DISCOUNTED SEASON TICKETS
Save even more on ticket prices
and service charges with our
full and half season ticket
packages.
A burly, bare-knuckled, blue-collar son of the Missouri plains, with dark Irish blood.
Jeff Black digs into tough topics with a
gentle heart. Yet there’s nothing predictable
about a Jeff Black lyric other than it will be
sung robustly, and it will head toward hope
instead of dwelling on despair.
His live shows are funny, moving and
equally unpredictable. As one reviewer has
written, “What makes a Jeff Black record or
show exciting is that, as a listener, you know
the singer is there not to perform for you, but
to take you on a journey with him.”
Black knew he wanted to be a musician
even before he hit his teens. When he was
only 10 years old, the Missouri native
persuaded his parents to buy him a guitar.
Over the next several years, between
school and work, Black taught himself to
instrument of choice, he began writing and
singing his own songs.
Though he took a variety of jobs – in
warehouses, car washes and gas stations
– music was never far from his side. While
working as a bouncer at Blayney’s blues
– taking the stage to entertain audiences with
his original compositions. It wasn’t long
before he was touring the nation, opening
for Jerry Jeff Walker, John Prine and
Maria McKee.
CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE
& song samples
“
past performances
“
Nothing short
of brilliant…
Black is an
artist of
substance.
– Billboard Magazine
www.SixString.org
In 1996, Black appeared on recordings with
Iris Dement, Sam Bush and Blackhawk. And
just two years after that, he put together his
own band and recorded the highly acclaimed
Birmingham Road for Arista Records. Since
then, several more albums have followed,
each more popular than the previous.
His latest release, B-Sides and Confessions,
Vol. 2,
intimate, soulful, and thoughtful collection of
stripped-down music. Vol. 2 is an unexpected
treat, considering that his latest CD Plow
Through The Mystic is just a year old.
Black takes raw emotions and crafts them
into lyrical stories. He says, “I love songs
about freeing the spirit, and treating your
individuality as something that’s precious
and important.”
Those efforts have garnered reviews
that are nothing short of spectacular.
Drawing comparisons to Bob Dylan,
Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne,
music writers have called Black “a musical
genius,” a “tremendous vocalist and writer,”
and a “holy-roller piano player and a blazing
guitarist.”
See Page 7 for opener Jesse Terry
SEPTEMBER 2013
THE BARN BIRDS
(JONATHAN BYRD
& CHRIS KOKESH)
Friday, October 18 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Stellar songwriting meets crystalline vocals.
and singing, Jonathan invited her to play with
him at the Sisters Folk Festival that weekend.
They played two encores, and the festival
to return the following year.
Midwest, and came back to Oregon to make
Jonathan and Chris had to stop recording when
the birds in the walls erupted in song. Their
name was born: They called themselves the
Barn Birds.
His mother did her best to raise him in a
his own admission, he was a real pain. But
once he got his own guitar, he had a place to
put all his teen angst. In the early days of his
career, Jonathan began to seek out old-time
jams and thought, “Wow, there it is.” There
wasn’t a reason in the world why he couldn’t
write songs like that, so he did. A lot of them.
Chris Kokesh toured 14 years with the
all-woman quartet Misty River, and
helped create the signature vocal blend of
ABOUT BYRD:
“
and guitar chops distinguish her as a standalone talent.
What a treat to hear
someone so deeply rooted
in tradition, yet growing in
his own beautiful way.
“
Jonathan Byrd and Chris Kokesh met as
teachers at a song academy in Sisters, Oregon,
– Tom Paxton
Jonathan Byrd is a preacher’s son, a Gulf War
Onstage, Kokesh reveals the inner workings
of her heart with grace and a wry sense of
humor. Some performers are louder. Some
are showier. But Chris’ strength is in her
emotional connection with the song and the
music. She believes in the stories she tells,
and that comes through.
ABOUT KOKESH:
“
“
Carolinian whose songs you likely have heard,
even if you haven’t heard Byrd sing them.
The Boston Globe
Carolinian…displays John Prine’s gift for stark
little songs that tell big, complex stories, Guy
Clark’s lean melodicism, Lyle Lovett’s wry
mischief, and Bill Morrissey’s knack for the
revealing image.”
Chris Kokesh is writing
songs that stand up
with the best.
