Upcoming events.
Coming up next
A message from Ellen:
Hope comes in noticing the swell of buds on the trees- like the daffodils, hyacinths and tulips that push up through the ground- they are not yet beautiful- but instead fiercely persistent and resilient… I too am awakening again. What beauty there is in unfolding. That tender delicate awkward place of vulnerability. How beautiful is my heart in concert with my mind as I pay reverence to what has passed and see what is unfolding in the warmth of the sun that thaws and frees what was frozen.
The schedule is coming together. We will listen, sing, celebrate and dance... No one gets to own our joy... stay strong y'all. We're going to emerge stronger together.
All the best,
Ellen
Annual Community Gratitude Contradance
It's time to dance and celebrate and share desserts and gratitude! Join us on Saturday November 22nd 3-5pm New Brackett Church with the mighty Owen Marshall and Liana Wolk! It's free its fun and will help get us all through the darkness together. Bring the whole clan. This is a family and beginner friendly community dance.
Remember- if you can walk you can contradance. care to listen instead? Come on along. It will make you happy. Bring along a dessert to share. Water bottles are helpful we will have tea and coffee to share.
Holiday Concert with Liz Knowles, Kieran O'Hare with members of Palaver Strings
Come and enjoy a night of holiday music with the venerable Liz Knowles and Kieran O’Hare with special guests from Palaver Strings Ensemble.
Liz Knowles has brought her distinctive sound—the fire and finesse of Irish fiddle music combined with the tonal richness of the classical violin—to concert stages and festivals across the world.
Kieran O’Hare is a highly respected and sought-after performer of Irish traditional music on the uilleann pipes, concert flute, and tin whistle.
Since 2014, Grammy-nominated, Maine based Palaver Strings has made its mark as one of New England’s most innovative chamber ensembles.
Come for a beautiful night of holiday music that is sure to delight.
An Old Time Evening with Lillian Chase
Lillian’s fiddling draws from both old-time and bluegrass styles, and she placed 4th in the 2022 Open Old-Time Fiddle Contest at Clifftop. She has performed at well-known southern venues including Merlefest and Song of the Mountains, and studied fiddle with masters including Arvil Freeman, Brittany Haas, and Bruce Molsky. She is now studying Music Performance with a minor in American Roots Music at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Winter Community Contra Dance with Springtide
Springtide is: Willy Clemetson on fiddle and foot percussion, Elsie Gawler on cello and fiddle, and Ethan Tischler on guitar. We are musicians, songwriters, and central figures in the Mid-Coast Maine fiddling scene. We combine a love of high energy traditional Celtic and Scandinavian fiddle music, heartfelt original tunes and songs, and spacious creative improvisation to produce our unique trio: Springtide. We aim to lift audiences with the music of the landscapes we come from, drawing inspiration from the tidal rhythms and creative energies of the coastal land we’re grateful to call home.
O'jizo with Matt and Shannon Heaton
For their March 2025 East Coast tour O’jizo will collaborate with Boston duo Matt & Shannon Heaton. The Heatons are integral figures in Boston's Irish traditional music scene, performing extensively, teaching, and welcoming players of all levels in sessions and other community events. With Shannon on flute and vocals, and Matt’s rhythmic, nuanced guitar and bouzouki playing, the duo is known for their engaging, dynamic stage presence. They have collaborated with members of O’Jizo for over a decade.
Encyclopedia Mandolinica with Ethan Setawain and Joe K Walsh
Join Maine mandolin luminaries Ethan Setiawan & Joe K. Walsh for a night of mandolin duets on Peaks Island. The pair will be playing selections from Ethan's new album, Encyclopedia Mandolinnica, along with tunes drawing from bluegrass, jazz, and everything in the middle.
Old Time Evening with Wooden Nickels
Wooden Nickels is a dynamic old-time trio steeped in the rich musical traditions of Appalachia and Ireland. Laura Feddersen (fiddle), Joel Wennerstrom (banjo), and Owen Marshall (guitar) play with tight rhythm, strong melodies, and a deep connection to traditional roots. With driving banjo, rhythmically rich fiddling, and expressive, melodic guitar work, their sound brims with energy, grit, and the unmistakable joy of playing together.
John Doyle and Mick McAuley
John Doyle and Mick McAuley have been playing music together on the international stage for over 20 years. As multi-instrumentalist members of Irish American supergroup Solas, they combined to create part of the group’s unmistakable early sound which garnered critical worldwide acclaim with the Boston Herald heralding Solas as “The Best Traditional Band in the World.”
