New Concerts On Sale at Swallow Hill Music Wednesday, 5/16 @ 10am

May 14th, 2012

Award-winning Celtic band Cherish the Ladies stops in Denver, Muddy Waters’ son Big Bill Morganfield cranks up the heat, Leon Redbone reminds us of why we love folk music, and Bruce Robinson & Kelly Willis merge their solo careers to create one dynamic duo.

WHAT: New shows added to Swallow Hill Music’s 2012 line-up
WHEN: Dates and times vary, see show details below
WHERE: Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave., Denver 80210 or L2 Arts & Culture Center, 1477 Columbine St., Denver 80206
PRICE: Tickets vary, see show details below
INFO & BOX OFFICE: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2
MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818, lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816, gwen@swallowhillmusic.org
RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news
MEDIA PARTNER: KUNC 91.5 FM

DENVER – Cherish the Ladies, Big Bill Morganfield, Leon Redbone and Bruce Robinson & Kelly Willis join the 2012 line-up at Swallow Hill Music. These and other fantastic new shows go on sale Wednesday, May 16 at 10am.

Joannie Madden, the leader of Cherish the Ladies, proves that you don’t have to live in Ireland to be an award-winning Celtic musician. She was the first American to win the coveted Senior All-Ireland Championship on the whistle. Now, 27 years after the band’s inception, Cherish the Ladies is one of the most beloved Celtic bands in the world, delighting audiences with their humor, passion and rambunctiousness. They arrive in Denver for a concert on Thursday, October 18.

Leon Redbone, the iconic, fedora-wearing folk singer, first burst into the music scene in the 70′s when Bob Dylan noted that if he were to ever start a record label, Leon would be the first artist he’d sign. Since then, he’s done just about everything you can do as a musician – from performing guest roles on hit TV series to having ballet master Mikhail Baryshnikov dance to his signature songs. While he’s known for covering other artists’ songs during live shows, he always counters with a grin, “I think that they’re all mine to begin with.” You’ll hear old songs and new songs on Saturday, October 6.

On August 24, the blues come to Swallow Hill Music. Big Bill Morganfield appeared onto the blues scene 15 years after the passing of his father, McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield. Big Bill is certainly living up to the family reputation – as they say, “the apple don’t fall far from the tree.”

Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, coming to Swallow Hill Music on Friday, August 3, have a wealth of awards in each of their solo careers. Now partners in life, parenthood and on the stage, this dynamic duo is well-known for its insightful songwriting and gorgeous melodies.

Each month, Swallow Hill Music features one of its faculty members on the stage. “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series has five new additions to its line-up including Chad “Chadzilla” Johnson, Aaron McCloskey, Ayo Awosika, Vicki Jordan, and Jen Lapinski & Julie Gussaroff. Show dates and details are below.

More shows and full details are below. Thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

Show Details – On Sale 5/16 @ 10am!

Cherish the Ladies
Thu, Oct 18 at 8pm – L2 Arts & Culture Center – $28 advance, $30 day of show
Cherish the Ladies have grown from a one-time concert concept to an Irish traditional music sensation, literally the most successful and sought-after Irish-American group in Celtic music. Organized by folklorist/musician Mick Moloney and sponsored by the Ethnic Folk Arts Center and the National Endowment for the Arts, they began as a concert series featuring the brightest lights in Irish traditional music.

Taking their name from the name of a traditional Irish jig, the group initially won recognition as the first and only all-women traditional Irish band. In a relatively short time, they soon established themselves as musicians and performers without peer and have won many thousands of listeners and fans of their music.

With their unique spectacular blend of virtuosi instrumental talents, beautiful vocals, captivating arrangements and stunning step dancing, this powerhouse group combines all the facets of Irish traditional culture and puts it forth in an immensely humorous and entertaining package.

The past years have seen the group traveling all over North and South America, the United Kingdom and Europe, Australia and New Zealand performing in the finest concert halls and international festivals. They are equally at home in front of a symphony orchestra, a performing arts center, a folk festival or even the White House.

Leon Redbone
Sat, Oct 6 at 8pm – $30 advance, $32 day of show
With his trademark Panama hat, the cult vaudevillian performer Leon Redbone returns to Swallow Hill Music, delivering his unique interpretations of early 20th century music in the vein of jazz and blues standards and Tin Pan Alley classics. His origins and life story are shrouded in mystery. Indeed, Leon is careful to preserve his mysteriousness. Consider this this quote from Bonnie Raitt in a Rolling Stone interview:

“He’s just amazing. He’s probably the best combination singer guitarist I’ve heard in years. I spent an afternoon with him in a hotel room and I was wondering when he was going to become normal. He never did.”

Big Bill Morganfield w/ The Delta Sonics feat. Clay Kirkland
Sat, Aug 24 at 8pm – $17 advance, $19 day of show
Big Bill Morganfield is the son of McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) and has emerged in the past decade as one of the top young blues talents in America. Big Bill has played all over the world in the past 11 years, bringing pure joy to those who have had the pleasure of seeing his live performance.

Many men try to fill their father’s shoes when they join the family business. Few, however, must prove they are up to the task in front of an audience as large as the one that watched Big Bill Morganfield. Morganfield didn’t take up the challenge until several years after his dad passed away in 1983. Morganfield’s debut album, Rising Son, was released in 1999 to popular and critical acclaim. Guitar Player expressed their belief that Morganfield’s album would have brought a smile to his father’s face. The following year, the W.C. Handy Awards dubbed Waters’ son the Best New Blues Artist.

Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis
Fri, Aug 3 at 8pm – $18 advance, $20 day of show
When is the sum of the parts of a musical quantity far greater than the whole? When Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison unite as an ongoing musical act.

After all, their own individual artistic achievements already sum up to impressive totals. Robison has made his mark as both a writer of indelible smash #1 hits like “Wrapped” (George Strait), “Angry All The Time” (Tim McGraw & Faith Hill) and “Travelin’ Soldier” (Dixie Chicks) and an artist in his own right who boasts a series of eight albums rich with his laconic yet potent grace and emotional dead aim as a songwriter and singer. Willis has reigned as a critically acclaimed roots music singer since her recorded debut some two decades ago, and is recognized as a new country and Americana pioneer. Her ever-broadening artistic range and gifts as both a canny writer and interpreter of songs have consistently continued to wow her many fans and music critics alike thanks to her finesse, smarts and irresistible charm. As All Music Guide notes, “Willis is the darling of alt country fans and NPR listeners, and each recording has received more platitudes than the one before.”

But as this couple in life, love and parenthood now unite as a band all its own, it’s more about the promise and thrills of the new than their considerable solo legacies and the laurels they’ve already earned. “We’ve been playing together occasionally over the years,” explains Willis. “And it’s always been really special. So we just thought we’d like to try a real collaboration where we pull from each other’s strengths and create a new entity apart from our separate ones.”

Other Shows Newly On Sale
Sat July 7 Justin Roth w/ special guest John McVey
Sat July 21 Chad Johnson w/ House of Rock Students -
“Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Sat Aug 18 Aaron McCloskey and Alex Johnstone – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Thu Sept 13 Grub Street Rider Band – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Sat Sept 15 The Wiyos
Sat Sept 22 Ayo Awosika – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Sat Oct 13 Omnibuds
Sat Nov 11 Vicki Jordan – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Sat Dec 15 Jen Lapinski and Julie Gussaroff – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series

Swallow Hill Music’s
CURRENT 2012 CONCERT SCHEDULE
All shows at 8pm @ 71 E. Yale Ave. unless otherwise indicated

Thu May 10 Eric Himan – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri May 11 Kate LeRoux – Full Circle Concert
Fri May 11 Azra – World Music Night
Sat May 12 Michelle Shocked
Presented by 97.3 KBCO and Twist & Shout
Sat May 12 Mack Bailey & Rachel Levy
Thu May 17 Ukefest feat. Heavy Metal Uke Jam @ The Wynkoop Brewing Company
Fri May 18 Ukefest feat. Jake Shimabukuro @ The Oriental Theatre – SOLD OUT!!!
Sat May 19 Ukefest feat. Nellie McKay, Aldrine Guerrero, all day workshops and jams
@ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sat May 19 Kyle James Hauser – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Fri May 25 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Hot Rize, The Otis Taylor Blues Band, Harry Tuft and Dick Lamm @ The Newman Center
Sat May 26 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Tim O’Brien, Dakota Blonde,
Nick & Helen Forster and Dick Weissman @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sun May 27 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, Pete & Joan Wernick, Michael Cooney, and Harry Tuft, Jack Stanesco & Steve Abott @ Four Mile Historic Park
Fri June 1 Missy Raines & the New Hip
Sat June 2 Bob Lind and Danny O’Keefe
Presented by Cruisin’ Oldies 950AM/103.1FM
Sat June 2 Finnders and Youngberg – Album Release
Tues June 5 Tinariwen w/ Greg Harris World Citizen Band @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM and Twist & Shout
Fri June 8 Patrick Dethlefs w/ Esme Tiger Collins of Paper Bird – Album Release
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM and Twist & Shout
Fri June 8 Claude Bourbon
Fri June 15 April Verch Trio w/ Chuck Hugenberg
Sat June 16 Perpetual Motion feat. Josie Quick – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Fri June 22 Nostalgia Music Group
Sat June 23 Dan Navarro
Sat June 30 Alison Brown Quartet
Sat June 30 Sea Stars
Wed July 4 The B-52s and Squeeze – Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield – 6:30pm
Sat July 7 Chris Daniels & Friends – Album Release – Better Days
Sat July 7 Justin Roth w/ special guest John McVey
Wed July 11 Nanci Griffith w/ special guest Greg Brown – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Fri July 13 Laurie Lewis and The Jaybirds
Mon July 16 Marc Cohn w/ special guest Joan Osborne – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Tues July 17 Natalie Merchant w/ the Colorado Symphony – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Fri July 20 Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers, Casey James Prestwood & the Burning Angels,
and I’m With Her
Sat July 21 Chad Johnson w/ House of Rock Students – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Mon July 23 Al Green – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Wed July 25 Mary Chapin Carpenter – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Sat July 21 Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack: the Daddy Band w/ Brigitte DeMeyer
Fri Aug 3 Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis
Sat Aug 4 Rory Block
Sat Aug 4 Ladies of Country Music feat. Bonnie & the Clydes and Kristina Murray & the Two Hearted Jones
Sun Aug 5 k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang @ the Lincoln Center, Ft. Collins
Mon Aug 6 Diana Krall – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Thur Aug 9 Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Johnny Clegg Band -
Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Fri Aug 10 Shawn Colvin and Loudon Wainwright III – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Fri Aug 10 Bamboche – World Music Night
Sun Aug 12 Raul Midón – 7pm
Thu Aug 16 Kenny Loggins – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Fri Aug 17 Wynonna & the Big Noise – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Sat Aug 18 Aaron McCloskey and Alex Johnstone – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Tues Aug 21 Gipsy Kings – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Fri Aug 24 Big Bill Morganfield with The Delta Sonics feat. Clay Kirkland
Thu Aug 30 Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Sat Sept 1 Buddy Guy and Robert Randolph & the Family Band -
Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield – 6:30pm
Fri Sept 7 Pat Metheny Unity Band – Denver Botanic Gardens – 7pm
Thu Sept 13 Grub Street Rider Band – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Sept 14 David Olney and Steve Poltz
Sat Sept 15 René Heredia
Sat Sept 15 The Wiyos
Sat Sept 22 Ayo Awosika – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Sat Sept 29 Small Potatoes
Sat Oct 6 Leon Redbone
Sat Oct 6 Andrew McKnight and Michael DeLalla
Sat Oct 13 Omnibuds
Thu Oct 18 Cherish the Ladies @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sun Oct 21 Kathy Mattea @ L2 Arts & Culture Center – 7pm
Fri Oct 26 Doug & Telisha
Fri Nov 2 R Carlos Nakai Trio
Sat Nov 11 Vicki Jordan – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Sat Dec 15 Jen Lapinski and Julie Gussaroff – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series

About Swallow Hill Music:
Swallow Hill Music has been helping people make and enjoy music since 1979. As it celebrates its 33rd year, it is proud to be known as one of the largest non-profit organizations in the United States to serve as a source for roots, folk and acoustic music.

Swallow Hill Music serves more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming.

