Cafe Carpe

THE BINDLESTIFFS
2018-05-26 20:30 - 23:00 (America/Chicago)
THE BINDLESTIFFS are a remarkable collection of local musicians.
Tom Waselchuk (guitar) founded the band The Dang-Its, which have taken home a host of MAMA Awards, including 2014 Country/Bluegrass Album of the Year. Tom’s musical resume includes work with The Stone Oak Band, The Full Count Jazz Band, Chris Plata & Extra Hot, and Marcy and the Highlights.
Doug Brown (banjo, guitar) is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. He has performed with and produced many recordings for a host of local artists. His talents have graced the stages of major music festivals in the United States and worldwide.
Randal Harrison’s violin prowess has earned him many accolades, including MAMA awards for Best Blues Artist and Classical Artist of the Year. Besides local recognition, Randal is an Emmy-nominated composer. (This is his second concert at the Schoolhouse, after performing last year with Ken Lonnquist.)
Rounding out the Bindlestiffs is Town of Vermont resident Johnny Widdicombe. The John Widdicombe Trio and his work with the Piper Road String Band and the Dixie Sizzlers have made him a sought-after talent. (Area residents will remember his set at the Mt. Horeb Senior Center Fundraiser.) Webster’s describes a bindle stiff as a hobo–one who carries his or her possessions in a rolled up bindle. What these Bindlestiffs will be packing are great tunes, wonderful harmonies, and instrumental excellence. Don’t miss it!
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

RADIO WRANGLERS
2018-05-25 20:30 - 23:00
THE RADIO WRANGLERS hail from Wisconsin and are heavily influenced by the sounds of the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s with influences ranging from Country and Western, Western Swing, and Honky Tonk. The band has had the pleasure of playing at Opryland in Nashville, and opening for such acts as Wayne Hancock and Carolyn Martin’s Western Swing Band. They strive to encapsulate the sounds of traditional 1940’s and 50’s Country and Western music, while adding their own tunes to the long-lasting tradition they so greatly admire. From Waltzes to Boogies, hot swing to high and lonesome blues, you do not want to miss this band’s unique blend of true American music!
Drawing influences from such artists as Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Milton Brown, Jack Gurhrie, Tex Williams, Webb Pierce, Hank Thompson, and Hank Williams, The Radio Wranglers also write original music with a taste of the past. Fronted by the twin fiddle team of Blaine And Ruthie McQuinn on fiddle and vocals, The Radio Wranglers are Danny Tyksinski on lead guitar, and Ed Novak on rhythm guitar, and Peyton Lencho on doghouse bass.
The Radio Wranglers have had the good fortune of playing the Nashville Boogie for two consecutive years, including being the band for the Western Wear Fashion show! And in November 2015, they have been nominated for an Ameripolitan Award for Western Swing group.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

SISTASTRINGS/ BILL CAMPLIN
2018-05-20 19:00 - 21:30
SistaStrings are Milwaukee-based sisters who are using their gifts of music to creating social change. As classically trained instrumentalists (violin and cello), 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.
They are deigning to share the evening with and accompany BILL CAMPLIN as a birthday present.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

VON STRANTZ/ NATIVE LAND CANCELLED
2018-05-19 20:30 - 23:00
APOLOGIES: CANCELLED DUE TO HEALTH EMERGENCY
VON STRANTZ/NATIVE LAND
NATIVE LAND: musical nomadic husband & wife duo journey in search of their home land while writing songs for the people that they meet along the way from town to town and state to state. Native Land creates songs pulling from their strongest influences with the heart of true punk rockers like David Byrne’s quirky sounds and strange 80’s beats and the soul of Sister Rosetta Tharp, guitar licks and gospel-like lyrics bringing good news to all who are weary. Prepare your hearts for some gospel rock n’roll that has some spacey groove.
In early 2012 a terrible car accident left VON STRANTZ incapable of using their hands. After months of physical therapy and waiting for healing the day finally came and out of healing Von Strantz began. Utilizing a variety of instruments such as violin, cello, keys, guitar and feet percussion, Von Strantz unites harmonies strung together by commanding and soulful lyrics. With story-sharing as their passion. Von Strantz invites their audience into the emotion of each piece. In 2015 Von Strantz won “Eddie’s Attic Songwriting Shoot-out”. The duo has traveled extensively playing thousands of shows and performing many festivals and venues including Electric Forest, Hard Rock Cafe, Schuba’s, Paper City Music Fest, Audiofeed, Starry Night ,Steel Bridge Music Fest, Mile of Music, and has shared the stage with some of their favorite artists, My Brightest Diamond, Josh Garrels, Crystal Bowersox, Over The Rhine, Howie Day & A Silent Film to name a few. Von Strantz is also Sofar Sounds Alumni.
With five music releases under their belt, Von Strantz just finished recording their brand new record “Apple Of Your Eye” at Tiny Telephone Oakland with John Vanderslice, Jacob Winik, Jason Slota, Rob Shelton and Elijah Ford and are currently touring with the release of the new record.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

