Cafe Carpe

PETER MULVEY/ ANNA TIVEL/ SHANE LEONARD/ JOE JENCKS
2019-05-15 20:00 - 22:30 (America/Chicago)
Ticket sales are through Brown Paper Tickets: Click on Buy tickets and get yourself some.

This is part of the annual Lamplighter Sessions curated by PETER MULVEY. Click on the link to learn what this is all about.
To PETER MULVEY, there is no such thing as a straight and narrow path. At least, not one that he has any interest in taking.
A live-wire on any stage, Peter is an acoustic singer/songwriter/guitarist who, in fact, defies this categorization. His ferocious guitar playing whisks him through more tunings than he has fingers in the course of an evening, as he winds his way from full-throated rockers to deceptively plain-spoken musings. Whether solo or accompanied, Mulvey is someone who just naturally commands a stage:
“Peter Mulvey is one of the most accomplished guitarists you’re ever likely to hear… utterly original… it is nigh on impossible to explain him to the uninitiated… his intelligent and sometimes complex songs engage both hemispheres of the listener’s brain… one of the finest, most complete entertainers… stunning.” – The Irish Examiner
ANNA TIVEL reaches for that thread of understanding with her music, that moment of recognition, of shared experience. There are thousands of miles on her touring odometer and each town is a tangled web of heartache and small reasons to believe. She gravitates toward the quiet stories of ordinary life. A homeless veteran sitting on a bench to watch the construction of a luxury hotel. A woman wondering about the life of the daughter she had to give up for adoption. Someone changing shape, someone falling in love, someone all alone.
“Tivel’s characters are both common and unforgettable,” Ann Powers of NPR writes, “She possesses a genuine poet’s sense that words matter more than persona, or a showy performance. Her images linger, and become populated with the energy of the real.”
Producer, all-purpose studio musician and songwriter SHANE LEONARD grew up playing jazz with musicians generations older than him, dropped out of music school to become an English teacher, left that to study fiddle and banjo with Appalachian elders, and now calls Eau Claire, WI home. He can usually be found in a studio there, hunched over a piano or a notebook, magnetizing a production team that has attracted national artists such as Anna Tivel, Kristin Andreassen (Uncle Earl), Sean Rowe and others to record new sounds in the North. Shane Leonard’s forthcoming solo album, Strange Forms, will be released in 2019.
JOE JENCKS is an 20-year veteran of the international folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter, and celebrated vocalist based in Chicago. Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, Joe delivers engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. Having penned several #1 Folksongs including the ever-relevant Lady of The Harbor, Jencks is also co-founder of the harmony trio, Brother Sun. From Festivals like Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Mariposa, and Old Songs, to venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Jencks has enthralled diverse audiences with his approachable style. Joe is noted for his unique merging of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Jencks serves it all up with a lyric baritone voice that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel.

PETER MULVEY/ SISTA STRINGS/ PAUL CEBAR/ BILL CAMPLIN !SOLD OUT!
2019-05-14 20:00 - 22:30
Ticket sales are through Brown Paper Tickets: Click on Buy tickets and get yourself some.

This is part of the now semi-annual Lamplighter Sessions curated by PETER MULVEY. Click on the link to learn what this is all about.
To PETER MULVEY, there is no such thing as a straight and narrow path. At least, not one that he has any interest in taking.
A live-wire on any stage, Peter is an acoustic singer/songwriter/guitarist who, in fact, defies this categorization. His ferocious guitar playing whisks him through more tunings than he has fingers in the course of an evening, as he winds his way from full-throated rockers to deceptively plain-spoken musings. Whether solo or accompanied, Mulvey is someone who just naturally commands a stage:
“Peter Mulvey is one of the most accomplished guitarists you’re ever likely to hear… utterly original… it is nigh on impossible to explain him to the uninitiated… his intelligent and sometimes complex songs engage both hemispheres of the listener’s brain… one of the finest, most complete entertainers… stunning.” – The Irish Examiner
SISTASTRINGS are Milwaukee based sisters who are using their gifts of music to creating social change. As classically trained instrumentalists, Monique and Chauntee Ross are a dynamic, collaborative pair riffing on elements of classic and gospel music to create a unique sound rooted in passion. Their sound is soulful and fresh, a truly unique blend of their eclectic musical background. Their training in classical music paired with a deep love in gospel music has allowed them to cultivate their improvisation skills and use their instruments as their voice.
PAUL CEBAR Some idea of what Paul is about: “Milwaukee native Paul Cebar is a singing, strumming, and dancing museum of musical culture and a self-styled historian of myriad musical forms. Countless sounds pour forth when Cebar and his Milwaukeeans take the stage. New Orleans, Chicago, New york, Africa, Brazil, Cuba, jump-blues, gospel, jazz, reggae, calypso, soul and vintage R&B are sterting points for something that becomes uniquely Cebar. This mishmash helps reimagine and liven up obscure classics, and the band’s originals present new viewpoints on established styles.” The Onion AV Club
Kellen Abston, KLASSIK the hip-hop artist and rapper who was scheduled, had to be in New York. BILL CAMPLIN will try to fill his shoes.

