First Wednesday of the Month : Local Cream Songwriter Showcase
Hosted by FocusMusic board member Annette Wasilik : Every first Wednesday of the Month singer/songwriter Annette Wasilik invites a collection of the best local and not-so-local singer/songwriters to perform with her at Hank Dietle's Tavern at 11010 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD. The show kicks off at 8pm and is free to attend, but a suggested donation of $20 is... suggested!
Sat 5/25 - Kate Campbell (Alexandria & Virtual)
FocusMusic and World Folk Music Association Present Kate Campbell at St Aidan's Episcopal Church.
8531 Riverside Rd., Alexandria, Virginia, 22308 | 7pm
Admission: $25 in advance (members $22.50) / $30 at door (members $25)
Virtual Tickets: $15 in advance (members $13.50)
Kate Campbell is a southern singer-songwriter who writes and sings memorable folk songs infused with undercurrents of delta blues, folk, pop, and country that originate from a musical landscape spanning the less-traveled back roads from Nashville to Muscle Shoals to Memphis. Over the course of 20+ years since her acclaimed debut album Songs from the Levee, she has resisted the temptation to follow musical trends but instead chooses to set the pace for her unique musical journey.
Kate’s endearing, clear-water vocal delivery and her eloquent gift for storytelling have drawn repeated comparisons to such bastions of the Southern literary tradition as Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, and William Faulkner. Her easy command of a full range of American musical styles has earned Campbell recognition as a formidable talent by critics. Time Out London proclaimed her a “major talent” while Chicago Daily Herald described her as a “world-class singer-songwriter.”
Originally from the Mississippi Delta and the daughter of a Baptist preacher, Kate's formative years were spent in the very core of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, and the indelible experiences of those years have shaped her heart and character as well as her songwriting. Her music and songs continue to inspire and excite a growing and engaged audience. Her Two Nights in Texas CD received the prestigious Mississippi Institute of Arts & Letters Award. Three of Kate’s songs (“Ave Maria Grotto,” “William’s Vision,” and “Fordlandia”) were recently featured in documentary films (Brother Joseph and the Grotto, Chipping Away, and Fordlandia). A variety of artists have recorded Campbell’s songs including Laurie Lewis, Ronnie McDowell, and the Nashville Bluegrass Band who covered her compelling snake-handling song “Signs Following.”
Campbell has performed at a number of esteemed venues such as the Cambridge Folk Festival, Merlefest, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, and the National Storytelling Festival and been featured on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Live From Mountain Stage, and The Bob Edwards Show.
More about Kate Campbell at www.katecampbell.com
Sat 6/1 - Jesse Terry w Halley Neal (Sterling)
FocusMusic Presents Jesse Terry at FocusMusic Sterling
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Sterling, 22135 Davis Dr Suite 104, Sterling, VA 20164 | 7.30pm
"This is music to revel in, so just revel till the starlight fades."
- Nick West / RnR Magazine
Jesse Terry's seventh album, When We Wander, is the first he wrote since becoming a parent. So it's no surprise the family theme courses through many of its 12 songs. His music career has been a family project ever since he became a full-time touring artist a decade ago.
That was right around the time when Jesse met his wife Jess working on a cruise ship in the South Pacific. "As soon as we got back to the states, I proposed to her at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in July 2010 and we packed up the car for the first tour right after that. We've been touring together full-time ever since." Now with two-year-old Lily added to the clan, family is more important than ever to him, including the parental urge to love and protect. "If I were the moon, I’d light all of your back roads," he sings in "If I Were The Moon": "You wouldn’t need no headlights / I’d always be full."
The life of a touring family inspired the album's title track. "When we wander, when we wander / Don’t it feel like we’re finally found." But in the face of the pandemic, he has found that "wandering is not just a literal thing. We've followed our hearts with so many decisions in 2020-2021, and have found that there are many ways to wander and be free and brave."
More about Jesse Terry at jesseterrymusic.com
Halley Neal is a folk singer and songwriter whose live shows center on themes of positivity and peace. Halley has been blazing the folk trail over the last 2 years, performing at festivals such as: Kerrville Folk Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and recently she was named the winner of SolarFest’s Singer-Songwriter Showcase. Halley released her most recent record “Beautiful and Blue” to critical acclaim on September 30th, 2022. Her sound blends effortless layered vocals with Americana production, and is rooted in classic 60’s and 70’s folk. In 2020, Halley became an official Guild Guitars artist, and performed a set of original music at the 2021 and 2023 NAMM Shows with Guild. Currently, Halley tours extensively to house concerts, theaters and listening room venues across the country.
More at halleyneal.com
Advance tickets $25 / day-of and door $30 (member / congregation as-applicable $25 at the door).
Virtual tickets are $15
FocusMusic encourages all attendees to protect themselves and others through vaccination and masks. If you are not feeling well, we ask you not to attend the event. (COVID policy updated 9/23/22)
Depending on payment method, you will receive 2-3 emails. Registration details will be EMAILED along with a receipt (and sometimes a third email from your payment service). You will receive an email with the subject line "Your ticket for..." For in-person events, there's no need to do anything further. Your name will be at the front desk! For virtual events there will be a link to click in this email, so please save it! If you do not receive that email - please check your spam folder. If you still cannot find details contacting tickets@focusmusic.org.
All sales are final. In the event of a cancellation, event tickets will be refunded or purchasers may offer the ticket price as a donation to the artist. In the event of a rescheduled event tickets may be refunded or transferred to the new event date. Please note there are NO refunds for virtual performances made inaccessible by audience / user-error. If you find that you cannot attend an event or webcast, please contact us in advance of the event to transfer your ticket to another upcoming FocusMusic event.
Sat 6/29 - Dave Rowe (Alexandria & Virtual)
Sat 6/29 - FocusMusic and WFMA present Dave Rowe at Saint Aidan's Episcopal Church.
8531 Riverside Rd., Alexandria, Virginia, 22308 | $25 in advance (members $22.50) / $30 at door (members $25)
Virtual Tickets: $25 in advance (members $22.50)
Yachtsman-troubadour and Maine native, Dave Rowe, is a singer-songwriter and interpreter of traditional and modern song—whose 30-year career has had him on stages all over the eastern seaboard and throughout America’s heartland. Dave’s handmade, heartfelt music springs from deep roots borne out of the song traditions of Ireland and the British Isles, cultivated in the roots music of North America, and filtered through Dave’s classical training. Armed with his guitar, a dream, a quick wit, a soaring tenor voice, and the heart of an entertainer, he’s enthralled audiences everywhere he’s gone.
More about Dave Rowe : daverowemusic.com
Sun 8/11 - Ronn McFarlane (Silver Spring)
Sunday August 11th, 2024 FocusMusic presents Ronn McFarlane at Church of the Ascension. 633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 | 7.30pm | adv tickets $25, day-of $30 (members $25 at the door) | Livestream is available for $15 and will be available for at least 48 hours after the event
GRAMMY-nominated lutenist, Ronn McFarlane strives to bring the lute - the most popular instrument of the Renaissance - into today’s musical mainstream and make it accessible to a wider audience.
Since taking up the lute in 1978, Ronn has made his mark in music as the founder of Ayreheart, a founding member of the Baltimore Consort, touring 49 of the 50 United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany and Austria, and as a guest artist with Apollo’s Fire, The Bach Sinfonia, The Catacoustic Consort, The Folger Consort, Houston Grand Opera, The Oregon Symphony, The Portland Baroque Orchestra, and The Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.
Born in West Virginia, Ronn grew up in Maryland. At thirteen, upon hearing “Wipeout” by the Surfaris, he fell madly in love with music and taught himself to play on a “cranky sixteen-dollar steel string guitar.” Ronn kept at it, playing blues and rock music on the electric guitar while studying classical guitar. He graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued guitar studies at Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978. The next year, he began to perform solo recitals on the lute and became a member of the Baltimore Consort. Since then, he has toured throughout the United States, Canada and Europe with the Baltimore Consort and as a soloist.
Sat 9/7 - Joe Crookston (Charlottesville)
Sat 9/7 - FocusMusic and Unity of Charlottesville present Joe Crookston at Unity of Charlottesville.
Joe is a force of nature on stage. He is in his power AND he communes with his audience and welcomes them into the magic.
From touring with Gordon Lightfoot, headlining major US festivals, receiving Folk Alliance International “Album of the Year,” releasing NINE BECOMES ONE (2023) to being named Folk Alliance International Artist-in- Resident, Joe is on fire. He’s played with Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams, David Francey, John McCutcheon, John Gorka, Judy Collins and 100’s more. His songs are are being made into award winning films. Watch this trailer for Brooklyn in July
He’ll surprise you. He awakens the cynics. He’s plumbing for lyrical gold.
His rhythm is infectious. In concert, he is funny as hell one moment and transcendent the next. photo: Linda McDonald
Sun 10/13 - Friction Farm (Silver Spring)
Sat 10/26 - Carrie Newcomer (Alexandria and Virtual)
Sat 10/26 - FocusMusic and WFMA present Carrie Newcomer at Saint Aidan's Episcopal Church.
8531 Riverside Rd., Alexandria, Virginia, 22308 | $25 in advance (members $22.50) / $30 at door (members $25)
Virtual Tickets: $25 in advance (members $22.50)
Events
Current COVID policy
Please note that FocusMusic's COVID policy may be updated without notice as conditions require, and may be further modified by the individual venues.
1/13/22
We request that all attendees be vaccinated and be prepared to show vaccination status for admission (or a negative COVID test dated within the past 72 hours). Additionally, we require that the audience and staff wear masks at all times inside the building unless actively eating or drinking. We thank you for complying with what we’ve determined to be best for our community.