ERIC MILLER on the viola da gamba
2018-05-18 20:30 - 23:00
Currently residing in Madison Wisconsin, Nebraska native ERIC MILLER is a musician with unusually wide interests. He slips easily between genres, but as a performer his heart lives in the world of the 17th and 18th centuries, in particular music composed for the viola da gamba. This instrument, having seven strings and frets like a lute, requires an especially sophisticated bowing technique and was often compared to the human voice and considered the most noble of instruments. The cello, which lies in a similar range, eventually displaced the the gamba due to its greater power, but over the centuries the viola da gamba has always been cultivated by a few, and recently has grown into a rebirth around the world as its nuanced sound still speaks to the modern soul, perhaps more than ever.
Over a decade ago, while completing his masters degree in cello at UW-Madison, Eric began to seriously play the viola da gamba during his spare time, perhaps to the neglect of his cello studies. Cobbling together advice from touring professionals, putting in hours of late night sessions, and taking long drives for single lessons with eminent players, Eric has worked steadily to deepen his knowledge of the instrument. He is on a mission to bring the warmth and ethereal beauty of this instrument and its repertoire to others in both intimate and large spaces.
Eric will present an evening of solo music for the viola da gamba and baroque cello. The night will include solo cello suites of Bach, the recently unearthed solo Fantasias of Telemann, and other less known but equally beautiful works from the 17th and 18th centuries written for the viola da gamba from France, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Eric believes in the power of music to transform and ground oneself, to communicate and pass on cultural heritage, and to contribute to building entirely new ways of thinking and being on this planet with one another.
In addition to solo performances around Wisconsin, Eric is a member of the Wisconsin Baroque Ensemble and has played cello with Satchel Paige and Katie Burns. Eric directs and founded the Madison Youth Viol Consort, teaches Suzuki cello lessons, and has also taught in the Madison schools since 2009. Eric holds degrees in music from Northern Illinois University and UW-Madison.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

HAYWARD WILLIAMS/ ZAK TROJANO
2018-05-13 19:00 - 21:30
ZAK TROJANO is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, a finger-style guitar player, a fly-fisherman, and a beer drinker. He watches more than he talks, the guy at the end of the bar nursing a drink while the afternoon light angles in, letting the conversation pile up around him like snowfall.
He grew up in New Hampshire, outside of town in a cabin built by his parents. His father was a drummer who held down a regular country gig, and nights after work he would loosen his tie and show his son the finer points of Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones. In New Hampshire they drove around in trucks, and Prine and Dylan cassettes showed up in most of those trucks. Zak made Eagle Scout, got his knots down. Then it was college and out, wandering the country from the desert Southwest to Great Plains until he ran out of money, washing windows to work up the bus fare home.
After a while it seemed like he ought to write some songs, and he did: heavy songs with a light touch; an AM radio throwback voice and an intricate finger-style technique framed by a drummer’s rhythm and sharpened by years of immersion in the work of players as various as John Fahey, Merle Travis, and Chet Atkins. In over a decade writing, recording, and performing music professionally – sharing studios and stages with his band Rusty Belle, or supporting touring acts like Chris Smither, Kris Delmhorst, Jeffrey Foucault, and Peter Mulvey – Zak Trojano has evolved his own thing: a warm baritone paired with an old Martin guitar, floating above spare lines of cello and lap steel, horns and brushes, with a deceptively simple lyricism that on repeated listening shows that the fellow at the end of the bar doesn’t say much, but he’s worth hearing.
HAYWARD WILLIAMS is a veteran singer/songwriter from Milwaukee, WI. With six full length records under his belt, Williams is set to release his latest effort: Pretenders. This record is yet another swan dive into the deep end of the Americana/Soul world that Hayward tends to reside in.
Growing up in Wisconsin in the 80’s and 90’s convinced Hayward Williams to search for something more out there in the world. Foregoing higher education, he joined a band and learned much about what to do and what not to do in the Midwest music scene. Playing in pubs for many years , getting thick skin and finding a notably sharp tongue, avenues opened up to Williams. Headlining European tours, major US festivals and a few trips to Australia later, Hayward has carved out an impressive niche in the folk music business.
Williams’ previous release, The Reef, was produced by venerated songwriter, friend and collaborator Jeffrey Foucault. Utilizing an impressive rhythm section of Billy Conway (Morphine) on drums and Jeremy Moses Curtis (Booker T, Levon Helm, Session Americana) on bass, The Reef is an unequaled Americana record with soaring vocals and hooks that dig in deep.
“The surprisingly soulful voice of Milwaukee-based singer/songwriter Hayward Williams emanates from a slight, almost unassuming figure, yet that voice is imbued with so much power, it’s difficult to imagine it coming from anywhere other than midway between Memphis and Muscle Shoals… The Reef is an album to return to again and again.” – Allan Wilkinson, Northern Sky Magazine (UK)
Pretenders was recorded in October of 2016 at Midwest Sound in Rockford, IL under a full moon and the care of Dan McMahon and Jeremy Koester. Hayward and J. Hardin would co-produced the album. Charles Koltak, who played drums on Williams’ Haymaker (2012) teamed up with Jeremy Moses Curtis in the rhythm section. Corey Matthew Hart of Madison, WI (Lost Lakes) would lend his talented voice and guitar work to the project during one late night session. Finally, Brooks Milgate would send his B3 performances in remotely from the east coast adding a layer to the project that would fit in with any Al Green classic.
“Often dark, always honest and in the groove, Williams continues to break new ground in new traditional folk rock. There’s a ghostly spirit that floats through the songs on “Pretenders.” Williams is a wary caretaker of those spirits. His songs brim with the smoke and mirror lyricism of Leonard Cohen—with the rocker’s heart of Neil Young.” -Andy Moore ISTHMUS (Madison, WI

Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

JAMES LEE STANLEY-CANCELLED
2018-05-12 20:30 - 23:00
*******Unfortunately, James Lee cannot make this show. He hopes to reschedule soon.
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.

RAY BONNEVILLE
2018-05-11 20:30 - 23:00
RAY BONNEVILLE is a poet of the demimonde who didn’t write his first song until his early 40s, some 20 years after he started performing. But with a style that sometimes draws comparisons to JJ Cale and Daniel Lanois, this blues-influenced, New Orleans-inspired “song and groove man,” as he’s been so aptly described, luckily found his rightful calling. Born in Quebec, his family moved to Boston when he was 12. He served a year in Vietnam as a Marine, struggled and overcame drug addiction, earned a pilot’s license in Colorado, then moved to Alaska, then Seattle, and Paris and New Orleans. But it took a close call while piloting a seaplane across the Canadian wilderness to make him decide it was time to get busy writing songs – gritty narratives inspired by a lifetime of hard-won knowledge set against his gritty, soulful guitar and harmonica playing.

He’s since earned many accolades, including a Juno Award for his 1999 album, Gust of Wind. His post-Katrina ode, “I Am the Big Easy,” earned the International Folk Alliance’s 2009 Song of the Year Award, and in 2012, Bonneville won the solo/duet category in the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge. He has guested on albums by Mary Gauthier, Gurf Morlix, Eliza Gilkyson, Ray Wylie Hubbard and other prominent artists, and shared songwriting credits with Tim O’Brien, Phil Roy and Morlix, among others. Slaid Cleaves placed Bonneville’s “Run Jolee Run” on his lauded 2009 album, Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away.
Easy Gone, Ray’s fourth album for Red House Records, takes listeners to some of the dark spaces and exotic places Bonneville has gone on his own travels. An Austin resident since 2006, Bonneville still puts the rhythms and soul of New Orleans into much of his music. His songs carry a groove and momentum that’s uniquely his — and will always be a part of him, no matter where he roams.
“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.

NEW PIONEERS
2018-05-10 19:00 - 21:30, 2018-04-12 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.

ZANDER SCHLOSS
2018-05-05 20:30 - 23:00
ZANDER SCHLOSS has spent three decades-plus playing music with The Circle Jerks, The Weirdos, Joe Strummer, and as half of the “Dynamic Duo,” Sean & Zander. His inaugural solo release, Song About Songs, represents a cerebral evolution hatched from a lifetime of external chaos, then channeled into an exquisitely crafted soundscape of inner peace, harmony, and of search fulfilled–yet ongoing.
Based in Los Angeles, Zander has performed on festival stages and left his soul in a puddle on the stage at dive bars for a few. He’s played his instrument of choice, the Greek bouzouki, in cities around the globe, in mountains and deserts, incorporating those experiences into his music along the way.
Through it all, he gives listeners a direct path to the truth of who he is today and has always been: musician, storyteller, actor, and artist. Zander has appeared in everything from Repo Man to his most recent film, An American In Texas, and contributed music to even more. He’s also a visual artist and offers master-level music classes in person or online. “I feel more relevant than ever through learning to love myself, concentrating on my craft, and my voice as a writer,” says Schloss. “I’m just scratching the surface of what I’m capable of as a human being and an artist.”
Please call 920-56309391 to reserve.

MARK ERELLI
2018-05-04 20:30 - 23:00
MARK ERELLI finished up a graduate degree in evolutionary biology shortly after his eponymous debut was released on Signature Sounds in 1999. He has won several prestigious awards, including the Kerrville New Folk contest and the International Song Contest, where a song he co-wrote with Catie Curtis (“People Look Around”) bested 15,000 entries to win the grand prize. For the past 18 years, he has maintained a rigorous touring schedule, appearing onstage everywhere from coffeehouses and major folk festival stages (Newport, Philadelphia) to Fenway Park, where he once sang the national anthem before a Red Sox game.
In recent years, Erelli has gained notoriety as a multi-instrumentalist sideman and producer, accompanying GRAMMY-winning artists such as Lori McKenna, Paula Cole and Josh Ritter everywhere from Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry to London’s Royal Albert Hall. In addition to producing two records for McKenna, Erelli’s own diverse discography includes collections of western swing, lullabies, bluegrass (with his band Barnstar!) and songs of stirring social conscience, as well as several highly-acclaimed collaborations (2009’s Darwin Song Project and 2010’s Seven Curses, a collection of murder ballads recorded with Jeffrey Foucault). His 10th solo album,For A Song (released in 2016), was likened to “the best of Paul Simon or Jackson Browne’s work…stories that are immediately relatable and reflective of the small moments in our lives.” (No Depression)
In January 2018, Mark will release Mixtape, a record of covers drawn from 13 years of his sold out “Under The Covers” shows at the legendary Club Passim. This show is part his CD release tour.
Mark is traveling as a duo with friend JAKE ARMERDING on fiddle/mandolin.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

HUMBIRD/ SATCHEL PAIGE w/ Eric Miller
2018-05-03 20:00 - 22:30
After traversing 5 continents and 20 countries with only a guitar and a backpack, (Siri Undlin) HUMBIRD returns home to sing songs from the edge of the world. Combining a wintry longing with the warmth of a familiar folktale, Humbird stretches traditional genres of folk and Americana to embrace the unexpected. This music invites a refreshing dissonance into the house, it leaves breadcrumbs along the path and reflects light back at the stars.

Creating music out of a mosaic of influences like Joni Mitchell, Bon Iver and Bill Frisell, Humbird weaves it all together with powerful lyrics and a stubborn pursuit of the sound of the North. The release of Humbird’s double EP “Elsewhere” and “Where Else” in Summer 2017 is just the beginning.

Humbird will share the evening with resident artist SATCHEL PAIGE & cellist Eric Miller.

Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

BILL CAMPLIN BAND
2018-04-28 20:30 - 23:00
Toss your gardening tools aside to make it in time to catch the BILL CAMPLIN BAND here, Bill’s home away from home within his home. The boys are ready to deliver some home-grown music.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

ROD PICOTT album release tour with Special Guest Ben de la Cour
2018-04-27 20:30 - 23:00
The son of a welder from rural New England, ROD PICOTT is a masterful songwriter and soulful singer who carries with him as fine a suitcase of songs as you’ll find anywhere. Slaid Cleaves, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Fred Eaglesmith have recorded Rod Picott songs. A former construction worker who hung up his tools when he released his debut CD in 2000, Picott has carved a career for himself with a run of 6 beautifully crafted self released CDs over the last 13 years and a well earned reputation as a engaging, emotion fueled performer.
Hang Your Hopes On Crooked Nail, produced by RS Field [Billy Joe Shaver, Justin Townes Earle, Hayes Carll] is a collection of carefully crafted songs of rugged truth and beauty. Recorded at Joe Pisapia’s [KD Lang, Guster] Middletree Studios in East Nashville the CD highlights Picott’s particular gift for exploring complex themes in common language. The eleven songs on Hang Your Hopes On a Crooked Nail offer an unblinking albeit wry gaze into our common heart and a clenched fist of defiance against the trials that tear at our humanity.
“Accept Rod Picott for what he is; Americana of the highest order” Julian Piper/ Acoustic Magazine
“Gems that finely balance despair, desire and optimism with dexterity Arthur Wood/Maverick Magazine
“Hangdog lyrics and deadpan delivery have the ability to strike a chord with anyone who has a heart.” Alison Stokes/Country Music People
2016 Kerrville New Folk winner BEN DE LA COUR has lived a different kind of life.
After growing up in Brooklyn, he set out to see the world as an amateur boxer, bartender, janitor and agricultural worker in Havana, London, Los Angeles and New Orleans before settling in Nashville. Influenced as much by giants such as Townes Van Zandt and Warren Zevon as by Nick Cave and The Gun Club, Ben de la Cour has managed to meld all of these influences into a uniquely modern, haunting and sometimes darkly humorous sound that is all his own.
“Ben de la Cour’s songs are brimming with urgent authenticity. There is thematic hardness and vulnerability throughout, but what distinguishes de la Cour’s songs from lesser guitar-and-anguished-vocals hacks is the raw humanity of his delivery and the potency of his way with words.” (No Depression)
In 2016 Ben de la Cour released ‘Midnight in Havana’, eleven tightly crafted songs of what he likes to refer to as “Americanoir”. Tales of substance abuse, murder and mental illness sit in perfect juxtaposition with occasional moments of playful lightheartedness and the ever-present glimmer of hope. However, upon closer inspection, darkness almost always wins…an unlikely hero, but one that suits de la Cour.
“Ben de la Cour bleeds the songs he sings. Within the understated instrumentation and de la Cour’s baritone voice lie stark, haunting songscapes: moody recollections that recount the journey of a life that is not always pretty, but proves better than one of mundane predictability.” (Turnstyled, Junkpiled)
“Ben de la Cour is a folk musician with the songwriting acumen of a young Nick Cave and the lyrical wisdom of a vitriolic Leonard Cohen. His songs are stark, melancholic and packed with emotion and will send you collectively weak at the knees.” (Fresh Deer Meat)
Please call to reserve at 920-563-9391.