Three concert venues at our facility on 71 E. Yale Ave. offer more than 200 performances a year, featuring local, national and international talent. In addition, Swallow Hill Music presents and produces its annual Rootsfest celebration, concerts at the L2 Arts & Culture Center in Capitol Hill, at Four Mile Historic Park, at the Old South Pearl St. summer street fairs, and at the Denver Botanic Gardens for its long-running and esteemed Summer Concert Series.

A faculty of 60+ instructors provides music education to over 5,000 students who participated in hundreds of classes, workshops and private lessons for instruments and interests of all kinds. In addition, the Swallow Hill Music School reaches over 15,000 students through educational K-12 outreach programs in schools across the Front Range.

Swallow Hill Music is proud to be one of the 26 local nonprofits that are recognized as an SCFD Tier II Arts and Cultural organization. In addition to funding from SCFD and program revenue from concerts and classes, Swallow Hill Music relies on foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and the generosity of individual donors and the 2,300 dedicated members of our unique musical community. This support allows Swallow Hill Music to continue connecting people to the power of music by providing a place to celebrate and enjoy music in both the classroom and on stage.

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Posted in New On Sale, Uncategorized |

New Concerts On Sale at Swallow Hill Music Weds, 4/4 @ 10am

April 4th, 2012

Bluesy singer/songwriter Chris Smither finger-picks his way to Denver, the genre-defying music of Tish Hinojosa reflects the melting pot of America, and the Tannahill Weavers come from Scotland to share their lively Celtic spirit.

WHAT: New shows added to Swallow Hill Music’s 2012 line-up
WHEN: Dates and times vary, see show details below
WHERE: Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave., Denver 80210
PRICE: Tickets vary, see show details below
INFO & TICKETS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2
MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818, lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816, gwen@swallowhillmusic.org
RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news
MEDIA PARTNER: KUNC 91.5 FM

DENVER – Eight new shows are added to Swallow Hill Music’s 2012 line-up. On sale on Wednesday, April 4, these shows range from singer/songwriters to tunes from the hills of Scotland.

Chris Smither has been pickin’ his way through life meeting critical acclaim at his Philadelphia Folk Festival debut in 1969. Now, 43 years later and with countless touring miles under his belt, he is releasing a new album, Hundred Dollar Valentine in June. We are thrilled to have Denver and Swallow Hill Music as a destination for his album release tour throughout the month of September.

At Swallow Hill Music, we are always bringing in acts that transcend borders and cultural differences. Tish Hinojosa has a quality in her music that seems to cross borders. From pop to Latino, from country to folk, her music personifies the melting pot that is the United States. The Tannahill Weavers bring their Scottish flare to the U.S. for some rompin’ and roarin’ good fun. Their powerful harmonies and rich melodies are a joy to listen to. The Other Side of Rabbi Joe Black & Julie Silver brings these two internationally known Jewish singer/songwriters together for an evening of “secular” inspiration and incredible music.

Full show details are below. Thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

Show Details – On Sale 4/4 @ 10am!

Chris Smither
Friday, Sept 28 at 8pm – $25 advance, $27 day of show
Having distilled his own signature sound of blues and folk for over 40 years, Chris Smither is truly an American original. A profound songwriter, Chris continues to draw deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers with this 14th record of his lengthy career. From his early days as the New Orleans transplant in the Boston folk scene, through his wilderness years, to his reemergence in the 1990s as one of America’s most distinctive acoustic performers, Chris Smither continues to hone his distinctive sound. He has always traveled his own road, eschewing sophisticated studio tricks and staying true to his musical vision. He has developed and maintained loyal friendships over the years with kindred-spirited musicians like Bonnie Raitt and the late Stephen Bruton while at the same time throughout his career been inspired by and inspiring to today’s next-generation of musicians. Reviewers continue to praise his dazzling guitar work, gravelly voice and songwriting. The New York Times: With a weary, well-traveled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr. Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate.

 

June 19, 2012 marks the release of Hundred Dollar Valentine (Signature Sounds) – and this, Chris’ 12th studio record, is a masterwork. It sports the unmistakable sound he has made his trademark: fingerpicked acoustic guitar and evocative sonic textures meshed with spare, brilliant songs, delivered in a bone-wise, hard-won voice. It is also his first recording to feature all Smither-penned, original songs. Along with longtime producer, David “Goody” Goodrich, other featured musicians on Hundred Dollar Valentine are drummer Billy Conway (Morphine, Treat Her Right), Jimmy Fitting on harmonica, and Goodrich’s ex-Groovasaurus bandmates, Anita Suhanin (vocals) and violinist Ian Kennedy (Page/Plant, Lemonheads, Juliana Hatfield, Peter Wolf, Susan Tedeschi).

Tish Hinojosa
Friday, July 6 at 8 pm – $18 advance, $20 day of show
Tish Hinojosa’s music crosses borders – between cultures, languages and musical genres. Moving with equal grace through folk, country, pop and latino styles, her music reflects contemporary America’s multicultural richness. Combining a vision that embraces all of these musical styles, with her characteristic warmth and a pure, soulful voice, this enchanting Texan singer/songwriter has gained a loving and loyal audience throughout America, Europe and beyond.

To date, she has released 15 albums, all of which beautifully display her ability to distill her diverse musical influences and colorful life experiences into a sound which is distinctively her own. The 12 self-penned songs on Tish’s latest CD, Our Little Planet, feature a deeply Americana mix of traditional bluegrass and Tish’s trademark sound of contemporary folk and tex-mex. The album is produced by Tish and her long-time accompanist, Marvin Dykhuis, who also co-wrote the title song, as well as played most of the instruments. It also features appearances by celebrated pedal-steel player, Greg Leisz, duets with Texas country legends Rosie Flores and Dale Watson, as well as with rising star, Carrie Rodriguez, all of which combine to add delightful new textures to Our Little Planet’s stripped-down country sound.

The Tannahill Weavers w/ Sarah McQuaid
Saturday, Oct 13 at 8 pm – $20 advance, $22 day of show
The Tannahill Weavers is one of Scotland’s premier traditional bands. Their diverse repertoire spans the centuries with fire-driven instrumentals, topical songs, and original ballads and lullabies. Their music demonstrates to old and young alike the rich and varied musical heritage of the Celtic people. These versatile musicians have received worldwide accolades consistently over the years for their exuberant performances and outstanding recording efforts that seemingly can’t get better…yet continue to do just that.

They have that unique combination of traditional melodies, driving rhythmic accompaniment, and rich vocals that make their performances unforgettable. Over the years the Tannies have been international trailblazers for Scottish music, and their tight harmonies and powerful, inventive arrangements have won them fans from beyond the folk and Celtic music scenes. They are firmly established as one of the premier groups on the concert stage. From reflective ballads to foot-stomping reels and jigs, the variety and range of the material they perform is matched only by their enthusiasm and lively Celtic spirits.

The Other Side of Rabbi Joe Black & Julie Silver
Friday, June 16 at 8 pm – $18 advance, $20 day of show
Rabbi Joe Black and Julie Silver are both internationally recognized contemporary Jewish songwriters and performers. As solo artists, they have shared their music in hundreds of communities around the world. Julie’s warmth, charisma and creativity can be felt from the moment she walks on stage and captivates us with her powerful vocals and heartfelt message. Joe’s infectious musical style and virtuoso guitar playing teaches while entertaining.

This show will be a rare opportunity for these two good friends to stretch beyond their traditional repertoire and share their “secular” sides. Expect to be touched, tickled and thankful for the breadth and scope of their considerable talents.

Other Shows Newly On Sale
Thu May 17 Jaspar Lepak and Jen Korte – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Thu May 31 Caleb Slade and Reviving Cecelia – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri July 6 Darden Smith
Sat Oct 20 The Steel Wheels

Swallow Hill Music’s
CURRENT 2012 CONCERT SCHEDULE
All shows at 8pm @ 71 E. Yale Ave. unless otherwise indicated

Thu Mar 29 The Belle Jar and Anthony Ruptak – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Mar 30 The Claire Lynch Band w/ Finnders & Youngberg
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM
Sat Mar 31 Caravan of Thieves
Sat Mar 31 Martin Zellar & Charlie Parr
Thu Apr 5 Vanessa Lively and Magnolia Row – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Apr 6 The Alash Ensemble
Fri Apr 6 Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Sat Apr 7 Owen Kortz Trio
Thu Apr 12 The Novelists – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Apr 13 Roshan Bhartiya and Andy Skellenger – World Music Night
Fri Apr 13 Reed Föehl w/ The Good Lovelies – Album Release
Sat Apr 14 Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket w/ John Common @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Presented by 97.3 KBCO and Twist & Shout
Fri Apr 20 Jack Williams w/ Kort McCumber
Sat Apr 21 Gretchen Peters & Malcolm Holcombe
Sat Apr 21 Citrus & Friends feat. Chris “Citrus” Sauthoff – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert
Fri Apr 27 Todd Snider w/ The Haunted Windchimes
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Fri Apr 27 The Boxcars and Chatham County Line
Fri Apr 27 Dave Preston feat. Sam Gathman & Jon Powers and Glowing House
Sat Apr 28 Sandra Wong, Dominick Leslie, Ty Burhoe Trio w/ Special Guest Grant Gordy
Sat Apr 28 Grubstake
Fri May 4 Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Fri May 4 Blame Sally w/ Steve Law
Sat May 5 John McCutcheon
Sat May 5 Trunko, Kirkland & Briggs
Thu May 10 Eric Himan – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri May 11 Azra – World Music Night
Sat May 12 Michelle Shocked
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Sat May 12 Mack Bailey & Rachel Levy
Thu May 17 Jaspar Lepak and Jen Korte – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Thu May 17 Ukefest feat. Heavy Metal Uke Jam @ The Wynkoop Brewing Company
Fri May 18 Ukefest feat. Jake Shimabukuro @ The Oriental Theatre
Sat May 19 Ukefest feat. Nellie McKay, Aldrine Guerrero, all day workshops and jams
@ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sat May 19 Kyle James Hauser – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Fri May 25 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Hot Rize, The Otis Taylor Blues Band, Harry Tuft and Dick Lamm @ The Newman Center
Sat May 26 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Tim O’Brien, Dakota Blonde,
Nick & Helen Forster and Dick Weissman @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sun May 27 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, Pete & Joan Wernick, Michael Cooney, and Harry Tuft, Jack Stanesco & Steve Abott @ Four Mile Historic Park
Thu May 31 Caleb Slade and Reviving Cecelia – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri June 1 Missy Raines & the New Hip
Sat June 2 Bob Lind and Danny O’Keefe
Presented by Cruisin’ Oldies 950AM/103.1FM
Sat June 2 Finnders and Youngberg
Tues June 5 Tinariwen @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM
Fri June 8 Patrick Dethlefs – Album Release
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM
Fri June 8 Claude Bourbon
Fri June 15 April Verch Trio w/ Chuck Hugenberg
Sat June 16 The Other Side of Rabbi Joe Black & Julie Silver
Fri June 22 Nostalgia Music Group
Sat June 23 Dan Navarro
Sat June 30 Alison Brown Quartet
Fri July 6 Tish Hinojosa
Fri July 6 Darden Smith
Fri July 13 Laurie Lewis and The Jaybirds
Sat July 21 Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack: the Daddy Band w/ Brigitte DeMeyer
Sat Aug 4 Rory Block
Sat Aug 4 Ladies of Country Music feat. Bonnie & the Clydes and Kristina Murray & the Two Hearted Jones
Sun Aug 5 k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang @ the Lincoln Center, Ft. Collins
Sun Aug 12 Raul Midón – 7pm
Fri Sept 28 Chris Smither
Sat Sept 29 Small Potatoes
Sat Oct 13 The Tannahill Weavers w/ Sarah McQuaid
Sat Oct 20 The Steel Wheels
Fri Nov 2 R Carlos Nakai Trio

About Swallow Hill Music
Swallow Hill Music has been helping people make and enjoy music since 1979. As it celebrates its 33rd year, it is proud to be known as one of the largest non-profit organizations in the United States to serve as a source for roots, folk and acoustic music.

Swallow Hill Music serves more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming.

Three concert venues at our facility on 71 E. Yale Ave. offer more than 200 performances a year, featuring local, national and international talent. In addition, Swallow Hill Music presents and produces its annual Rootsfest celebration, concerts at the L2 Arts & Culture Center in Capitol Hill, at Four Mile Historic Park, at the Old South Pearl St. summer street fairs, and at the Denver Botanic Gardens for its long-running and esteemed Summer Concert Series.

