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FocusMusic Online:
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Join FocusMusic!
FocusMusic has members and we'd love for YOU to join! It's our MEMBERSHIP and your DONATIONS that allow us to fulfill our mission of supporting the ARTISTS and at the moment, with no ticket sales coming in, it's all the more important to support through membership. We want to be here with our stages when the artists are able to tour again!
Please help us be able to continue to do this!
Join Today!
Other Online Concert Links:
Folk Alliance International Livestream Calendar
A huge sortable calendar updated and maintained by the staff of Folk Alliance International.
Institute of Musical Traditions Concert Vault : Hundreds of great videos from the past two decades of IMT's 40 years of shows - highlighting folk, blues, world music and more from all over the Earth.
Philadelphia Folksong Society Digital Concert Venue : Presenting artists local, regional, and international – old favorites and new discoveries – to a digital audience of music lovers from the comfort of their own homes!
Undiscoveredmusic.net :Upcoming Live Streamed Acoustic Concerts
FocusMusic Venue Information:
Charlottesville
Unity of Charlottesville
2825 Hydraulic Cir
Charlottesville, VA 22901 | Herb Levy
Fairfax
Earp's Ordinary
10420 Main St., Fairfax, VA 22030 | Jillian Matundan
Gaithersburg
Island Pride Oasis Restaurant
617 S Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20877 | Shelley Caplan
Mount Vernon
St. Aidan's Episcopal Church
8531 Riverside Rd., Alexandria, VA 22308 | Brent Ruggles
Rockville
Hank Dietle's Tavern
11010 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852 | Annette Wasilik
Silver Spring
Episcopal Church of the Ascension
633 Sligo Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910 | Judy Oliver
Sterling
Community Lutheran Church
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Sterling, 22135 Davis Dr Suite 104, Sterling, VA 20164 | Maura Greenman
Area Concert Series:
Institute of Musical Traditions
Folklore Society of Greater Washington
Carroll Cafe
Folk Club of Reston Herndon
One World Coffeehouse
Songwriters Association of Washington
Uptown Concerts
World Folk Music Association
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Okay, just because I'm on the bill for the next Local Cream Songwriter Showcase doesn't mean I'm gonna get all big-deal about it.
Trying to be strong.
And fair.
I've gotten to do one of these Local Creams before and I had a marvelous time, but the last time Annette put me on the stage with artists I already knew! As a host of open mics, one of my favourite things is being introduced to performers I know little to nothing about and being surprised by what they bring to the table.
Wednesday September 4th will be more like it. And I will NOT look them up… I will NOT look them up!
(but I will cut and paste some quotes about everyone while trying not to spoil the lineup for myself!)
“In a perfect world, Annette Wasilik would be a star.” [okay, I knew about HER!]
~ Ken Nagelberg Baton Rouge Community Radio WHYR 96.9 FM
“Everything you most loved about Dolly and Rosanne is here, [Mary Battiata writes] with heart-tugging hooks that snag like spurs.” – Andrew Darlington, RNR Magazine, UK (March/April) [nice! I think I've seen Mary with her band, but never solo!]
Local boy Bill Baker has become a familiar name in the Washington DC music scene. His award winning and critically acclaimed songs and voice have made there way across the States and onto main stage venues at Kerrville Folk Festival, Merlefest, Kennedy center, Strathmore arts center and Barns at Wolftrap as well as performances in Europe. [I just came back from Europe, but no-one let me play ANYTHING except James Bond's girlfriend's cello!]
“Percussive, rhythmically driven guitar that freely composites fingerpicking, classical melodies, running bass lines, harmonics, & hard-charging chords. [rob Hinkal‘s] vocals are needled & gaunt, with the jittery energy of a dockyard stray on speed …” – Allzah [that's familiar too]
Tickets at focusmusic.org!
-tGBtN
Wed 9/4 - Local Cream (Rockville)
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! This month Annette hosts Mary Battiata, rob Hinkal and Bill Baker!
Sat 9/7 - Joe Crookston (Charlottesville)
Sat 9/7 - FocusMusic and Unity of Charlottesville present Joe Crookston at Unity of Charlottesville. 2825 Hydraulic Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22901 | 7pm | tickets $20
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.
Tickets at focusmusic.org!
Sun 9/22 - Lara Herscovitch w Sean McGhee (Gaithersburg + Virtual)
Sunday September 22nd, 2024 WFMA & FocusMusic present Lara Herscovitch with Sean McGhee opening at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn. 311 Kent Square Rd., Gaithersburg, MD | 7pm | $25 in advance (WFMA & Focus members $22.50) / $30 at door (members $25), Virtual admission $15 in advance (members $13.50)
Lara Herscovitch is singer-songwriter-poet-performer gem. As described in The Boston Globe, she brings “a luminous voice and a buoyant stage presence… big-hearted lyrics embrace the sum of life… Herscovitch’s music blows on the embers of a lagging spirit or a dormant creative life.” Lara leads with authenticity, integrity, humor and heart. Sound Waves Magazine described her music as “expertly written prose… songwriting at its best… good for your ears AND your soul.” Acoustic Live in New York City added, “She possesses not only a huge reservoir of musical talent and a voice with a bell-like clarity, but a keen sense of global concern and a fierce intellect... It might seem too good to be true, but true it is.”