– Oregon Public Broadcasting
SUPPORT IS PROVIDED IN PART BY:
Troubadour is published twice annually by Six String Concerts, Inc.,
and national acoustic performing songwriters not otherwise heard in
Columbus. The concerts are held primarily in smoke- and alcohol-free
environments which provide mutual satisfaction to the audience and
artists.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
Kim Wilson, President | Kevin Corkrean | Doug Evans | Toni Hoepf |
Matt Mumma | Teresa Schleifer | Wendy Hansen Smith | Jutta Wait
P.O.BOX 9330 COLUMBUS, OH 43209-0330
WWW.SIXSTRING.ORG
866-890-5451
INFO@SIXSTRING.ORG
SEPTEMBER 2013
DAR WILLIAMS
Saturday, November 9 / $28 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
A true leader of the new folk movement.
Her love of folk stems from her admiration of its
integrity toward honesty and real emotion, and
a creative freedom not found in more popular
music genres. An idiosyncratic songwriter who
writes folk songs from a unique, often insightful
perspective, Williams takes pains to avoid the coy
and the quirky. Her songwriting and performing
style has been compared to that of Joni Mitchell
and Joan Baez, but with a few acidic and at times
hilarious twists.
Williams has been torn between her folkie
instincts and the guilty pleasures of pop music
just as long as she’s divided her songs between
smart, witty character studies and explicitly
activist political material.
Williams began playing the guitar at age nine.
She writes from personal experience, and many
of her songs are based on people she grew up
with. Recurrent themes in Williams’ songs
include religion, adolescence, gender issues, anticommercialism, misunderstood relationships,
loss, humor, and geography. Basically, life. But a
life experienced and then told as only she can.
In 1998, Williams joined the acoustic trio,
Cry Cry Cry, with fellow Six String Concerts
favorites Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell.
Along with a little help from their friends, Cry
Cry Cry produced an eponymously titled album
comprised largely of cover songs of lesser-known
leaving audiences spellbound with their unique
three-part harmonies.
her most recent release, In the Time of Gods,
shows how as Williams is maturing, she’s shifting
textures to burnish material that still feels quiet
and contemplative, even when the dynamics are
at their most dramatic.
As a result, Williams has created some of the
richest music and most evocative writing of
her career. Says this seasoned artist, wife and
mother: “To see the world today as epic, instead
of doomed, is helpful for me. These stories and
characters helped me make sense of it.”
“
Dar aims for the
brain and heart,
and always
scores a
bull’s-eye.
“
Dar Williams has played a major role in the
– Elmore Magazine
Thank you to our Sponsors and Partners
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Supporter since: 1991
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Supporter since: 1994
www.ColumbusFoundation.org
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www.CATCO.org
SEPTEMBER 2013
THE STRAY BIRDS REBECCA FRAZIER
WITH
Friday, December 6 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Jaw-dropping harmonies, expert musicianship, heart-wrenching songs.
Bandmates Oliver Craven, Maya de Vitry,
and Charles Muench were raised on music
within a few miles of farmland from each
other in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their
tangible passion for acoustic music is
certainly a testament to three musically rich
childhoods.
after one restless semester, taking time
to travel before continuing her studies at
Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Oliver Craven took beginning classical
violin lessons at a young age, then began
versatile instrument, his passion and
interest in music education heightened—
parents in the Craven Family Band. Their
repertoire of folk, bluegrass, and country
tunes included many of his father’s original
songs. Upon graduating high school he
turned down several football scholarships,
picked up the mandolin and guitar, and
headed to Philadelphia to attend Temple
University. While studying African
American Literature and History, he wrote
songs, played a few open mics, and began
to record his original music.
from West Chester University. In the midst
of this classical music education, Charles
found another musical outlet, a weekly
bluegrass pick in the woodshed of a nearby
horse farm where he also learned bluegrass
harmony singing.
Charles Muench was inspired by his bassplaying father to take bass lessons in a
public elementary school string program.
by bike and train, making her way as a
for the Grammy-nominated Americana
artist Adrienne Young. With their good
friend Charles laying down the bass lines,
The Stray Birds landed their sound.
performed in several local bands. She left
See Page 7 for opener Rebecca Frazier
Linda McDonald Photography
www.LindaMcDonaldPhoto.com
Ohio Arts Council
www.oac.state.oh.us
Guitar House Workshop
www.GuitarHouseWorkshop.com
www.TheLampShade.com
“
– Fly Magazine
“show & tell” in kindergarten. She
strummed three chords on a tiny guitar
and sang Iris DeMent’s “Our Town”. She
took piano lessons with her grandmother,
who was a gifted composer, and she
The Lamp Shade
“
Super-talented acoustic
trio whose virtuosity
doesn’t get in the
way of their soul.
SEPTEMBER 2013
JOHN
WORT
HANNAM
DREW NELSON
WITH
Saturday, January 18 / $22 Advance / COLUMBUS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
An award-winning Canadian troubadour.