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2018-04-26 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-03-29 19:00 - 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-

LOST JOHN and the DUSTY MILLERS 2.0"
2018-04-21 20:30 - 23:00
LJ and the DM’s are back for a repeat show for this one and only special Spring 2018 ‘Carpe’ show.
John Fabke (aka. Lost John) is currently a Nashville, TN based musician, has been involved with a wide variety of roots music styles as a performer, educator, radio host and archivist/historian for the past 20+years. Fabke has appeared on a number of award-winning recordings with groups such as the Nob Hill Boys, The Cajun Strangers and Bradford Lee Folk and the Bluegrass Playboys and the Lonesome Aces.
Backing and likely interfering with LJ will be the the Dusty Millers…comprised of multi-talented (awesome picker and fashion stalwart) Jon Peik on banjo, etc. and Paul Kienitz on fiddle, known to be the possible inventor of the Wisconsin long bow style.
Rumor has it, this has the makings of a unofficial Nob Hill Boy Reunion. Yep, the whole band from the ‘ole days!
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

TOM WASELCHUK & JOHN PARROTT Guitar Duo
2018-04-20 20:30 - 23:00
Bringing you vintage swing & country blues
Tom Waselchuk will be familiar to southern Wisconsin audiences from his work with his Americana band The Dang-Its (1998 to present) and Gypsy swing ensemble Harmonious Wail (2001-2011), with whom he toured the U.S. and abroad. He keeps up a busy schedule of solo and small ensemble performances including his newest collaborations with Mr. Parrott and with Chicago vocalist Jodi Jean Amble. Ms. Amble, Mr. Waselchuk, and another of Tom’s long-time guitar partners, Doug Brown, are currently performing as The Honey Pies. Tom’s guitar work demonstrates equal ease with a range of styles from jazz and pop to country and bluegrass.
John Parrott is a rare species in the vast genus of acoustic guitarists. He plays the archtop rhythm guitar in a style that was common from the 1930s to the 1950s (think Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Wills). For forty years he’s applied his skills, sensibilities, and adult chords to the field of String Jazz, backing up such luminaries as John Hartford, Vassar Clements, and Steve Goodman. John is especially noted for his many years of laying down the swinging pulse for the great jazz mandolinists Jethro Burns and Don Stiernberg. John currently works and records with Milwaukee musicians Chris Hanson, Robin Pluer and an assortment of jazz and swing artists.
Together they present a showcase of 20th century American music in a variety of genres with solidly swinging guitar artistry and more than acceptable vocals.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

JOHNSMITH
2018-04-14 20:30 - 23:00
JOHNSMITH
With his faded jeans, his twinkly blue eyes, and his infectious smile, John immediately connects with audiences. You get the sense of a man who loves his life, his family and friends, and who loves nothing more than sharing that love in song and stories all across this land.
“Johnsmith’s songs always move me. They make me laugh, cry, dance or just sing along. He is one of the most consistent writers of quality songs that I’ve ever met.” – Lydia Hutchinson, Editor, Performing Songwriter Magazine

“[Johnsmith] is one of those really pure hearted people that isn’t wasting any time on the cool factor, he gets there by virtue of his integrity.” – Frank Goodman
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

VANCE GILBERT
2018-04-13 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.

