Cafe Carpe

J E SUNDE & ANNA VOGELZANG
2023-07-21 20:30 - 22:30 (America/Chicago)
Two songwriters who are friends will share the evening- on stage together, trading songs. Ticket link follows bios.
J.E. SUNDE (Jonathan Edward Sunde) is a songwriter and composer based out of Minneapolis, MN. Jon studied western classical music with a vocal emphasis at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Starting in college, Jon spent ten years making beautifully unusual music with The Daredevil Christopher Wright. He has since released three solo records with his most recent record, “9 Songs About Love,” released in November of 2020. With a love of songwriters and performers like Leonard Cohen, Nina Simone, and Paul Simon, Jon writes densely poetic songs with a bent toward the philosophical. Also, his voice sounds like some sort of weird angel.
ANNA VOGELZANG believes in the power of songs. Since 2004, she has independently released 7 award-winning albums and toured extensively throughout the US, opening for a wide range of acts from Gillian Welch to Sara Bareilles. Atwood Magazine says her songwriting is “beautifully visceral”, exuding “the kind of storytelling ability passed down through decades of folk tradition – it walks the line between the modern and the nostalgic”. Her voice has been described as “an ethereal, lucid thing” that “nets melodies like it’s catching monarchs”. A reviewer loves her “quirky melodies which showcase an artistic point of view”.
Anna — a melody-driving, songwriting, multi-instrumentalist — has spent her formative years spread across the country, learning the musical languages of the Midwest, West Coast, New England and all that lies in between. Building community from coast to coast, she has traveled with home on her fingertips, her music peppered with flavors of nostalgia and perpetual motion.

RICHARD GILEWITZ $20
2023-07-22 20:00 - 22:00
Ticket link (for the Saturday show) at bottom following bio and workshop information.
For nearly four decades, American fingerstyle wizard RICHARD GILEWITZ has fascinated listeners with 6 and 12-string finger gymnastics while spinning enchanting yarns of a seasoned raconteur. His concert performances around the world spill over with unexpected turns of the funnies, thought-provoking takes on life on the road, and tunes that propel the audience on a magical journey of sight and sound. His signature playing style delivers a technical diversity of banjo style patterns and classical arpeggios with a rhythmic percussive approach, exploring the history of guitar with sounds of folk to Americana, the blues to the classical, ragtime to pop, and somewhere in between.
In addition to his concert performances, his GillaCamp Guitar and Ukulele Workshops, Meet the Artist Seminars, Clinics, and Avenues for Success educational program for schools inspire players worldwide, providing opportunities for music lovers to work on their craft and young players to learn fingerstyle techniques and tips of the trade. (Richard is offering workshops Sunday for those who are interested- see below.)
Today, recognized world-wide as a performer who has a quirky take on everything around him, Richard continues to live up to this depiction with rousing shows filled with offbeat observations combined with his right-hand wizardry and heaps of technique. With Richard’s performances teeming with sparkles of mood mastery and wonderment, he shares a fresh impression of sound to the listener during his concert appearances and at his workshops.
Says Spectrum Magazine, “Much of the charm of a Gilewitz performance is in the stories he tells. He wondered aloud to the audience how many ducks he could take out in a fight if he were to be attacked by a flock of the sneaky waterfowl.”
“Ear-boggling” The Washington Post
“His complex, energetic originals have made Gilewitz popular on the festival and club circuits as a solo performer.” Guitar Player Magazine
”His performance style is very crisp and precise, allowing the personality of the music to shine through.” Dirty Linen Magazine
“His quick wit and twisted sense of humor has made him an entertainer as well as a fine guitarist.” Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine
WORKSHOPS OFFERED Sunday July 23rd 2023-

$35 per class/ $80 for all 3.

Sign up with Richard at rgilewitz@gmail.com
Must sign up Wednesday night July 19th
www.richardgilewitz.com www.gillacamp.com

All materials will be provided
All levels welcome!
“you’ll laugh as you learn!” – The Columbus Dispatch

10:30-11:30 Acoustic Guitar Kaleidoscope
The Fingerpicking Engine
Master the system of fingerstyle picking patterns, how
to play strategically with others, symphonic capo use
and tricks to obliterate stage fright

11:30-12:30 explore Open D tuning and the concepts of
note treatments, transfer options, harmonics, and the
variety of expressions available for performance.

1:30-2:30pm Ukulele adventures –
Match the fingerstyle picking pattern of your choice to an accompanying rhythm pattern while playing in a group setting.

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER $5
2023-07-26 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.

GARETH PEARSON
2023-07-27 20:00 - 22:00
Buy tickets below. Bio follows ticket link.