A faculty of 60+ instructors provides music education to over 5,000 students who participated in hundreds of classes, workshops and private lessons for instruments and interests of all kinds. In addition, the Swallow Hill Music School reaches over 15,000 students through educational K-12 outreach programs in schools across the Front Range.

Swallow Hill Music is proud to be one of the 26 local nonprofits that are recognized as an SCFD Tier II Arts and Cultural organization. In addition to funding from SCFD and program revenue from concerts and classes, Swallow Hill Music relies on foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and the generosity of individual donors and the 2,300 dedicated members of our unique musical community. This support allows Swallow Hill Music to continue connecting people to the power of music by providing a place to celebrate and enjoy music in both the classroom and on stage.

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Posted in Concerts, New On Sale |

New Concerts On Sale at Swallow Hill Music Weds, 3/21 @ 10am

March 20th, 2012

Compass Records founder and banjo virtuoso Alison Brown, Raul Midón, R. Carlos Nakai Trio, and Delta Blues innovator Rory Block come to the Swallow Hill Music stage for concerts that are sure to entertain.

WHAT: New shows added to Swallow Hill Music’s 2012 line-up
WHEN: Dates and times vary, see show details below
WHERE: Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave., Denver 80210
PRICE: Tickets vary, see show details below
INFO & REGISTRATION: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2
MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818, lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816, gwen@swallowhillmusic.org
RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news
MEDIA PARTNER: KUNC 91.5 FM

DENVER – On sale next week, Swallow Hill Music adds twelve new shows to its 2012 line-up. From banjo virtuosos to Native-American flutes to Americana icons, you can always find a concert you’ll enjoy.

Alison Brown, founder of Compass Records Group, sets the financials aside and returns to the pickin’ that made her famous. Her banjo-playing is enchanting and her newest album is jam-packed with her old-time pals.

Americana boys Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack have joined together to create The DADDY Band. Their swamp-country and southern sound resonates within their rock and roll groove. And, as if she were from the Delta herself, blues musician Rory Block shows us that just because you’re from New Jersey does not mean you don’t know what it means to get the blues.

Raul Midón comes to Swallow Hill Music for a special Sunday performance, showcasing his incredible talent in soul/pop/jazz guitar. Expect the unexpected when Raul takes the stage. And speaking of the “unexpected,” the R. Carlos Nakai Trio brings a sound rarely heard in music today – the Native American flute. After a car accident, fate took a turn to ensure that Nakai would not play trumpet, but flute instead, creating the world’s premier cedar flautist.

Full show details are below. Thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

Show Details – On Sale 3/21 @ 10am!

Alison Brown Quartet
Saturday, June 30 at 8pm – $28 advance
An internationally recognized musician with a wide-reaching and loyal fan base, banjo virtuoso Alison Brown first came to national prominence when she was asked by Alison Krauss to join her band Union Station in 1989. Brown had already made a name for herself prior to that by performing extensively with fiddler Stuart Duncan, and on occasional pick-up sessions with artists such as Vince Gill, Byron Berline and John Hickman.

Brown’s journey to a professional music career took a detour while she attended Harvard, studying history and literature, then UCLA, where she secured an MBA and went to work as an investment banker. After taking a hiatus to return to composing and recording music, Brown assembled the material for her solo debut, the Grammy nominated Simple Pleasures. A three-year stint with Alison Krauss and Union Station and a year serving as band leader for Michelle Shocked followed as did bluegrass music’s highest accolade for an instrumentalist: the International Bluegrass Music Association Banjo Player of the Year in 1991.

In 1995 Brown put her financial background to work, founding Compass Records with her husband Garry West. Celebrating its 18th anniversary in 2012, the Nashville-based Compass Records Group is an internationally recognized label group with a catalog of over 600 roots music releases.

Her newest studio release, The Company You Keep, features the musicians she has spent most of the past 18 years performing with: John R. Burr (piano), Garry West (bass), David Grisman Quintet alum Joe Craven (fiddle/mandolin/percussion) and Larry Atamanuik (drums) alongside guests John Doyle (guitar), Stuart Duncan (fiddle) and Kenny Malone (drums) on a set of engaging, upbeat and melodic tunes, many of which were co-written by Brown and Burr.

Raul Midón
Sunday, August 12 at 7pm – $23 advance
“A free man beyond any category” (Huffington Post) best describes the unique musician that is singer/songwriter/guitarist Raul Midón.

His singular timeless soul pop jazz sound garnered him a standing ovation during his television debut on the Late Show with David Letterman and an open invitation back to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno following his appearances there. This talented, mesmerizing genre-defying artist has traveled the globe from India to Indiana, spreading the message that you can do it, you can be yourself and be recognized and be bold.

His musical collaborations have also been broad and varied from a duet with Jason Mraz to a live recording with bass legend and producer Marcus Miller to playing The Budakan with Roberta Flack. People Magazine calls him an “eclectic adventurist” andthe New York Times, an “unreconstructed hippy.” Guitar Magazine describes him as “One of those rare musical forces that reminds us how strong and deep the connection between man and music can sometimes be.”

Midón will delight you with his wit, his musical virtuosity all a result of his dedication to being the best he can be.

R. Carlos Nakai Trio
Friday, Nov 2 at 8pm – $28 advance
The R. Carlos Nakai Trio, featuring William Eaton & Will Clipman, is a summit meeting of master musicians. From its inception, this trio has been committed to improvisation – the fineart of crafting music directly from the heart or through composing.

The ancient melodies of Nakai’s native American cedar flutes are enveloped in the sophisticated harmonic and chordal timbres of Eaton’s uniquely handcrafted multi-stringed instruments. Both musicians are imbued with a fluid pulse arriving out of Clipman’s pan-global percussion.

Of Navajo-Ute heritage, R. Carlos Nakai is the world’s premier performer of the Native American flute. He began his musical studies on the trumpet, but a car accident ruined his embouchure. His musical interests took a turn when he was given a traditional cedar flute as a gift and was challenged to master it. As an artist, he is an adventurer and risk taker, always giving his musical imagination free rein. Nakai is also an iconoclastic traditionalist, who views his cultural heritage not only as a source and inspiration, but also a dynamic continuum of natural change, growth, and adaptation subject to the artist’s expressive needs.

Rory Block
Saturday, Aug 4 at 8pm – $19 advance
Heralded as “a living landmark” (Berkeley Express), “a national treasure” (Guitar Extra), and “one of the greatest living acoustic blues artists” (Blues Revue), Rory Block has committed her life and her career to preserving the Delta Blues tradition and bringing it to life for 21st century audiences around the world. A traditionalist and an innovator at the same time, she wields a fiery and haunting guitar and vocal style that redefines the boundaries of acoustic blues and folk. The New York Times declared: “Her playing is perfect, her singing otherworldly as she wrestles with ghosts, shadows and legends.”

Born in Princeton, NJ, Aurora “Rory” Block grew up in Manhattan to a family with Bohemian leanings. Her father owned a Greenwich Village sandal shop, where musicians like Bob Dylan, Maria Muldaur and John Sebastian all made occasional appearances. The rich and diverse Village scene was a constant influence on her cultural sensibilities. She was playing guitar by age ten, and by her early teens she was sitting in on the Sunday jam sessions in Washington Square Park.

During these years, her life was touched – and profoundly changed – by personal encounters with some of the earliest and most influential Delta Blues masters of the 20th century.

Her new album, Shake “Em on Down: A Tribute to Mississippi Fred McDowell is part of her newest project, The Mentor Series. Says John Vermilyea of the Blues Underground Network, “yet another brilliant release from Rory Block, one that pays tribute to a Legendary Artist by an Artist who is certainly heading in the direction of legendary status, herself.”

Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack: the DADDY Band w/ Brigitte DeMeyer
Saturday, July 21 at 8pm – $18 advance
Alabama homeboy Will Kimbrough (2005 Americana Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year) and Kentucky-bred Tommy Womack (two-time winner of the Nashville Scene Best Song Award) first came together in 1992. They discovered a musical and personal kinship that has continued to grow over the years and individual careers – which is now DADDY.

Drawing on juke-joint blues, swampy-groove country and a lot of rock and roll, with stops in gospel and beat-poet territory along the way, The DADDY Band has been hailed by critics and fans alike for their incendiary live performances and recordings that embrace a wide scope of what’s great about American music. Together, Kimbrough and Womack just click. Kimbrough’s wide-ranging abilities, sweet and reckless by turns, dovetails with Womack’s slash-and-burn style to produce a sound that is both exciting and heartfelt.

Other Shows Newly On Sale

Thu 3/29 The Belle Jar and Anthony Ruptak – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Thu 4/5 Vanessa Lively and Magnolia Row – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Thu 4/12 The Novelists – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Thu 5/10 Eric Himan – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri 5/11 World Music Night – Azra and Sevdah
Fri 6/22 Nostalgia Music Group
Sat 8/4 Ladies of Country Music feat. Bonnie & the Clydes and Kristina Murray & the Two Hearted Jones

Swallow Hill Music’s CURRENT 2012 CONCERT SCHEDULE
All shows at 8pm @ 71 E. Yale Ave. unless otherwise indicated

Thu Mar 15 Pete Kartsounes – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Mar 16 Gobs O’Phun
Fri Mar 16 Vance Gilbert w/ Jeremy Dion
Sat Mar 17 René Heredia: Solo Flamenco Guitar
Fri Mar 23 The Dunwells w/ SHEL
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Fri Mar 23 Best of Open Stage
Sat Mar 24 Solas @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM and Twist & Shout
Sat Mar 24 William Fitzsimmons w/ Denison Witmer
Sat Mar 24 Big Jim Adams & John Stillwagen
Thu Mar 29 The Belle Jar and Anthony Ruptak – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Mar 30 The Claire Lynch Band w/ Finnders & Youngberg
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM
Sat Mar 31 Caravan of Thieves
Sat Mar 31 Martin Zellar & Charlie Parr
Thu Apr 5 Vanessa Lively and Magnolia Row – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Apr 6 The Alash Ensemble
Fri Apr 6 Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Sat Apr 7 Owen Kortz Trio
Thu Apr 12 The Novelists – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Apr 13 Roshan Bhartiya and Andy Skellenger – World Music Night
Fri Apr 13 Reed Föehl w/ The Good Lovelies – Album Release
Sat Apr 14 Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket w/ John Common @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Presented by 97.3 KBCO and Twist & Shout
Fri Apr 20 Jack Williams w/ Kort McCumber
Sat Apr 21 Gretchen Peters & Malcolm Holcombe
Sat Apr 21 Citrus & Friends feat. Chris “Citrus” Sauthoff – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert
Fri Apr 27 Todd Snider w/ The Haunted Windchimes
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Fri Apr 27 The Boxcars and Chatham County Line
Fri Apr 27 Dave Preston feat. Sam Gathman & Jon Powers and Glowing House
Sat Apr 28 Sandra Wong, Dominick Leslie, Ty Burhoe Trio w/ Special Guest Grant Gordy
Sat Apr 28 Grubstake
Fri May 4 Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Fri May 4 Blame Sally w/ Steve Law
Sat May 5 John McCutcheon
Sat May 5 Trunko, Kirkland & Briggs
Thu May 10 Eric Himan – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri May 11 Azra and Sevdah – World Music Night
Sat May 12 Michelle Shocked
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Sat May 12 Mack Bailey & Rachel Levy
Thu May 17 Ukefest feat. Heavy Metal Uke Jam @ The Wynkoop Brewing Company
Fri May 18 Ukefest feat. Jake Shimabukuro @ The Oriental Theatre
Sat May 19 Ukefest feat. Nellie McKay, Aldrine Guerrero, all day workshops and jams
@ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sat May 19 Kyle James Hauser – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Fri May 25 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Hot Rize, The Otis Taylor Blues Band, Harry Tuft and Dick Lamm @ The Newman Center
Sat May 26 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Tim O’Brien, Dakota Blonde,
Nick & Helen Forster and Dick Weissman @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sun May 27 Denver Folklore Center 50th Anniversary feat. Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, Pete & Joan Wernick, Michael Cooney, and Harry Tuft, Jack Stanesco & Steve Abott @ Four Mile Historic Park
Fri June 1 Missy Raines & the New Hip
Sat June 2 Bob Lind and Danny O’Keefe
Presented by Cruisin’ Oldies 950AM/103.1FM
Sat June 2 Finnders and Youngberg
Tues June 5 Tinariwen @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Fri June 8 Patrick Dethlefs – Album Release
Fri June 8 Claude Bourbon
Fri June 15 April Verch Trio w/ Chuck Hugenberg
Fri June 22 Nostalgia Music Group
Sat June 23 Dan Navarro
Sat June 30 Alison Brown Quartet
Fri July 13 Laurie Lewis and The Jaybirds
Sat July 21 Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack: the Daddy Band w/ Brigitte DeMeyer
Sat Aug 4 Rory Block
Sat Aug 4 Ladies of Country Music feat. Bonnie & the Clydes and Kristina Murray & the Two Hearted Jones
Sun Aug 5 k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang @ the Lincoln Center, Ft. Collins
Sun Aug 12 Raul Midón – 7pm
Sat Sept 29 Small Potatoes
Fri Nov 2 R Carlos Nakai Trio

About Swallow Hill Music
Swallow Hill Music has been helping people make and enjoy music since 1979. As it celebrates its 33rd year, it is proud to be known as one of the largest non-profit organizations in the United States to serve as a source for roots, folk and acoustic music.

