BILL MILLER
2025-06-12 19:30 (America/Chicago)
Bill discovered he had already had a gig on the 13th, so he rescheduled to this date.
BILL MILLER is an award-winning Native American recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, painter, and world-class accomplished flute player. Over the entirety, Miller has produced over a dozen albums, received three Grammy Awards, numerous NAMA awards (including a “Lifetime Achievement Award) and led Wisconsin’s La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. He is now touring in support of a recent collaboration album Look Again To The Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited where Bill has the title track.

A Mohican Indian from northern Wisconsin, Bill Miller has long been one of the most admired figures in the Native American music arena and beyond. As an award-winning recording artist, performer, songwriter, activist, and painter, he’s been a voice for the voiceless, a link between two great and clashing civilizations.
For over 30 years, Bill Miller’s music has amplified the whispers of Native peoples’ hearts, while bridging cultures around the world with his signature sound: thunder (the voice), wind (the Native American flute), water (the guitar), and soul (the story).

MOJOHAND
2025-06-14 20:30
MOJOHAND – ROCK & ROLL, GINGER SOUL, AND JERSEY TWANG
New Jersey-born, Brooklyn-based band Mojohand have been writing rockin, country-soul-soaked songs and playing them in every bar, backyard, and basement willing to have them for the past seven years. Their energetic and melodic brand of rock & roll, ginger soul, and Jersey twang has won over crowds from coast to coast.
For their third studio LP “Dungarees”, Mojohand locked themselves in the live room at Business District Recording in Johnson City, NY and let the tape roll on a vintage 4-track ampex machine. The result is a timeless album that evokes the thousands of late nights onstage refining their raucous style and infectious songs, and the countless miles they’ve traveled together in their van chasing down the same promises that rock & roll has made with its fingers crossed for generations and generations.
The first single from Dungarees, “Santa Fe” is a melodic and laid back travelogue inspired by some of Mojohand’s less-glamorous nights on the road. “Santa Fe” showcases Mojohand’s knack for synthesizing their love of classic country-rock and southern-soul records into timeless bites of ear-candy.
Mojohand is known nationally for their relentless work ethic, electric live shows and catchy, classic songwriting. Their sound is uniquely their own, while also often compared to Americana heroes John Prine and Townes van Zandt, legendary rockers such as Bruce Springsteen and Drive-By Truckers, and beloved soul musicians like Otis Redding and Nathaniel Rateliff.

Mojohand was born in 2017 from the fiery remains of countless high school bands and side projects. Having played music together since their age was in the single digits, childhood friends Elijah Klein and Joe Dinardo joined with keyboardist Ian D’Arcy and began gigging around the Garden State with a revolving cast of local musicians. When Elijah met drummer Jasper Mahncke in New York City, the group found their groove and locked in with a flurry of singles and shows around the Northeast – from the woods of Vermont to packed bars in New York City and everywhere in between. To date, Mojohand has played 250 shows, driven over 60,000 miles, performed 9 American tours and a Canadian date, and have opened for national acts including Oteil Burbridge, Kyle Gordon, Summer Dean, and Whitey Morgan.
Mojohand’s love of The Road is palpable. At the end of their set, you’ll often hear lead singer Elijah deliver an open invitation to the audience: “The best part of driving around and playing shows all over the country is meeting new people. So come say hi when we’re done playing! We’d love to shake your hand.” “The road is what it’s all about; meeting new types of people, seeing how they react to the songs. A crowd in Texas might feel a groove completely differently than one in New York City. And so every night of tour, we learn a little more about how to deliver a great show and connect with the crowd.”

SHITUNAUTS- Thursday
2025-06-19 20:00
WILLY PORTER PETER MULVEY RANDY SABIEN BILL CAMPLIN in the semicircle, holding down the fort.

SHITUNAUTS- Friday
2025-06-20 20:30

SHITUNAUTS- Saturday
2025-06-21 20:30
WILLY PORTER PETER MULVEY RANDY SABIEN BILL CAMPLIN in the semicircle, holding down the fort. Summer solstice with the mostest

SHITUNAUTS- Sunday
2025-06-22 18:00
WILLY PORTER PETER MULVEY RANDY SABIEN BILL CAMPLIN in the semicircle, holding down the fort.
We will open at 4.