TIM GRIMM w/ Jon Brooks & Jackson Grimm
2018-04-07 20:30 - 23:00
TIM GRIMM is a bit of a Renaissance man in the performing arts world. He has for the past 15 years blended his love for songwriting, travel, and the storytelling of acting (theatre, film and television). He is appearing her with son JACKSON GRIMM and fellow songwriter JON BROOKS.
Tim has toured and recorded with his friend, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, appeared with Harrison Ford in the film Clear and Present Danger, and has shared the stage with writer and poet Wendell Berry. Tim had the #1 song on Folk radio in 2016 with — WOODY’S LANDLORD, and the #1 song in 2014 — KING OF THE FOLKSINGERS. Grimm lives on 80 acres in southern Indiana, and has been called “The Poet Laureate of the rural Midwest”. His song THE LAKE was in the soundtrack for A WALK IN THE WOODS, starring Robert Redford. His latest release is A STRANGER IN THIS TIME– with The Family Band (his wife and both sons).
“Tim’s songwriting reminds me of Guy Clark. The songwriting is simple, straightforward yet full of poetry. It closely observes everyday life and distills the small moments of joy and pleasure. Grimm’s vocal style also reminds me of Guy Clark’s unassuming way of putting across a song. It’s a voice in service to the lyric….” -Richard Silverstein- Seattle
Known for his rough-edged voice and guitar work, JON BROOKS is a singer-songwriter who has earned worldwide accolades, including four nominations for Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. In 2009, he was the Canadian Regional Winner of the annual Mountain Stage New Song Contest and in 2010, he was a New Folk Winner at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas.
“I write songs to calm those who’ve looked into, and seen, what is in their hearts. I also write songs to terrify those who have not.” – Jon Brooks
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

MARE EDSTROM & KENN FOX with special guest Dave Karnes/ Liz DeYoe
2018-04-06 20:30 - 23:00
This special “Women of the Blues” from the 1920’s to the 1970’s show will cover artists ranging from Ma Rainey and Geeshie Wiley to Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt.
MARE EDSTROM and KENN FOX have been playing, teaching and researching the blues together for over 14 years; and Kenn has spent his entire life archiving 20th century music, especially its foundation in the blues. They have released six critically acclaimed blues albums on the Wisconsin-based Spiritone label. Mare has been the subject of many feature articles and has received consistent airplay, particularly throughout Europe, for her solo album work. Kenn has released eight solo fingerstyle albums as well as two albums with the Midwest Guitar Trio, and a current album with Celtic band Kellswater Bridge.
Mare and Kenn are passionate about sharing the lore of the blues in their current act, “The History of the Blues from 1920–1970.” Come and experience the magic of the music, the myth and the stories of the Mississippi Delta, and the surprising role Wisconsin played in the early development of the blues.
“Edstrom possesses a strong voice that can float over a quiet arrangement or deliver a powerful statement backed by a hard-charging band. Her classical training is evident as Mare easily slides throughout her vocal register, each note delivered cleanly and perfectly executed.”- Blues Blast Magazine
LIZ DEYOE , a jazz guitarist and composer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin will open. She has performed live concerts in a variety of settings including solo guitar, cover bands, big bands and a singer songwriter duo. In 2014 she earned her Associate’s Degree in Music Occupations from Milwaukee Area Technical College and in 2016 she graduated summa cum laude from McNally Smith College of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Guitar Performance. In 2015 Liz placed 4th in the international guitar competition Queen of Strings. She is currently focusing on composing for her original project The Fool’s Journey. When she is not doing music, Liz enjoys cooking and baking desserts.
Liz began her journey into music at the age of 5 with piano lessons. By the time she reached 3rd grade Liz was playing pieces by Satie, Bach, and Debussy – her favorite composers. She transitioned from piano to guitar and formed a rock band that played covers and her original compositions in high school. Although she had intended to study pharmacy in college, Liz discovered that music was what she ultimately wanted to pursue. Her college career began at Milwaukee Area Technical College where she first learned about jazz. During her time in Milwaukee she performed with the pop cover band Best Kept Secrets, worked for Hal Leonard Publishing and composed original works for dance performances at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. After earning her Associate’s Degree in 2014 she transferred to McNally Smith College of Music in Saint Paul, MN. During her time in the Twin Cities she placed 4th in the international guitar competition Queen of Strings and was given the honor of playing for the Minnesota Guitar Society’s Jazz Guitarathon in December of 2015. She also performed with the all female Swing Sisterhood Big Band and premier McNally Smith ensembles X-Tet and Advanced Jazz. In 2016 she graduated summa cum laude with a B.M. in Guitar Performance.
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