Swallow Hill Music serves more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming.

Three concert venues at our facility on 71 E. Yale Ave. offer more than 200 performances a year, featuring local, national and international talent. In addition, Swallow Hill Music presents and produces its annual Rootsfest celebration, concerts at the L2 Arts & Culture Center in Capitol Hill, at Four Mile Historic Park, at the Old South Pearl St. summer street fairs, and at the Denver Botanic Gardens for its long-running and esteemed Summer Concert Series.

A faculty of 60+ instructors provides music education to over 5,000 students who participated in hundreds of classes, workshops and private lessons for instruments and interests of all kinds. In addition, the Swallow Hill Music School reaches over 15,000 students through educational K-12 outreach programs in schools across the Front Range.

Swallow Hill Music is proud to be one of the 26 local nonprofits that are recognized as an SCFD Tier II Arts and Cultural organization. In addition to funding from SCFD and program revenue from concerts and classes, Swallow Hill Music relies on foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and the generosity of individual donors and the 2,300 dedicated members of our unique musical community. This support allows Swallow Hill Music to continue connecting people to the power of music by providing a place to celebrate and enjoy music in both the classroom and on stage.

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Posted in Concerts, New On Sale |

Denver Folklore Center celebrates its 50th Anniversary with a weekend jam-packed with concerts

March 13th, 2012

After being inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in February, Harry Tuft and the Denver Folklore Center celebrate 50 years of bringing folk music to the Mile High city. A full weekend of concerts presented at The Newman Center, The L2 Arts & Culture Center and Four Mile Historic Park will commemorate the golden anniversary.

WHAT: Denver Folklore Center’s 50th Anniversary Celebration
WHEN: May 25-27, 2012
WHERE: The Newman Center, 2344 East Iliff Ave., Denver 80208; L2 Arts & Culture Center, 1477 Columbine St. Denver, 80206; Four Mile Historic Park, 715 South Forest St., Denver, 80246
TICKETS: Prices vary by show; see show details below
INFO & BOX OFFICE: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2
MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818, lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816, gwen@swallowhillmusic.org
RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news

DENVER – The Denver Folklore Center has been supporting folk music in Denver since 1962. This May, the Folklore Center will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a weekend full of concerts. Some of folk music’s best artists including Otis Taylor, Hot Rize and Tim O’Brien, Dakota Blonde, Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore, and Michael Cooney, will join founder Harry Tuft and the Denver Folklore Center to say, “Happy Birthday.”

In the early 1960′s, Harry Tuft ventured to Colorado in hopes of finding fresh powder. Instead, he found (and founded) a community rich with music and a need for a venue. The Denver Folklore Center was established in 1962 and provided space for folk music lessons, supplies, a place to jam or form a pick-up band. Now, it is the center of the folk community in Denver, and some say, Colorado. Harry, who was just inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in February, is thrilled that the Center has thrived for 50 years. He says, “When I came to Denver many years ago, I realized that Denver was a city made up of lots of different communities. I found here among those communities, a group of folks who really liked the kind of music that I like. We came together, magically, to build this influential organization. I’ve very proud.”

The weekend-long celebration will begin on Friday, May 25, at the Newman Center, with Hot Rize, Otis Taylor and the man who started it all, Harry Tuft, playing with Dick Lamm. Saturday’s events will be held at the L2 Arts & Culture Center and feature Tim O’Brien and Dakota Blonde. On Sunday afternoon, the festivities will move outside to Four Mile Historic Park. The party will close at Swallow Hill Music Sunday evening, for a semi-private VIP party.

Full show details are below. Thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

Event Details – On-Sale 3/9 @ 10am

Denver Folklore Center – 50th Anniversary Celebration
Friday, May 25 at the Newman Center – 8pm
Hot Rize, Otis Taylor, and Harry Tuft and former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm

Saturday, May 26 at L2 Arts and Culture – 8pm
Tim O’Brien, Dakota Blonde, Nick & Helen Forster and Dick Weissman

Sunday, May 27 at Four Mile Historic Park – 1-4pm
Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur; Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore; Pete & Joan Wernick; Michael Cooney; Harry Tuft, Jack Stanesco, & Steve Abbot; with Martin Gilmore

Ticket Prices
VIP Weekend Pass – $175 includes a semi-private party Sunday evening at Swallow Hill Music!
Standard Weekend Pass – $98
Friday Concert at the Newman Center – $28-$103 day of show, reserved seating
Saturday Concert at L2 Arts and Culture Center – $25 advance, $30 day of show
Sunday Concert at Four Mile Historic Park – $25 advance, $30 day of show

About the Denver Folklore Center
Well, the address has changed and the lighting’s better now, but that’s about all that’s different … because, after all, it’s not about a store; it’s about a community. Utah Phillips describes it well:

“…I had stumbled into a family that was in fact transcontinental. I found great numbers of people who, as part of their pattern of social responsibility, were committed to the task of making sure that folk music existed in their communities. I found singer-circles, camp-outs, picnics, concert programs, festivals great and small, celebrating a common heritage of song. And I found my community, singers and makers of songs, … from San Diego Folk Heritage to the Denver Folklore Center to the Ark in Ann Arbor to Lena’s and beyond, eking out a bare living sharing what we had together, but, most of all, in each other’s company … a community of sentiment in which people substantially cared for each other.”

With encouragement from Hal Neustaedter – owner of “The Exodus,” a folk club in Denver – and Izzy Young, owner of the first and (then) only Folklore Center, in New York’s Greenwich Village, Harry Tuft opened the Denver Folklore Center on March 13, 1962. Harry’s first employee was Bart Clark, now a librarian in the mid-west. The second – and youngest – employee of the Denver Folklore Center was Julie Davis. At age 14, she agreed to teach a beginner guitar class at the store in exchange for Harry teaching her intermediate guitar. Since that time, Julie has taken a leadership role in the Swallow Hill Music and continues her work as a teacher, leader, musician and storyteller today.

In 1965, Harry, working with Phyllis Wagner (now Phyllis Jane Rose), produced “The Denver Folklore Center Catalogue and Almanac of Folk Music,” a mail-order catalogue with information about the developing folk music movement. 1000 copies of the catalogue were printed. The catalogue served as an inspiration and a reference for Stan Werbin (owner of Elderly Instruments) in starting up his catalog business, which is a flourishing operation today.

The store has become a center for the growing folk music community in Denver and celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2012.

About Swallow Hill Music
Swallow Hill Music has been helping people make and enjoy music since 1979. As it celebrates its 33rd year, it is proud to be known as one of the largest non-profit organizations in the United States to serve as a source for roots, folk and acoustic music.

Swallow Hill Music serves more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming.

Three concert venues at our facility on 71 E. Yale Ave. offer more than 200 performances a year, featuring local, national and international talent. In addition, Swallow Hill Music presents and produces its annual Rootsfest celebration, concerts at the L2 Arts & Culture Center in Capitol Hill, at Four Mile Historic Park, at the Old South Pearl St. summer street fairs, and at the Denver Botanic Gardens for its long-running and esteemed Summer Concert Series.

A faculty of 60+ instructors provides music education to over 5,000 students who participated in hundreds of classes, workshops and private lessons for instruments and interests of all kinds. In addition, the Swallow Hill Music School reaches over 15,000 students through educational K-12 outreach programs in schools across the Front Range.

Swallow Hill Music is proud to be one of the 26 local nonprofits that are recognized as an SCFD Tier II Arts and Cultural organization. In addition to funding from SCFD and program revenue from concerts and classes, Swallow Hill Music relies on foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and the generosity of individual donors and the 2,300 dedicated members of our unique musical community. This support allows Swallow Hill Music to continue connecting people to the power of music by providing a place to celebrate and enjoy music in both the classroom and on stage.

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Posted in Festivals, News, Special Events |

‘Top of the Hill’ – Update from Tom Scharf, SHM Executive Director

March 1st, 2012

 

Dear Swallow Hill Community,

A couple times per year, I like to reach out to the Swallow Hill Music community with an update on our activities and plans. Whether you are a member, patron, donor, volunteer, employee, board member or friend, I want you know that your involvement with and investment in Swallow Hill Music is making a difference in people’s lives. I also want to make you are aware of some of the initiatives that are underway and exciting events that are coming up.

Comfort & Care – Building Improvements
Many thanks to all of you who donated to our Comfort and Care Campaign! Swallow Hill Music’s 60-year-old building has been something of a challenge to maintain, but we want your physical experience at our facility to match your social and musical experience. With your help, we have raised enough to undertake six critical upgrades to our building: the remodel of all seven bathrooms; the installation of a new IT system; the addition of an interior fire sprinkler system; patching and striping of our parking lot; the repair of all sidewalks surrounding the building and parking lot; and an upgrade to our café to enhance the atmosphere and prepare for beer and wine service in the near future. The bathroom remodel is finished and the sprinkler system is underway. Look for the remainder of these projects to be completed by late spring.

Concerts
This will be a busy year for the concert department at Swallow Hill Music. We are adding 15 concerts at Capitol Hill’s L2 Arts & Culture Center; adding a new monthly World Music series in Tuft Theatre, and producing our 3rd season of summer concerts at the Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG). Just a reminder that pre-sale DBG tickets (for SHM members only) starts on April 27 and runs through April 30. Ticket sales will be open to the general public on May 1. If you are not already a member, now is a great time to join! Also coming up: our annual Ukefest May 17 to 19, a special weekend celebrating the Denver Folklore Center’s 50th Anniversary and its founder Harry Tuft May 25 to 27, the 21st year of the Shady Grove Picnic series at Four Mile Historic Park, and our 6th annual Rootsfest concert in the fall (not in the spring this year). Look for more information on these events on our website.

School
Our music school also has great plans for 2012. We are formalizing our scholarship program to help individuals who would otherwise be unable to afford classes or workshops; offering more diverse group class programming; online registration and payment; and continuing our Outreach programs in Colorado schools by providing music education and instruction through assemblies, group lessons and our Traveling Troupe program. Other plans include expanding the number of classes offered to children and youth ages 6 months to 18 years. The school is also looking into the possibility of opening a satellite location north of our current facility in the future.

Our Growth
Swallow Hill Music has experienced extraordinary growth over the past four years. This growth is important only because it has allowed us to expand our reach into the community, connecting more people than ever before with our mission, message and programming. In 2012, we will be serving 40 percent more individuals in the community than we did in 2007. While we have improved our operational efficiency and sustainability through increased program revenue, we will still need significantly more development revenue this year, $300,000 more than four years ago. These funds will help us cover increased general operating costs, building maintenance costs and program specific costs related to the increased number of concerts, classes, workshops and outreach programs that we offer.

Development & Membership
To keep pace with our needs and step up our fundraising efforts, we have hired our first Development Director, Sara Knowles, who has designed a comprehensive fundraising plan for 2012. Part of that plan includes expanding our Volunteer Program. Hanna Ackerman, currently our events manager, has taken on the role of volunteer coordinator in addition to her duties in the concert department. Individual giving remains a critical part of our development plan and current revenue sources, and we are grateful for your continued support! With your help, we met or exceeded our development goals for 2011 in the area of major gifts (Friends of Swallow Hill), general membership and annual giving; however foundation grants and corporate sponsorships were a challenge. However, with Sara’s guidance, we are confident we can make great strides in these and all other areas in 2012.

Our People
We have a wonderful, hardworking, mission-driven staff of 11 full-time employees who are led by our talented team of department directors: In addition to Sara we have: David Weingarden, Director of Concerts; Michael Schenkelberg, Director of the Music School; and Gwen Burak, Director of Marketing. We also have over 60 highly-qualified teachers, a network of solid volunteers and a board of directors who keep us on mission and on budget.

Up Ahead
We are very proud of our accomplishments in recent years and want to share our success with all of you. We also want to hear more about what Swallow Hill Music means to you. To that end, I will be hosting a Town Hall meeting in the very near future to talk about our future plans and to ask all of you one very important question: “What is your Swallow Hill Music?” I hope you will join us for this important dialogue.

While Swallow Hill Music has evolved over the past 33 years, it still retains an essential, almost magical character that seems to endure in the hearts of all who have experienced “the Hill”. I, like so many others across Colorado and the nation, am extremely grateful for this unique institution and community of people who share a passion for listening to music, and learning music. Thank you for being a part of our past success, being a part of our future success, and for helping us to continue connecting people to the power of music!

Sincerely,

Tom Scharf, CEO & Executive Director

Posted in From the Director |

Fantastic New Shows Added On-Sale 2/22 @ 10am

February 22nd, 2012

2011 Grammy-winner Tinariwen shares its beautiful music, The Dunwells continue the British invasion in the folk-rock genre, Tuvan throat singers of the Alash Ensemble show off their masterful harmonies, and Michelle Shocked returns to Denver.

 
WHAT: New shows added to Swallow Hill Music’s 2012 line-up
WHEN: Dates vary; see show details below
WHERE: Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave., Denver 80210; L2 Arts & Culture Center, 1477 Columbine St., Denver 80206
TICKETS: Prices vary by show; see show details below
INFO & BOX OFFICE: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2
MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818,lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816,gwen@swallowhillmusic.org
RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news

DENVER - Featuring world music, singer/songwriters, and 2011 Grammy-winners, Swallow Hill Music has added nine new shows to its 2012 line-up. These diverse shows are on-sale Wednesday, February 22 at 10am.

One doesn’t usually associate the Sahara Desert with music. But, Mali band Tinariwencrafts beautiful songs about social justice in their homeland. For their newest album, they’ve tossed aside their electric guitars for acoustic sounds among the desert, and the change was worth it. The band recently won the 2011 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.

And speaking of world music, Tuvan throat singers extraordinaire of The Alash Ensemble return to Swallow Hill Music for an evening of traditional music with a subtle infusion of modern influences. These world music veterans have shared the stage with many, including Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

97.3 KBCO presents The Dunwells, who have been taking the UK by storm, and who will begin their tour in the US for their debut album, Blind Sighted Faith. In just two short years, they’ve gone from a pub band in Leeds, England to a record deal. Their folk-rock sound is reminiscent of Mumford & Sons, and they are beginning their British Invasion. What are they looking forward to on their tour? Why, American guitars, American food, and swimming pools, of course.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Swallow Hill Music On-Sale if a bluegrass band wasn’t announced! Missy Raines & the New Hip are known for their jazz-bluegrass fusion. A former member of the Claire Lynch Band, Missy is the most decorated bass player in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association.

97.3 KBCO presents singer/songwriter Michelle Shocked, who has been bringing her protest songs to the people since 1986. She is proud to be involved in Occupy: LA, and freely talks about her jail-time on her most recent video newsletter. She brings her opinionated songs and hillbilly sophistication to Denver while on her 2012 Roadworks Tour: Roccupy! in May. Michelle Shocked’s show will go on sale February 24 at 10am.

Full show details are below.  Thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

Show Details – On-Sale 2/22 @ 10am

Tinariwen
Tuesday, June 5, 8pm – L2 Arts & Culture Center – $32 advance
Winner of the 2011 Grammy: “Best World Music Album”
Tinariwen are often associated with just one image: that of Touareg rebels leading the charge, machine gun in hand and electric guitar slung over the shoulder. The band ditch this cliché on their fifth album Tassili, and it’s for the best. The founding members abandoned their weapons long ago and on this new album they have engineered a minor aesthetic revolution by setting the electric guitar aside, though it’s the instrument which became their mascot and made them famous. Instead they give pride of place to acoustic sounds, recorded right in the heart of the desert – the landscape of their existence, the cradle of their culture and the source of their inspiration. You might even call this radical move a return to the very essence of their art, a return which, paradoxically, has also opened the doors to some intriguing collaborations with members of TV On The Radio, Nels Cline (Wilco’s guitarist) or The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

There is some truth in that old cliché of the soldier-musician. In the 1980s, Ibrahim, Abdallah, Hassan, ‘Japonais’ and Kheddou began to play together in and around the town of Tamanrasset in southern Algeria. They would perform at weddings, baptisms or just simple youthful get-togethers. They then spent several years in the same military training camp in Libya before the Touareg rebellion broke out simultaneously in Mali and Niger and sent them out onto the field of battle in the southern Sahara. In parallel, their songs, recorded on cassettes scattered far and wide, helped to broadcast the message of a rebel movement that set out to promote the rights of nomadic people suffering under the arbitrary policies of repressive and distant central governments.

97.3 KBCO presents
Michelle Shocked – On Sale 2/24 at 10am!
Saturday, May 12, 8pm – $26 advance
Michelle Shocked has transcended class bias, while retaining the parts of her past that make sense, in a 23-year career that has seen critical acclaim at every juncture. In the early 1990s, she famously escaped major-label indentured servitude, subverting the artist-label relationship that helped lead to the current trend toward artistic self-containment. She has made good use of her independence, releasing more critically-acclaimed albums on her Mighty Sound label. In 2010, she launched Roadworks, an ongoing, 5-year touring project which curates audience’s favorite songs while developing new, unreleased material. For example, 2011 Roadwork’s theme, ‘Campfire Girl,’ celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the release of her unauthorized debut album, The Texas Campfire Tapes.

“I regard myself as a true American musician, and I play every style that is my heritage.”

97.3 KBCO presents
The Dunwells – NOW ON SALE!
Friday, Mar 23, 8pm – $14 advance
Utterly natural. There’s no more fitting description for both the music of The Dunwells as well as the story of their magical rise from the pubs of Leeds, England, to an American record deal and a stunning debut album in just two short years. The group is two brothers, two cousins and totalling five best mates who simply love to sing and play music, and do so together.

Striking an organic blend between acoustic and electric roots music laced by luscious vocal harmonies by all five members, their songs and sound feel both bracingly fresh while at the same time as warm and familiar as a dear long-time friend.

From the first time The Dunwells hit American shores at the 2011 International Folk Alliance conference, their impact has been nothing short of astounding. “Anyone that’s seen them has just been ‘Oh My God!’ They’re mind boggling!” raved Folk Alliance Executive Director Louis Jay Meyers to Voice of America radio. “The quality of the songs, the quality of the playing, the quality of the vocals, the harmonies. Man, they’re like Mumford and Sons times 10.”

The Alash Ensemble
Friday, Apr 6, 8pm – $18 advance
The Alash Ensemble are masters of Tuvan throat singing (xöömei), a remarkable technique for singing multiple pitches at the same time. What distinguishes this gifted quartet from earlier generations of Tuvan throat singers is the subtle infusion of modern influences into their traditional music. One can find complex harmonies, western instruments, and contemporary song forms in Alash’s music, but its overall sound and spirit is decidedly Tuvan.

Trained in traditional Tuvan music since childhood, the Alash musicians studied at Kyzyl Arts College just as Tuva was beginning to open up to the West. They formed a traditional ensemble and won multiple awards for traditional throat singing in international xöömei (seated) competitions, both as an ensemble and as individual musicians. At the same time, they learned about western music and listened to new trends coming out of America. They have borrowed new ideas that mesh well with the sound and feel of traditional Tuvan music, but never sacrificed the integrity of their own heritage in an effort to make their music more hip.

Alash enjoys collaborating with musicians of all stripes. Béla Fleck & the Flecktones
invited Alash to appear as guest artists on their holiday CD Jingle All the Way (2008). The album won a Grammy, and Alash has toured with the Flecktones to promote the CD.

Missy Raines & the New Hip
Friday, June 1, 8pm – $16 advance
Missy Raines & the New Hip kick up heat by fusing unlikely sources. In the spirit of musical influences ranging from Sam Bush and David Grisman to Miles Davis, the New Hip bridges the musical worlds of newgrass, jazz, singer/songwriter and any others they take a notion to explore. Start with bluegrass virtuosity, add in a jazz-tinged groove and a song-driven sensibility, then dish it up with a hot band of young players. The band moves easily from fun, funky instrumentals to rich, sophisticated ballads. They’re intimate, they’re raucous, they’re groove personified. This is mashup bluegrass jazz like you’ve never heard it.

Missy Raines is the most decorated bass player in the history of the International Bluegrass Music Association- with 7 Bass Player of the Year Awards to her credit. A former member of the Grammy Nominated Claire Lynch Band, the acclaimed duo, Jim Hurst and Missy Raines, Missy is one of the most popular figures in the bluegrass community and a trailblazer in her field for as long as she’s been playing music.

Other Shows Newly On Sale
Fri Apr 27      Dave Preston and Glowing House – $10 advance
Sat June 2      Finnders and Youngberg – $10 advance
Sat June 8      Patrick Dethlefs – Album Release – $14 advance
Fri July 13     Laurie Lewis and the Jaybirds – $18 advance

Swallow Hill Music’s
CURRENT 2012 CONCERT SCHEDULE
All shows at 8pm @ 71 E. Yale Ave. unless otherwise indicated

Fri Feb 17          The Nadas – Acoustic
Sat Feb 18         Ruthie Foster & Paul Thorn as Soul Salvation @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sat Feb 18         Jesse Manley feat. Jeff Rady & David Bailey – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert
Fri Feb 24          Iris Dement w/ Stephanie Bettman & Luke Halpin
Fri Feb 24          Clay Kirkland’s Beat the Reaper VI
Sat Feb 25         Matt Flinner Trio & Grant Gordy Quartet
Sat Feb 25         Mary Stribling
Fri Mar 2          David Wilcox w/ Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer – SOLD OUT!!
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Fri Mar 2          Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Sat Mar 3          Maura O’Connell w/ John Mock
Sat Mar 3          Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer – Album Release
Thu Mar 8          Benyaro and You Me & Apollo – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Mar 9          Laurence Juber
Fri Mar 9          Ginga – World Music Night
Sat Mar 10         The JT Nolan Trio & The Matt Skellenger Group
Thu Mar 15         Pete Kartsounes – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Mar 16         Gobs O’Phun
Fri Mar 16         Vance Gilbert w/ Jeremy Dion
Sat Mar 17         René Heredia: Solo Flamenco Guitar
Fri Mar 23         The Dunwells
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Sat Mar 24         Solas @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM and Twist & Shout
Sat Mar 24         William Fitzsimmons w/ Denison Witmer
Sat Mar 24         Big Jim Adams & John Stillwagen
Thu Mar 29         The Belle Jar – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Mar 30         The Claire Lynch Band w/ Finnders & Youngberg
Presented by KGNU Community Radio 88.5FM/1390AM
Sat Mar 31         Caravan of Thieves
Sat Mar 31         Martin Zellar & Charlie Parr
Fri Apr 6          The Alash Ensemble
Fri Apr 6          Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Sat Apr 7          Owen Kortz Trio
Fri Apr 13         Roshan Bhartiya and Andy Skellenger – World Music Night
Fri Apr 13         Reed Föehl w/ The Good Lovelies – Album Release
Sat Apr 14         Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket w/ John Common @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Presented by 97.3 KBCO and Twist & Shout
Fri Apr 20         Jack Williams
Sat Apr 21         Gretchen Peters & Malcolm Holcombe
Sat Apr 21         Citrus & Friends feat. Chris “Citrus” Sauthoff – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert
Fri Apr 27         Todd Snider
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Fri Apr 27         The Boxcars and Chatham County Line
Fri Apr 27         Dave Preston and Glowing House
Sat Apr 28         Sandra Wong, Dominick Leslie, Ty Burhoe Trio w/ Special Guest Grant Gordy
Sat Apr 28         Grubstake
Fri May 4          Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Fri May 4          Blame Sally
Sat May 5          John McCutcheon
Sat May 5          Trunko, Kirkland & Briggs
Sat May 12         Michelle Shocked
Presented by 97.3 KBCO
Sat May 12         Mack Bailey & Rachel Levy
Sat May 19         Kyle James Hauser – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Fri June 1         Missy Raines & the New Hip
Sat June 2         Bob Lind and Danny O’Keefe
Presented by Cruisin’ Oldies 950AM/103.1FM
Tues June 5       Tinariwen @ L2 Arts & Culture Center
Sat June 8         Patrick Dethlefs – Album Release
Sat June 8         Claude Bourbon
Fri June 15        April Verch Trio
Sat June 23       Dan Navarro
Fri July 13        Laurie Lewis and The Jaybirds
Sat Sept 29       Small Potatoes

About Swallow Hill Music:
Swallow Hill Music has been helping people make and enjoy music since 1979. As it celebrates its 33rd year, it is proud to be known as one of the largest non-profit organizations in the United States to serve as a source for roots, folk and acoustic music.