ROUND ROBIN w/ TRICIA ALEXANDER
2025-06-25 18:30 - 20:30, 2025-07-30 18:30, 2025-08-27 18:30 - 20:30
Round robin 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 Wednesday (formerly Thursday) of each month.
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.

RESONANT ROGUES
2025-06-26 20:00
The RESONANT ROGUES ’ dark Appalachian folk paints a picture of their lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina and on the road. Anchored by the songwriting duo of Sparrow (banjo, accordion) and Keith Smith (guitar), they’ve traveled the byways and highways of America and crossed the oceans with instruments in tow. From riding freight trains to building their own homestead, the pair are no strangers to blazing unconventional trails. At once rooted and adventurous, each song tells a story of real experiences, friendships, and challenges.
“Their intense cohesion is so intertwined that it feels like they’re playing with one pair of hands.” -No Depression

“This is country music as classic as it comes.” -Holler Country

ANNE HEATON w/ Frank Marotta, Jr.
2025-06-27 20:30
Singer-songwriter and pianist ANNE HEATON has captured audience imaginations for over fifteen years with her songs that are, by turns, “tender, barbed and spiritual” (Washington Post). She’s been featured by the New York Times Popcast, played numerous times on NPR and shared the stage with artists such as Jewel, Sarah McLachlan and jazz drummer Max Roach. She teaches at Berklee College of Music Summer Programs and is the founder of Soul Songs School, an online songwriting program.
She will be performing with her multi-instrumentalist husband Frank.
Says Chip Duncan- “I met Anne at a party but didn’t realize at the time I was speaking with a luminary! Anne and her guitar playing husband have developed an outstanding reputation as songwriters, performers, and teachers of the craft. When I saw Anne play with Willy Porter at Shank Hall last fall, I became an immediate fan. She’s fun, funny, charming and wow, what a voice … and what great songs!”
Anne is currently earning her Master’s in Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she hopes to research the outcomes of songwriting as a social emotional learning tool for teenagers. Anne lives in Milwaukee where she enjoys coffee, Lake Michigan and being a mom to two freethinking daughters.
To listen to Anne’s music, join her on YouTube, Apple Music or Spotify
Press
“Stunning” – PASTE
“Absolutely gorgeous” – New York Times Music Popcast
“Lush, introspective, elegant” – Boston Globe
“The recording is so good. I’ve always been a huge fan of Anne Heaton.” – Richard Milne, WXRT
“Strong, emotive and slightly haunted” – Boston Herald
“Superb” – Performing Songwriter Magazine
“Tender, barbed and spiritual” – Washington Post
“Thoughtful, emotionally intense” – Sound & Vision
“[Heaton’s] compelling piano melodies and clearly articulated phrasing remind me of Carole King” – Naomi Arenberg, “Folk on WGBH” NPR
“[Heaton] always enchants with a clear-hearted delivery that’s distinctively her own” – Chicago Reader

CLOSED around the 4th
2025-06-29 08:00 - 2025-07-11 11:30
People seem to have other things to do that do not involve the Carpe around the holidays, and so we will find other things to do.
Let’s keep our democracy.

WEARY RAMBLERS
2025-07-11 20:30
Newly formed Iowa folk duo, WEARY RAMBLERS bring years of experience to the stage with award-winning songwriting and chemistry. CHAD ELLIOTT and KATHRYN FOX showcase multi-instrumental performances with tight harmonies and great storytelling.
WINNERS OF 21ST ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL ACOUSTIC MUSIC AWARDS IN “BEST GROUP/DUO” CATEGORY!
“That man’s music is as honest as was Woody Guthrie’s.”- Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
More bios follow ticket link-

Chad Elliott blends folk roots and soulful writing to deliver an original sound with over two decades of being on the road. Elliott is lauded as “Iowa’s Renaissance man” by Culture Buzz Magazine. He has penned more than 1,500 songs in his career while also cultivating his skills as a painter, sculptor, illustrator and author. Elliott’s career demonstrates a love of folk, roots and singer-songwriter music. He has worked with and shared the stage with artists of the highest caliber, including Odetta, Tom Paxton, Loudon Wainwright III, Ruthie Foster, Greg Brown, Bo Ramsey, etc.
“When listening to Fox for the first time, one might wonder, how can a young woman make a violin sound so good?” – Cityview Magazine
Deemed “fiddler extraordinaire” in Cityview Magazine, Kathryn Fox is a DownBeat award winning artist. She played on the Grammy-nominated track “All My Tomorrows” with Kate McGarry. Kathryn toured internationally with fiddle troupe, Barrage 8, with shows in Europe, the U.S. and Canada. She has performed, recorded PBS specials and recorded with George Benson, The Beach Boys, The Eagles, Pharrell Williams, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Osmond Brothers, Gloria Gaynor, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Loggins, Mark O’Connor, Ryan Montbleau, Seth Walker, Edgar Meyer and Joshua Bell.

LONESOME BILL CAMPLIN
2025-07-12 20:00
After much cajoling, LONESOME BILL CAMPLIN has agreed to play here.
He is preparing a set list. Perhaps he will even publish it on this site.

GRANT PEEPLES/ Jim Hoehn
2025-07-17 19:30
A self-described “tree-hugger that watches NASCAR,” GRANT PEEPLES is known for his axe-sharp socio-political tunes, raucous humor and heart-gigging ballads.
He is the recipient of the Focus Foundation Award for Creative Excellence, which cited the “humor, compassion and wisdom of his songs,” and their “unflinching social insight and cultural acuity.” Grant tours coast to coast, and is a regular performer at The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, the 30A Songwriters Festival, and The Florida, Folk Festival. January 2019 marked a second tour in The Netherlands, where FolkForum.nl described him “…a pure storyteller, in the best American folk tradition…” and his show “…one of those gems that you will remember for a long time…”
“Patriots, priests, pole-dancing for god, and the politics of belief. Grant Peeples’ music isn’t easy, but it’s real as hell, and beautiful t’boot. “—Americana Gazette
“His songs are the antithesis of hooks, ear candy, and popular music…” Rick Davidson, MusicFest News
“He’s the Woody Guthrie of the New Millennium.”—Larry Newman-WSCA Portsmouth NH
JIM HOEHN will do a brief opening set.

Jim CRAIG/ Mark DVORAK/ Bill CAMPLIN
2025-07-19 20:00
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. Ticket link follows bios.
JIM CRAIG 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?

THIRD COAST BLUEGRASS
2025-07-23 19:30
THIRD COAST BLUEGRASS (TCB) is a band of longtime friends and musical cohorts with deep roots in the Upper Great Lakes bluegrass scene going back to the 70’s.

TCB’s repertoire spans bluegrass classics, hidden gems, originals, and adaptations from amazing songwriters. The band highlights Jerry’s “true to the tradition” vocals, seamless trios and masterful instrumentals. With world class soloists Don and Peter stepping out front on the instrumentals with rock solid banjo from Ken, it’s as powerful as it is tasteful. Marc’s bass and Jerry’s rhythm guitar lay down the essential rhythmic foundation. As Don says, “Back to the roots of the hard grass with admired colleagues who are also great friends. What could be better?”

The lineup speaks (and picks and sings) for itself, in alphabetical order:

Marc Edelstein – Bass & Vocals
Ken Finkel – Banjo & Vocals
Peter Knupfer – Fiddle (& you don’t want the vocals!!)
Don Stiernberg – Mandolin & Vocals
Jerry Wicentowski – Lead Vocals & Guitar

PIERCE PETTIS
2025-07-26 20:00
Happy to have Pierce return-
PIERCE PETTIS is one of today’s most celebrated American songwriters. His songs, tinged with his Appalachian upbringing, have been called “profound,” “beautifully delivered,” “wry,” “sensitive,” and “an integral part of any singer/songwriter’s collection.” After a lifetime of crafting finely-wrought, heart-touching songs, Pierce feels that he’s finally found his comfort zone. “The biggest change,” he says of this point in his career “has been getting over myself and realizing this is a job and a craft. And the purpose is not fame and fortune (whatever that is) but simply doing good work.”
“Pierce Pettis bares a gentle soul with a keen eye, a soulful voice, and perfect guitar accompaniment for his beautiful songs – a masterful poet treasure” -Darrell Scott, songwriter/recording artist “I have loved Pierce’s music for many years now-he has the gift of a true inner compass.” -Eliza Gilkyson

