KAIA FOWLER
2023-10-21 20:00 - 22:00 (America/Chicago)
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)

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2023-10-26 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.

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?

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

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

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

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?

BEATLES SINGALONG- Fundraiser
2023-11-05 17:00 - 20:00
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.

LUCY KAPLANSKY-SOLD OUT
2023-11-10 20:30 - 22:30
Bio follows ticket link:

LUCY KAPLANSKY started out singing in Chicago folk music clubs as a teenager. Then, barely out of high school, she took off for New York City. There she found a fertile community of songwriters and performers—Suzanne Vega, Steve Forbert, The Roches, and others. With a beautiful flair for harmony, Lucy was everyone’s favorite singing partner, but most often she found herself singing as a duo with Shawn Colvin. People envisioned big things for them; in fact, The New York Times said it was “easy to predict stardom for her.” But then Lucy dropped it all.
Convinced that her calling was in another direction, Lucy left the musical fast track to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Upon completing her degree, Dr. Kaplansky took a job at a New York hospital working with chronically mentally ill adults, and also started a private practice. Yet she continued to sing. Lucy was often pulled back into the studio by her friends, (who now had contracts with record labels) wanting her to sing on their albums. She harmonized on Colvin’s Grammy-winning “Steady On,” and on Nanci Griffith’s “Lone Star State of Mind” and “Little Love Affairs.” She also landed soundtrack credits, singing with Suzanne Vega on “Pretty in Pink” and with Griffith on “The Firm,” and several commercial credits as well—including “The Heartbeat of America” for Chevrolet.
Then Shawn Colvin—who was itching to produce a record—hooked up with Lucy, her ex-singing partner. They went into the studio, and when Lucy’s solo tapes got into the hands of Bob Feldman, president of Red House Records, he was blown away. Suddenly, Lucy was back in the music business. She signed with Red House Records and started playing gigs. Red House released The Tide in 1994 to rave reviews, and within six months Lucy signed with a major booking agency—Fleming Artists—and began touring so much it required leaving her two psychologist positions behind.
Lucy’s second album, Flesh and Bone (1996), emphasized her development as a gifted songsmith. Then Lucy’s success took flight with back-to-back hit albums Ten Year Night (1999) and Every Single Day (2001). Both received the AFIM award (Association For Independent Music) for Best Pop Album of the year. Lucy also contributed her story to a unique book, SOLO: Women Singer- Songwriters in Their Own Words, which includes some of the best known women on the music scene today: Ani DiFranco, Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and others. She was also featured in Lipshtick, a collection of essays by NPR commentator Gwen Macsai, published in the fall of 1999.
In 1998 Lucy teamed with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell to form supergroup Cry Cry Cry, and recorded some of their favorite songs written by other artists. The resulting album, Cry Cry Cry (which The New Yorker dubbed “a collection of lovely harmonizing and pure emotion,” and to which Entertainment Weekly gave an “A” rating), was an astonishing success in stores and on radio. A national tour of sold-out concerts by the trio served to introduce Lucy’s luminous voice to a new audience. In 2017 and 2018, the trio celebrated their 20th anniversary with a sold out national tour and the release of their first recording in 20 years, a single of Jump Little Children’s “Cathedrals.”
The Red Thread followed the commercial and critical hit Every Single Day, weaving together themes of motherhood, home and the family with stunning production. Lucy’s 2007 release Over the Hills as well as her 2012 release Reunion explored universal themes of love, joy, loss, and dreams for the future, through reflections on family.
In 2009 and 2010 Lucy had two songs commissioned by the international cosmetics company La Prairie to help launch their new fragrance line “Life Threads.” As part of that marketing campaign, Lucy was featured in a music video, as well in as in a variety of marketing appearances and materials, including a feature story in “Women’s Wear Daily.”
In 2010 Lucy joined up with acclaimed singer-songwriters John Gorka and Eliza Gilkyson to record an album as part of new folk super-group Red Horse. Awash in gorgeous harmonies and stripped down production, the album features the singers performing each other’s songs. Red Horse received rave reviews and was the number one album on Folk Radio for several months in 2010. Since the album’s release, the trio were interviewed on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” with Liane Hansen and appeared on NPR’s “Mountain Stage.”
In 2011 Lucy released an EP, Kaplansky Sings Kaplansky, featuring songs written by her father, famed University of Chicago mathematician Irving Kaplansky, including live performances of the two of them performing together in California. This is Lucy’s first venture into 1940’s style swing, reminiscent of the work of Kaplansky’s former student Tom Lehrer.
Lucy’s September 2018 release, Everyday Street, is a stunning collection of songs weaving stories of joy, friendship, family, loss and discovery. It is somewhat of a departure sonically: stripped down, spontaneous, acoustic, with the feel of one of her concerts. The songs were recorded over four days with her long-time collaborator Duke Levine on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandola, National guitar, and octave mandolin, and Lucy on acoustic guitar, mandolin and piano. These are genuine performances, many were captured in one take.
The opening song, “Old Friends,” a duet with Lucy’s long-time friend Shawn Colvin, is a reflection on their friendship and on their times together in the early days of the Greenwich Village folk scene. “Keeping Time,” with Richard Shindell on harmony, is from her vantage point as a mother sharing her neighborhood’s rhythms, albeit from a distance, with the late actor and father of three Philip Seymour Hoffman. “Janie’s Waltz” is about the beauty and grace of an ordinary day. The everyday streets of her long-time home, Greenwich Village in New York City, are woven throughout the recording. There are also four cover songs which have all been fan favorites from her shows, including Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road,” Nanci Griffith’s “I Wish it Would Rain,” and the traditional Scottish song “Loch Lomond.” Finally, there is a re-imagined version of the title song of her first album, The Tide.
Lucy’s version of Roxy Music’s “More than This” was featured on a Spotify playlist, “Your Favorite Coffeehouse,” and to date her recording has over 11.5 million streams. She has appeared on the CBS Morning Show, NPR’s Weekend and Morning Editions and All Things Considered, Mountain Stage, and West Coast Live. Her voice has remained in high demand by her peers. Lucy’s song “Guilty as Sin” was featured in the NBC television show Ed. In addition, she can be heard on releases by Bryan Ferry and Nanci Griffith, and on the Greg Brown tribute album Going Driftless (also featuring Ani Difranco, Iris Dement, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams and others).
Lucy continues to tour and receive airplay both nationally and internationally. Her CD Ten Year Night is the #1 selling album of all time at Red House Records.