GARETH PEARSON is referred to as “The Welsh Tornado” which is particularly appropriate, seeing as this special talent combines fingerstyle pyrotechnics, with explosive lead runs making Pearson one of the most exciting acoustic musicians gigging today.
Gareth has a distinctive style that can be heard through his creative and innovative arrangements which cover a wide spectrum of genres, including country/folk/classical/pop/rock/jazz/swing and bluegrass music, along with his own beautiful and often intricate original compositions.
Drawing his playing style initially from influences such as Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel, he has developed a style that is both inspiring and entertaining.
Within a year of taking up the guitar, Gareth was opening for Tommy Emmanuel on his 2005 UK tour. It was in Cardiff where Tommy invited Gareth to play at the CAAS convention (Chet Atkins Appreciation Society) in Nashville Tennessee.
Later that year, Gareth was performing and touring alongside Ray Davies (The Kinks), John Renbourne, and Southside Johnny and the Ashbury Jukes. During the Southside Johnny tour, Gareth was invited by Southside to be flown over to the USA to open for his annual New Years Eve concert at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey.
The following year Gareth was invited by Tommy Emmanuel to be the support act for his UK tour, following extensive UK supports to Jan Akkerman, Andy McKee and appearing at numerous Folk Festivals and Guitar workshops including the Montreal Jazz Festival.
“Gareth is fast becoming one of the worlds most renowned instrumental guitarists.” Adam Walton (BBC Radio Wales)
“I really respect Gareth’s abilities. He’s a great young man and a great ambassador for the acoustic guitar.” Tommy Emmanuel
“I’m Gareth’s number one fan! What a guitarist! His original compositions hit the ears like cool spring water on a hot summer’s day. His stage show has everyone up on their feet. Fingerstyle guitar is in good hands for the next generation.” Stefan Grossman
“Not only is Gareth one of the most amazing guitarists around, he is a really nice guy and funny as hell!” Andy McKee

SAM KNUTSON/ Jeff Stehr
2023-07-28 20:30 - 22:30
Buy tickets below. Bios will follow ticket link.

SAM KNUTSON is a singer-songwriter from Iowa City. His most recent album is Donkey Island. He is happy as a pig in *#*@ in a listening room. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=d0-gRGmjEDU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7yy5pdcBYRQ
Of late he has been involved with the Iowa Opera House project.
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. Milwaukeean Jeff Stehr’s fondly recalled Jamaica-centric combo The Tritonics and his current project Still No Tomatoes present him in collaborative settings.”
Jeff Stehr will open. Jeff is a glass half empty cognoscenti songwriter from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is fond of using stage names like Hunter Gatherer, Matthew McCudahy and Ike Witt, which are just a few of the many reasons why you have likely never heard of him.
Jeff’s songs are mostly wordplay and present-day doomsday reportage propelled by one drop rhythms and held aloft on ukulele wings and guitar strings. Jamaican ingredients conspire and collaborate with folk, pop, rock and blues influences to get into your head and steal your heart, but all genres are accomplices.   When not performing solo, Jeff (guitar, ukulele, harmonica, vocals) is one half of Still No Tomatoes, a duo project launched in 2022 with his Tritonics bandmate Mike Lizzo (trombone, baritone horn, melodica, vocals). Following is a review of their work:
In the diminutive Milwaukee ensemble “Still No Tomatoes”, Jeff Stehr plays guitar and ukulele; Mike Lizzo, trombone and baritone. Although their music is mostly original, the texts of the proudly quirky duo are concerned with the familiar tropes and preoccupations that have long populated the American songbook.Yet the band comes across as triumphantly new. Perhaps it is the orchestration that allows for this impression. When was the last time that you heard a ukulele and trombone duet? When they sing together, their voices are intervallically close; the sound soft and certain. Lizzo plays his trombone or baritone softly as if loudly would be impolite. They take water from a fountain of diverse experience and dip into a deep pool of genres. What to call it? Currently, they describe their music as “Hodgepop”. This is accurate. Stehr takes generously from the songbook of his experience, plays around with the hodgepge he finds, and writes music that ranges from the witty to the poetic. Despite the impatience of its name, “Still No Tomatoes” is ripe for the table.
Jeff has had his fingers in many Milwaukee music groups: the Tritonics, the Best Westerns, the John Sieger Combo, the Mike Benign Compulsion, Mark Truesdell & The Lost Pioneers, World Roots, Brave New Groove and C-Food Buffet, who once accidentally opened for Jimmy Buffet at Alpine Valley Music Theater in 1990.