SESSION AMERICANA
2019-05-12 19:00 - 21:30
SESSION AMERICANA (Boston) is a rock band in a tea cup, or possibly a folk band in a whiskey bottle. This band/collective of talented musicians craft an musical experience unlike any other. On stage is a collapsible bar table wired with microphones, a vintage suitcase recast as a kick drum, an old Estey field organ, a pre-war parlor guitar, a mandocello and all of its smaller siblings, a harmonica case fire damaged when Jack’s bar went up in flames and graffitied by Depeche Mode roadies, and an assortment of other instruments that get passed around in this freewheeling modern hootenanny. The anything-could-happen feel of a Session show depends on craft that’s not accidental or easily won; they bring a kind of ease and genuineness to this timeless music, sometimes presenting the latest batch of original songs, sometimes reaching back into depths of the American “song bag”.

“It’s right there in the name for this ultra-gifted, rotating collective of singers and multi-instrumentalists. And sprawl is a good word when it comes to the Boston-based group’s raucous live shows, which were initially built around the community concept of traditional Irish seisiúns. The group, whose members have played with a variety of acts including Patty Griffin, Josh Ritter and the J. Geils Band, expertly blends vintage American roots music styles — from country to jazz to rock — in a rowdy but deft fashion.” – Rolling Stone

Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats.

SAM LLANAS
2019-05-11 20:30 - 23:00
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Milwaukee singer-songwriter acoustic guitarist SAM LLANAS has recently released Return of the Goya Part II. These songs are a loving tribute to a style of music witnessing simple songs with strong melodies and harmonies telling stories that resonate in the heart.
Longtime fans will be reminded of 2 of his most beloved songs (“Looking for me Somewhere” from 1986 and “I’m in Trouble Again” from ‘87).
Best known for his unique and distinctively soulful voice, Sam was half of the Bodeans tight harmonies.
Sam will be accompanied by Sean Williamson, who was recently nominated by WAMI as guitarist of the year.

OPEN STAGE
2019-05-10 19:00 - 21:00
Share your talents in a 2-3 song rotation with others. Be prepared to play acoustically, as a sound man is not part of the deal.

NEW PIONEERS
2019-05-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2019-03-14 19:00 - 21:30
This five piece bluegrass ball of fire featuring vocals, banjo, fiddle, guitar, bass and mandolin appears here regularly on the 2nd Thursday of the month- except when they don’t. Its various members have been involved with traditional music locally, regionally, and nationally for many years.
The Pioneer’s lead singer and guitarist, Jerry Wicentowski, has been described by country music historian Bill Malone as “One of the finest singers in bluegrass music”. Jerry has also performed and recorded with such bluegrass greats as Tim O’Brien, Andy Statman, Byron Berline, Tony Trischka and others. Mike Schmidt of Spring Green, Wisconsin, is the group’s banjo player. This former French horn player has been a Nashville session musician and member of the popular Wisconsin-based bluegrass bands, Alive ‘n’ Pickin’ and the Piper Road Spring Band. He also performs occasionally with his wife Lori. Bruce King of Art Stevenson and High Water – also formerly of Alive ‘n’ Pickin’ – is on mandolin. Bruce and Mike are veterans of the Great Northern Bluegrass Festival in Mole Lake, WI – performing there every year from 1977 to 1982. Fiddle player Paul Kienitz is a member in good standing of regional bluegrass favorites, The Nob Hill Boys. Bass player John Jirak also has played banjo with various folks in the northeastern WI and Madison areas, most notably with the Green Bay based Fox River Flyer. As a bass player, he’s performed shows with the Chicago Bluegrass Band, Miltown Ramblers, Krause Family, Old Cool, Spare Time Bluegrass Band, Bob Steeno and The Old Truck, and Down From the Hills, and currently Madison’s newest, Kettle Moraine.
Like them on Facebook.

RAY BONNEVILLE
2019-05-08 20:00 - 22:30
Acclaimed raconteur RAY BONNEVILLE strips his bluesy Americana down to its essentials and steeps it in the humid grooves of the South, creating a compelling poetry of hard living and deep feeling. His ninth release, At King Electric, delivers more than his trademark grit and groove. Songs such as “The Next Card to Fall” and “Codeine” gleam with intimate narratives of characters reaching for hope and wrestling with despair. Rich guitar and harmonica lines resonate over spare but spunky rhythms, while Bonneville’s deep, evocative voice confesses life’s harsh realities.
Jim Withers (Montreal Gazette) describes his sound as “folk-roots gumbo… a languid Mississippi Delta groove, seasoned with smooth, weathered vocals and a propulsive harmonica wheeze.” Whether performing solo or fronting a band, playing electric or acoustic guitar, Bonneville allows space between notes that adds potency to every chord, lick, and lyric. Thom Jurek (Allmusic.com) remarks, “With darkness and light fighting for dominance… he’s stripped away every musical excess to let the songs speak for themselves.”
Often called a “song and groove man,” Bonneville has lived the life of the itinerant artist. From his native Quebec, he moved to Boston at age twelve, where he learned English and picked up piano and guitar. Later, he served in Vietnam and earned a pilot’s license in Colorado before living in Alaska, Seattle, and Paris. Six years in New Orleans infused his musical sensibilities with the region’s culture and rhythms. And then, a close call while piloting a seaplane proved pivotal: After two decades working as a studio musician, playing rowdy rooms with blues bands, and living hard, Bonneville’s lifetime of hard-won experience coalesced into an urge to write his own music.
Ray recorded his first album, On the Main, in 1992. He’s since released nine albums, earned wide critical and popular acclaim, and won an enthusiastic following in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His awards include a prestigious Juno, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy, for his 1999 album, Gust of Wind. In 2012, Ray won the solo/duet category in the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge. His post-Katrina ode, “I Am the Big Easy,” earned the International Folk Alliance’s 2009 Song of the Year Award, placed number one on Folk Radio’s list of most-played songs of 2008, and was recently covered by Jennifer Warnes for the BMG label.
Other notable artists who have recorded his songs include Ronnie Hawkins (“Foolish”) and Slaid Cleaves (“Run Jolee Run”). Ray has shared the bill with blues heavyweights Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Dr. John, J.J. Cale, and Robert Cray, and has guested on albums by Mary Gauthier, Gurf Morlix, Eliza Gilkyson, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and other prominent musicians. He has performed at renowned venues around the world, including South by Southwest, Folk Alliance, and Montreal International Jazz Festival, and plays over 100 shows per year across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. When not on the road, he resides in Austin, Texas.
“Like gunpowder and opium.”
— Ray Wylie Hubbard
“Bad Man’s Blood confirms Bonneville’s stature as of Americana’s foremost singer-songwriters.”
— Austin Chronicle
“a master of the slow burn, the gentle funk, the infectious rhythm.”
— The Ottawa Citizen
“poetic…infectious…Bad Man’s Blood emerges as Bonneville’s magnum opus”
— All Music Guide
“an absolute master…one of the most skilled songwriters of that dark slow smoldering yet fiery blues/roots music”
— FAME
“Few can ride a groove like Canada-born, U.S.-raised Ray Bonneville.”
— No Depression

Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

FACT READER'S THEATER- The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon
2019-05-04 19:00 - 21:00
Fort Atkinson Community Theater (FACT) reader’s theater troupe will attempt to recreate all 209 of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm in a wild, fast-paced extravaganza. To make it more difficult, they will combine them into one gigantic fable using Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and other more obscure stories like Lean Lisa and The Devil’s Grandmother.
Come for an evening of wild, free-form comedy with lots of audience participation and madcap fun.
Seating is limited; reserve your seat in advance by calling 920-563-9391.

MICHAEL GULEZIAN
2019-05-03 20:30 - 23:00
MICHAEL GULEZIAN (gu-LAY-ze-in) is one of the most highly acclaimed solo acoustic instrumental guitarists of our time. He is a phenomenal technical guitarist with the rare ability to transcend his own virtuosity, creating music that touches and moves people at the deepest level. He’s been called the musical link between John Fahey and Michael Hedges. Artists as diverse as Michael Hedges, Willy Porter, and Henry Kaiser have claimed him as a primary musical influence; young lions such as Erik Mongrain, Andy McKee, and Trevor Gordon Hall are quick to acknowledge him as an inspiration.
In concert, Michael is all warmth and humor … and though it’s visually breathtaking to watch him perform, a concert with Michael is more than a display of cutting-edge virtuosity – it is the passionate communion of master musician engaged with his audience in the mystery of self-revelation, creating music of atmospheric power, ecstatic joy, and haunting beauty. If you enjoy the artistry of musicians such as Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges – guitarists who amaze us with what ten fingers and one guitar can do – then you will love Michael Gulezian.
“…uncommonly thoughtful and provocative … sweeping story-like melodies, multi-dimensional epics, and heartland hymns.” –
Jazz Times
“A great guitarist. My kindred spirit.” – Michael Hedges

MARK DVORAK/ DAVE COFELL- Cancelled due to weather concerns
2019-04-27 20:30 - 23:00
Seemed safer to cancel this than to have performers and attendees risk their safety. We will reschedule for a date down the unsnowy road.
MARK DVORAK is a modern day troubadour who has never stopped performing, writing and recording. He has been called “a folk singer’s folk singer” with “an encyclopedic knowledge of traditional songs.” His original songs are described as “wondrous” and “profound.” Though Mark often appears in theaters and on festival stages, he is also at home in a more intimate setting. His concerts are a mix of the familiar and the new, traditional folk and standards from the American songbook. He plays authentic country blues guitar and picks great old-time banjo.
Mark enjoys involving his audiences in sing-along songs, just like The Weavers used to do, and mixes in his own well-crafted and infectious originals. Mark has a refreshing, down-to-earth stage presence, and is a very engaging performer. He sings with a clear, signature voice, and he likes to joke around with the folks who attend his shows. Throughout the program he’ll interject personal anecdotes and add a touch of history or social context to the performance.
“Masterful” Chicago Tribune
“The real deal. His show is funny, passionate, intimate & unforgettable” Old Town School of Folk Music
“One of a vanishing breed. Although all of us benefit from the tradition, Dvorak is one of the few who keep it alive.” Utah Phillips
Raised in the fertile farmlands of Central Minnesota, DAVE COFELL‘s songwriting reflects both his rural roots and his life-long musical explorations.
His performances include a crafted mix of folk, blues, jazz, classic country, classic rock, novelty songs, classical guitar, and occasionally clawhammer banjo. You will hear, among others, the influences of John Prine, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Fats Waller, Hank Williams Sr., Howlin’ Wolf, Pete Seeger, Leo Kottke, Stan Rogers, John Denver, and Leadbelly.
“As professional and laid back a musician as I’ve ever had the chance to meet. Totally immersed in the song from the first note he plays. Great songwriter and an intelligent/talented musician. A road warrior that surprises you when he fires off the first note and is gone down that track like he’s out of the starting gate.” – Big Dave Anderson – Big Dave’s Beat Farm, KTWH 99.5 FM Two Harbors Community Radio

HARMONY & BRAD
2019-04-26 20:30 - 23:00
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.
HARMONY & BRAD are a high-energy acoustic rock duo from Boulder Colorado. This husband and wife duo features Fort Atkinson native Harmony Jones (Greenhalgh) on violin/voice and Brad Jones on guitar. Harmony and Brad play rock in the style of virtually every decade mixed with feisty world music arrangements. Since their first show in July of 2015, they have exploded onto the scene with a full schedule of shows across the US. This fun-filled upbeat duo is guaranteed to get you toe tapping and singing along.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2019-04-25 18:30 - 21:00
Round robin song circle led by TRICIA ALEXANDER– (performer, poet, healer, “with a voice, music and lyrics that resonate the heart”) done informally, not from the stage, no microphones. This is a lovely gathering of singers, songwriters, musicians and music appreciators, poets, and storytellers held regularly on the last Thursday of each month (except sometimes).

Traditional Round Robin protocol applies – everyone is part of the circle and has an opportunity to: play, pass or request a song from someone in particular or from anyone in the circle.
Everyone is welcome to attend. $5 cover for musicians and audience. Come early and have a bite to eat.

ERIC ANDERSEN featuring Scarlet Rivera accompanied by Cheryl Prashker
2019-04-20 20:30 - 23:00
Tickets are $20 if purchased in advance, and will be $25 if not bought until the day of the show.
Click on the Brown Paper Tickets Buy tickets widget to purchase your ticket.

ERIC ANDERSEN‘s voice, songs, guitar and piano playing created a career that has spanned over 45 years. He has recorded 25 albums of original songs, and made numerous tours of North America, Europe, and Japan.
His songs have been recorded and performed by world renown artists such as Ricky Nelson, Judy Collins, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention, The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, Linda Thompson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Francoise Hardy, plus many others in Europe, Australia, England and Japan.
One of the world’s most prominent, active and versatile violinists, SCARLET RIVERA is known for her contributions to the recordings and performances of some of the most influential artists of our time including Bob Dylan, Indigo Girls, Tracy Chapman, Keb ‘Mo, David Johansen and Sylvia Tyson (Ian and Sylvia). She was also a featured soloist with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Carnival of Venice, Italy.
Crossing all genres, her styles span a wide range including rock, folk, country and Americana, world music, blues, Celtic, New Age and classical. She is one of a handful of innovators of the violin who composes a truly original style of music.
https://youtu.be/XpbGuduB4zo – Dusty Box Car Wall
https://youtu.be/D1txTEDsuyc – Blue River
https://youtu.be/ssVvvZJzVdA – It Makes No Difference (w/ Calexico)

BOBBY LONG
2019-04-19 20:30 - 23:00
British singer-songwriter BOBBY LONG emerged from London’s club scene with a reputation for creating memorable songs inhabited by hauntingly poetic lyrics. He relocated to New York in 2009 and has since released four CDs inhabited by powerful original material: A Winter Tale (2011)—an homage to his acoustic roots; Wishbone (2013)—a gritty opus that showcases his sorrow-filled voice and stellar guitar playing; the critically-acclaimed Ode to Thinking (2015, Compass Records), which applies his varied musical influences to a compelling collection of original songs, and the latest, Sultans, arriving on March 1, 2019.
Of him, one writer recently wrote: “Bobby Long is a British-born singer-songwriter who wraps his voice around the truth without judgment, melancholy without tears. His gentle guitar style allows for his plaintive and honest lyrics to crash like thunder. It’s the blues with a solution. There are many comparisons to be made, but toss those aside for a moment won’t you and leave it to the man, his guitar, and you.”
Additionally, Long has published two volumes of poetry—Losing My Brotherhood (2012) and Losing My Misery (2016).

Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

JOHN STATZ/ KYLE COX
2019-04-18 20:00 - 22:30
One of the more prolific young songwriters working in the Folk/Americana genre today, JOHN STATZ has released eight studio albums and performed all over North America (including Canada and Mexico) and Europe, all in just twelve years’ time. The Boston Globe has called John’s music “electric, urgent folk; aching, sweet country-rock”, while American Songwriter has said that he writes “the kind of songs that float through your mind and stay nestled in your thoughts long after listening”.
On his last three albums John worked with some of the best producers in the genre: Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown), Jeffrey Foucault, and Megan Burtt. For this go around, John invited Nathan Edwards—a former college buddy who is now a recording technology professor at their alma mater, The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh—to co-produce an elemental, heartfelt acoustic record.
“John Statz writes songs you can’t shake. They follow you around all day and run through your head at 3 a.m. Open hearted, horizon-line songs.” – Jeffrey Foucault
John Statz was given a guitar by his grandmother when he was 15, which turned out to be perfectly timed for a teenager who, after ten years of piano lessons, had lost interest in classical music and had taken to learning John Lennon and Elton John tunes. It wasn’t until Statz was 19 and attending university in Oshkosh that he began writing songs. The spark lit after attending a show at the storied Café Carpe in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin featuring Jeffrey Foucault and Peter Mulvey, who quickly became heroes, and, later on, friends and collaborators. The first record, Dusk Came Slow, was engineered by the very same Nathan Edwards who co-produced Darkness on the San Juans, completing a circle of sorts between past and present. John moved to Denver in 2010 where he casually gardens in his backyard, cooks almost entirely in cast-iron cookware, and reads presidential biographies in chronological order.
KYLE COX‘s uncanny ability to connect with his audience is the bridge that leads his followers over the troubled waters of everyday life.
Born a military kid in the Lone Star state of Texas, Cox spent a lot of his life moving around, putting down and pulling up stakes in Omaha, NE, Washington, DC, and, around his middle school days, Orlando, FL, where he spent 17 years and pledged his undying allegiance to the city’s NBA team, the Magic.
Now firmly pledged to the historic fraternity of Nashville songwriters, Kyle Cox has the tools at his disposal to build a solid bridge that leads to a long career. And it all begins and ends with just one thing: the song. When asked to describe the feeling he gets when he finishes writing a song and he can say to himself, “That’s it! I got it!,” Cox doesn’t hesitate for a second to respond, “Oh dude, that’s the best feeling in the world. I love it, man!”

Call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

BILL MILLER
2019-04-13 20:30 - 23:00
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BILL MILLER is an award-winning Native American recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, painter, and world-class accomplished flute player. Over the entirety, Miller has produced over a dozen albums, received three Grammy Awards, numerous NAMA awards (including a “Lifetime Achievement Award) and led Wisconsin’s La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. He is now touring in support of a recent collaboration album Look Again To The Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited where Bill has the title track.
A Mohican Indian from northern Wisconsin, Bill Miller has long been one of the most admired figures in the Native American music arena and beyond. As an award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, and painter, he’s been a voice for the voiceless, a link between two great and clashing civilizations.
With his new album, Chronicles of Hope, Bill hopes to further inspire fans, both present and future. “My faith in my Creator leaves me content with the gifts I have,” he says, “and I use them to enrich the world through His blessings. I choose to bless people rather than curse them, to be a peacemaker rather than a warmaker.” As songs like “The Promise” make clear, Bill feels just as passionate about saving the environment of North America, the land of his forebears. ” I think we should feel as if we’re living in the Garden of Eden, and we should take care of the land,” he says emphatically. “I’ll always use my music to urge people to preserve the land.”
Bill has an equally active career as a painter. His work has been shown and sold in prestigious galleries around the country, and he maintains a studio at his Nashville home, where he lives with his wife and children. With so busy a personal and professional life, it would seem that Bill Miller could cruise ever onward in easy contentment. But artists don’t work that way. “I’ve been given a lot of second chances in my life,” he says. “I’ve been through alcoholism and other problems. I was lifted out of the ditch, and I still see a blue sky above. After years of living against the grain, I see things as rivers, creeks and rainstorms, as the liquid layers of my life.”

VANCE GILBERT
2019-04-12 20:30 - 23:00
VANCE GILBERT burst onto the singer/songwriter scene in the early 90’s when buzz started spreading in the folk clubs of Boston about an ex-multicultural arts teacher who was knocking ’em dead at open mics. Born and raised in the Philadelphia area, Vance started out hoping to be a jazz singer, and then discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of acoustic folk music. Once word got out about Gilbert’s stage-owning singing and playing, Shawn Colvin invited him to be special guest on her Fat City Tour.
Noted not only for being the ever consummate performer, Gilbert has recorded 12 albums, including 4 for Philo/Rounder Records and a duo album with friend Ellis Paul. Along with being opener of choice for artists as varied as Aretha Franklin, Arlo Guthrie, and Anita Baker, 2006 and 2007 found Gilbert opening 140+ shows for comedian George Carlin. Most recently he’s the opener of choice for Paul Reiser and The Subdudes.
Considered by many to be an integral part of the national folk scene, Gilbert’s approach to the acoustic singer songwriter idiom is significant. Gilbert’s compositions, while frequently employing sophisticated melodies and harmonies that attest to his jazz roots, remain sublime attestations to the storyteller’s craft. He even has a tune on a Grammy Nominated children’s album. How rounded is that?
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

JEFFREY FOUCAULT/ Erik Koskinen SOLD OUT
2019-04-11 20:00 - 22:30
At this moment- no tickets left.
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JEFFREY FOUCAULT grew up in Whitewater. A longtime disciple of the rich and strange music that sings behind the American veil, Foucault has spent the last decade mining the darker seams of country and blues, producing a string of spare and elemental albums of rare power while garnering accolades across the United States and overseas for a tersely elegant brand of songwriting set apart by its haunting imagery and weather-beaten cool. He now lives in Western Massachusetts.
“Describing Foucault’s music with words like economic, literate, simple, restrained, aching, and raw doesn’t go far enough. There’s a purity and delicacy here… free of pretensions or imitation. He has shaped his own unique style and has a way of looking inward and painting detailed reflections that few can match.” Glide Magazine
Musically sprouted from the blend of American folk, country, rock-n-roll, and blues, opening act Erik Koskinen realizes a sound that is distinctive and fresh while familiar and classic. Koskinen’s albums are a lyrical and musical metaphor of American’s theaters of war, of history, of relationships, and of the reflections in the mirror. Knowing but not didactic, Koskinen channels the ways of Whitman and reverently enters the anthology of uniquely crafted wry songs with the likes of Woody Guthrie and Ry Cooder while speaking as plainly as your neighbor.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls Koskinen “the real deal” and “the best country songwriter in Minnesota.”

JEFF MASON & TRICIA ALEXANDER
2019-04-06 20:30 - 23:00
TRICIA ALEXANDER and JEFF MASON first met at the Cafe Carpe almost 20 years ago. They were drawn to each other’s style of play, chord voicings, musical influences and energy. They played several gigs together (often with help from percussionist of light Alpha Stewart, Jr) and then took different musical paths.
They reunited recently at the monthly Song Circle gatherings hosted by Tricia at the Carpe…and have so much fun making music together that they decided it is time to share the stage again. Jeff says, “it is like we never took a few decades off. We have both grown and changed and playing together is more joyful than ever.”
Tricia Alexander is an accomplished singer, songwriter, guitarist, harmonicist, poet, teacher. Her music is a mix of folk, jazz, blues, poetry. She has performed in scores of cafes, concert halls, churches and schools. Her music is positive, empowering and uplifting.
Jeff Mason plays guitar and sings in several local combos, including: The Merry Horde, A Rose Among Thorns, The Expanded Waist Band, Jeff & Steve, and also performs solo. He describes himself as a blues guitarist who learned to play many different styles of music.
Their music is: living in the moment, listening, improvising, and having fun.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

Writer LOUIS V. CLARK III: a reading & discussion
2019-04-04 18:30 - 19:30
Oneida Indian author and poet LOUIS V. CLARK III will read from his book “How to Be an Indian in the 21st Century”.
This book received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association in 2018.
Written with the rhythms of Oneida oral storytelling traditions, this new Wisconsin Historical Society Press memoir weaves poems and prose to capture the alienation, audacity, and triumph that have defined Clark’s life experiences, from childhood on the Rez, through racially-charged bullying, and to his role as modern-day elder. Clark celebrates “The heartbeat of my nation” and encourages the rest of us to “speak the truth, confound the idiots, [and] listen to the silence.”
Clark’s unique voice takes readers on a deeply personal and profound quest through a wide range of subjects — from workplace racism to falling in love and the Green Bay Packers — to discover what it means to him to be an American Indian. In sharing the sometimes uncomfortable truths he unravels, Clark adds an important voice to the ongoing conversation about race and belonging in America.
Born and raised on the Oneida Reservation in northeastern Wisconsin, Louis V. Clark III (Two Shoes) turned to poetry to continue the oral tradition of his people, the People of the Standing Stone. A member of the Iroquois Confederacy, he and his family are of the Bear clan.
His first chapbook, “Two Shoes,” was published in 2011. He and his wife live in Omro, Wisconsin, where their home is filled with love from six children and nine grandchildren.
Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.
The event is sponsored by Friends of Lorine Neidecker, and is free.

MICHAEL HECHT: Celebrating Martin Luther King/ Deborah Green
2019-03-30 20:00 - 22:00
Literary artist MICHAEL HECHT will present a personal view as a tribute to Martin Luther King utilizing written excerpts, visuals, personal discussion, and writings. Musical accompaniment by Bill Camplin.
Deborah Green opens the evening. She has been a songwriter for over 20 years. She recently moved to the Milwaukee area from the southwest, but forgot to bring the warmer weather.
“My songwriting is dirt and mud and grit because I don’t have time for anything other than truth. Songwriting nourishes my soul, feeds my spirit, and keeps me going.”
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