Darol and Joe's Bluegrass
Darol Anger and Joe K. Walsh are living in and exploring the (more or less) bluegrass sounds this August, and are joined by some wildly virtuosic and widely beloved acoustic musicians. Come enjoy an amazing night of music at the historic Trefethen Evergreen Improvement Association Clubhouse.
An Evening of songs with Antje Duvekot
Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious, Kerrville (TX) "Best New Folk Award" and in one of the nation's top music markets, she won the Boston Music Award for "Outstanding Folk Act", three of the top prizes in the singer songwriter world
Community Celebration and Contradance
Come and share an evening of joy and celebration with our friends from Teens to Trails and Concerned Citizens Defending Democracy. We will picnic and dance and play together in celebration of sharing meaningful experiences outdoors.
Jefferson and Steve Picking on The Dead
Bassist, mandolinist, fiddler extraordinaire Steve Roy and I will be playing a duo show on serene Peaks Island, ME (short ferry ride from Portland) next Friday, 6/13. Steve and I have known each other for years, beginning back in the Boulder days, and most recently as sometimes-members of Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers and Wendy Sassafras Ramsay's Dead to the Core. We'll carry the Dead torch high at this acoustic duo show, but will definitely stir some original and traditional folk music into the mix. Hope to see you on the island!
Cancelled: Old Hat String Band
Old Hat String Band
Based out of Southern Maine, Old Hat fuses tight vocal harmonies with a driving acoustic rhythm section. With a sound draws from folk, old time, bluegrass, and country traditions, the band is comprised of Whitney Roy (Guitar, Vocals), Steve Roy (Mandolin, Fiddle, Vocals), and Amanda Kowalski (Bass).
Their debut album was released in 2022 and features 10 original compositions by Steve and Whitney Roy.
Whitney’s lilting vocals provide the backbone of the vocal blend, while her solid rhythm guitar anchors the band’s pulse.
Steve is a veteran of New England’s acoustic music scene, and has performed and toured with many of the acoustic world’s top acts.
Amanda is one of the more sought after bass players in the worlds of bluegrass and old time music, and her rhythmic drive and energy on stage are second to none.
Old Hat has performed on world class stages such as Prescott Park Arts Festival, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Portsmouth Music Hall, Stone Mountain Arts Center and Wind Gap Bluegrass Festival.
Cancelled: An Evening with Luke Bulla
An Evening with Luke Bulla
Luke Bulla has been singing and playing music most of his life. Touring with and singing in his family band from age four, Luke took up the fiddle at seven.
He won the National Fiddle Contest six times in his respective age categories, with his seventh win in the Grand Champion division at age sixteen, making him the youngest to have earned the title at the time.
Luke has played and recorded with Ricky Skaggs, Lyle Lovett, Brandi Carlile, Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck, Bryan Sutton, Kevin Costner & Modern West, Shawn Colvin, Tony Rice, Chris Thile, and Earl Scruggs, to name a few.
Cancelled: Hildaland with Louise Bichan and Ethan Setiawan
Hildaland with Louise Bichan and Ethan Setiawan
Orkney (Scotland) born fiddler Louise Bichan and Indiana (USA) mandolinist Ethan Setiawan present a collaboration and meeting of their musical worlds in Hildaland. A path steeped in the fiddle traditions of their respective sides of the Atlantic, the journey taken wends through Scottish and American soil, celebrating their foundations while intertwining with contemporary composition. Bichan’s fiddle is a melodic foil to Setiawan’s counterpoint and harmonic depth, and the two weave in and out seamlessly.
Setiawan has won such accolades as the 2014 National Mandolin Championship, the 2017 RockyGrass Mandolin Championship and has shared the stage with the likes of Julian Lage, Darrell Scott, Bryan Sutton, Mike Marshall, Tony Trischka, Darol Anger, Casey Driessen, the Steel Wheels, Don Stiernberg, Matt Flinner, and Jacob Jolliff.
Cancelled: Jefferson Hamer and Steve Roy
Jefferson Hamer is a guitarist, songwriter, traditional musician, and producer. He is best known for his work with The Murphy Beds, a harmony-rich folk duo with Irish musician and songwriter Eamon O’Leary, as well as other collaborations with Anais Mitchell, Sarah Jarosz, Session Americana, and other artists. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Steve Roy is a multi-instrumentalist from Eliot, ME who plays and teaches upright bass, mandolin, fiddle, and ukulele. He is most often found performing with Old Hat Stringband, though he has previously toured and performed with a variety of other acts, including Laurie Lewis, Molly Tuttle, Joe K. Walsh, David Surette and many others.
For the past few years, Steve and Jefferson have been performing together as members of Dead To The Core: an acoustic celebration of the Grateful Dead. They bring their shared knowledge of the Dead’s repertoire as well as their backgrounds in traditional acoustic music to their duo performances.