ERIK KOSKINEN/ Jeremy Moses Curtis
2023-11-15 20:00 - 22:00
JEREMY MOSES CURTIS is touring in support of his new record Midlife Chrysler. This date was moved from its original date on November 19 so that ERIK KOSKINEN could join in the fun. Jeremy will open for Erik. Both have played extensively with local hero Jeffrey Foucault.

A blend of American folk, country, rock-n-roll, and blues, ERIK KOSKINEN realizes a sound that is distinctive and fresh while familiar and classic. Erik has recently released Burning The Deal on Real Phonic Records/Tone Tree Music. The “Big Plane” video clip features Amelia Fleetwood (daughter of Mick) and the track is out now.
Koskinen’s albums are a lyrical and musical metaphor of America’s theaters of war, history, relationships, and reflections in the mirror. Burning The Deal was produced by Koskinen and Bernie Larsen (Melissa Etheridge, Jackson Browne) and recorded by Jason Mariani (Mumford & Sons, Kenny Loggins) at Brotheryn Studios in Ojai, California.
Knowing but not didactic, Koskinen channels the ways of Whitman and reverently enters the anthology of uniquely crafted wry songs with the likes of Woody Guthrie and Ry Cooder while speaking as plainly as your neighbor. The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls Koskinen “the real deal” and “the best country songwriter in Minnesota.”
JEREMY MOSES CURTIS will be accompanied by Mike Castellana, a fabulous guitar player and steel player as well. Bios below ticket link-
“Midlife Chrysler is the kind of record it takes a lifetime of music to make: wry and wise, heavy and light, simple in the best ways, with an uncanny turn of phrase and a bone-deep pocket… I hear Tweedy in the magpie eclecticism, Prine in the strangeness that lands, Bobby Charles in the patient groove. American music is starving. This is a banquet.”– Jeffrey Foucault
Moses says: (a lot more than this on his webpage)
“In 2005 I cut a record of my own songs under my own name with the late great Billy Conway (Treat Her Right, Morphine) producing. I toured it here and there, but I was too busy working as a sideman and with other projects to give it much attention. In the spring of 2022 I found myself with a pile of songs and I asked Kris Delmhorst – an old friend and tour companion, and a musician I admire – to help shepherd them into the world. Observations, reflections, opinions, and love letters to the times I’ve traveled through and the people I’ve loved, Midlife Chrysler drills down through two and a half decades on the road, the tension between here and gone, love and motion, music and silence, work and calling in a country where the exceptions make all the rules, and where everything feels like a racket, except music. The big mystery, the one that still brings people together.”

THE VON CARPE FAMILY SINGERS
2023-11-16 19:30 - 21:30
“You have two families in this life, one that you’re born into and one that you choose.”
The Von Carpe Family Singers are such a mix, comprised of partners Karen Reinhardt and Jim Marousis, grandson Camdyn James, daughter Laura Christianson, daughter-in-law Stephanie Kracht Kilkenny, sister Lisa Reinhardt, and brother Eric Reinhardt .
For this occasion, they have also enlisted family members Ruthie and Leon McQuinn (Krause Family Band and Slip Jig) and Brian Looper Lucas (Brothers Quinn and the Organ Grinders), as well as Skip Armstrong (FOMA and Lovestrong Jammers).
All ticket proceeds will be donated to the Fort Atkinson Homeless Coalition.
It promises to be an interesting evening. Hope to see you there!

CORKY SIEGEL & RANDY SABIEN 11/17
2023-11-17 20:00 - 22:00
Chicago Blues Hall of Fame, music legend CORKY SIEGEL, and Jazz violinist RANDY SABIEN combine virtuosity, wit and showmanship.

Blues harmonica ace, pianist, vocalist, Corky Siegel earned his craft at the feet of legendary first generation bluesmen Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf as a part of his Siegel-Schwall Band. His Chamber Blues is credited with moving the blues from smokey clubs to the classical concert stage obliterating musical categorization. Recent Chamber Blues release “Different Voices,” received Downbeat Magazine’s Editor’s Pick calling Corky a “National Treasure.”

Randy Sabien, a 25 year alum of Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” dazzles on jazz violin, piano, guitar, mandolin, and vocals. The Chicago Tribune says: “ Sabien’s art bristles with the spirit of bona fide jazz improvisation developing new musical motifs along the way.

Corky Siegel is a master of piano and harmonica, a superior entertainer, and writer of unusual songs. Who else writes Blues about Idaho potatoes?” –Chicago Magazine

“Corky Siegel fuses entertainment and intellect. There is no doubting the talent of this brilliant performer.” – Chicago Tribune

CORKY SIEGEL & RANDY SABIEN 11/18
2023-11-18 20:00 - 22:00

LOST SOULS
2023-11-24 19:30 - 21:30
Show will only start at 7:30 IF all souls have finished their meals by that time. So come plenty early to allow time for that dream to become a reality.

The LOST SOULS are Looper Lucas & Greg Valde (with some surprise musical guests if we’re lucky). These two have been playing together around these parts for over 25 years – under an array of monikers. You may have known them as “What’s his name & the other guy,” “Devil in the Outhouse,” or “Syd Hartha & the Monkeyminds.” Folks often ask if they are twins, but they’re not. Fun fact: same sperm, different mothers. As for music, expect some stirring and rousing americana, blues, country, and humor.
“Sure it’s juvenile and irreverent, but if you drink enough it’s not that bad.”
(anonymous satisfied customer)

JOHNSMITH
2023-11-25 20:00 - 22:00
Bio follows ticket link.

JOHNSMITH is one of those artists so often under-recognized – he possesses a genius that cannot be denied, ignored, or overlooked. For the past forty-plus years, Johnsmith has been sharing his music all across America and abroad. He has become a favorite at festivals, clubs, and house concerts alike. In addition to being a Kerrville New Folk Winner, Johnsmith has released nine solo CDs to rave reviews, leads musical tours to Ireland, leads Idaho rafting trips, teaches songwriting, and has served as a staff songwriter in Nashville.
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.

SONG CIRCLE w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2023-11-30 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, though this will be the last one until April of 2024.
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.

DO TELL- STORY OPEN MIC
2023-12-01 19:00 - 20:30
We all have stories worth telling. Pick one and think about how to make it compelling for others.
Basic rules, at least for now.

Five minute limit ( so all can have a chance and no one falls asleep)
First person (It’s all about you, and something you experienced.)
Truth to tell (It should be (mostly) true.)
Format (For this, just true first person stories- not music or poetry)
Ideally, Free of notes

If interested, e-mail info@cafecarpe.com to sign up, or just show up that night.

MICHAEL HECHT & BILL CAMPLIN
2023-12-02 19:30 - 20:30
Please call 920-563-9391 to reserve seats and let us know if you will dine here that night. Cover charge is $12.
MICHAEL HECHT will read excerpts from speeches or literature, and BILL CAMPLIN will sing a song between each excerpt.
They have done this collaboration many times with different readings, and really enjoy the concept.
This time, Michael will share stories about his father and grandmother, as well as readings from James McBride and Pete Hamill.

LAMPLIGHTER w/ PETER MULVEY/ KATIE DAHL/ CARISA/ MATTHEW SANBORN
2023-12-08 20:30 - 22:30
This is the solo Lamplighter of the year, (although you should check out Saturday’s show and consider it as in the tradition, without Mulvey.)

MIKE MANGIONE/ NINETEEN THIRTEEN
2023-12-09 20:00 - 22:00
MIKE MANGIONE will come as a sextet- drums, bass, violin, keyboard, and electric and acoustic guitar. That’s called a band- NINETEEN THIRTEEN (bio below) will begin the show.
About Mike’s new record: “Blood & Water”-
“You can sense the sweat and tears singer-songwriter Mangione put in his latest album, produced by Larry Campbell, the late Levon Helm’s Grammy-winning music director and producer, and Bob Dylan‘s former guitarist. Campbell gives these 11 Americana tracks a warm glow, but it’s Mangione’s impassioned lyrics, pleading for strength despite life’s pains on “Spirit Awake” for instance, that shine brightest.” Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Mike Mangione & the Union brought a New York rock club to the Deep South with foot-stomping rhythms, soaring strings and ethereal vocals. Whether it was with a whisper or a growl, they grabbed every ear” – Billboard Magazine
“Lyrically, the tunes are reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen’s ability to describe characters in such exquisite detail that by the end of five minutes it seems as if you’ve known them your whole life. These are people and songs you’ll want to revisit and spend more time with. That’s the mark of a great songwriter, which is exactly what Mike Mangione is. Listen once and you’ll be calling your friends to rave about Mangione” – American Songwriter Magazine

NINETEEN THIRTEEN cellist Janet Schiff and Percussionist Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes) create the bold and vibrant sound of A cello made in Romania in the year 1913, and a set of drums made in modern day America, entertain each other in a haunting melodic dance. Original compositions and looping are by Schiff, beat brushes and commentary are by DeLorenzo. The cello is from 1913, the music is from today!

SHITUNAUTS Thursday
2023-12-14 20:00 - 22:30
First show of a 4 day run.
WILLY PORTER PETER MULVEY BILL CAMPLIN Just the 3 of them for the Thursday and Friday shows.
RANDY SABIEN has a prior commitment but will become the 4th beetle for the Saturday and Sunday shows.

SHITUNAUTS Friday
2023-12-15 20:30 - 23:00
Second show of a 4 day run. WILLY PORTER cannot make it tonight. His pinch hitter will be KATIE DAHL.
WILLY PORTER- can’t make it PETER MULVEY BILL CAMPLIN Just the 3 of them for the Thursday and Friday shows.
RANDY SABIEN has a prior commitment but will become the 4th beetle for the Saturday and Sunday shows.

SHITUNAUTS Saturday
2023-12-16 20:30 - 23:00
3rd show of a 4 day run.
WILLY PORTER PETER MULVEY RANDY SABIEN BILL CAMPLIN

SHITUNAUTS Sunday
2023-12-17 17:30 - 20:00
Final show of a 4 day run. Trying a late afternoon show so y’all can get home early.
WILLY PORTER PETER MULVEY RANDY SABIEN BILL CAMPLIN

ERNIE HENDRICKSON- SOLD OUT!
2023-12-22 20:30 - 22:30
Ticket link below bio. You may sing up on the waiting list there.
“Americana singer/songwriter/guitarist ERNIE HENDRICKSON delivers a dose of soft-spoken genius to the world with his latest album Roll On. Released on September 24th, 2019 on LoHi Records, Roll On is a set of original roots-inflected songs that aim to address some very current issues in American life, specifically the senses of alienation and commercialization that are overwhelming a great many of our citizens at this very moment. Doing this is an amazingly tricky balancing act between music born of the past and stories told about the present and most songwriters struggle to do it in a convincing way. Hendrickson, however, pulls it off like a boss and displays an innate knack for combining character, setting, and meaning.” Mike O’Cull- Indie Band Guru

CASH BOX KINGS - Sold Out
2023-12-23 20:00 - 22:00
You may sign up on a waiting list below. Bio will follow.