SONOFMEL & the SLIDEMAN/ John Stano
2019-03-29 20:30 - 23:00
Sonofmel is the psuedonym of Hayward, Wisconsin’s John Adler. He’s a deep thinker who sees symbols and human connection in all things, and his album “Springtime in a Foreign City” details moments of his life travelling the world. He’s joined by Jordan “Slideman” Grunow of Ashland, WI, for a memorable Scenic Route full of original tunes and great conversation.
“Sometimes it takes traveling far from home to find out where you come from…
…after 20 years of wandering the globe and combing the sites, lights, sounds, and shadows for signs of the sacred sprung from the profane, time warrants a return to the mid west with a time-worn guitar, fistfuls of chords strung up with verse, bringing the foreign home to the familiar… These songs come from the world-weary road, plied from places and faces met from Baku to Berkeley, Anchorage to Ankara, from recluse to royalty…” –sonofmel
“Sonofmel is one of the best songwriters out there.“– Gary Storm, Oil of Dog Radio
“Dylanesque songwriting delivered with a voice like Johnny Cash.” – Jeffrey Jones, WOJB Music Director
John Stano, an award-winning singer songwriter and performer of Americana, blues, folk and contemporary acoustic music, opens.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2019-03-28 18:30 - 21:00
Round robin song circle led by TRICIA ALEXANDER– (performer, poet, healer, “with a voice, music and lyrics that resonate the heart”) done informally, not from the stage, no microphones. This is a lovely gathering of singers, songwriters, musicians and music appreciators, poets, and storytellers held regularly on the last Thursday of each month (except sometimes).

Traditional Round Robin protocol applies – everyone is part of the circle and has an opportunity to: play, pass or request a song from someone in particular or from anyone in the circle.
Everyone is welcome to attend. $5 cover for musicians and audience. Come early and have a bite to eat-

OPEN STAGE
2019-03-23 19:00 - 21:30
Share your songs in a 2-3 song rotation with others.

SARAH MORRIS/ BEN BEDFORD
2019-03-22 20:30 - 23:00
Friends Sarah and Ben will share the stage together, alternating songs. Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats.

Over the last eight years, Americana singer-songwriter SARAH MORRIS has been busy building: a family, a band, and a reputation for engaging performances, with a voice both clear and lush. Sarah hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota, where from a young age, music was etched upon her DNA. Morris immersed herself in her parent’s eclectic record collection before finally falling in love with the storytelling and songcraft in country music. The music of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Alison Krauss, and Kathy Mattea changed Sarah’s course entirely.
After graduating from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, she wasted no time packing her bags for Nashville. Her years in Music City instilled a traditional songwriting sensibility fully on display over the course of her recent albums: 2017’s Hearts in Need of Repair, and 2015’s Ordinary Things. Both albums earned international airplay, reached the top 100 of the Americana Music Associations radio chart, and critical acclaim. Sarah was a winner of the 2018 Kerrville New Folk competition in Kerrville, TX. Additionally, she was a top 4 finalist in The NewSong Music Contest at Lincoln Center in NYC (January 2016), took 2nd place at the 2016 Chris Austin Songwriting Competition at MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC, and her song, “Brighter” was a 2016 Americana semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.
In addition to Sarah’s solo project, she is one half of Americana duo, The Home Fires, featuring Vicky Emerson.
“Sarah Morris [is] a bright, clear, brilliant songwriter. There are those albums you hear once in a while that just sound right, just pure and crisp and perfect and they make you think well, here’s someone with a…gift.” Jon Hunt, L‘Etoile Magazine
“And what a voice it is, never showy or seeking the limelight, just impressive within the requirements of the song and that in itself, in this day and age, is a rare thing. It is that restraint, coupled with the room to breath that the songwriting affords her that makes her shine so brightly.” – Dancing About Architecture
BEN BEDFORD
“Certainly one of the best young singer-songwriters working today.”-Rob Adams, The Herald-Scotland
“Ben Bedford has proven himself to be a truly inspired and talented storyteller…” according to Arthur Wood (Maverick). Bedford establishes himself as a songwriter in the tradition of musical icons ranging from Bill Morrissey to Woody Guthrie, casting individual people in the theater of the American landscape. A true son of the heartland, Bedford dips into the deep inkwell of classic American literature and writes with the ‘old soul’ quality of his literary idols, such as John Steinbeck and Toni Morrison.
“The Illinois songwriter is a masterful storyteller who can turn what seem like obscure historical references into engaging tales rife with vivid, stark imagery.” –Erik Ernst, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In the past twelve years since the release of his first album, Bedford has played his songs for audiences all over the United States hitting notable venues such as The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Folkstage in Chicago, and the Fayetteville Roots Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. His music has received extensive airplay on folk and roots radio in the U.S., as well as in Europe, taking him overseas on several occasions for concert dates on the continent and in the United Kingdom. Notable dates there include Izzy Young’s famed Folklore Centrum in Stockholm, Sweden, Toogenblik in Brussells, Belgium, and The Green Note in London, England. Bedford’s albums have charted highly on the Euro Americana charts and the Folk-DJ charts and his music has been played on National Public Radio’s Car Talkand featured in The Sounding Board, the official newsletter of the renowned C.F. Martin Guitar Company. In addition to independent terrestrial stations, Bedford’s music has received extensive airplay from syndicated programs such as “River City Folk” (syndicated by WFMT), “The Midnight Special” (syndicated by WFMT), BBC-Scotland, and the SIRIUS XM station “The Village”, all helping to gain Bedford a wider geographical audience.
In July of 2010, Bedford was named one of the “50 most significant Folk singer-songwriters of the past 50 years” by Rich Warren of WFMT-Chicago. The list also included Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Anais Mitchell, Joni Mitchell, and John Prine.
In May of 2018, Bedford was named one of the six Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk winners at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas.
Bedford has recorded five studio albums: Lincoln’s Man (2007), Land of the Shadows (2009), What We Lost (2012), The Pilot and the Flying Machine (2016), and The Hermit’s Spyglass (2018).
He will spend 2019 and 2020 touring in support of The Hermit’s Spyglass.