Isabel Oliart & Sammy Wetstein
Isabel Oliart & Sammy Wetstein
Friday, January 3rd, 2025
7:00pm
Hailing from Boston, award-winning fiddler Isabel Oliart has been playing the violin since she was 3 years old. She began her musical journey with classical music, and then discovered Scottish and Celtic fiddling through Brian O’Donovan’s show, A Christmas Celtic Sojourn, where she was inspired by artists including Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Hass. She started learning fiddle music for the first time in 2009, taking lessons with Anne Hooper, and has since worked with other world-renowned teachers such as Winifred Horan, Hanneke Cassel and Katie McNally. Isabel studied with Lucy Chapman and Nicholas Kitchen at the New England Conservatory and with Bayla Keyes at Boston University, where she recently achieved her Masters of Music. She now pursues a career in both classical music and Celtic fiddling. Primarily a Scottish fiddler, Isabel also has a love for the fiddle music of Ireland, Cape-Breton, as well as Contra dance music.
Sammy Wetstein grew up as an adventurous string player, existing between the worlds of classical, folk and jazz music. His musical journey led him to Berklee College of Music, where he studied global styles of string playing and works to use music as a means to bridge between communities and bring people together. While playing tunes from his roots in the world of New England contra dance, Sammy explores the worlds of Scandinavian, Bluegrass, Old time, Scottish, Irish, and contemporary fiddle tunes and brings them together with improvisational creativity.
Hanneke Cassel and Keith Murphy
Friday December 20th, 2024
New Brackett Church, Peaks Island, Maine
Hanneke Cassel and Keith Murphy
A seasonally inspired music with virtuosic composers and musicians Hanneke Cassel on fiddle and Newfoundland’s Keith Murphy on guitar. Effervescent and engaging music to celebrate the stark and present beautiful of winter with the warmth and joy that will fill you with gladness.
Learn more about Hanneke and Keith and the links below:
To reserve tickets to a show, please use the contact page to send Ellen a message, she will give you all the details!
Suggested donation is $20.00 per guest. Folks over 80 or under 18 are welcomed free of charge. All proceeds from donations go directly to the musicians.
Reverie Road
Thursday, August 22nd, 2024
Reverie Road
with Winifred Horan, John Williams, Katie Grennan and Utsav Lal
Reverie Road is a fresh, eclectic Celtic supergroup, featuring fiddler Winifred Horan and accordionist John Williams (founding Solas members) alongside former Gaelic Storm fiddler Katie Grennan and Jazz and Raga pianist Utsav Lal (Young Steinway Artist). This powerful combination is made up of four of today’s leading traditional and virtuosic folk artists who have captured the hearts of international audiences from studios to stages over the last three decades. Firmly grounded in their collective Irish roots, Reverie Road embraces humor with musical insight and natural abilities. Original textural adventures weave the roots of Irish musical traditions with new departures and curated gems including distilled airs, continental waltzes, and upbeat reels and jigs. The band chemistry of two accomplished classically-trained fiddlers who share a common history as award winning Irish dancers along with two instrumentalists who have sought to redefine traditional accompaniment and rhythm sections amount to a compelling concert experience that will lift audiences’ hearts and have them on their feet.
For more information, go to:
The Murphy Beds: Eamon O'Leary & Jefferson Hamer
Friday, August 9th, 7:00pm
The Murphy Beds
Eamon O'Leary & Jefferson Hamer
5th Maine Museum, Peaks Island
Suggested donation $20, free for folks under 18 and over 80
Eamon O’Leary and Jefferson Hamer (aka The Murphy Beds) present traditional and original folk songs with close harmonies and deft instrumental arrangements on bouzouki, guitar, and mandolin. In 2021 they released their second album, titled “Easy Way Down”, which The Irish Echo called “an incredible collection of songs delivered with grace and ease.” They have toured extensively throughout Europe and North America, with performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., Alaska Folk Festival, Milwaukee Irish Festival, WGBH Boston’s Celtic Sojourn, Doolin Folk Festival (Ireland), and Unamplifire Festival (London).
Eamon and Jefferson began playing together at traditional music sessions in New York City. They shared an interest in collecting, arranging, and performing songs from Irish, American, Scottish, and English traditions. As they began to collaborate — first in larger ensembles, but most enduringly as a duo — they also recognized an affinity for other more contemporary idioms. Whatever the source — songs of the Irish travelers, Arkansas spirituals, or their own compositions — their arrangements feature the same carefully wrought interplay of voices and strings.
For more information go to: