Live Music: Looking Ahead

JULY

House of Hamill

July 10, 8-10PM

Pennsylvania-based House of Hamill is a fixture on festival stages across the US, and have shared their music and stories on the country’s premier folk stages. Their version of “Pound a Week Rise” rose to #1 on the US Folk DJ charts, and the video for their all-violin cover of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” amassed over 16 million views on Facebook, where it was shared over 400,000 times. Their latest release, “Folk Hero,” captures perfectly the frenetic energy and eclecticism of their always engaging live show. Whether they’re ripping through a set of original jigs and reels, adding lush three-part harmonies into traditional folk ballads, or cracking up an audience with stories from the road, House of Hamill puts on a show that captivates audiences from the very first note.
WEBSITE

Phillip-Michael Scales

Saturday, July 12, 8-10PM

Fifteen seconds into his upcoming album Good to Be Here (out April 25), Phillip-Michael Scales sings, “Toes pointed toward the road / Hard times picking at my bones,” before launching into the anthemic chorus: “I couldn’t walk away if I tried / I’m gonna light up the sky.” The song sets a determined tone for the album, reflecting Scales’ journey as an artist.

Without a label or viral hit, Scales has built his career through relentless effort—long drives behind tour busses, self-management, and learning the business firsthand. His music channels the grit of Stax-era soul, cataloging the journey of building a dream brick by brick. Make no mistake there is an undercurrent of fun throughout whether he’s finding love in  “Can’t Get Enough” or getting his swagger back in “Be My Own Man.” As Scales puts it: “I wouldn’t say that I’ve ‘arrived,’ but… it’s good to be here.
WEBSITE

Tray Wellington

Wednesday, July 23, 8-10PM

Banjo player Tray Wellington’s approach to the quintessential American instrument is all about looking forward. An International Bluegrass Music Association Award winner, Wellington is critically acclaimed not only for his technical prowess, but also for leveraging his unique point of view to craft a one-of-a-kind voice on the instrument. It’s a feat that’s all too rare in these roots genres that seem to value emulation and regurgitation over all else. Instead, Wellington has time and time again reasserted that his playing style, and all of the many varied and disparate parts that combine within it, is wholly his own – and it’s unconcerned with tradition.
WEBSITE

Katie Henry

Thursday, July 24, 8-10PM

Katie Henry is on her way. The New Jersey songwriter might have started out banging on doors, gigging at New York City's blues clubs, playing piano until her fingers bled and winning over the city one show at a time. But lately, the multi-instrumentalist has raced through career milestones. With the release of her second album, On My Way, co-written with bassist and slide-guitar maestro Antar Goodwin, Katie has announced herself as an alchemist who creates gemstones from the base metals of American roots.
WEBSITE

AUGUST

Ani Mari and DT Huber

Thursday, August 7, 8-10PM

Ani Mari
Singer-songwriter Ani Mari’s debut solo album, Girlfriend, explores the ambiguities of coming of age in a beautifully precarious world. Across ten warmly combative tracks, her songs fight for grace and connection amidst the anxieties, desires, heartbreaks, and oftentimes wearying joie de vivre of being young in America’s heartland.

Though just 21-years-old, Ani Mari has been performing solo, with her backing band, and with her folk duo, Ani & Kora, around her home state of Michigan for almost a decade, along the way sharing stages with The Accidentals, Lindsay Lou, May Erlewine, and Joshua Davis, among many others.
WEBSITE

DT Huber
D.T. Huber is a Baltimore-based Americana singer/songwriter who unearths hard truths in a world of shifting sands. Weaving together folk, outlaw country, blues, and bluegrass, his songs tap into the deep currents of the American songbook. With raw storytelling and haunting melodies, D.T. gives voice to characters navigating love, loss, injustice, and redemption. His music stands at the crossroads of darkness and light, honoring tradition while revealing the ever-relevant struggles of the present.
WEBSITE

Jacob Jolliff

With an opening performance by The Gold Ponies

Saturday, August 9, 8-10PM

Jacob Jolliff
Jacob Jolliff is one of the world’s premier contemporary mandolinists. In 2011, he graduated from Berklee College of Music, having studied there on a full scholarship. The following year, in 2012, he won the USA’s National Mandolin Championship in Winfield, KS. A fixture of the bluegrass scene, he has performed and collaborated with Béla Fleck, Tony Trischka, Michael Daves, Grant Gordy, Wes Corbett, and Alex Hargreaves, to name a few. Additionally, throughout his 20s, he toured as a member of the groups Joy Kills Sorrow and Yonder Mountain String Band. Currently, his focus is on his own ensemble, The Jacob Jolliff Band—one of the most cutting-edge progressive bluegrass groups on the scene today.
WEBSITE

The Gold Ponies
The Gold Ponies are an acoustic trio from Baltimore, playing original Americana music with honest stories, rich harmonies, and strong musicianship. Their sound blends folk, bluegrass, and country, creating songs that feel personal and powerful.
WEBSITE

Ragged Union

Friday, August 15, 8-10PM

Ragged Union's signature bluegrass-and-beyond sound has appeared at festivals, concert series and events all across the USA, England, and China, since 2013. Past performances include IBMA Wide Open Bluegrass, John Hartford Memorial Festival, Northwest String Summit, Durango Meltdown, Shrewsbury Folk Festival (England), and the Qingdao International Beer Festival (China), to name a few. The band’s recipe for tasty contemporary bluegrass contains three main ingredients: ‘Outsider Songwriting’ - poetic lyrics that stretch beyond the ‘normal’ country themes, ‘Timeless Melodies’ that are new, yet sound familiar and classic, and ‘Unexpected Arrangements', rich compositional ideas, changes in feel and tempo, and an overall songwriting approach that isn’t trying to conform to what everyone else is doing. All of these concepts come together in an impressively exciting and memorable live performance.
WEBSITE

Goldpine

Saturday, August 23, 8-10PM

From Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium to listening rooms throughout the United States, husband-wife duo Goldpine has been offering their own brand of bold harmony-driven Americana to audiences large and small. Winner of the 2022 Rocky Mountain Songwriter Contest, their distinctive harmonies are clearly a channel for their sometimes-raucous, sometimes-reminiscent compositions. With an incredible collection of stories about life, love, and purpose, their live performance is a powerful projection of everything Goldpine is about: striking vocals, bold harmony, and introspection into the human experience.
WEBSITE

September

The Honey Dewdrops

Friday, September 19, 7-9PM

Virginia natives, Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish of The Honey Dewdrops began touring in 2009 and have called the city of Baltimore home for over 10 years. They released their newest album, Here in the Mountains, in August 2024 – a batch of songs written and inspired by the origin story of a close friend.

In their two decades’ long partnership, the Dewdrops have showcased the dynamism of 2 voices and 2 instruments in a live setting and recorded form. Laura and Kagey are always working towards expanding their experimental folk sound of electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin and clawhammer banjo with tight vocal harmonies, while maintaining a commitment to deepening their understanding of the world through the lens of songwriting and music.
WEBSITE

The Nighthawks

Saturday, September 20, 4:00-6:00PM

"On this landmark anniversary, founder, lead singer and harpmaster Mark Wenner is still at the helm, while drummer Mark Stutso, guitarist Dan Hovey and bassist Paul Pisciotta all share vocals and songwriting, making this lineup one of the strongest. Decades of gigs and rabid fans have earned them the name “The Best Bar Band In The World.” More than a bar band or blues band, as they’re frequently labeled, this is a band that played with Carl Perkins in addition to Muddy Waters."
- Vizztone, 2022
WEBSITE

october

Lucy Kaplansky

Friday, October 3, 7-9PM

Lucy Kaplansky is an acclaimed singer-songwriter of rare talent, “a truly gifted performer with a bag full of enchanting songs” (The New Yorker) and “the troubadour laureate of modern city folk” (The Boston Globe).

She has released nine critically acclaimed CDs, two of which were awarded Best Pop Album of the year by the Association for Independent Music. National Public Radio described her 2012 album Reunion as “a master class in making the personal universal,” and National Public Radio’s Scott Simon called her new album Last Days of Summer, released in June 2022, “Absolutely wonderful....utterly beautiful and affecting... Lucy sings songs from her life with resonance in ours.”
WEBSITE

Nom De Plume

Saturday, October 11, 7-9PM

"Haunting, authentic, traveling, restless Spirit folky indie-rock."
Nom De Plume is an eclectic indie rock band fronted by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Aris Karabelas, along with bassist Michael Magee, and an ensemble cast of musicians that bring the band’s artistic vision to life. In 2024, musicians Nick Karagiannis, and Ed Fox joined the touring band. Their sound has a surprising pop sensibility that incorporates folk-rock, Americana, classic and progressive rock elements to create a unique style. Their songs sonically depict intuitive observations about life, people, places, and emotions. They are inspired by folk and classic rock, guitar masters, and experimental rock icons.
WEBSITE

the young fables

Thursday, October 16, 7:30-9:30PM

The Young Fables (TYF) are a dynamic Country/Pop and Roots music duo from Maryville, Tennessee, made up of Laurel Wright, a SHURE-endorsed vocalist, and Wes Lunsford, a  southpaw guitarist endorsed by GRETSCH. Their sound blends classic storytelling with contemporary pop sensibilities, captivating audiences worldwide.

Musically, TYF’s signature blend of roots and pop has drawn praise from industry legends such as Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban, and Travis Tritt. Their work has landed them on Rolling Stone’s “10 Best Country and Americana Songs of the Week”, further solidifying their reputation in the music world.
TICKETS

Old Part of Town

Friday, October 17, 7:30-9:30PM

After a sold-out show here nearly two years ago, The Old Part of Town return with another special acoustic performance, bringing with them their eclectic blend of roots-Americana, folk-rock, country-blues, and bluegrass. Showcasing tight harmonies, tasteful musicianship, and an infectious on-stage camaraderie, the band features singer-songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Matt Douglass and Sam Nitzberg, Upright Dave Frieman on bass, Steve Raskin on drums, and Lynn Kasdorf on pedal steel.
WEBSITE

Todd Albright

Saturday, October 18, 7:30-9:30PM

Todd Albright is a country blues, twelve-string guitar player and vocalist based in Detroit, Michigan. Grounded in the pre-war era of the blues tradition (1880-1939), Todd is a mindful purveyor of blues history. His repertoire upholds musical pillars such as Blind Willie McTell, George Carter, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Leadbelly. His life’s work continues the distinguished tradition of the very roots of American music as told by the African American musicians who created it.
WEBSITE

Hammer Creek Bluegrass

Friday, October 24, 7-9PM

Hammer Creek Bluegrass stays true to their name and keeps the tempo hopping with a wide variety of bluegrass music from classic groups like Flatt and Scruggs, The Stanley Brothers and Bill Monroe to name a few. The band has put a creative bluegrass twist of their own on some timeless country and other genres from artists like Steve Earl, Townes Van Zandt and Dwight Yoakam. Enjoy a great time as they entertain with a variety of music that is sure to keep you asking for more.

NOVEMBER

Tracy Grammer

Sunday, November 2, 3-5PM

Tracy Grammer is one of contemporary folk music's most beloved artists. Renowned for her pure, emotive vocals, perfectly intoned violin, and guitar playing that is by turns percussive and delicate, Grammer is also a gifted storyteller whose incantations add a rare mixture of vulnerability, intimacy, and hard-won insight to her performances. As one fan puts it, "With Tracy, it's never just about the music; it's a soul journey."
WEBSITE

Tony Trischka's EarlJam

Featuring Michael Daves

Sunday, November 9, 3-5PM
perfomed at the historic David Niven Theater at Oldfields School

"Tony Trischka is known as the father of modern bluegrass" - New York Times

Tony Trischka is considered the consummate banjo artist and perhaps the most influential banjo player in the roots music world. For more than 50 years, his stylings have inspired a whole generation of bluegrass and acoustic musicians with the many voices he has brought to the instrument.

Tony will be honoring the music of Earl Scruggs, pioneer of the three-finger banjo style and one of the most important musicians in bluegrass, or, in Tony’s opinion, in any genre.

“When the great Tony Trischka starts playing his banjo, the clouds part, the sun shines, and for a while it feels like all’s well with the world. Joined by some of his all-star friends on EarlJam it becomes a festival of joy that you can’t afford to miss.”
— Sean Wilentz (American Historian)

WEBSITE - TONY TRISCHKA

Dan and Claudia Zanes

Friday, November 28, 11-1PM

Grammy Award winning rocker turned all-ages entertainer Dan Zanes and Haitian-American jazz vocalist / music therapist Claudia Zanes have been singing in harmony since the day they met in 2016. They perform their soulful style of folk music extensively throughout the United States (and recently returned from a three week tour of Finland and Estonia). Dan + Claudia have released two records on the legendary Smithsonian Folkways label. Their most recent, Pieces of Home expands their vision of joyful intergenerational porch party music.

“Drawing deeply from the wells of American and Haitian folk traditions, this album pulses with the heartbeat of community. Each track hums with the spirit of kinship, inviting listeners to relax into the moment, surrounded by those who matter most.” - World Music Central
WEBSITE