Garnet Rogers and Archie Fisher (April 1, 2011); Archie Fisher (April 16, 2010); James Keelaghan (Nov. 5, 2010); Jez Lowe and James Keelaghan (Oct. 4, 2013)
Mid-Winter Singing and Folk Festival Highlights
Various performances including Frank Youngman, Mark Dvorak, Joel Mabus, Pat Madden, Rev. Robert B. Jones, Kim and Reggie Harris, Dan Chouinard, and The Festival Choir from throughout the years.
Anne Hills and Michael Smith
September 27, 2013 performance.
Connie Kaldor
February 28, 2014 performance. “…quirky, often wickedly funny.” -Regina Leader-Post
Susan Werner
Feb. 15, 2013 performance. Susan Werner composes skillful songs that effortlessly slide between folk, jazz, and pop, all delivered with sassy wit and classic Midwestern charm.
Scott Cook (Thursday)
“He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into your own… He has a good eye for imagery, a gentle human touch, a wry sense of humour, a whole lot of integrity, a warm, rugged voice and a bunch of memorable lines… Truly one of Woody Guthrie’s children.” -RnR Magazine
Cheryl Wheeler
Brilliant, hysterical performances and beautifully crafted songs. Cheryl Wheeler is a “Rare artist…strong poetry, complex melodies, clever wit.” -SingOut!
Connie Kaldor and Garnet Rogers
Following two nights at the venerable Hugh’s Room in Toronto, these two highly acclaimed veterans of Canadian folk music will stop by The Fiddle as part of a rare, short Midwest tour. The Fiddle has hosted each of them several times before. Now, both on one night! Do not miss this!
Windborne
Co-produced with the Peace Education Center in conjunction with it’s Alternative Holiday sale. Internationally acclaimed vocal group Windborne is known for the power and innovation of their arrangements, as well as their unrivaled mastery of polyphonic music from around the world. Currently Windborne is touring a project called Song on the Times, songs of social struggle from movements over the past 400 years.
MWSFF Children’s Concert with Sally Rogers
Sally Rogers has won numerous awards for writing and performing children’s music. It is a real treat to have such an accomplished artist present this year’s MWSFF Children’s Concert, co-produced with the City of East Lansing.
MWSFF Concert with Joshua Davis
Joshua Davis was raised in the folk tradition: the music, the social movements, the land. For the 17th Annual MWSFF, he will present an evening of songs, joined by special guests Jen Sygit and Laura Bates.
Matt Watroba and Robert Jones – The American Experience: From Roots to Rap, A Musical Celebration of History and Diversity
Long-time musical partners, Watroba and Jones will present music that reflects history, social change, migration, hopes and dreams. This is music that is rich and diverse, direct and powerful. This is a musical seminar – not to be missed!
Joel Mabus
“It’s hard to imagine another artist on the folk scene who combines the same concise, deceptively understated, lyrical insight and sometimes devastating wit with such world-class instrumental prowess.” -MUSICHOUND FOLK
Laura Love, Women in the Arts Festival
“(LAURA LOVE) will shake the world. The clincher is her live show…She’s that rare artist who can slip from sensitive folk to hip-hop without skipping a beat. -Utne Reader
Laura Love is an award winning “folk-funk” singer/songwriter/bassist who has been touring the world since the early 1990s.
Christine Lavin
GROUP KNITTING CIRCLE WITH CHRISTINE AT 6:30! Click event to learn more… “Christine Lavin is an incredibly witty songwriter and storyteller, with a flair for the creative, the dramatic, and the humorous. It is precisely her take on the ordinary that makes her work so extraordinary.” -Village Voice
“Music of the 1960s” – Sunday Afternoon Two Audio/ Visual Presentations by Dick Rosemont, FBC Co-Founder
1 – 3 pm: 1960s Rock Music Overview; 4 – 6 pm: The Rise and Influence of Motown. Dick Rosemont will present an entertaining and incisive look at the music environment of the 1960s. It was a significant period for changes in all aspects of culture and the music business. Hear some of the significant songs of the era and recordings that influenced future artists and styles. The first session provides a general overview of 1960s rock as it evolved musically, culturally, and commercially: from pre-Beatles pop to later-decade “acid rock.” The second session looks at Motown and its influences, tracing the rise and success of the largest black-owned company in the country, and its impact on music culture.
Twin Bill – Irish Mythen & Amythyst Kiah
Come hear two of the hottest and up-and-coming performers in today’s acoustic music world –
“Kiah is an important and innovative presence in contemporary traditional music. Describing herself as a “Southern Gothic, alt-country blues singer/songwriter,” Amythyst has a repertoire that honors tradition while crossing genres to illuminate many common threads.” ~ Sam Gleaves, The Bluegrass Situation
“I had no idea what to expect when this five foot nothing lady took the stage, all smiles and twinkling eyes and guitar. Then, she opened her mouth and out flew a voice that came straight from the Heavens with all the power and the glory and the truth of someone destined to be a singer. I’ve been blessed with seeing and hearing a lot of talented musicians in my life, but I have never experienced anyone quite like Irish Mythen. She is a force of nature and a gift from Almighty Herself.”
~ Lisa Schwartz, Philadelphia Folk Festival
Joe Crookston
“At every festival I hope to find the gift of one artist whose songwriting and performance stand out. Joe Crookston was that gift for me this year at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Stunning performance, great songs, and not a word wasted! I LOVE That!” David Francey – Songwriter Ontario
Scott Ainslie
“Ten Pound Fiddle is where I’ll be spending my 65th birthday, playing for the community of listeners and celebrating a half century of guitar playing and live performing.”
The Chenille Sisters – In Concert
A Chenille Sisters performance is a blending of three uniquely gifted souls into a musical phenomenon that’s more poignant, funny and entertaining than any single performer anywhere – and oh, those exquisite harmonies!
John McCutcheon – In Concert
John McCutcheon, folk music’s renaissance man — master instrumentalist, powerful singer-songwriter, storyteller, activist, and author.
Dar Williams – SOLD OUT
A solo performance by “one of America’s very best singer-songwriters.” -The New Yorker Co-produced with the East Lansing Women in the Arts Festival.
Sparky and Rhonda Rucker
Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform throughout the U.S. as well as overseas, singing songs and telling stories from the American folk tradition.
Susan Werner – In Concert
Susan Werner composes skillful songs that effortlessly slide between folk, jazz, and pop, all delivered with sassy wit and classic Midwestern charm.