Cafe Carpe

BEATLES SINGALONG- Fundraiser
2023-11-05 17:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago)
This fun event is a community-building fundraiser for the Jefferson County Democratic Party. Have a grand time and learn about volunteer opportunities.
Local musicians will provide the music; you provide your voice, your vote when the time comes, and your donations.
Food and drink will be available.
The Packer game will be over by the time this event starts.

MARK DVORAK/ JIM CRAIG/ BILL CAMPLIN
2023-11-04 20:00 - 22:00
A lovely in-the-round song swap with JIM CRAIG MARK DVORAK and BILL CAMPLIN should make for a fantastic evening of music and camaraderie. Bios follow ticket link.

JIM came of age during the folk boom, “listening to Pete Seeger and Dave Van Ronk, but also more obscure musicians like Dock Boggs and Pink Anderson, folks who were off the map but were rediscovered in the early ’60s.” He was a regular at the Green Dragon Inn, where we came to know and love him for his understated warm grace. Jim has guitar chops and a beautiful baritone voice, and an interesting repertoire of songs.
He taught guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music, jammed with figures in the Chicago folk scene such as Eddie Holstein and Steve Goodman. He is the owner of Hogeye Music in Evanston. He is a gentleman.

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
And then there’s BILL CAMPLIN, who can sing and play guitar too. Amazing
Did I mention this will be a really fun in-the-round?

JAMES LEE STANLEY
2023-11-03 20:00 - 22:00
Buy tickets below: bio follows ticket link.

JAMES LEE STANLEY is an American singer, songwriter, musician, composer, and producer whose six-decade career spans numerous artistic mediums. He is the true renaissance man, born in Philadelphia, PA, and has been recording and performing since the age of fourteen, with 34 album releases and television and film credits to his name.
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 STEPHEN STILLS. STEVEN WRIGHT chose James Lee as his opening act for three years in a row; a testament to his professionalism and talent.
“So where have they been hiding James Lee Stanley? We could say that James Lee Stanley is probably the last great undiscovered singer-songwriter in America. But true as that may be let’s say something else, let’s say that a diamond has been smuggled into the wasteland … and here is where the wasteland ends” – Tom Robbins, Author of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
“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

IAN GEORGE
2023-11-02 20:00 - 22:00
Bio follows ticket link.

IAN GEORGE along with his gorgeous band of talented handsome young men (Patrick Horigan on electric guitar and Reese Kling on drums) deliver the sort of concert you’ll dance, sway, sing, laugh and probably cry too. The live performance is an experimental and emotional ride teeming with whimsicality, clever arrangements – interrupted by triumphant tangents – and outlandish solos grounded by George’s emotive and gauzy voice and by the simple strength of a good song. Expect an engaging and dynamic string of gentle and not so gentle folk-rock adventures.
“Weirdly beautiful with a gorgeous voice.” ~ The Current (MPR)
“Ian George is a fanciful folk troubadour with a rhythmic flow and spirited vision. He’s an American Matt Corby; a heartwarming blend of Iron & Wine’s folk and Vampire Weekend’s frisky energy. George’s music is the type to which one would ascribe words like frolic and wandering, but his songs are equally intimate and emotional… Worthy of everyone’s ears, songs we can teach our children, our parents, our grandparents, and ourselves.” ~ Atwood Magazine
“Poetic, lush, and cautious songs that will resonate with anyone in transition. Despite the eight tunes defying comparison, each song here is a treasure.” ~ New Noise Magazine
“tolkien-like ramblings and adventurous instrumentation; weirdly inviting.” ~ Maverick Magazine
Ian George will perform as:

Patrick Horigan – electric guitar
Reese Kling – drums
Ian George – acoustic guitar, vocal

REED FOEHL
2023-10-28 20:00 - 22:00
Ticket link below- bio with video hyperlinks will follow. Some of you may have heard Reed open for Todd Snider at Stoughton Opera House a few years ago.

Grammy-nominated songwriter REED FOEHL was raised in a small New England town whose folk/Americana music tells stories with a voice that pushes boundaries while paying homage to tradition. Foehl released his sixth studio album – “Wild Wild Love” – in May 2022 which was recorded with The Band of Heathens. From traditional folk ballads to barroom sing-alongs, this tunesmith’s “emotional, deeply personal lyrics and indelibly infectious choruses…leave the listener with an overriding sense of optimism” (Glide Magazine) — something we could all use a little more of these days.
He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his song “Fly” co-written with Brent Cobb which was covered by country legend Lee Ann Womack. With a life dedicated to songwriting and music, Foehl’s five studio albums have put him on the map of the publishing world, garnering placements in both film and television, most notably the feature film “Just Friends” and the popular vampire series” The Originals.”
Foehl now resides in the Green Mountains of Vermont and continues to tour across the globe.
“Reed has the ability to transport the soul, a true master. One of the great songwriters of our time.” –Gregory Alan Isakov
“Reed Foehl is like a brother to me, we’ve traveled a lot of miles on the road together, and I don’t think they make better singer-songwriters than him.” –Todd Snider
“Reed’s songs hit you in the heart, and everything else falls away.” –Anais Mitchell

VANCE GILBERT
2023-10-27 20:30 - 22:30
Buy tickets here: bio follows ticket link.