Swallow Hill Music serves more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming.

Three concert venues at our facility on 71 E. Yale Ave. offer more than 200 performances a year, featuring local, national and international talent. In addition, Swallow Hill Music presents and produces its annual Rootsfest celebration, concerts at the L2 Arts & Culture Center in Capitol Hill, at Four Mile Historic Park, at the Old South Pearl St. summer street fairs, and at the Denver Botanic Gardens for its long-running and esteemed Summer Concert Series.

A faculty of 60+ instructors provides music education to over 5,000 students who participated in hundreds of classes, workshops and private lessons for instruments and interests of all kinds.  In addition, the Swallow Hill Music School reaches over 15,000 students through educational K-12 outreach programs in schools across the Front Range.

Swallow Hill Music is proud to be one of the 26 local nonprofits that are recognized as an SCFD Tier II Arts and Cultural organization. In addition to funding from SCFD and program revenue from concerts and classes, Swallow Hill Music relies on foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and the generosity of individual donors and the 2,300 dedicated members of our unique musical community. This support allows Swallow Hill Music to continue connecting people to the power of music by providing a place to celebrate and enjoy music in both the classroom and on stage.

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Posted in Concerts, New On Sale |

New Shows at Swallow Hill Music On-Sale 1/25 @ 10am

January 25th, 2012

Celebrate Reed Föehl’s newest album, get into the St. Patty’s Day spirit with Gobs O’Phun,indulge in the sounds of René Heredia’s flamenco guitar, and get down with our favorite folkies, Grubstake, featuring Denver’s folk legend Harry Tuft.

WHAT: Additions to Swallow Hill Music’s 2012 concert line-up
WHEN: Dates vary; see detailed show info below
WHERE: Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave., Denver, or L2 Arts & Culture Center, 1477 Columbine St., Denver 80206 – location specified in show info below
TICKETS: Prices vary by show; see detailed show info below
INFO & BOX OFFICE: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2
MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818,lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816, gwen@swallowhillmusic.org
RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news

DENVER – A slew of new shows presented by Swallow Hill Music are going on sale Wednesday, January 25. Each of these artists is unlike the others, providing a diverse Spring Concert Line-Up!

Boulder singer/songwriter Reed Föehl returns to Swallow Hill Music to celebrate his newest album release, recorded in Vancouver. A unique album, recorded “live” in the studio, this album will also be released on vinyl.

In March, Gobs O’Phun starts off St. Patty’s Day weekend with storytelling songs and amusing banter. If you need relief from the green of St. Patrick’s Day, René Heredia, world-renowned flamenco guitarist comes to Swallow Hill Music. René has played nearly everywhere and has been honored internationally by countless organizations for his incredible music.

Martin Zellar & Charlie Parr bring an evening of incredible music with the raw intensity that makes singer/songwriters want to sing and write. The ladies of the San Francisco quartet Blame Sally have been singing together for more than a decade, winning the hearts of fans with their folk-rock sound.

Folk legends are not a rare find at Swallow Hill Music. Grubstake, featuring Denver’s own Harry Tuft, founder of Swallow Hill Music and the Denver Folklore Center, will return to the stage for an evening of boot-stompin’ fun. Bob Lind & Danny O’Keefebring their legendary work to Denver in June.

Full show details are below, and thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

Show Details – On-Sale 1/25 @ 10am

Gobs O’Phun
Fri, Mar 16 at 8pm – $16 advance
Your ears will be in for a special treat as the Gobs O’Phun‘s vocals have reached a maturity, pouring through the pristine acoustics of Daniels Hall with the smoothness of an 18 year old Irish whiskey. Combined with great storytelling songs and amusing banter, you’ll find yourself enjoying an entertaining St. Patrick’s experience.

René Heredia
Sat, Mar 17 at 8pm – $20 advance
René Heredia, one of the foremost Flamenco guitarists of today, the Artistic Director of the Gypsy Chicks, Flamenco Fantasy Dance Theatre, as a solo guitarist and with his Flamenco fusion group, has produced shows and performed around the world.

His performances, master classes and work shops for the last forty years have won René the Governor’s and Mayor’s Awards for excellence in the Arts for performance and education. René has seeded the Rocky Mountain Area with many flamenco guitar and dance students. René just recently received from the Carson Brierly Dance Library the Award as “Living Legend of Dance in Colorado” and was nominated for the Life Time Achievement Award from the Colorado Dance Alliance. He has won the Grand Prix de Disc from France. His performances and television show with such noted artists as Art Link Letter, Ed Sullivan, Ann Southern, Eddie Fisher, and Bill Cosby have brought René to the forefront as one of the leading Flamenco Artists in the U.S.A. today.

Martin Zellar & Charlie Parr
Sat, Mar 31 at 8pm – $15 advanceSinger-songwriter Martin Zellar‘s country-tinged portraits of life, love, and regret have resonated with listeners for more than 25 years. This past November, Zellar released Roosters Crow, his first new studio album in over nine years. Recorded at the Zone Studio in Dripping Springs, Texas by engineer/producer Pat Manske (The Flatlanders, Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keene), the CD features – along with Zellar’s long-time band, The Hardways (bass guitarist Nick Ciola and drummer Scott Wenum)- a long list of respected and incredibly talented Austin, Texas-based musicians, including Kelly Willis, Lloyd Maines, and Kevin McKinney.
Charlie Parr captures the intense sound of the folk music of America’s frozen north. His raw voice, lightning finger picking and plaintive but wry songs have made him one of the most important contemporary protagonists of the American folk tradition.

Reed Föehl – Album Release
Fri, Apr 13 at 8pm – $15 advance
Steeped in the folk tradition, Boulder artist Reed Föehl is largely known for his lyrical ability as an artist. He’s taking those abilities up to Vancouver, BC, in the first week of February to record his latest album. Ready with his team, Reed’s bringing in some of his favorite folk and Americana musicians from around North America to help in the making of what’s guaranteed to be a fine album.

Reed is going for a different sound this time around with less production and a more focus on traditional recording methods. “The whole band will be set up in one room and we will record it live. It will be more raw and simple, yet intimate and flowing. We are going to tape, so it will sound good. Warm and nice. I am going to put this record out on vinyl also. Vinyl is so much more of an experience. You can hold the artwork in your hand, read the lyrics, and be more involved.”

Grubstake
Sat, Apr 28 at 8pm – $18 advance
Our favorite folkies return to Swallow Hill Music! Friends Harry Tuft, Jack Stanesco and Steve Abbott are well known in the Colorado folk scene. Playing guitars and singing traditional and contemporary songs is how Grubstake started, but as time went, on the music itinerary changed. Their repertoire now includes traditional ballads and old-time tunes, as well as contemporary songs from writers such as Bob Dylan, Greg Brown, John McCutcheon, and Ian Tyson.

Blame Sally
Fri, May 4 at 8pm – $20 advance
A unique collective of four distinct voices and musical backgrounds, Blame Sally has forged a compelling and original sound that has earned the band the well-deserved reputation as “Bay Area phenomenon”. The band has the songs, chops and pipes to back up their toughtalking, clear-minded folk rock.

If you sense a slight incongruity in the title of Blame Sally’s newest album Speeding Ticket and a Valentine, rest assured that it’s as purposeful as the life it describes is random. The album lifts its name from a line in the bridge of the hard-charging leadoff single, “Living Without You,” which describes a day — or maybe entire existence — that’s “sweet and sour at the same time/mink and a porcupine/speeding ticket and a valentine.”
Cruisin’ Oldies 950AM/103.1FM presents
Bob Lind and Danny O’Keefe
Sat, June 2 at 8pm – $14 advance
Totally inimitable and unique, Bob Lind writes and sings like no one else – and he’s been doing it for more than 40 years. In 1966 he helped define folk rock with the groundbreaking megahit “Elusive Butterfly,” which spawned an illustrious career as a songwriter that continues today. His songs have been recorded by over 200 quality artists including Sonny & Cher, Eric Clapton, The Kingston Trio and Aretha Franklin, to name a few. But nothing equals the experience of watching this dynamic performer deliver his own songs. Come see why this engaging poet/guitarist/philosopher/singer/wise-ass has endured in the sometimes-cruel and always-fickle music business for more than 40 years.

In the 1970′s, Danny O’Keefe put out a string of albums that cemented his reputation as being among the best songwriters of his generation. These days, casual fans know him best for his Top Ten hit “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues” or Jackson Browne’s version of “The Road” from the classic Running On Empty album. But the story didn’t end in the 70′s. He continued to release the occasional album and recently returned with “In Time”, his first solo release in nine years.

Other Shows Newly Announced & On-Sale

Fri Apr 13 Roshan Bhartiya and Andy Skellenger – World Music Night
Sat Apr 28 Sandra Wong, Dominick Leslie, Ty Burhoe Trio w/ Special Guest Grant Gordy
Sat May 19 Kyle James Hauser – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert Series
Sat Sept 29 Small Potatoes

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New Shows at Swallow Hill Music On-Sale 1/11 @ 10am

January 11th, 2012

Irish-American band Solas on tour for their upcoming album, The Boxcars and Chatham County Line tear through bluegrass tunes with contemporary swagger, and 4 jazz guitarists take the stage  for an evening of collaboration.

WHAT: Additions to Swallow Hill Music’s 2012 concert line-up
WHEN: Dates vary; see detailed show info below
WHERE: Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave., Denver, or L2 Arts & Culture Center, 1477 Columbine St., Denver 80206 – location specified in show info below
TICKETS: Prices vary by show; see detailed show info below
INFO & BOX OFFICE: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2
MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818,lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816, gwen@swallowhillmusic.org
RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news

DENVER - Fantastic new shows for 2012 at Swallow Hill Music are going on sale Wednesday, January 11.

Solas fans have never been to a show like this one. With ten albums under their belt, band leader Seamus Egan was inspired by his family history to create Shamrock City - their most ambitious project to date. Shamrock City tells the story of Butte, Mont., a mining town at the turn of the 20th century, as seen through the eyes of an Irish immigrant. With an EP of five songs, as well as visuals and stories incorporated into the live show, fans will get a taste of the full album during Solas’ March performance at L2 Arts & Culture Center. Shamrock City is scheduled to release in 2013.

The Boxcars and Chatham County Line are no strangers to the bluegrass scene. Recently named Emerging Artist of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, The Boxcars bring their contemporary bluegrass sound to Denver, teaming up with the four string players and pickers of Chatham County Line for a night of spectacular music.

Laurie Dameron, Jane Lemmers, Robert Eldridge, and Eric Roberts bring together their many years of guitar prowess for an evening of jazz guitar in the round – at any time 1, 2, or all 4 of them will take the stage for a wonderful evening of jazz guitar sounds and improv.

Full show details are below, and thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

  

Show Details – On-Sale 1/11 @ 10am

 
Solas
Saturday, Mar 24 at 8pm – L2 Arts & Culture Center – $26 Advance
Solas is the quintessential Irish-American band recording and touring in the US today. Fifteen years ago, in a manner befitting their name (Gaelic for “light”), Solas burst onto the Irish music scene and instantly became a beacon – an incandescent ensemble that found contemporary relevance in timeless traditions without ever stooping to clichés. Anchored by founding members Seamus Egan (flute, tenor banjo, mandolin, whistles, guitars, bodhran) and Winifred Horan (violins, vocals), Solas is rounded out by Mick McAuley (accordians, low whistle, concertina, vocals), Eamon McElholm (guitars, keyboards, vocals), and newest member and lead singer, Niamh Varian-Barry. Through fresh and unexpected arrangements of age-old tunes, compelling and topical originals and covers, and unparalleled musicianship, Solas continues to define the path for the Celtic music world and drive the genre forward.