“From the time I was very little, I always had the music going in my head,” Pettis explains. “Like my own personal soundtrack or something. I also come from a fairly musical family: my mother went to music school and was an excellent organist and pianist. And my sisters all played piano and other instruments. In school, I met other kids who wanted to be rock stars, just like me. From the time we were around 10 or so up through high school, we put together various bands — all of them horrible.”His “horrible” bands didn’t deter him though and even though he had a nagging feeling (“I thought I was supposed to be a doctor or something.”) he persevered, not only playing music but writing songs in a mix of rock, folk, country and R&B genres that landed him an unpaid position as a staff writer for Muscle Shoals Sounds Studios. While there, his track “Song at the End of the Movie” found its way to Joan Baez’s 1979 album Honest Lullaby.Pettis hit the road and became a member of the “Fast Folk” movement in New York in the mid-1980’s. He released one independent solo album, Moments (1984) before signing with High Street Records, a division of Windham Hill. There, he released three albums: While the Serpent Lies Sleeping (1989), Tinseltown (1991), and Chase the Buffalo (1993). His relationship with Tinseltown producer Mark Heard transcended the album. After Heard’s untimely death in 1992, Pettis committed to including a song of Heard’s on every one of his own albums, a practice that continues to this day. Pierce Pettis’ songs have been recorded by artists including Susan Ashton, Dar Williams, Garth Brooks and Art Garfunkel.His album, “That Kind of Love” on Compass Records was released January 27 2009. In 2013, “New Agrarians –Songs & Stories of the Southland” was released, a co-effort by Pierce Pettis, Kate Campbell & Tom Kimmel. “Father’s Son”, Pettis’ newest solo project for Compass Records Group, was released January of 2019 to widespread critical praise in the US, UK and Europe.
Pettis currently lives in NE Alabama with his dog, Buddy, and his cat, Aretha.

Satchel Paige/ carisa
2025-08-01 20:30
Two songwriters sharing the evening-
SATCHEL PAIGE– creator of pretty melodies with complex composition
“carisa’s music is best categorized as bedroom cafe. It hints at some of her influences, primarily bossa nova, folk, and jazz. Her lyrics are often straight from the pages of her journal and are always autobiographical in some way.”
bio from her: “carisa is the name that was bestowed upon a young child, born underwater in the dark of night. As it grew, it became increasingly more obsessed with the sound of its own voice and vowed to force others to hear it. Now, older and with a seemingly impressive grasp of the English language, it arms itself with a guitar and aforementioned utterances to lay siege to the earlobes of any and all humans nearby. BEWARE. You may enjoy the show.. but at what cost?”

RACHEL DREW & JOHN SYZMANSKI
2025-08-02 20:30
RACHEL DREW is a singer-songwriter from Chicago celebrated for her soulful voice and catchy, self-penned tunes that blend pop, folk, and soul. She grew up singing 3-part harmony with her parents and making up songs on the family piano. For Rachel, music and harmony are home, medicine, and pure connection. Joining her on guitar is JOHN SYZMANSKI, a seasoned player with deep roots in the Midwest music scene. John has played with Jon Langford, Bethany Thomas, and The Bright Shiners, and his intricate, expressive guitar work adds depth and nuance to Rachel’s already compelling performances.
Alan Harrison of The Rocking Magpie writes of Old Sky New, “There’s something of a hint of Dusty in Memphis, minus the strings here; as Rachel has a similar breathy and pearlescent voice that reels you in, and before you know it you’re sitting totally engrossed in the offering coming out of the speakers… In many ways songs like Stuck In The House All Day and Please Don’t Wake Me Up are Classic Country songs; but the arrangements are pure Laurel Canyon at its height when Linda Ronstadt and Mama Cass could do no wrong.”

Rachel’s latest album, Old Sky New, was recorded at Grammy-winning Joyride Studios and was named one of the 13 Best Chicago Albums of 2024 by the Chicago Sun-Times. She’s also been featured on NPR’s Great American Folk Show and played at WFMT’s Folk Stage, steadily growing a loyal following among fans of story-driven, intimate performances.

The Son of West Branch, America's Great Humanitarian
2025-08-08 20:00
Something different, which should be of interest: a live acoustic performance of a concept album based on a radio drama about the life of Herbert Hoover. Ticket link follows event description.
Twenty five years (more or less) after playing Cafe Carpe’s open mic, Central Michigan University Professor (and Janesville native who worked at Fort’s Highsmith company) WILL ANDERSON and his songwriting partner Lazlo Weed’s JOHN NORLAND return for the first-ever acoustic performance of their award-winning Herbert Hoover concept album “The Son of West Branch, America’s Great Humanitarian.”

To further explain:

Will Anderson was artist-in-residence at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in 2008. During his residency he wrote the radio drama script “The Son of West Branch, America’s Great Humanitarian” to mark Hoover’s 150th birthday. It documents the life of America’s 31st president from his humble Midwest beginning in West Branch, Iowa to the eve of his election in 1928, and stars Phil Proctor of the Firesign Theater audio troupe. It rocks far more than you’d think it would.

WILL & JOHN created and will perform nine musical pieces to complement the drama. A recording of vignettes from the drama will be played before the songs to give them context.
Following the performance of the concept album, the duo will play two of John’s original songs that were in the set that they played at the Carpe in 2000 as an encore of sorts, and a send off for John before he goes off to Memphis to record with his new band at Sun Studios.

LONESOME BILL CAMPLIN
2025-08-09 20:00
Ridin’ again. If he falls, he’ll get back up.
“….consummate guitar, voice, and lyrics, and with a mix of folk and rock-influenced tunes. And an awesome sense of humor.”

PIPER ROAD- the FIENDS of SpringBandMusic
2025-08-15 20:30
PiperRoadSpringBand presents
the FIENDS of SpringBandMusic

Brian “Looper” Lucas (guitar, harmonica, vocals) leads the return of Bob Mason (mandolin, guitar, vocals); Billy Kangaroo (washboard, vocals); Johnny “Pops” Widdicombe (upright bass, vocals); Mike Schmidt (banjo, guitar, vocals) as the FIENDS make their debut at the Cafe Carpe stage. Barry “BlackBarry Riese will be making a specials appearance.

RAY BONNEVILLE
2025-08-16 20:15
RAY BONNEVILLE We love Ray, and it’s a joy when he can play and not just take advantage of our cheap lodging as he passes through.
A lot of heavy praise for Ray here. Ticket link follows bio.
An acclaimed raconteur, Ray strips his bluesy Americana down to its essentials and steeps it in the humid grooves of the South, creating a compelling poetry of hard living and deep feeling.
Jim Withers (Montreal Gazette) describes his sound as “folk-roots gumbo… a languid Mississippi Delta groove, seasoned with smooth, weathered vocals and a propulsive harmonica wheeze.” Whether performing solo or fronting a band, playing electric or acoustic guitar, Bonneville allows space between notes that adds potency to every chord, lick, and lyric. Thom Jurek (Allmusic.com) remarks, “With darkness and light fighting for dominance… he’s stripped away every musical excess to let the songs speak for themselves.”
Often called a “song and groove man,” Bonneville has lived the life of the itinerant artist. To learn more about that, come to the show or read further on his website.

JEFFREY FOUCAULT - SOLD OUT
2025-08-20 20:00
JEFFREY FOUCAULT

FORT ATKINSON DISRAG
“Homegrown great- not an oxymoron”
THE NEW YORKER:
“Jeffrey Foucault sings stark, literate songs that are as wide open as the landscape of his native Midwest”
THE IRISH TIMES:
“Quietly brilliant”
UNCUT:
“The music of Wisconsin native Foucault is the kind so many aspire to but never attain: beat-up troubadour folk whittled to dolorous perfection”
CHICAGO SUN TIMES:
“…Densely layered tales of longing and loss, beauty and simple pleasures.”

THE TILLERS
2025-08-21 20:00
It’s been a long time, but happy to have THE TILLERS back!
The Tillers have been thumping their own distinctive sound of string band style folk music for a decade, riding it all over the country and across the sea. Four studio albums and one live record have won them praise as modern folk storytellers of the national soundscape. (Long story follows ticket link.)
“Like no other group I’ve ever heard, the Tillers are able to break your heart with an intangible, timeless pain. Combined they harmonize like the Celestial Monochorde of old, awakening once again the ancient muses to strum the heartstrings of man...”- Col. JD Wilkes

The Long Story…The Tillers got their start in August 2007 when they started thumping around with some banjos and guitars and a big wooden bass. Their earliest gigs were for coins and burritos on the city’s famous Ludlow Street in the district of Clifton. The songs they picked were mostly older than their grandparents. Some came from Woody Guthrie, some were southern blues laments, and many were anonymous relics of Appalachian woods, churches, riverboats, railroads, prairies, and coal mines.Their look didn’t fit the stereotype. They were clearly recovering punk rockers with roots in city’s west side punk rock and hardcore scene. The punk influence gave their sound a distinctive bite, setting them apart from most other folk acts- a hard-driving percussive strum and stomp that brought new pulse and vinegar to some very old songs. But their musical range soon proved itself as they floated from hard-tackle thumping to tender graceful melody, all the while topped by Oberst and Geil’s clear tenor harmonies.
They began picking up weekly gigs around the city’s bar scene. It didn’t take long before their signature treatment of classic folk songs became the preferred versions of Cincinnati locals. Their audiences swelled, growing into an assortment of grey-haired mechanics, neo-hippies, farmers, punkers, professors, and random strays all stomping, clapping, singing, and belting outbursts of “John Henry!” “Darlin’ Corey!” Ever since, the band has come to each show with the same energy. They are magnetic showmen, mature musicians, and colorful storytellers.
The Tillers have since won over Cincinnati’s bar and festival scene, and launching tours with tireless momentum. They were awarded CityBeat Magazine’s Cincinnati Entertainment Award for best Folk and Americana act in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 & 2017. Their relentless gigging has taken them throughout the East coast, the Midwest and West, the Appalachian south and to the UK and Ireland opening for the St.Louis crooner, Pokey LaFarge. In the summer of 2009, veteran NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw featured the Tillers on a documentary about US Route 50. Brokaw showcased the group’s song “There is Road (Route 50)” as a testimony to the highway’s role as a connective tissue of the nation.
Musically, the band wears many hats. Their sound has proven to be an appropriate fit with a wide range of musical styles- traditional folk, bluegrass, jazz, punk rock and anything else they might run into. They have shared the stage with a broad swath of national touring acts, ranging from renowned folk legends such as Doc Watson, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald, Jerry Douglas, Iris Dement, Pokey LaFarge, The Hackensaw Boys and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to rambunctious rock daredevils like the Legendary Shack Shakers.
Always moving, the Tillers continue to enter new territory. Their musical growth can be heard through the scape of their many releases, 2008′s debut record Ludlow Street Rag, 2010′s By The Signs, 2011′s Wild Hog in the Woods, 2012′s Live from the Historic Southgate House, 2013′s Hand On The Plow, 2018′s The Tillers and many more bootleg releases. The band’s lineup has also taken new shape. In February 2010, long-time bassist Jason Soudrette fondly parted ways with the group, being replaced by Aaron Geil, brother of guitarist Sean. In 2015 the band added fiddler Joe Macheret to the ranks. Recalibrating has not slowed their pace.
They continue to plot their travels around the map, electrifying new places and making new friends wherever they go. From place to place, they carry with them more instruments, new songs, and funnier stories. They are Cincinnati’s traveling minstrels. Expect to hear from them soon.

THE RAMBLIN' KIND
2025-08-23 20:00
THE RAMBLIN’ KIND is a classic Country & Western band from Milwaukee & Madison, featuring the fabulous RUTHIE MCQUINN of the Krause Family Band on vocals and fiddle.

DEIDRE MCCALLA
2025-08-28 20:00
DEIDRE MCCALLA doesn’t merely take the stage – she owns it. Her songs embody hope and celebration, struggle, loss, and longing – sometimes all in one song!

Long in the forefront of Black artists exemplifying the varied ways Black folk do folk, Deidre is riding high on her current release Endless Grace which dominated the June 2022 Folk Radio Charts as the #1 Album with the #1 Song – Shoulder To The Wheel and the #3 Song – I Do Not Walk This Path Alone, and finished for the year as the #13 Top Album. PopMatters, Rhythms Magazine, and the Folk Alley Listener Favorites Poll ranked Endless Grace among the Ten Best Folk albums for 2022. In 2023 Deidre’s song Shoulder To The Wheel won the 19th Annual International Acoustic Music Award for Best Folk/Americana/Roots Song making Deidre the first woman to ever win that category in IAMA history.

Sing Out! praises Deidre as one of our generation’s most important singer-songwriters and the Austin-American Statesmen describes her as a highly distinctive voice in a crowded field of contemporary folk music.

SATCHEL PAIGE
2025-08-29 20:00
Fruit from our orchard

JOHN GORKA- SOLD OUT
2025-08-30 20:15
“Gorka is widely heralded for the sophisticated intelligence and provocative originality of his songs.” – THE BOSTON GLOBE

Originally from New Jersey, JOHN GORKA is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who got his start at a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania. Though small, Godfrey Daniels was and is one of the oldest and most venerable music institutions and has long been a hangout for music lovers and aspiring musicians. In the late 1970’s, John was was one of these aspiring musicians. Although his academic coursework at Moravian College lay in Philosophy and History, music began to offer paramount enticements. Soon he found himself living in the club’s basement and acting as resident MC and sound man, encountering legendary folk troubadours like Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers, Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton and Claudia Schmidt. Their brand of folk-inspired acoustic music inspired him, and before long he was performing his own songs – mostly as an opener for visiting acts. Soon he started traveling to New York City, where Jack Hardy’s legendary Fast Folk circle (a breeding ground for many a major singer-songwriter) became a powerful source of education and encouragement. Folk meccas like Texas’ Kerrville Folk Festival (where he won the New Folk Award in 1984) and Boston followed, and his stunningly soulful baritone voice and original songwriting began turning heads. Those who had at one time inspired him – Suzanne Vega, Bill Morrissey, Nanci Griffith, Christine Lavin, Shawn Colvin – had become his peers.
In 1987, the young Minnesota-based Red House Records caught wind of John’s talents and released his first album, I Know, to popular and critical acclaim. With unusual drive and focus, John hit the ground running and, when an offer came from Windham Hill’s Will Ackerman in 1989, he signed with that label’s imprint, High Street Records. He proceeded to record five albums with High Street over the next seven years: Land of the Bottom Line, Jack’s Crows, Temporary Road, Out of the Valley and Between Five and Seven. His albums and his touring (over 150 nights a year at times) brought new accolades for his craft. His rich multifaceted songs full of depth, beauty and emotion gained increasing attention from critics and audiences across the country, as well as in Europe where his tours led him through Italy, Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Switzerland and Germany. He also started sharing tours with many notable friends—Nanci Griffith and Mary Chapin Carpenter among them. All this brought his music to an ever-widening audience. His video for the single “When She Kisses Me” found a long-term rotation on VH-1’s “Current Country,” as well as on CMT and the Nashville Network.
In 1998, after five successful recordings and seven years at Windham Hill/High Street, John felt the need for a change and decided to return to his musical roots at Red House Records. The choice was driven, in part, by the artistic integrity that the label represents in an industry where the business of music too often takes precedence. The 1998 release After Yesterday marked a decidedly different attitude towards making music for John, and his next release The Company You Keep held fast to his tradition of fine songwriting, yet moved forward down new avenues. Its fourteen songs displays John’s creative use of lyrics and attention to detail. Andy Stochansky played drums and shared production credits with John and Rob Genadek. Ani DiFranco, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lucy Kaplansky and Patty Larkin contributed stellar guitar work and vocals to this fan favorite. Old Futures Gone was informed by his life as husband and father of two young children and also contained the colorful experience of many hard years on the road. Writing in the Margins followed in 2006 and was an engaging collection of sweet and serious songs that spanned many musical genres—folk, pop, country and soul—and featured guest vocalists Nanci Griffith, Lucy Kaplansky and Alice Peacock. Now with this, his 11th studio album, he returns to his roots with So Dark You See, his most compelling and traditional album to date.
In addition to his 11 critically acclaimed albums, John released a collector’s edition box featuring a hi-definition DVD and companion CD called The Gypsy Life. Windham Hill also released a collection of John’s greatest hits from the label called Pure John Gorka. In 2010, he also released an album with his friends and Red House label-mates Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson under the name Red Horse. Getting high praise from critics and fans alike, it landed on the Billboard Folk Charts and was one of the most played albums on folk radio.
Many well known artists have recorded and/or performed John Gorka songs, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell. John has graced the stage of Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, etown and has appeared on CNN. His new song “Where No Monuments Stand” is featured in the upcoming documentary Every War Has Two Losers, about activist and Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford (1914-1993).
John Gorka lives in Minnesota.