“If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might be something close to the great Vance Gilbert”, says Richmond Magazine. “….the voice of an angel, the wit of the devil, and the guitar-playing of a god……” Fort Worth Star-Telegram
VANCE GILBERT‘s new album, “The Mother Of Trouble”, features Grammy winner Lori McKenna on background vocals, Juno award recipient and Bonnie Raitt Grammy hit song co-writer Joey Landreth on guitars, and Americana-Roots master mandolinist Joe K. Walsh. With 4 bullies, 4 deaths (3 of them murders), 3 moms, 2 accidents, 2 Black people, 2 dogs, 1 dog ball, 1 gay kid, and 1 missed flight thanks to gas station sushi, this album benefits from the gifts of time and experience honing songwriting skills that put this most vital of acoustic storytellers at the top of the game.
Oh, and Management wants to make sure to tell you that this is the 14th release for this acoustic stalwart.
30 years into his career, the songwriter’s influence can be felt all over the contemporary Folk and Americana realm as he has helped pave the way for many of the BIPOC artists who have followed.
Vance was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Starting out hoping to be an R&B and jazz singer once at college, there he discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of the acoustic singer-songwriter thing. Word spread like wildfire about Gilbert’s stage-owning singing and playing, and Shawn Colvin invited him to be special guest on her 1992 Fat City tour where he took much of America by storm and by surprise. “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god..” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Noted not only for being the ever consummate performer, Gilbert has recorded 13 albums, including 5 for Philo/Rounder Records. Along with being opener of choice for artists as varied as Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker, The Milk Carton Kids, and Southside Johnny, the mid 2000’s found Gilbert opening 150+ shows for comedian George Carlin.
Gilbert has also been a prominent presence at some of the world’s most prestigious gatherings and halls, among them the Newport, Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain, Calgary, Ottawa, and Falcon Ridge Folk festivals, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, and Australia’s Woodford Folk and Mullum Music Festivals, Mountain Stage, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Nashville’s Lyman Auditorium, The Barns at Wolftrap, and a private party for his veterinarian where there was terrific lo-mein.
Most recently he’s been the opener of choice for Mad About You/Stranger Things star Paul Reiser’s stand-up shows (50 +) for the last 7 years, along with his own busy acoustic music touring and coaching schedule. That current schedule includes Vance’sMondayNightAcousticPajamaParty on YouTube. Having started the first week of the pandemic in 2020, Vance has played a live, themed, weekly 90 minute mixed bag of originals and cover tunes to a rotating following of about 200 folks. 10 to 20% of his weekly tip jar is donated to a local 501(c)3 of his choice. At the time of this writing, having done 155 of these shows has become newsworthy in itself.
Gilbert has been a songwriting, performance, and voice coach all around the world, kinda, from Australia to Winnipeg, at all the festivals above plus The Kerrville and Rocky Mountain Song Schools, he is currently on staff as Instructor/Professor at the University Of Colorado Denver and has a decade worth of summer programs at the Berklee College Of Music under his belt. What? Private coaching? Yes, 6-10 students weekly too.
Considered by many to be an integral part of the national folk scene, his previous record “Good Good Man” features an eclectic roster of musical types including rocker Mike Posner, world renown Celtic harpist Aine Minough, bluesman Chris Smither, and Al Green’s organist Stacey Wade.
Gilbert runs 3 to 4 miles ever so slowly 5 days a week to stay sharp for the road and does historical aviation research and model building just for great nerdy fun.
He even has a tune on a Grammy Nominated children’s album. How rounded is that?

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2023-10-26 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-09-28 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-08-31 18:30 - 20:30
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 somewhat regularly on the last Thursday of each month (unless interrupted by a pandemic).
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- therein lies our sustenance.

KAIA FOWLER
2023-10-21 20:00 - 22:00
Buy tickets below- bio will follow.

KAIA FOWLER

creates music that speaks to the soul. Her passion, warmth, and genuineness invite listeners to open their hearts and transcend the everyday through song. A versatile guitarist and singer known for her soothing, vibrant, and beautifully resonant voice, Kaia displays a rare depth of emotional expressiveness. For Kaia, who also practices Reiki therapy, counseling, and psychotherapy, music creation is part of her healing arts ministry.
Her latest album, One Breath, placed on the Folk Alliance International “Top Albums of the Month” chart for July 2022, receiving radio play from coast to coast in the U.S. and in Canada. With mixing on most songs provided by Grammy award-winning engineer Charlie Pilzer, One Breath features songs of hope and healing. Special guest tracks include “Take Shelter in Love” with harmony vocals and bouzouki arranged and performed by Joe Jencks; “Obon, Dance of Light” with bass and bamboo flute parts arranged and performed by Peter Phippen; and “Ridin’ Along” with Tricia Alexander on blues harmonica.
Kaia Fowler extends her musical performances beyond stage and studio into communities where she promotes greater wellbeing and supports experiences of comfort, courage, and connection. Learn more at kaiafowler.com.
Media Quotes:
“Fabulous voice and song…”— Lilli Kuzma, host of Folk Festival on WDCB Public Radio, Chicago, Ill., referring to “Ridin’ Along” from One Breath (2022)
“Kaia Fowler is a tremendous lyricist. Her lyrics paint pictures and her musical notes add the color.“— The Americana Gazette (2010)
“It was a pleasure to host Kaia as a guest on Another Green World at WORT in Madison. It’s apparent — from her impressive guitar work, beautiful voice, and intentional, evocative lyrics — that she is the real deal when it comes to both singing and songwriting. Our conversation was lively, and she speaks about her music with authenticity and grace. Plus, she’s so da*n sweet! We’d have her back anytime.”— Katie Hutchinson & Farmer Shaun, WORT FM 89.9, Madison, Wis. (2019)

Steve DAWSON & Tommi ZENDER- CANCELLED
2023-10-20 20:30 - 22:30
Unfortunately, Steve has contracted COVID and this show has been postponed until we can find a date which will work for all of us.

Chicago Folk / Americana singer / songwriter, STEVE DAWSON has been called “one of the most underrated songwriters in American music,” who writes, “graceful, poetic songs akin to a volume of great short stories in their precise, exacting wordplay and soulful heartache.” Dawson has released six albums with his long-time band, Dolly Varden, and five solo albums, including 2020’s critically-acclaimed “Last Flight Out” with his folk / jazz ensemble, Funeral Bonsai Wedding, and his latest, “At The Bottom Of A Canyon In The Branches Of A Tree,” on Pravda Records.
Originally from San Diego, California, he spent his teen years in Hailey, Idaho, where he learned guitar and started writing songs. After a few years at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Dawson moved to Chicago and formed the band, Stump The Host, with his future wife, artist and singer, Diane Christiansen. Dawson also teaches songwriting at the legendary Old Town School of Folk Music and co-wrote a book on songwriting and the creative process with Mark Caro called, “Take It To The Bridge: Unlocking The Great Songs Inside You.”
TOMMI ZENDER is a multi-instrumentalist who hails from Evanston IL, working and playing regularly in Chicago IL. Zender wears many musical hats: Singer/Songwriter, Guitarist, Drummer/Percussionist, Producer/Arranger, Ambient Soundscape Improviser, Teacher/Coach, Bassist, Collaborator, Accompanist, Studio Gun-for-hire, Musical Director, Transcriber, and of course music fan. He currently teaches adult classes at Old Town School of Folk Music, and he has coached music privately in Evanston IL since 1996.
Zender has released 4 records of original music, all available on Bandcamp. He has been an accompanist for the likes of Phil Angotti, Steve Dawson (Dolly Varden), Dag Juhlin (Poi Dog Pondering, Expo ’76), legendary 80’s pop-rockers Green, Peter Mulvey, Happy Chichester (Afghan Whigs, Royal Crescent Mob, Brad), Al Day, Push Puppets, Jon Brion (yes that guy, at The Hideout) Jason Falkner (yes that guy too, once upon a time at NU’s student union) and many more… in fact it’s now to the point this is simply shameless name dropping. Tz has taken part in many of Tom Dunning’s legendary Hoot Night’s at Schuba’s Tavern in Chicago. It’s not out of character for Tommi to go up on stage unrehearsed with people he barely knows to accompany them on various instruments. He currently is a member of the bands Steve Dawson & The Lucid Dreams and Push Puppets, both based in Chicago.

LONESOME BILL CAMPLIN
2023-10-14 20:00 - 22:00
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats and to indicate if you will dine here that night.
He’s back! You just can’t keep a lonesome guy down.
” Bill co-presides at the Fort Atkinson, WI, cafe, bar, and listening room called Cafe Carpe. Occasionally you’ll see him performing there ….with his consummate guitar, voice, and lyrics, and with a mix of folk and rock-influenced tunes. And an awesome sense of humor.”

SCOTT COOK w/ Pamela Mae
2023-10-12 20:00 - 22:00
Buy tickets below. Bio follows ticket link.

In 2007, Albertan songwriter SCOTT COOK quit his job teaching kindergarten in Taiwan and moved into a minivan. He’s made his living as a troubadour ever since, touring almost incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, averaging 150 shows and a dozen summer festivals a year, and releasing seven albums of plainspoken, keenly observant verse along the way. His latest collection Tangle of Souls comes packaged in a cloth-bound, 240-page hardcover book of road stories and ruminations, equal parts introspection and insurrection. The album spent two weeks at #1 on Alberta’s province-wide community radio network CKUA, and earned Scott his third Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year. Its second single “Say Can You See” was the second most-played song of 2020 on Folk Alliance International’s folk radio charts, and took top honours for the folk category in both the 2020 UK Songwriting Competition and the 2020 Great American Song Contest. In 2022 he’s touring the album all over North America, believing more than ever that songs can change your life, and your life can change the world.
“Scott Cook has distilled his travels down into songs powered by a sharp eye for imagery, a healthy dose of humanity, and that unforgettable voice, that at the same time intones the rigors of the road and the most comfortable couch you have ever slept on.” — David Francey, 3x Juno-winning songwriter
“Scott Cook’s seventh ‘love letter’ to the world is all strings and beauty, a 12-song agnostic endorsement of love over fear… It doesn’t condemn, it summons to one fire… Of all his records this one simply feels the best. ✭✭✭✭✭” –The Edmonton Journal
“Damn, this is a gorgeous album. Scott Cook’s voice – vocally and lyrically – is as clear-eyed, optimistic, and straightforward as ever… Tangle of Souls is the medicine we could all use right now.” –Rachel Cholst, Adobe and Teardrops
“He sings his heart and soul, … A good eye for imagery, a gentle human touch, a wry sense of humour, a whole lot of integrity, a warm, rugged voice and a bunch of memorable lines… Truly one of Woody Guthrie’s children.” –RnR Magazine
Pamela Mae is frosting on the cake, adding harmonies and a bass line.

BUDDY MONDLOCK w/ special guest Martyn Travis
2023-10-06 20:30 - 22:30
Buddy will be accompanied by Mike Lindauer on bass and vocals, and special guest from Ireland Martyn Travis will also do a few songs.
Extensive bio follows ticket link. People are impressed with Buddy:
“Buddy Mondlock represents the best of the new generation of singer/songwriters in folk music. His writing style is grounded in the traditions of the past, but has its heart in the present. He is one of my favorite writers.” Nanci Griffith
“I first saw Buddy Mondlock while hosting the Ballad Tree, a tradition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. This kid in a bathing suit walked up and played “No Choice” to an audience of 30 – 40 people. By the time he got to the second verse, he had 200 people singing along with him. He blew me away! Pay attention to Buddy; he’s a great writer!” Guy Clark
“Buddy Mondlock is one of our country’s best songwriters. His approach is gentle and Zen-like, the songs unfurl like little movies and the listener is transported to some distant better place — and isn’t that what music should be about?” Ellis Paul
“As acclaimed as he is as a songwriter, he is a fine performer who can create his share of magic with his high clear voice and inventive acoustic guitar.” David Johnson – Boston Globe
“Buddy Mondlock is consistently eclectic, consistently innovative and consistently one of the few artists that doesn’t irritate me. I love working with him and he better keep working with me.” Janis Ian

BUDDY MONDLOCK You might’ve heard his song “The Kid” (recorded by David Wilcox, Peter, Paul and Mary and Cry, Cry, Cry) and maybe even sung it yourself around a campfire. He draws you into his world – where a single snowflake follows the trajectory of a relationship, where you get you pocket picked by a Roman cat, where you might swim over the edge of the world if you’re not careful and where dreams that don’t come true still count.
His latest album, Filament, finds him exploring some new territory, both sonically and rhythmically. Produced by Brad Jones, known for his creative approaches to singer/ songwriters, songs like “Problem Solved” and “Sunlight In My Pocket” are propelled along by drums and percussion. Others are painted with woodwinds and string arrangements. Buddy is at heart a storyteller and the songs cover a lot of territory too, ranging from a young artist who finds fame too soon in the title song, to the wonders and mysteries found in “The Dark,” a song he co-wrote with the great Guy Clark.
When Buddy’s not on the road you can find him in Nashville but he grew up in Park Forest, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. He didn’t have a troubled childhood. His parents were nice to him. They paid for guitar lessons when he was ten and they never said, “when are you going to get a real job?” He sang Crosby, Stills and Nash songs with his sisters and answered his little brother’s questions from the top bunk. A few years away at college puzzling over Homer and Plato and then he was back. Living in the big city this time and playing open mics at Chicago’s crucible for songwriters in those days, the famed Earl of Old town. He once opened for the amazing Steve Goodman there on New Year’s Eve. Buddy was 21. Says he could have walked out of there that night and gotten hit by a bus and he wouldn’t have felt like life cheated him at all.
When Buddy made his first trip to Texas from his native Chicago, Guy Clark heard him singing one of his songs under a tree at the Kerrville Folk Festival and liked it. So Guy went back to Nashville, opened the door and said, “listen to this kid, he’s good!” A publishing deal and a U-Haul headed south soon followed.
People were starting to pay attention. In 1987 he was a New Folk Award Winner at Kerrville and he released his first album called “On the Line”. Over the next few years
David Wilcox recorded “The Kid” on his first record for A&M. Buddy did some writing with this other new kid in town named Garth Brooks. Janis Ian heard him singing at the Bluebird Cafe and asked him if he’d like to write with her. Their song “Amsterdam” got recorded by Joan Baez. Nanci Griffith asked Buddy to sing on a show she was taping for Irish television. She ended up liking that song so much that she recorded “Comin’ Down In the Rain” on her Grammy Award winning collection “Other Voices, Other Rooms.” Garth became a star and “Every Now and Then” ended up on his album “The Chase.”
Buddy was touring all over the U.S. by this time playing coffeehouses and the occasional festival (he’d become a regular on the main stage at Kerrville). And there were trips to Europe too. Buddy’s second album, produced by Steve Addabbo in 1994, got picked up by Son Records, a small label in Ireland started by the band U2, and he was well received on the island of poets. He’s toured there consistently ever since. 1996 was a good year. Peter, Paul and Mary recorded “The Kid” and then asked the kid himself to sing with them on their “Great Performances” TV special. He won a Kerrville Music Award for Song of the Year that autumn for “The Kid” too.
Since then he’s released a string of critically acclaimed solo recordings on his own label and on EMI. And in 2003 Buddy toured North America and Europe with Art Garfunkel and Maia Sharp in support of their album “Everything Waits To Be Noticed” which they wrote and recorded together as a trio. “Filament” will be his seventh album.
In recent years Buddy has been writing songs with military veterans through a program sponsored by an organization called Music Therapy of the Rockies and he includes several of those songs in his shows (and one on his new album). “This has been such a powerful experience and I’m honored to have been trusted with these stories of trauma and of triumph too,” he says.
Buddy and Maia Sharp have also been collaborating on a new musical called, “The Girl In the Red Dress.” It includes several songs from their project with Art Garfunkel and a slew of new material from Buddy and Maia. Set in a world where “The Leader” has banished all color as subversive, the story focuses on a young woman who must learn to believe in herself and comes to find that she can actually make a difference.
In addition to writing and touring Buddy also teaches songwriting. Along with one day workshops across the US and Europe he has also been a staff instructor at the Swannanoa Gathering, the Kerrville Folk Festival Song School, the Sisters Folk Festival Song Camp and retreats like Ellis Paul’s New England Songwriter Retreat and Cedarsongs in Tennessee.

THE KENNEDYS
2023-10-01 19:00 - 21:00
Buy tickets below- bio follows ticket link.

“If you get a charge from a rich folk rock vibe, love a super sharp guitar lick, or appreciate a moving story song, you will find all of that on The Kennedy’s Headwinds. Pete Kennedy’s astonishing range on any guitar he touches deftly underpins every mood of Maura Kennedy’s warm, lyrical voice. You’ll get no resistance from these Headwinds, only pleasure.” – Marilyn Rea Beyer, Host, WFMT’s The Midnight Special & Folkstage
Songwriting duo PETE & MAURA KENNEDY revisit the Carpe after an almost 2 decade gap.
They are making a strong return to the studio and stage after three years of weekly live-streamed lockdown-era concerts. They took the opportunity to explore classic songwriting in depth, performing over a thousand songs during the pandemic. That vast overview strengthened and refined their own writing and laid the foundation for this new collection of original, socially-conscious songs.
“After such a deep dive into American roots music, we felt like we had a new set of writing tools. We were ready to create this body of work, and there’s just SO much to write about,” says Maura. “During our five-year hiatus from writing and recording, America changed in massive ways, divisive ways that have shaken our whole foundation. That has to be addressed by creative artists, those of us who have a voice to speak for others. Our love of the great things about this country, things that are under threat, is the reason we decided to make “Headwinds” the title track of the CD. Political and social headwinds are making it hard to get back “home’ to our greatness as a nation. We want to push back in a positive way against those winds.”
In addition to singing and writing, Pete and Maura are multi-instrumentalists. The thirteen songs are cast in a soundscape that draws from the classic canon of American roots, in keeping with the theme of getting back “home” as a nation. Acoustic and electric guitars, a vintage steel guitar, a gospel-inflected piano/organ mix, and even a slide ukulele all add colors to a songbag of sounds that have drawn us together during hard times. Pete and Maura believe that those sounds still have the power to pull us through again.
The Kennedys began their writing and touring life three decades ago as members of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra, developing their own sound as a frequent support act on Nanci’s tours across America, Ireland, Scotland and England. Collaborations with Nanci continued, culminating in Pete and Maura producing her final album, “Intersections.” Along the way, they hosted a nationwide radio program, “The Dharma Cafe” on Sirius/XM, wrote and released sixteen CDs of original music, and have been core artists on folk radio, expanding their audience further with the inception of the AAA and Americana formats.

KRAUSE FAMILY BAND/ JP CYR & the RAMBLIN' KIND
2023-09-30 20:00 - 22:00
Bio follows the ticket link.

What these 2 bands have in common is the fabulous RUTHIE KRAUSE. This night is one of a series of CD release shows for Ruthie’s lovely new solo CD Ruthenium.

You are in for a treat with this great family band- father Rick Krause (guitar and vocals), daughters Katie (vocals) & Ruthie (violin and vocals), accompanied by Scott Wright on piano.
Original music and cover tunes ranging from Bob Wills to the Reverend Al Green to the Mills Brothers to Tom Waits sung in close family harmony- talent in abundance.
Also playing will be JP CYR & the RAMBLIN’ KIND, because they also appear on Ruthie’s CD. JP Cyr & The Ramblin’ Kind are a Country and Western band from Milwaukee, influenced by music from the 30’s to the present. They blend many roots music styles into their honky tonkin’ sound.

GARNET ROGERS- sold out
2023-09-23 20:30 - 22:30
Bio will follow ticket link. Garnet encourages audience members to bring non-perishable donations of food, and items of personal care (shampoo, toothpaste, soap) to help the less fortunate in the community.

GARNET ROGERS
In a darkened bedroom, lit only by the amber glow from an old floor model radio, two young brothers aged 6 and 12 lay in their beds, listening to the country music broadcasts from the Grand Ol’ Opry, and practiced their harmonies. Two years later, the youngest one was playing the definitive 8-year-old’s version of “Desolation Row” on his ukulele. He soon abandoned that instrument to teach himself the flute, violin and guitar.
Within ten years, and barely out of high school, Garnet Rogers was on the road as a full-time working musician with his older brother Stan. Together they formed what has come to be accepted as one of the most influential acts in North American folk music.
Since then, Garnet Rogers has established himself as ‘One of the major talents of our time”. Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “charismatic performer and singer”, Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence – close to six and a half feet tall – with a voice to match. With his “smooth, dark baritone” (Washington Post) his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere. His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic in detail, his songs “give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart” (Kitchener Waterloo Record). An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humour and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.
“Garnet Rogers is capable of awe-inspiring and unpredictable stuff – and that includes more than just music”
Resolutely independent, Garnet Rogers has turned down offers from major labels to do his music his own way.

PRIVATE CLASS REUNION- closed to public after 6:00 pm-
2023-09-22 18:00 - 23:00
Fort Atkinson High School Class of 1978 will be sharing memories without you.

THE WILDWOODS
2023-09-21 19:30 - 21:30
Buy tickets below. Bio follows ticket link.

THE WILDWOODS are an enchanting Folk/Americana trio based in Lincoln, Nebraska, whose flowing songwriting tandem has been praised by Paste Magazine as “focused and charmingly human”. The Wildwoods’ delicate melodies and descriptive lyrics come from nature, love, experiences from the road, and growing up in Nebraska.

The band released their debut album, Sweet Nostalgia, followed by a duo EP, Birdie & Goose, in 2017, and quickly established themselves as a creative, harmonious, and instrumental force in their local music scene. Since then, The Wildwoods have released two full-length records, Across A Midwest Sky (2019) and Foxfield Saint John (2023), as well as a handful of singles, Little Home (2020) and Like My Old Man (2021), and have supported touring acts such as Elephant Revival, Arts Fishing Club, The Accidentals, The Way Down Wanderers, and Jamie Wyatt.

Along with performing several Sofar concerts in cities such as London, Brooklyn, and St. Louis, as well as a European tour in 2019, the group has performed at several festivals including: Summerfest, The Nebraska Folk and Roots Festival, Wakarusa, and the Flatwater Music Festival.

“The young songwriting tandem of Chloe and Noah Gose harmonize like something out of the Depression Era, fitted with a certain weight yet warmly and triumphantly capable of lifting hearts regardless.”— Andrew Stellman – Hear Nebraska

“The Wildwoods know exactly what kind of music they want to make. It’s not often we hear a sound this focused. Their singular brand of folk-pop riles up images of young love, innocence, unbridled joy, and the occasional heartbreak. But even the heartbreaks are lined in a comfy flannel of bright, braided colors and cast out upon the backdrop some might call “the bright side of things.” Landon Kuhlmann – Paste Magazine & Daytrotter

SAM KNUTSON
2023-09-16 20:00 - 22:00
Buy tickets here. Bio will follow.

SAM KNUTSON is a singer-songwriter from Iowa City. His most recent album is Donkey Island, and “it is chock full of songs that sound as if they were written to animate the air of that lively little listening room.”
In late July, the day of a massive storm in Fort, Sam gamely played parts of his last show in the basement after the tornado sirens went off but before the power went out, and in our front room under our emergency exit lights after the power went out.
From the Shepherd Express: “Sam Knutson’s 2022 release Donkey Island is a collection of observational folk songs. “Already Gone” recalls John Hartford’s breezy melancholy, while “Prayer for the Downtown” leans into the lineage of fellow Iowan Greg Brown. The album’s sparse instrumentation allows Knutson’s songwriting to shine. In fact, his Bandcamp discography reveals a songwriter ripe for discovery.”