Alligator Recording artists the CASH BOX KINGS are bona fide blues royalty. Co-led by real-deal Chicago blues vocalist and songwriter OSCAR WILSON and songwriter, harmonica giant and singer JOE NOSEK, the band plays masterfully raw and unvarnished houserocking blues. Wilson’s huge, gritty vocals and Nosek’s powerhouse harmonica fuel their razor-sharp original songs. BILLY FLYNN will be making it a trio with his masterful guitar playing.
Mixing tough Chicago and Delta blues, jumping proto-rock ‘n’ roll, and steamrolling “bluesabilly” (their original mix of Chicago blues and Memphis rockabilly), they attack every song they play with contemporary authority and old school authenticity. With their top shelf musicianship and trademark good humor, the Cash Box Kings are a one-of-a-kind blues band. In the words of MOJO magazine, the band is “flawless.”

DRIFTLESS REVELERS
2023-12-29 20:30 - 22:30
Buy tickets below. Bio will follow ticket link.

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.

CHRIS HANSON BAND New Year's Eve Afternoon
2023-12-31 15:00 - 20:00
We are doing our annual New Year’s Eve music and dinner package with a twist- an afternoon meal followed by a 5:30 show to get everyone home early. (Don’t have lunch so you will be good and hungry by mid-afternoon.) The meal will be a spinach cream soup, salad, and beef carbonnade (served over pasta). A dessert smorgasbord and coffee will be put out between music sets. Anyone with dietary restrictions should contact us so that we can make a plan to accommodate you.
Doors will open at 3:00, and we will begin serving at 3:30. Seats will be assigned for the show and likely for the dinner. Depending on sales, we may be contacting you with a specific meal time to accommodate feeding everyone comfortably.
The package price of $60 includes the meal, dessert and coffee, dinner tip, and the fabulous show. Your drinks will be put on a tab for you to pay at the break. Chris Hanson band info follows the ticket link, being added any minute.
Some tickets for just the show are available. That cost will be $35. Please call us at 920-563-9391 if you are interested in that, or e-mail cafecarpe@sbcglobal.net

The awesome CHRIS HANSON BAND (members listed below) will once again be our NY’s Eve band.
If you’ve ever watched TV you’ve heard CHRIS HANSON‘s music. Founder of MidCoast Music’s Catalog through Warner Chappell PM Chris’s compositions have been on 20/20, The Super Bowl, Sex and the City, the Sopranos and countless other shows. Growing up in Waukesha and carrying on in the tradition of Les Paul, Chris loves the guitar and has produced albums for Greg Koch, John Sieger, Pat McCurdy and has led several bands of his own -The Agents, Nine Volt Jubilee and The Chris Hanson Band.
ROBIN PLUER is a perennial WAMI Award winner for best female vocalist- a gifted entertainer who audiences love everywhere she performs. Robin was an original member of the R&B Cadets with Paul Cebar and John Sieger, and has performed with Milwaukee’s own Mrs. Fun and numerous others. Robin combines French chansons, jazz standards, and contemporary songs and has been a top draw at Milwaukee’s Bastille Days for years.
JOHN PARROTT They don’t make them like this anymore. John is the rock of the band and the very definition of rhythm guitar. Playing an 18″ arch top, John is a drum set that plays chords. Having played for years with Jethro Burns, Chet Atkins and Chuck Hedges, John brings the authority of a player who has gigged with the best.
GLENN ASCH Glenn has played violin with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra since 1980 and demonstrates great fluency in various violin performance styles, including bluegrass, Celtic, Texas swing, be-bop, fusion, Hindustani (East Indian) and African (Senegalese).

CLOSED THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2024
2024-01-01 08:00 - 2024-02-02 11:30
We are doing what is now customary- closing for the month of January.
We will reopen with renewed vigor on Friday February 2. Maybe by then all of your new year’s resolutions to avoid us will have been forgotten.

ARLEN
2024-02-02 20:30 - 22:30
ARLEN is a keen group of three of the Midwest’s finest Americana singer-songwriters – Kyle Shelstad (Barbaro), Lee Henke (The Last Revel), and Soren Staff (Them Coulee Boys). The trio blossomed during a chilly February weekend last winter. The three longtime songwriting friends met at a studio in Minneapolis to see what would happen if they tried creating music together. The chemistry was immediate, the vulnerable early stages of song-crafting were easy, and the new group found enjoyment in the freedom to express themselves in an environment where no idea was a bad idea. As one would expect, the vocals are strong, the harmonies close-knit and the songwriting poignant.