From the prairies in Southern Alberta
comes one of Canada’s best folk/roots
songwriters, John Wort Hannam.
With comparisons to Gordon Lightfoot,
James Keelaghan, and John Prine, John
Wort Hannam is a born storyteller with
a keen eye for the quirky and lyrics that
create stories behind the songs.
grade 9 language arts on the largest
III record and was hooked by the music
and stories. In 1998 he bought a guitar
quit teaching and began to pursue the
dream of being a working musician.
John Wort Hannam comes from a long
line of people who make a living using
their hands. His great-great grandfather
drove horse and buggy for the village
doctor. His great-grandfather was a
stevedore, his grandfather, a farmer
and his father still works as a master
carpenter.
Canadian Folk Music Award for
Contemporary Album of the Year, three
Grand Prizes at the Calgary Folk Fest
Songwriting Competition, and other
numerous nominations and awards.
two CDs, Pocket Full of Holes
and Dynamite and ‘Dozers
Queen’s Hotel was a Juno Award
nominee for Roots and Traditional
Album of the Year. His latest release,
Brambles and Thorns, has also
received critical praise.
Accompanying Wort Hannam on
Duncan is an energetic, passionate
performer who enjoys playing all styles,
folk, classical, swing, country, and
singer/songwriter accompaniment.
Duncan has been performing with Wort
and toured with several other groups,
including Calgary Fiddlers, Fiddlers
GF and Barrage, SteeleHeart, and The
Polyjesters.
“
Astutely crafted collection
of musical narratives.
– Pasadena Weekly
See Page 7 for opener Drew Nelson
FOLLOW SIX STRING CONCERTS ON THE WEB
ON OUR WEBSITE:
www.SixString.org
ON FACEBOOK:
“
part of the Blackfoot Confederacy. But
ON TWITTER:
links to our
Facebook
and Twitter
pages on
our website.
SEPTEMBER 2013
JESSE TERRY
Opening for
Jeff Black
Jesse Terry is an award-winning singer-songwriter and road warrior.
Terry has won Grand Prize in several international songwriting competitions, including
“Artists on the Verge”.
“
place in the world,” raves reviewer Michael
McCall from Nashville Scene.
“
“Terry is a pop-folk troubadour whose style
suits the coffeehouse rather than the Grand
Ole Opry. A Berklee College of Music grad,
he brings a sophisticated melodic touch to
Great singer, great guitar
player, great songwriter.
The real deal.
– Craig Carothers
REBECCA FRAZIER
Opening for
The Stray Birds
For bluegrass artist Rebecca Frazier, the guitar has always been a means of transporting
of one of the hundred-plus festivals at which she has performed.
Rebecca co-founded Hit & Run Bluegrass, an award-winning, Boulder, Colorado-based
Rebecca married and relocated to
albeit not full-time. Rebecca continued
her studio work and used her spare time
to write, ultimately releasing a solo CD,
When We Fall, a collection of self-penned
bluegrass and Americana songs.
“
“
and Telluride Bluegrass Festivals.
Rebecca Frazier is a triple threat.
She is a wonderfully engaging singer,
a compelling songwriter and an
accomplished guitarist to boot.
– Allison Brown
DREW NELSON
Opening for
John Wort Hannam
instrumentalist. He writes as a witness to the lives of those he has met in his world
travels, mixing Americana and roots-rock with traditional folk styles.
singers like Josh White Jr. and John Gorka.
“
“
When Drew is not on the
road, he enjoys reading,
rooting for the Detroit
Tigers, doing hot yoga
and working as an amateur
luthier, building guitars and
octave mandolins.
Drew’s songs sound like the rest of us feel. His
characters are anything but defeated. They
are dazed, angry, amazed and climbing.
– John Gorka
QUESTIONS or COMMENTS ?
SIX STRING CONCERTS
P.O. Box 9330
Columbus, OH 43209-0330
866-890-5451
WRITE:
CALL:
www.S ix S tring.org
Columbus Performing Arts Center • 549 Franklin Avenue, Columbus, OH
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL SHOWS ARE AT 8PM & TAKE PLACE AT:
SATURDAY, JANUARY 18 - $22 ADVANCE
} JOHN WORT HANNAM (w/ Drew Nelson)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 - $22 ADVANCE
} THE STRAY BIRDS (w/ Rebecca Frazier)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9 - $28 ADVANCE
} DAR WILLIAMS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18 - $22 ADVANCE
} THE
BARN BIRDS
(Jonathan Byrd & Chris Kokesh)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 - $22 ADVANCE
} JEFF BLACK (w/ Jesse Terry)
Performance Schedule
P.O. Box 9330
Columbus, OH 43209-0330
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