ACOUSTIC OPEN STAGE
2023-09-15 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-09-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-08-25 18:30 - 20:30
This is an acoustic open stage, sound system set up in advance.
Share your songs (or stories- storytellers welcome) in a two song (think 8-10 minutes) rotation with whoever else is there to play, being respectful of others.
Please support our business by buying drink and/or food.

LONESOME BILL CAMPLIN
2023-09-09 20:00 - 22:00
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats and to let us know if you will be eating here that night.
Cover charge $12,
Lonesome Bill rides again.

ORDINARY ELEPHANT
2023-09-01 20:00 - 22:00
International Folk Music Awards 2017 Artist of the Year ORDINARY ELEPHANT captivates audiences with their emotionally powerful and vulnerable songs, letting the listener know that they are not alone in this world. The collaboration of husband and wife Pete and Crystal Damore, their connection, and their influences (such as Gillian Welch, Guy Clark, Anais Mitchell) all meet on stage.
“Two become one, in song…hand-in-glove harmonies surprise the listener with focused intensity and musical mastery,” says Mary Gauthier. The Associated Press is calling their latest album, Honest, “one of the best Americana albums of the year.”

SARAH THE RED as part of Community Event Rhapsody
2023-08-26 12:00 - 13:30
RHAPSODY is a family-friendly, free community event featuring six venues with regional musical talent scheduled at each throughout the day following the River Run 5K. Enjoy a day of music, dining, and shopping during this end-of-summer celebration!
12PM-1:30PM: Cafe Carpe (sponsored by Johnson Financial Group): SARAH THE RED
FULL VENUE SCHEDULE Venue Schedule & band stage sponsors:
11AM-12:30PM: Jones Market (sponsored by Jones Market): Mambo Surfers
11AM-12:30PM: KidZone in Bicentennial Park (partnering with BASE Fort Atkinson, sponsored by Enbridge): Nazario Chickpeazio
12PM-1:30PM: Cafe Carpe (sponsored by Johnson Financial Group): SARAH THE RED
1PM-2:30PM: Riverwalk Plaza by Brock’s (sponsored by Spacesaver): Pro Pittman
2PM-3:30PM: Good2Go Fort (sponsored by TDS Telecommunications LLC): MadTadders
3PM-4:30PM: Mr Brews Taphouse – Fort Atkinson (sponsored by Badger Basement Systems): 7000apart
4PM-9PM: Barrie Park Bandshell (sponsored by Artisan Graham Real Estate): Tinker Boys (starting at 3:30PM); Zac Matthews(starting at 6PM)
Also happening on August 26 in Fort Atkinson: Tour de Fort Bike Race! (Contact the Fort Atkinson Lion’s Club for more information.)
Duck races for kids ~ Contact BASE Fort Atkinson for more information.

An Evening with DANIEL CHAMPAGNE
2023-08-23 19:30 - 21:30
Ticket link will follow bio.
If you’re wondering what Australian singer, songwriter and one-of-a-kind guitar virtuoso DANIEL CHAMPAGNE did after his 44-city US tour over the summer of 2022, he proceeded immediately to Canada for 30 mostly sold-out shows and then to New Zealand for another 30 mostly sold-out shows. There’s a Christmas break, and then a monumental tour of Australia. Obviously the best word to describe Daniel is “relentless”.
Daniel will bring his tour back to America starting in mid-July 2023 and continuing through October for an even more ambitious 50 shows! He’ll return to many venues he performed in 2022, and will be adding new shows in places he hasn’t performed in many years.
One reviewer recently wrote “Daniel Champagne exudes a natural ease on stage, as he sings poignant lyrics and beautifully crafted melodies that invariably whisk the heart up with grand romanticism. Coupled with an exhilarating guitar talent that transcends mere acoustic playing to replicate a whole band, Champagne must be seen to be believed.”
The story goes that Daniel first picked up his instrument of choice as a 5-year-old following in the footsteps of a musical father. He began writing songs at 12, training classically throughout his teens and performing wherever he could, honing his craft and developing the dynamic live show that he is renowned for today. At 18 he left school, turned professional and hit the road without looking back.
The following decade saw him release 5 studio albums, tour relentlessly around the globe with upwards of 300 shows per year, play some of the biggest festivals under the sun and share stages with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, INXS, John Butler, Lucinda Williams, Ani DiFranco, Judy Collins and Rodrigo y Gabriela.
In early 2020 as the COVID pandemic ground all touring to a halt, Daniel returned to Australia writing music and further honing his craft and returned to international audiences with a swag of new songs and a complete new live show.
His current release, “Shimmer Through The Windscreen” is making waves on the streaming services and promises great critical acclaim once it is circulated to the media.
For fans of guitar, songs or just artistic expression at its finest, this show is a must see!
WHAT THE PRESS SAY..
“The word Prodigy seems to entirely fall short of this soft-spoken young man’s skills, he coaxes sounds and melodies out of his instrument that literally drop jaws.” The Calgary Herald, CANADA
“Today I saw the future of Folk – Festival goers flocking in the thousands towards the main stage to witness a young musical phenomenon from Australia dish out an absolute show-stopper.” The Firefly Column, USA
“Daniel Champagne is a crossroads. Fusing the strong traditions of Blues, Folk and other roots art with pop showmanship and admirable lyrical ability. I firmly believe that he will become an ambassador for roots music in a time where it desperately needs representation.” The Indie Blender, CANADA
“reinventing roots guitar” Rhythms Magazine, AUSTRALIA
“Watching Daniel Champagne perform is a once in a lifetime experience. He is a true prodigy that plays like no one else could possibly play unless they spent at least two lifetimes studying the art.” BW Review, NEW ZEALAND