POETRY READING to celebrate NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
2018-04-04 18:30 - 21:00
The Friends of Lorine Niedecker and the Dwight Foster Public Library are pleased to host 3 local, award-winning poets.
Marilyn Annucci is the author of The Arrows That Choose Us, winner of the 2018 Press 53 Award for Poetry, and two chapbooks – Waiting Room, winner of the 2012 Sunken Garden Poetry Prize (Hill-Stead Museum), and Luck (Parallel Press). A former editor, Marilyn earned an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh, and she is a professor in the Department of Languages and Literatures at the UW-Whitewater.
Nicholas Gulig is a Thai-American poet from Wisconsin. He is the first-place winner of the Wisconsin People & Ideas 2017 Poetry Contest. Educated in Montana, Iowa, and Colorado, Gulig earned a Fulbright Fellowship to Bangkok, Thailand, in 2011. His published works include the book-length poems North of Order and Book of Lake. He lives in Fort Atkinson and teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Patrick Moran is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, University of Iowa. He is the author of five books of poetry: Tell A Pitiful Story, Doppelgangster, The Book of Lost Things, Rumors of Organized Crime, and There Are Things We Live Among. He poems, essays, and translations have been published in many literary magazines including Prairie Schooner, The New Republic, The Colorado Review, and The Writer’s Chronicle. He is currently editing an anthology of contemporary Scottish Poetry entitled Forty Voices Strong: An Anthology of Contemporary Scottish Poetry. He is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

CLAUDIA SCHMIDT
2018-03-31 20:00 - 22:30
More than 4 decades as a touring professional have found Michigan native CLAUDIA SCHMIDT traversing North America as well as Europe in venues ranging from intimate clubs to 4,000 seat theatres, and festival stages in front of 25,000 rapt listeners. She has recorded nineteen albums of mostly original songs, exploring folk, blues, and jazz idioms featuring her acclaimed 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer playing.
“If it were the intention of the creator or creators of this universe to perfectly blend together the night sky with moon and stars, it might have been their intention as well to deliver Claudia Schmidt as their messenger of reminder. To say that Schmidt is simply a performer with a talent to entertain would be a miscarriage of understatement. Schmidt takes her audiences into her world as easily as the child who discovers the endless universes that exist in a cardboard box…..
Schmidt weaves her way through her concert in much the same manner as a jester. Interwoven anecdotes, revealing her past and present, bring people to expect a relationship between themselves and memories driven deep with the passage of time. The concert is an endless display of self-realization through humor and longing, leaving audience members yearning to become an integral part of her world.” Door County Advocate
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

JOHN STATZ/ HAYWARD WILLIAMS
2018-03-28 20:00 - 22:30
One of the more prolific and hard-working young songwriters working in the Americana genre, JOHN STATZ has released seven studio albums, and performed all over North America (including Canada and Mexico) and Europe, all in just a shade over a decade. Throughout that time he’s been writing the kind of songs that float through your mind and stay nestled in your thoughts long after listening (American Songwriter) and it’s been said that his songwriting can stand beside the best and above the rest (No Depression). Along the way John has attracted the attention of the likes of Americana scene heroes Jeffrey Foucault and Bo Ramsey (Lucinda Williams, Greg Brown), who separately produced his last two records. This latest is produced by fellow Denver songwriter Megan Burtt, whose instincts and backing band help bring forth an entirely new sound from Statz. The title of The Fire Sermon was taken from the third section of T.S. Eliot’s poem, The Wasteland, the name of which was borrowed from a sermon given by Buddha, in which he denounced the fires of passion, hatred, and infatuation with which the senses burn, according to Eliot’s endnotes. At the very end of the Fire Sermon section Eliot simply repeats, “Burning burning burning burning.”
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, first trying out his singing voice and turning towards rock and roll. Spending the rest of his high school years in southern Wisconsin attempting to play and sing like Neil Young and Cat Stevens, 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 Cafe Carpe in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin featuring Jeffrey Foucault and Peter Mulvey, who quickly became heroes, and, much later on, fast friends and colleagues. The first record, Dusk Came Slow, was engineered by a friend enrolled in the university recording program, and what followed for John has been 11 years of touring everywhere from Bellingham to Budapest, Fairbanks to Mexico City, all the while becoming a stronger songwriter, and a more compelling performer.
HAYWARD WILLIAMS is a veteran singer/songwriter from Milwaukee, WI. With six full length records under his belt, Williams is set to release his latest effort: Pretenders. This record is yet another swan dive into the deep end of the Americana/Soul world that Hayward tends to reside in.
Growing up in Wisconsin in the 80’s and 90’s convinced Hayward Williams to search for something more out there in the world. Foregoing higher education, he joined a band and learned much about what to do and what not to do in the Midwest music scene. Playing in pubs for many years , getting thick skin and finding a notably sharp tongue, avenues opened up to Williams. Headlining European tours, major US festivals and a few trips to Australia later, Hayward has carved out an impressive niche in the folk music business.
Williams’ previous release, The Reef, was produced by venerated songwriter, friend and collaborator Jeffrey Foucault. Utilizing an impressive rhythm section of Billy Conway (Morphine) on drums and Jeremy Moses Curtis (Booker T, Levon Helm, Session Americana) on bass, The Reef is an unequaled Americana record with soaring vocals and hooks that dig in deep.
“The surprisingly soulful voice of Milwaukee-based singer/songwriter Hayward Williams emanates from a slight, almost unassuming figure, yet that voice is imbued with so much power, it’s difficult to imagine it coming from anywhere other than midway between Memphis and Muscle Shoals… The Reef is an album to return to again and again.” – Allan Wilkinson, Northern Sky Magazine (UK)
Pretenders was recorded in October of 2016 at Midwest Sound in Rockford, IL under a full moon and the care of Dan McMahon and Jeremy Koester. Hayward and J. Hardin would co-produced the album. Charles Koltak, who played drums on Williams’ Haymaker (2012) teamed up with Jeremy Moses Curtis in the rhythm section. Corey Matthew Hart of Madison, WI (Lost Lakes) would lend his talented voice and guitar work to the project during one late night session. Finally, Brooks Milgate would send his B3 performances in remotely from the east coast adding a layer to the project that would fit in with any Al Green classic.
“Often dark, always honest and in the groove, Williams continues to break new ground in new traditional folk rock. There’s a ghostly spirit that floats through the songs on “Pretenders.” Williams is a wary caretaker of those spirits. His songs brim with the smoke and mirror lyricism of Leonard Cohen—with the rocker’s heart of Neil Young.” -Andy Moore ISTHMUS (Madison, WI)
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