The Boxcars & Chatham County Line
Friday, Apr 27 at 8pm – $22 Advance
The Boxcars capture the excitement of the seminal bluegrass bands that preceeded them and combine it with cutting edge sounds of today. Made up of Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, John R. Bowman, Keith Garrett and Harold Nixon, the Boxcars will surely soon be one of the top headliners in bluegrass and beyond.  With collective stints with Alison Krauss & Union Station, J.D. Crowe & The New South, and Blue Moon Rising (to name a few), this quintet starts out with an impressive rap sheet.  Expect The Boxcars to cover songs and branch out into their own unique style of contemporary bluegrass.

Ten years in, the four gentlemen of Chatham County Line (CCL) have a lot to reflect on: sold out shows in the US and abroad, appearances on national radio & TV, four solid selling records, and four really dirty suits. The newest addition to their catalog,Wildwood, is no departure from the path CCL has been carving during its decade of existence.  Another strong batch of songs, with solid melodies and lyrics, telling the tales of what all those years on the road have brought to them.

 

Jazz Guitarists in the Round – Laurie Dameron, Jane Lemmers, Robert Eldridge and Eric Roberts  
Friday, January 27 at 8pm – $10 Advance
Four accomplished guitarists come together for a fluid evening of on stage collaboration, improvisation and solo features.  The quartet includes Billboard Magazine award recipient Laurie Dameron,an extremely versatile musician who will join forces for a few duets with Jane Lemmers, a solo artist who had done guest appearances withChuck Pyle, Duncan Tuck, and Bob Turner.  Also taking the stage will be Robert Eldridge with his “eclectic and mental guitar music” and Eric Roberts whose original music encompasses a variety of musical influences from Paul Winter and David Darlingto Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber and Pat Metheny.

 

Other Shows Newly Announced & On-Sale

Sat Jan 14         Birds of a Feather – 8pm

Thu Feb 9          Sarah Louise Pieplow – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Thu Mar 8          Benyaro and You Me & Apollo – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Fri Mar 9          Ginga – World Music Night – 8pm

Sat Mar 10        The JT Nolan Trio & The Matt Skellenger Group – 8pm

Thu Mar 15        Pete Kartsounes – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Sat Mar 17        Shane Provost – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert – 8pm

Sat Mar 31        Caravan of Thieves – 8pm

Sat Apr 21        Citrus & Friends feat. Chris “Citrus” Sauthoff – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert- 8pm

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The Man Who’s Played with Everyone: An Interview with David Bromberg

December 29th, 2011

by Mark Brown

David Bromberg walked away.

After becoming one of the most in-demand guitar and multi-instrumental virtuosos of the folk/rock era, who worked with everyone – Bob Dylan, John Prine, Carly Simon, Gordon Lightfoot, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, the Eagles and Bonnie Raitt just to name a tiny fraction – Bromberg convinced himself he wasn’t a musician anymore.

He put down his instruments and virtually didn’t touch them, even for fun, for 22 years. He moved to Wilmington, Delaware, and spent the decades running a violin shop. In 2007 he put out a low-key album of traditional songs, Try Me One More Time, that quietly sank. Fans were shocked that such a talent simply quit – and were maybe more surprised when he came back this year with a superb concept album, Use Me. He covers the Bill Withers song of that name on the album, but it was more than a title, it was a concept. He called up his musician friends and literally asked them to use him – write a song that would work, then produce Bromberg’s recording of it. John Hiatt, Keb’ Mo’, Vince Gill, Los Lobos, Dr. John and more happily stepped up to the task, resulting in Bromberg’s most satisfying record since his prime years. His Dec. 30 show for Swallow Hill Music is sold out, but Bromberg happily answered questions, some submitted by Swallow Hill Music fans going to the show, about how he got here today – and his surprising picks for his two favorite female singers of the moment.

Q: Use Me – did the concept come first, or your version of the song?

A: No the song was last. I had the idea where I called up a bunch of people and with balls of brass asked each one to write a song for me then produce me doing it (laughs).

Q: You traveled to each musician in Nashville, New Orleans, etc. to get  a regional vibe, but it sounds like just an excuse for a bunch of fun road trips.

A: It was a bunch of fun road trips, but it was expensive! It took a couple of years to line up sessions with everybody. Some people we never were able to get our schedules to match, but we certainly had enough for an album so we went for it.

Q: How did it get started?

A: The first person I asked was John Hiatt. It all stemmed from a concert he and Lyle Lovett did in Wilmington. They called me up and asked me to come over and bring a guitar. I thought they wanted me to accompany them but they wanted me to do some of my tunes, which was very sweet. After the show John said ‘You know, you ought to come down to Nashville. I’ve got a studio in my house and we’ll fool around.’ That gave rise to the germ of the idea. Lyle was the guy we couldn’t get our schedules together. He did agree to do one with me, but he works more than any human should work.

Q: And those sessions are going to be in an upcoming documentary, yes? “David Bromberg, Unsung Treasure?”

A:  There’s a woman named Beth Toni Kruvant who decided to film some of it. That film is going to be out sometime in September. I can’t wait to see it myself. My wife and I saw a rough of it recently. It was kind of like the world’s greatest home movie for us, us and all our friends.

Q: You’ve always had some humor in your music, from your classic “Sharon” to the new Dr. John song, “You Don’t Want To Make Me Mad.”

A: In most cases I asked people not to send me anything humorous. It’s tough to write humor for somebody else. What works for you won’t necessarily work for me. What works for me is a little tricky. I actually rejected one humorous thing because the best line in it was something I didn’t want to say. It seemed a little saltier than I wanted to be. Mac’s tune, when he sent me a tape of it, I said ‘I can do that.’ That’s the only humorous thing on there. There are some adlibs on ‘The Old Neighborhood’ but they’re not humorous. Also some at the end of ‘Use Me.’ Bill didn’t do that.

Q: Tell me about shifting gears mid-career, leaving performing and opening a music shop.

A: They’re completely separate things, truthfully. It’s a violin shop. I stopped performing and even playing for approximately 22 years. I stopped almost completely for 22 years. I spent those 22 years studying fine old violins.

Q: How could you give up such a career?

A: I got burnt out and I was too stupid to recognize it as burnout. I never believed I could be burned out. I wasn’t practicing, I wasn’t jamming, I wasn’t writing. I concluded I was no longer a musician. I didn’t wanna be one of these guys who drags his ass on the stage and does a bitter imitation of what he used to love.  There are guys like that. I decided I had to find another way to live my life. I was living in Marin County at the time and the place I found the most inspiration was in a violin shop. It fascinated me how someone could inspect a violin and without referring to the label could tell you when and where it was made and sometimes by whom. That’s what I studied and continue to study. That’s what I do in my violin sop. I don’t do any repairs. I don’t make them. I try to identify the things people bring me and educate myself to know more makers. Like music, it’s one of these things that no one will ever know all of it.

Q: What brought you back?

A: When I moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 2002 I had lunch with the mayor who loves music. He told me there used to be live music up and down the street that my shop and my home were on. He wanted to see that again. I thought I could start a couple of jam sessions. I started an acoustic bluegrass-based session and a Chicago blues electric jam session. I figured I’d start them then they’d live or die on their own. What happened was some very fine musicians started showing up, some traveling quite some ways to be there. I was really enjoying playing again and I decided ‘I am a musician’ and started doing gigs. But I have control of it. I don’t do so many that I know I’m going to be unhappy. I don’t do ones where I know at the end I’ll feel exhausted and terrible. I don’t want to be on the street hunting for a taxi cab at 4 a.m., you know? I won’t allow myself to be put in that position again.

Q: You turned up everywhere at the right time, from the Greenwich Village folk scene to Rick Derringer’s “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo” to performing at “The Last Waltz.” Serendipity, or did you actively make those events happen for yourself?

A: You can’t force yourself on people. They have to ask you.

Q: Swallow Hill Music fans have some questions for you. Gary S, of Parker asks: “’Sharon’ is one of my favorites. When you say ‘She went’ and play a sexy little riff – how did you come up with that?”

A: I just felt the lick depicted a sinuous movement that a dancer might do. Later on the guitar talks in ‘Sharon,’ and I got the idea of the guitar talking from the Rev. Gary Davis. I was his seeing-eye dog for a while. He was a great, great musician and the guitar talked for him.

Q: Gary also notes that you said Jerry Jeff Walker “wasn’t in jail on a research project” when he wrote “Mr. Bojangles.” Have you ever been to jail?

A: I’ve never been jailed. I have been in a jail performing, actually a prison would be the proper term. But performing.

Q: Paul B. asks if the song “Sharon” is autobiographical.

A: Kind of. Sharon is my sister-in-law. She is past 50 now and she’s still the dirtiest dancer I’ve ever seen (laughs). The guy with the big bushy beard, red hair? That’s my brother.

Q: Harry B. of Salida said he saw you at a concert in Minneapolis and you said you always tried to find a guitarist for your band who was better than you. Who would you list as the best guitarists of all time?

A: Of all time, I don’t know. Two of the best guitar players I’ve played with – one is very famous and one is not at all famous. Vince Gill is a phenomenal guitar player. The guy I’ve played the most with who just floors me is a guy named John Lippincott. He’s from Wilmington. I met him when I was 15 years old. He played great blues. Then he went to Berkeley and learned to play jazz. Now he’s the guitar player for Little Big Town.  John is just a tremendous guitar player, really wonderful. And Jimmy Herring is wonderful. Ricky Skaggs is a great guitar player. I have a guy in my band named Mitch Corbin. And a guy named Mark Cosgrove, brilliant guitar player.

Q: Michael S. asks “As a guitar player with limited skills I’ve always been impressed with your virtuosity on guitar and other instruments. Who would you say is the finest musician you ever played with? And what obscure player could you suggest checking out?”

A: Two names come to mind immediately. The first one, Tim O’Brien. He’s such a great musician. It just flows out of him. It seems effortless. The musician who also just flows out of him and seems effortless who had the most influence on me is this guy named Jody Stecher. He’s recorded with his wife, Kate Brislin. These days he’s on the road playing with Peter Rowan. He’s a brilliant musician.

Q: Jeff L. wants to know if you’ve every played any live shows with your “Dead or Alive” compadres?

A: No, I don’t think I ever did.

Q: Kathleen C. asks if you ever get a chance to play with Corky Siegel? She saw you at Lake Forest College with him.

A: Yeah, we’ve played together a few times. Always fun. Corky’s a good guy and a nice musician. Always a pleasure to be with.

Q: Jane H. asks what are your three personal favorite songs to perform onstage?

A: It’s something new always. These days there’s a song called ’$50 Wig’.  I enjoy doing. I heard it on Sirius Radio performed by the guy who wrote it, Doug MacLeod.  I was just so floored by the tune I downloaded it and learned it. I love doing that. Then there’s a tune that I did years and years ago then completely forgot about it. There’s this guy … who sent me 14 CDs. He was one of these tape traders and got every show I ever did, I think. On these 14 CDs there were all the songs I’d ever done live. Each of these CDs is 80 minutes long, so you can imagine how many songs are in there. I can’t listen to that crap, but my son did. He pointed out a couple of tunes on there I’d forgotten. One is a great song from Mother Earth’s first album called ‘I’ll Keep Moving’ On.’  I’m really enjoying doing that one lately.

Q: Who haven’t you played with that you’d love to?

A: One person I’d have to name would be Mavis Staples. I finally got to meet her last summer. I’ve been listening to the Staple Signers for 30 years or more, since before they had their pop hits. When I was leading Rev. Gary Davis around I’d go into Sam Goody’s and buy these gospel albums. I’d just buy them by their covers, I didn’t know anything. But when I found the Staple Singers it was all over.

Q: Who do you like who’s up and coming? Keb’ Mo’ and Widespread Panic are on the new album.