JAMES LEE STANLEY
2019-03-16 20:30 - 23:00
It is only a long-lived singer-songwriter career that lets JAMES LEE STANLEY unite the unpredictable creative turns and the eclectic elements that make up his world. His remarkable ability as a vocalist and composer allow him to create songs, each recorded with a finely crafted with guitar orchestrations that enhance the lyric. But a whole new dimension is added when James Lee performs live. These incredible songs, coupled with his outragously hilarious repartee, make for an evening of hilarity and tenderness and one of the most entertaining concerts on the circuit. He has been hailed as one of the few all time greats and undisputed geniuses among singer-songwriters. Fi Magazine listed his FREELANCE HUMAN BEING as one of the finest recordings of 1998 and one of the Top 200 Recordings of all time – FI Magazine March 1999.
“It is simple, really. With James Lee you get great songs, great guitar playing, great voice and a gifted comedian as well. You are in for a very entertaining evening.” Village Voice
“This man is a great artist – his songs are finely-crafted and richly textured, with immediately memorable melodies and thought provoking lyrics, and his guitar playing is simply gorgeous, alternating between subtle finger picking, lush chording, stark simplicity, rhythmically-charged complexity, and many and varied shades in between” – Fi Magazine..
JAMES LEE STANLEY, the true renaissance man, was born in Philadelphia, PA, and has been recording and performing since he was fourteen. He has toured consistently since he returned from the USAF (as a Chinese linguist) and has performed up to three hundred dates a year since then, with such diverse acts as BONNIE RAITT, ROBIN WILLIAMS, NICOLETTE LARSON and even BILL COSBY. STEVEN WRIGHT chose James Lee as his opening act for three years in a row; a testament to his professionalism and talent.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats.

JOHN ELLIOTT
2019-03-15 20:30 - 23:00
JOHN ELLIOTT writes gripping stream-of-consciousness songs that often take unexpected turns en route to delivering a powerful message. Chuck Schiele of The San Diego Troubadour wrote about Elliott’s lyrics: “They get in, make their statement, kick you in the teeth, and get out before they start talking too much…And this lends to the urge of rolling any track to its beginning for another spin.”
A native of Minnesota who now resides in California, Elliott began playing at various Hollywood venues in 2001, had expanded throughout southern California by 2003, and later became a nationally touring artist. He has performed in several countries and every state except Hawaii. His music has been featured on hit TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy and Californication, as well as in PASTE Magazine, on NPR and Neil Young’s “Living With War” website.
In the last decade, he has released eight genre-less studio albums on his own record label (Garland Lane) to an ever-expanding audience. All can be streamed at his website (www.thehereafterishere.com/ recordings). The newest releases are an unedited live performance (“Live in Austin”) and a compilation (“The Greatest Recordings According to Me: 2003-2013”). Both are available for purchase at shows on USB drives. John is trying to ever-so-gently do his part to end the compact disc.
John also produces an almost monthly podcast of sorts called “Audiodes.” Audiodes defy explanation and must be heard to be understood (seven are included on the USB compilation). They include interviews, meditations, sound collages, alternative versions of already released songs, covers, and more. Audiode Six is a stripped down, acoustic rendering of his “Good Goodbyes” album; Audiode Fourteen is a new concept album about technology called “21st Century Bicycle.”
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

BILL CAMPLIN & the IDOLS of MARCH
2019-03-09 20:30 - 23:00

KAIA FOWLER
2019-03-08 20:30 - 23:00
KAIA FOWLER’s music shows influences from genres that include modern singer-songwriter, 1960s and 70s folk and folk rock, Americana, acoustic blues, and roots music. Her sound integrates beautifully resonant vocals reminiscent of singers like Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell with guitar work that ranges from delicate finger picking to percussive strumming. Kaia took up guitar playing and songwriting at a young age, and, throughout her life, she has poured her observations on life’s struggles, longings, joys, and sorrows into songs. In concert, Kaia’s energy and authenticity invite listeners to transcend the day-to-day, getting at the heart of the human experience in the way only music can.

Kaia’s music stands out for its lyrical detail and melodic phrasings that take advantage of her wide vocal range. A review by The Americana Gazette says, “Kaia Fowler is a tremendous lyricist. Her lyrics paint pictures and her musical notes add the color.” Selections from her 2010 album Seams of My Heart received radio play on Women of Substance Radio. Kaia’s 2015 album, an EP titled All The Way, is dedicated to her husband who died of pancreatic cancer, with sales benefiting the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. A new album, One Breath, is scheduled for release in 2019.
She was a finalist in the 2012 Great River Folk Festival songwriting competition.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.
