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Nervous but Excited – Women in the Arts Festival

DATE
Saturday, November 12, 2022
TIME
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
VENUE
Edgewood United Church
469 N Hagadorn Rd, East Lansing
COST
$20 Public; $18 Fiddle Members; $5 Students. Available online or at the box office at 6:30 PM
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It's a 10-year Reunion show! Co-produced with the East Lansing Women in the Arts Festival, the Fiddle is excited to welcome back Kate Peterson and Sarah Cleaver of Nervous but Excited for a very special evening at Edgewood United Church.

Since their “hiatus” in 2012, Kate Peterson and Sarah Cleaver of Nervous but Excited have spent the years over 700 miles apart, singing the melody lines in their own ways, just awaiting the right time to bring the harmonies back. They played some of their first shows together at the East Lansing Women in the Arts Festival almost 20 years ago, and have spent many special evenings at the Ten Pound Fiddle in between. The stars have aligned for Kate and Sarah (and special guests?) to reunite for an evening in the birthplace of Nervous But Excited!

This show, like all WITA stage events, will have ASL interpretation.

Before you even ask, yes of course there will be nerves and there will be excitement! These two straight-from-the-heart songwriters on stage together is an experience no one can predict–even them. A few things are certain – there will be vulnerability; there will be silliness. There will be moments that honor gratitude and grief. There will be open hearts, awkwardness, and most definitely, there will be laughter. And singalongs, always singalongs! Whatever the feeling, it will be palpable.

Pleasantly Aggressive Folk Duo Nervous but Excited is two songwriters, two singers, three guitars, a banjo, a mandolin, a ukulele, dead-on harmony, some vaguely choreographed dancing, and an impressive amount of laughter. Their original repertoire ranges in topic from smart, introspective narratives to the tactfully political… interspersed with songs of love and loss that will undoubtedly tug on your heartstrings. Their harmonies have been described as the kind that build so smoothly until suddenly they start to shake your insides.

“Ahhhh… organic and rich like good soil … makes me want to listen and hear it grow.
The songs are honest and dimensional. it’s music to my ears.” – Amy Ray, The Indigo Girls

“…blending progressive politics, sharp wit, and deep introspection with nuanced harmonies…” – Curve magazine

From 2004-2012, Nervous but Excited played over 600 shows in the US and Canada (plus one jaunt over to Spain) in support of 7 releases (3 studio, 1 live and 3 EPs). Throughout the years, Kate and Sarah collaborated with many Michigan musicians, performing live as a 7-piece band at the peak. Mainstay band members included dear friend and manager Susie Giang (bass, banjo) and multi-instrumentalist Murray Stewart-Jones (drums). Other live and studio collaborators included Theo Katman (Vulpeck), Allison Russell (Po’ Girl, Birds of Chicago), Joshua Davis (Steppin’ in it, The Voice), Chris Bathgate, Girlyman, Frontier Ruckus, Hana Malhas, Katie Sawicki (The Cabin Project), Lyndell Mongomery, among others.

Kate and Sarah played many established rooms and festivals across the country and with artists such as Ani Difranco, Iron and Wine, Ben Gibbard, Joshua Davis, Andrea Gibson, Utah Phillips, Catie Curtis, Lucy Kaplansky, Melissa Ferrick, Cheryl Wheeler, Ferron, Toshi Reagon, Girlyman and Chris Pureka.

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