ALEX MCMURRAY w/ Glenn Hartman
2023-08-19 20:30 - 22:30
Cover charge $15 Buy tickets below bio
ALEX MCMURRAY
“A good songwriter writes good songs. A great songwriter writes overarching poetic narratives. The songwriter as lyric poet doesn’t just turn out albums or mixes, they weave myths that touch our collective soul and seem at once personal and in synch with the human zeitgeist. Alex McMurray is such a writer.” John Swenson
Songwriter, singer and guitarist Alex McMurray has been writing and performing music professionally in New Orleans since 1989. Past and current bands include Tin Men, The Valparaiso Men’s Chorus, The Write Brothers, Royal Fingerbowl, 007, Debbie Davis and the Mesmerizers and Happy Talk Band. He has worked as a sideman with Susan Cowsill, Paul Sanchez, Spencer Bohren, Greg Schatz, “Papa” John Gros, Lynn Drury and many others. In 2002 he spent six months performing sea shanties as “Cap’n Sandy” at Tokyo DisneySea.
Awards include the 2020 Offbeat Magazine Best Country/Folk/Singer-Songwriter Artist and Album awards for his 2020 release “Lucky One”, a 2014 Big Easy award for best Roots Rock artist and 2010 Big Easy award for Album of the Year. He has been performing as a leader and sideman at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival since 1993. He played himself on the HBO series “Treme” for several episodes. 2020 has seen him release two albums of original songs, Lucky One and Road Songs. He hosts the weekly “Fireside Chat” webcast every Tuesday night live from the Faraway Lounge at 8pm under his nom de covid “Mister Tuesday Night”.
Alex will be accompanied by his friend Glenn Hartman on accordion.

LONESOME BILL
2023-08-18 20:00 - 22:00
CAMPLIN, that is.
He’s back! You just can’t keep a lonesome guy down.
” Bill co-presides at the Fort Atkinson, WI, cafe, bar, and listening room called Cafe Carpe. Occasionally you’ll see him performing there ….with his consummate guitar, voice, and lyrics, and with a mix of folk and rock-influenced tunes. And an awesome sense of humor.”

DRIFTLESS REVELERS
2023-08-12 19:30 - 22:30
Buy tickets below bio:
The DRIFTLESS REVELERS play string band freak folk from the fringes of the driftless and the reservoirs of revelry.
It’s someone’s birthday, and they wanted a fun band for the occasion. We found ’em.
A Driftless Revelers show will lure you in with their joy–keep you dancing with their search for the cosmic groove in the confines of stringed instruments–and will send you on your way with flashbacks of the Driftless Revelry found only in the essence of the intangible reaches of notes once played– that then fall silent.
“Scrappy string-based freak-folk, featuring songs like ‘Meat Raffle Mambo,’ ‘Wisconsin Saturday Nights’ and ‘Jesus Shaves’ that both revere and good-naturedly poke fun at state culture — [The Driftless Revelers] may remind listeners of Lou and Peter Berryman or even the old Free Hot Lunch! band.”–Isthmus Magazine, Madison, WI.

​”It’s a little ‘out there’: Driftless Revelers release American Fork Standards–Volume One Magazine, Eau Claire

The Driftless Revelers formed in the second spring of the first global pandemic of the 21st century, with one ear turned toward the shellac platters and Victrola virtuosos of the early to mid 20th century, and the other ear glued to the soundscapes of the 1960’s & 1970’s American freak-folk scene.

​Featuring the original songwriting of Ben Nelson, Matthew R. Sayles, and Jerod Kaszynski, the Driftless Revelers will pleasure a crowd with plectral banjo tones, the mournful wailing of resophonic steel guitars, and the up-right bass bellows of an era that can’t quite be defined, but revels in the timeless ephemera of weird old-time American music.
​With influences as varied and eccentric as a proper musty smelling thrift store record collection, the band grooves merrily through early roots blues and jazz music, to hillbilly and string band howlers, all the way into the not-quite folk but not-quite psychedelic realms of their own creation. bellows of an era that can’t quite be defined, but revels in the timeless ephemera of weird old-time American music.
​With influences as varied and eccentric as a proper musty smelling thrift store record collection, the band grooves merrily through early roots blues and jazz music, to hillbilly and string band howlers, all the way into the not-quite folk but not-quite psychedelic realms of their own creation.