Sean McGhee has performed with Doris Justis as Side by Side for over 31 years. Sean is an outstanding tenor vocalist and a master of the 12-string guitar, with a quick wit and irreverent sense of humor. In 2000, he joined Mack Bailey (Hard Travelers & Limeliters) and Rick Dougherty (Limeliters, Kingston Trio & The Folk Legacy Trio) to perform as the "Three Folk Tenors" at the Birchmere Music Hall.
Tickets at focusmusic.org!
Sun 10/13 - Friction Farm (Silver Spring)
Sunday October 13th, 2024 FocusMusic presents Friction Farm at Episcopal Church of the Ascension. 633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 | 7.30pm | adv tickets $25, day-of $30 (members $25 at the door)
Modern-folk duo Friction Farm is a husband and wife team of internationally traveling troubadours. Aidan Quinn and Christine Stay combine storytelling, social commentary and humor to create songs of everyday life, local heroes, and quirky observations. From ballads to anthems each song is filled with harmony and hope.
Tickets at focusmusic.org!
Sat 10/26 - Carrie Newcomer (Alexandria and Virtual)
Sat 10/26 - FocusMusic and WFMA present Carrie Newcomer w/pianist Gary Walters at Saint Aidan's Episcopal Church.
8531 Riverside Rd., Alexandria, Virginia, 22308 | 7pm | Admission: $40 in advance (members $36) / $45 at door (members $40) Virtual Tickets: $40 (members $36) available through WFMA.net
Carrie Newcomer is a songwriter, recording artist, performer, educator and activist. She has been described as a "prairie mystic" by the Boston Globe and one who "asks all the right questions" by Rolling Stone Magazine. Carrie has 20 nationally released albums on Available Light & Concord/Rounder Records including A Great Wild Mercy, Until Now, The Point of Arrival and The Beautiful Not Yet. Newcomer has released three books of poetry & essays, A Permeable Life: Poems and Essays, The Beautiful Not Yet: Poems and Essays & Lyrics, and Until Now: New Poems by Carrie Newcomer. Her song "I Should've Known Better" appeared on Nickel Creeks' Grammy-winning gold album This Side, and she earned an Emmy for her PBS special An Evening with Carrie Newcomer.
Tickets at focusmusic.org!
FocusMusic could use you.
In ways big and small, FocusMusic could use your help and support. This isn't a fundraising request (though we're always happy to receive donations), this is a request for skilled communicators, sound engineers, streaming engineers, we need people who can write grants, emails, social media posts. And yeah, we even need people who'll help us put the chairs back after a show.
We even need people simply interested in learning any of the above skills... because FocusMusic doesn't just want to be proud of the past 20 some years of concerts, we want to look forward to the NEXT 20 years as well - and that doesn't happen simply with ticket sales and an annual check or two - that happens with inspiration and excitement and emotions and smarts.
You can just reply to this email if you think any of the above could be YOU.
Other Local Performances.
As COVID ebbs, flows and resurges Local Performances continue to be something of an ever-shifting variable. However there are a couple of organizations and acts trying to find a way forward with physical, in-person events!
Mondays
rob's Open Mics
Our executive director and TGBtN, rob Hinkal*, runs regular open mics Mondays online, Tuesdays in Takoma Park, MD and Sundays in Catonsville… 8/20 w Matt Pless, 8/27 w Grey Jacks, 9/3 w Owen Walsh, 9/17 w Chris Compton, 9/24 w Boy Meets Pearl, 10/1 w Jeff Miller, 10/8 w Dirk Hamilton, 10/15 w Justin Heath and Bebe, 10/22 w anna p.s. … Visit robsopenmics.ilyaimy.com for details.
Fri Aug 23
ilyAIMY* and Rebecca Berlin Quartet
Morsbergers in Catonsville, MD
info at ilyaimy.com
Sun Sept 8
Takoma Park Folk Festival*
Takoma Park Middle School in Takoma Park, MD
Info at tpff.org
Thurs Sept 12
Uptown Concerts Presents CHRISTINE LAVIN & VANCE GILBERT
Cellar Stage in Fulton, MD
Tickets and info at uptownconcerts.com
Sun Sept 15
School of Musical Traditions presents Down Hill Strugglers
School of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD
Tickets and info at schoolofmusicaltraditions.com
Tues Oct 8
Institute of Musical Traditions Presents Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas
Saint Mark Presbyterian in Rockville, MD
Info at imtfolk.org
*These artists are members of FocusMusic leadership - we appreciate your support!
FocusMusic is a nonprofit 501(C)(3) organization supported by contributions from individual donors and by funding from supporting organizations.
 
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