A: Kevin and I go back 30 years. He used to open shows for me, then call me sometimes just to ask questions. That’s easily 30 years ago. I love Ollebelle. Buy the first album, it’s really worth it. I’ll tell you something – I started to really appreciate singers who I hadn’t really paid attention to. I started to really appreciate Christina Aguilera on the Grammys a few years ago. Commemorating James Brown, she did ‘It’s a Man’s World’ and sang the hell out of it, without any of the fantastic things she can do. My complaint with her is she did too many fantastic things on too many songs. She has these incredible licks. I’d like her to use them less. She’s a brilliant, brilliant singer, and I’m now a fan. Same with Beyonce. What won my heart with Beyonce is I was nominated for a Grammy several years ago and went to L.A. Beyonce has this performance with Tina Turner. Tina has danced a lot, but she didn’t dance that night. But Beyonce did all of her moves. And that won my heart. I thought ‘Here is a woman who knows where she comes from and is paying respect to it.’ She did that again – she was the star of a terrible movie called ‘Cadillac Records.’ It was awful, but she was great in it. She sang Etta James’ biggest hit, ‘At Last.’ And the performance you could tell how closely she had studied Etta James’ technique and style. She just did a gorgeous job with that and every part of the movie. And I became a Beyonce fan.

 

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Posted in Uncategorized |

New Shows at Swallow Hill Music On-Sale 11/16 @ 10am

November 16th, 2011

Indie/Rock veterans The Nadas take their rock concert to an acoustic level, Gretchen Peters & Malcom Holcombe present a diverse concert, A.J. Croce switches from blues to alternative rock, and Claude Bourbon brings a European flair to the American singer/songwriter scene.

WHAT: Additions to Swallow Hill Music’s concert line-up

WHEN: Dates vary; see detailed show info below

WHERE: Swallow Hill Music, 71 E. Yale Ave., Denver, or L2 Arts & Culture Center, 1477 Columbine St., Denver 80206 – location specified in show info below

TICKETS: Prices vary by show; see detailed show info below

INFO & BOX OFFICE: http://swallowhillmusic.org/, (303) 777-1003 x2

MEDIA & PHOTO CONTACT: Lindsay Taylor, (303) 643-5818,lindsay@swallowhillmusic.org; Gwen Burak, (303) 643-5816, gwen@swallowhillmusic.org

RSS: http://swallowhillmusic.org/news

  

DENVER - Fantastic new shows at Swallow Hill Music are going on-sale November 16.

Since 1995, The Nadas have been bringing indie/rock to the Des Moines college music scene. Sixteen years later and 75,000 sold albums later, they are bringing an acoustic concert to Denver. Gretchen Peters & Malcom Holcombe show the incredible diversity of singer/songwriters, from crooning ballads to gritty guitars. European blends with American when Claude Bourbon and his impossible guitar licks and full voice (complete with French accent) come to the Swallow Hill Music stage.

And, don’t miss our Discovery Series at the Café! Relax in a casual setting and listen to Denver’s up-and-coming artists every Thursday at 7:30pm. You never know what kind of treasures you’ll discover!

Full show details are below, and thank you for supporting live music at Swallow Hill Music!

  

Show Details – On-Sale 11/16 @ 10am

The Nadas 

Friday, February 17 @ 8pm, $17 advance

Des Moines rockers The Nadas set out last January to record their seventh LP, Almanac, virtually live. The rules were simple: the band would write, record and release one song a month all year. What’s more, every step of the process would be streamed live on the band’s website and with unprecedented access to the creative process; fans were allowed to become an integral part of this album. By joining the band’s web-based Almanac Project, fans could monitor their blog and read the band’s project journal.

Comments and criticisms on everything from lyrics to instruments were welcomed and even, in a few choice cases, incorporated into The Nadas’ music. In September of 2009, select fans that had joined the Almanac Project were extended an exclusive invitation to a special songwriting session arranged to write that month’s addition to this most unique album.

Despite (or perhaps because) of the rigorous, self-imposed deadlines and wildly public creative process, the 12 tracks produced on Almanac finds The Nadas in top form.

Their previous efforts The Ghosts Inside These Halls (2007) and Listen Through The Static(2005) have found the band (rounded out by bassist Jon Locker, drummer Jason Smith, and violinist Becca Smith) alternating between alt-rock and alt-country. Now, Almanac finds the band fully embracing muscular, anthemic rock.  

A.J. Croce w/special guest Shannon McNally - On-Sale Now!

Friday, December 16 @ 8 pm, $18 advance 

The son of Jim Croce, A. J. Croce made his own musical mark with a combination of contemporary blues and soulful roots rock. He honed his piano skills as a boy, while recovering from a brain tumor that left him partially blind. Taking influence from the likes of Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, as well as several early blues artists, he began gigging on the San Diego circuit and signed a record deal at 19. Two years later, Croce released his self-titled debut.

Although best known for his piano-based interpretation of American roots music, Croce switched gears in 2000 by hiring alternative rock producer Michael James (whose credits included albums by New Radicals, Hole, and Jane’s Addiction) to helm his next record, Transit. Four years later, the singer’s fifth album (the self-titled Adrian James Croce) explored more elements of pop music.

These days, A.J.’s goals include continuing to love and celebrate his wife, kids, family, friends, and fans and nourishing his label Seedling records as it sprouts a big dark forest full of delights. He is currently living in a hotel near you.

 

Gretchen Peters & Malcom Holcombe 

Saturday, April 21 @ 8pm, $18 advance

Gretchen Peters’ own voice and guitar playing have been at the core of her music since she started performing in the Boulder, Colorado, folk circuit as a teenager. Inspired by Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and a new generation of songwriters rising out of Nashville, Peters relocated to Music City in the late 1980s. Martina McBride‘s 1995 recording of Gretchen’s “Independence Day,” the gritty story of an abused woman’s revenge, made her a songwriting sensation.

After that a string of great vocalists – Pam Tillis, Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, Neil Diamond, George Strait, Etta James – began to record Gretchen’s songs. Gretchen also signed her own record deal, yielding her 1996 debut album The Secret of Life. The title track was cut by Faith Hill in 1999 and hit number five on the country charts.

Since then Gretchen has recorded five other solo albums. Her latest album, Hello Cruel World, details the sheer triumph of survival and of finding strength, joy and growth in everyday life despite the challenges of our increasingly complex times.
–
Born and raised in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, Malcolm Holcombe is being recognized by the contemporary U.S. and European folk/americana community as a performer of national stature, and an uncommonly unique guitarist/vocalist about whom Rolling Stone magazine says: “Haunted country, acoustic blues and rugged folk all meet [here]…”

To Drink The Rain is Malcom’s eighth full-length album and the latest in a stream of exceptional new work that’s been flowing steadily since 2005. Produced by Malcom’s long-time sideman Jared Tyler, it was recorded September 27-Oct 3 2010, at Cedar Creek Recording in Austin with a crack band of hotshots from Texas and Nashville. The twelve tracks are an authentic one-take performances that strike the perfect balance between gravel and grace. And they further develop Malcolm’s unique take on country blues, enriching an often neglected tradition at the very core of Americana.


Other Shows Newly On-Sale

Thu Dec 8, 2011      Curious Ghost & Mocking Bird – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Thu Jan 12, 2012     Lara Ruggles – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Thu Feb 2, 2012      Bill Martin – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Fri June 8, 2012          Claude Bourbon

 

 

Swallow Hill Music’s

Full 2011-12 CONCERT SCHEDULE

All shows at 8pm @ 71 E. Yale Ave. unless otherwise indicated 

 

Thu Nov 10       The Yawpers and Brandon Reid & John Hyde - Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Nov 11         The Lynn Skinner Quintet presents True Blue: Joni Mitchell (1971-1974)
Fri Nov 11         Dan Navarro
Sat Nov 12        Guy Davis
Sat Nov 12        Kindred Spirits w/ Vicki Jordan – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert
Sun Nov 13       Swallow Hill Music’s Board of Directors’ Concert to benefit Swallow Hill Music – 5:00pm

Thu Nov 17        Sunny Side of the Mountain Band & Magnolia Row

Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Fri Nov 18         Magic Music Reunion 

Fri Nov 18         Danny Shafer w/Sarah Louise Pieplow

Sat Nov 19        Mary Gauthier:  A Benefit for First Descents
Sat Nov 19        Perpetual Motion feat. Josie Quick, Tom Carleno, Blake Eberhard, & Ed Contreras –                                     “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert
Thu Dec 1         Nostalgia Music Group – Discovery Series – 7:30pm
Fri Dec 2           MHBA Party: The Big Little Band and Danielle Ate the Sandwich – 7pm
Fri Dec 2           Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm
Sat Dec 3          Cheryl Wheeler w/ Liz Clark & Tessa Perry @ L2 Arts & Culture Center

           Presented by Twist & Shout

Thurs Dec 8      Curious Ghost & Mocking Bird – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Fri Dec 9           Swallow Hill Member Party feat. The Lumineers & Reed Föehl – SOLD OUT

Sat Dec 10        The Klezmatics @ L2 Arts & Culture Center

Sat Dec 10        Christy Wessler’s Christmas Sing A Long

Sat Dec 10        Bettman & Halpin Trio Holiday Show

Sun Dec 11       Julie Davis Peace Concert – 7pm

Fri Dec 16         A.J. Croce w/ special guest Shannon McNally

Sat Dec 17        Pete Wernick & Flexigrass and Long Road Home

Sat Dec 17        Scoundrels for Hire feat. Tom Corona – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert

Fri Dec 30         David Bromberg Quartet w/ special guests Mollie O’Brien & Rich Moore

@ L2 Arts & Culture Center

Presented by 97.3 KBCO and Twist & Shout

Fri Jan 6            Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm

Sat Jan 7           Sons & Brothers

Sat Jan 7           Trinity Demask & Lauren Bombert

Thu Jan 12        Lara Ruggles – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Fri Jan 13          Elizabeth Cook

Sat Jan 14         Acoustic Eidolon

Fri Jan 20          Catie Curtis  w/ Liz Barnez

Sat Jan 21         Wendy Woo & Nina Storey – 10th Anniversary

Sat Jan 21         Scott McCormick – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert

Sat Jan 28         Hayes Carll @ L2 Arts & Culture Center

Thu Feb 2          Bill Martin – Discovery Series – 7:30pm

Fri Feb 3            Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm

Fri Feb 10          Tom Rush @ L2 Arts & Culture Center

Sat Feb 11         Dakota Blonde @ L2 Arts & Culture Center

Fri Feb 17          The Nadas

Sat Feb 18         Ruthie Foster & Paul Thorn as Soul Salvation @ L2 Arts & Culture Center

Sat Feb 18         Jesse Manley feat. Jeff Rady & David Bailey – “Top of the Hill” Faculty Concert

Fri Feb 24          Iris Dement w/ Stephanie Bettman & Luke Halpin

Fri Feb 24          Clay Kirkland’s Beat the Reaper VI

Sat Feb 25         Matt Flinner Trio & Grant Gordy Quartet

Sat Feb 25         Mary Stribling

Fri Mar 2            David Wilcox w/ Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer

                                Presented by 97.3 KBCO

Fri Mar 2           Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm

Sat Mar 3           Maura O’Connell

Sat Mar 3           Dave McGraw & Mandy Fer – Album Release

Fri Mar 16          Vance Gilbert w/ Jeremy Dion

Sat Mar 24         William Fitzsimmons

Sat Mar 24         Big Jim Adams & John Stillwagen

Fri Mar 30          The Claire Lynch Band w/ Finnders & Youngberg

Fri Apr 6            Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm

Sat Apr 14         Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips @ L2 Arts & Culture Center

Presented by 97.3 KBCO

Fri Apr 20          Jack Williams

Sat Apr 21         Gretchen Peters & Malcom Holcombe

Fri May 4           Old-Fashioned Hootenanny – 7pm

Sat May 5          John McCutcheon

Sat May 5          Trunko, Kirkland & Briggs

Sat June 8         Claude Bourbon

 

About Swallow Hill Music:

Helping people make and enjoy music since 1979, Swallow Hill Music will celebrate its 32nd anniversary in 2011 as one of the largest non-profit institutions of its kind in the United States as a source for roots, folk and acoustic music.

In 2010, Swallow Hill Music served more than 100,000 people through its concert, school and outreach programming.

Three concert venues house more than 200 performances a year, featuring some of the world’s great artists as well as up-and-coming new talent.  Additionally in 2010 Swallow Hill Music began producing the long-running and esteemed Denver Botanic Gardens Summer Concert Series.

Swallow Hill Music offers hundreds of classes, workshops, and private lessons for instruments and interests of all kinds. A faculty of 70 instructors provides training to more than 5,000 students annually, including school outreach programming that takes music and music assemblies into Colorado public schools.

A Tier II member of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, Swallow Hill Music receives public funding and grants, and has over 2,000 members that help cover one-third of all of the organization’s operating costs.  This generosity has helped Swallow Hill Music provide a place to celebrate music that is rarely heard elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region, in both the classroom and on stage.

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