OPEN STAGE
2018-03-26 08:00 - 17:00
Share your talent in a 2-3 song rotation with others.

OPEN STAGE
2018-03-24 19:30 - 22:00
Share in a 2-3 song rotation with others who love to play.

SONOFMEL & the SLIDEMAN
2018-03-23 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
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.

PAPER BIRDS w/ Claudia Russell, Katie Dahl, Bruce Kaplan & Rich Higdon
2018-03-22 20:00 - 22:30
There is power, and beauty, in numbers. In the case of PAPER BIRDS, the magic number is four. Fronting this pop-up band are two superlative songwriters: CLAUDIA RUSSELL and KATIE DAHL. Claudia is a veteran of the California Americana music scene and has won songwriting honors from Boston to Texas. Wisconsin’s own Katie Dahl is gaining a reputation as one of the Midwest’s best young songwriters, writing keenly literate songs planted deep in the ground of her Door County home. Her velvety alto carries a keen sense of melody that makes for memorable and satisfying music moments. Add Dahl’s husband, Rich Higdon, on bass and percussion, and spot on accompaniment from Russell’s spouse, Bruce Kaplan, on mandolin and guitar, and you have a wonderfully adept musical outfit.
Paper Birds was born of friendship. The four are fans and friends of each other have long shared stages when one duo would travel to the home state of the other. (Russell lives in California and Dahl in Wisconsin). So in 2015 Paper Birds was officially chartered. And though the band’s performances are somewhat rare, there is nothing thrown together about it. This quartet is as magic as any Blue Moon and has won over audiences at Fishstock, The Blackhawk Folk Society, Chicago’s nationally syndicated radio concert, FOLKSTAGE, venues across California, and of course, here at Cafe Carpe.
CLAUDIA RUSSELL– Known for her expressive voice and tightly-knit songs, Russell brings wonder to an eclectic array of music. She has just completed her fourth CD, produced by the Bay Area’s Grammy winning Bluegrass icon Laurie Lewis. He 2013 CD, “All Our Luck is Changing,” was hailed as “a masterpiece” by American Songwriter Magazine.
Russell has sung with John Gorka, Tish Hinojosa, and shared bills with Cheryl Wheeler, Peter Mulvey and the later great Dave Carter – to name a few. A veteran of American Folklore Theater (aka Northern Sky Theater), Russell has performed in AFT shows such as “Old Friends,” “Fish and Whistle” and Good Night Irene.” Of her work for AFT, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel said’ Russell has a voice that was born to sing folk music – she breaks hearts.”
KATIE DAHL – Still in her early 30s, Wisconsin singer-songwriter Katie has performed her original songs everywhere from the dusty cliff country of Mali, West Africa, to the winding canals of southern France, to the cedar forests of the American northwoods. The depth and power of Katie’s alto voice, the literate candor of her original songs, and the easy humor of her live performances have earned her numerous songwriting awards, as well as the chance to share stages with such luminaries as Dar Williams, Peter Mulvey, Julie Gold, and Cheryl Wheeler. Katie is also a playwright whose musical Victory Farm premiered to high acclaim in 2012 and has since been made into a live cast album.
Mike Fischer of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Katie Dahl “combine[s] old-fashioned populism, an abiding love of the land, and wickedly smart love songs, all delivered in a rich and expressive alto.”
“Crowns,” the opening track from her third CD “Ordinary Band,” hit number one on the folk radio charts for July 2015.
Check out the quartet on YouTube: https://goo.gl/8G1rjE
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve.