BILL CAMPLIN/ MICHAEL HECHT/ BILL MILLER
2023-07-29 20:00 - 22:00
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats and let us know if you will be dining here this night.
BILL MILLER
This will be a song swap with readings by Michael Hecht in between.

LILLI LEWIS TRIO
2023-08-03 20:00 - 22:00
BUY TICKETS below bio.
Athens, Georgia native turned New Orleans Folk Rock Diva LILLI LEWIS is a powerhouse composer and performing artist with “storytelling with transformative empathy and classically trained poise.” Jewly Hight, NPR.org. Lewis is a voice for the voiceless in Americana, her third full album for Louisiana Red Hot Records, lauded by NPR, Rolling Stone, Offbeat Magazine and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “One of the most powerful records of 2021, Lilli Lewis‘ Americana offers up 13 tracks of raw, unfiltered talent… jaw-dropping vocal stylings, sharp lyricism, irresistible hooks and a needed perspective that’s often overlooked…” Lorie Leibig, TheBoot.com
Trained as an opera singer and classical pianist, singer-songwriter Lewis has been a composer, producer and performing artist for over two decades. She has been known as the Folk Rock Diva since performing in the Folk Rock band The Shiz, founded with her wife Liz Hogan. During the shutdown, Lewis performed a powerful set for the Kennedy Center’s Arts Across America series, sang “My American Heart” for a voters’ rights benefit (where Broadway star Mandy Patinkin compared her voice to “the color of light”), and performed for WWOZ-FM’s Piano Night benefit alongside celebrated artists like Jon Batiste, Ivan Neville.
As the live music scene started to rev up again, Lewis started 2022 with a live set for The Kennedy Center, followed by performances as New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, and Mountain Stage to name a few. Lewis also received a “Spirit of Folk” award from Folk Alliance International for her efforts with a New Orleans based public health campaign, and her work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Folk, Americana, and Country music. Her full ensemble, known as the Lilli Lewis Project, is a pan-generational cult of radical decency” willing to traverse any musical terrain, bearing the spirit of days when everyone still seemed to believe music could change the world. As the story goes, Lewis’ mother was told her baby probably wouldn’t survive because of lung trouble in utero. Lewis now uses those same lungs to bring what she calls sacred songs into profane spaces, and though she’s abandoned trying to define her sound, she hopes her audiences leave her performances knowing two things: that they are brilliant as they are, and that they have the ability to use their own brilliance to make a better world.

ANNA p.s.
2023-08-05 20:00 - 22:00
Cover $15. Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats and to let us know if you will be dining here this evening.
Anna p.s. is a nationally touring Indie Folk Artist, entertaining audiences across the states as a one-woman-symphony with guitar, foot percussion, flute, and more. They play original tunes with the occasional unique take on a cover.
“Anna adds a diverse set of musical elements in her direct and plaintive songs with the use of looping. Whether adding to the melody or harmonic underpinnings with her voice, silver flute, or beautiful whistling, the effect of this work on Anna’s easy-paced songs is expansive.”– George Schricker, Wild Rose Moon

DANA COOPER
2023-08-10 20:00 - 22:00
Buy tickets below- bio will follow ticket link:

DANA COOPER is a poetic songwriter, an insightful storyteller, and a rousing musician currently from Nashville. His mixture of flat-picking, finger picking, and percussive strumming is “Legend Among Other Guitarists.” His harmonica playing is equally impressive. As one critic noted, “he sings like an angel and plays like the devil.” His Latest CD “I Can Face The Truth” charted on 5 Radio Charts including Americana, Indie Folk, Alt Folk, Alt Country & Roots.
Dana Cooper has had a vast career starting with his 1st self-titled Release on Elektra Records. His studio band consisting of legendary players- Leland Sklar & Russ Kunkel. During his years as a Troubadour, Dana has received many accolades including The Spirit of Folk Award, Heritage Musician Award, Best Male Songwriter Award- Indie Acoustic Project, Best Record – The Tennesseean, Nashville Music Award Nomination Best Pop Album
He has also collaborated with many established artists: Lyle Lovett, Tom Kimmel, Don Henry, Maura O’Connell, Sally Barris, Susan Werner, Kim Richey, Hal Ketchum, Pierce Pettis, Kim Carnes to name a few. With his Latest CD Release “I Can Face The Truth”, Dana faces hard truths head on with humor and heartfelt expression.

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.

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.”

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.

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

ACOUSTIC OPEN STAGE
2023-08-25 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-09-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-09-15 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.

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.

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2023-08-31 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-09-28 18:30 - 20:30

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.”

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.

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.”

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”
