10/15 - Scott Cook w Pamala Mae
Scott Cook
“As good a modern folkie as we have these days. A perfect voice for the genre. An understanding beyond the norm.”
-No Depression
Saturday, October 15, 2022.
FocusMusic presents Scott Cook & Pamala Mae | Island Pride Oasis | 617 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 | 7.30pm
In 2007, Albertan songwriter Scott Cook quit his job teaching kindergarten in Taiwan and moved into a minivan. He’s made his living as a troubadour ever since, touring almost incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, averaging 150 shows and a dozen summer festivals a year, and releasing seven albums of plainspoken, keenly observant verse along the way. His latest collection Tangle of Souls comes packaged in a cloth-bound, 240-page hardcover book of road stories and ruminations, equal parts introspection and insurrection. The album spent two weeks at #1 on Alberta's province-wide community radio network CKUA, and earned Scott his third Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year. Its second single "Say Can You See" was the second most-played song of 2020 on Folk Alliance International's folk radio charts, and took top honours for the folk category in both the 2020 UK Songwriting Competition and the 2020 Great American Song Contest. In 2022 he's touring the album around North America with his sweetheart Pamela Mae on upright bass, banjo and vocals, believing more than ever that songs can change your life, and your life can change the world.
"Scott Cook’s seventh 'love letter' to the world is all strings and beauty, a 12-song agnostic endorsement of love over fear... It doesn’t condemn, it summons to one fire... Of all his records this one simply feels the best. ✭✭✭✭✭" –Fish Griwkowsky, The Edmonton Journal
"Damn, this is a gorgeous album. Scott Cook’s voice –– vocally and lyrically –– is as clear-eyed, optimistic, and straightforward as ever... Tangle of Souls is the medicine we could all use right now." –Rachel Cholst, Adobe and Teardrops
"He sings his heart and soul, and in doing so lets light flood into your own... He has a good eye for imagery, a gentle human touch, a wry sense of humour, a whole lot of integrity, a warm, rugged voice and a bunch of memorable lines... Truly one of Woody Guthrie's children." –RnR Magazine
Tickets are $20 in advance and $20 at the door to members of Focus or venue (where applicable), $25 at the door to non-members. Virtual tickets (when available) are $20 in advance and $25 day-of the performance.
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)
Registration details will be EMAILED along with a receipt (two separate emails). For in-person events, please just check in at the front desk! For online shows a link will accompany your registration email. If you do not receive that email - please check your spam folder. If you still cannot find details contacting tickets@focusmusic.org.
Wed 10/19 - Focus Board Showcase
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
FocusMusic Presents Their Talented Performing Board Members - Hank Dietle's Tavern | 11010 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD | 8pm
Do you know how hard it is to gather 6 of the hardest-working local singer/songwriters in one place at one time? Between them they've toured hundreds of thousands of miles, won dozens of awards and put in countless hours of work into their local communities supporting the local Washington DC Metropolitan music scene. In a role that is often thankless, FocusMusic has chosen to thank them AGGRESSIVELY with a night letting them all do what they do best! This show has been almost a year in the making and it is with great pride that FocusMusic presents the performing members of our leadership all on one stage! Ross Martin, Emily Hall, Annette Wasilik, Gabrielle Zwi and rob Hinkal all as part of a special presentation of the Local Cream songwriter's showcase!
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.
This show is free to attend, but donations are encouraged!
Sat 10/22 - Calan
Calan
Saturday, October 22, 2022
FocusMusic Presents Calan at Focus Mount Vernon - St. Aidan's Episcopal Church | 8531 Riverside Rd., Alexandria, VA | 7pm
The untraditionally traditional Cymru, Wales-based group Calan is the only Gwerin (translation: Folk) band to be held in a detainment cell at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport alongside a death metal band from Estonia. Calan is also the only band of any genre to follow-up that experience by performing alongside Sting at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 50th birthday celebration of famed opera singer, Sir Bryn Terfel Jones.
These facts, even without listening to a note (or a foot stomp) from Calan, makes them rock stars, albeit rock stars on a mission to prove that traditional music, based on folklore and taught and performed through the generations, actually does rock. With 2017 performances in Australia and China following several months touring the US and UK supporting the new album Solomon (Sain Records, May 12th), Calan is on its way to accomplishing that.
Despite the ancient roots of Calan’s music, this brash, young group is comprised of a new generation of ambassadors, striving to take their sound to new audiences, raising some eyebrows with their deliberate presentation, while also raising the international profile of traditional Welsh music. Get used to this: Accordion, Fiddle, Pipes, Harp, and the percussive sound of Clogs are the new Guitar, Bass, and Drums.
To date, Calan has gone from busking in the streets of Cardiff to introducing Welsh traditional music to curious music fans in the UK, Belgium, Italy, France, and on several tours of North America, playing festival shows on huge stages to tens-of-thousands, as well as at local folk club shows, unrestricted by sound systems, while standing on tables and jumping off chairs.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $20 at the door to members of Focus or venue (where applicable), $25 at the door to non-members. Virtual tickets (when available) are $20 in advance and $25 day-of the performance.
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)
Registration details will be EMAILED along with a receipt (two separate emails). For in-person events, please just check in at the front desk! For online shows a link will accompany your registration email. If you do not receive that email - please check your spam folder. If you still cannot find details contacting tickets@focusmusic.org.
Sun 10/23 - Calan
Calan
Sunday, October 23, 2022
FocusMusic Presents Calan at Focus Mount Rockville - Tikvat Israel | 2200 Baltimore Rd, Rockville, MD 20851 | 7.30pm
The untraditionally traditional Cymru, Wales-based group Calan is the only Gwerin (translation: Folk) band to be held in a detainment cell at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport alongside a death metal band from Estonia. Calan is also the only band of any genre to follow-up that experience by performing alongside Sting at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the 50th birthday celebration of famed opera singer, Sir Bryn Terfel Jones.
These facts, even without listening to a note (or a foot stomp) from Calan, makes them rock stars, albeit rock stars on a mission to prove that traditional music, based on folklore and taught and performed through the generations, actually does rock. With 2017 performances in Australia and China following several months touring the US and UK supporting the new album Solomon (Sain Records, May 12th), Calan is on its way to accomplishing that.
Despite the ancient roots of Calan’s music, this brash, young group is comprised of a new generation of ambassadors, striving to take their sound to new audiences, raising some eyebrows with their deliberate presentation, while also raising the international profile of traditional Welsh music. Get used to this: Accordion, Fiddle, Pipes, Harp, and the percussive sound of Clogs are the new Guitar, Bass, and Drums.
To date, Calan has gone from busking in the streets of Cardiff to introducing Welsh traditional music to curious music fans in the UK, Belgium, Italy, France, and on several tours of North America, playing festival shows on huge stages to tens-of-thousands, as well as at local folk club shows, unrestricted by sound systems, while standing on tables and jumping off chairs.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $20 at the door to members of Focus or venue (where applicable), $25 at the door to non-members. Virtual tickets (when available) are $20 in advance and $25 day-of the performance.
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)
Registration details will be EMAILED along with a receipt (two separate emails). For in-person events, please just check in at the front desk! For online shows a link will accompany your registration email. If you do not receive that email - please check your spam folder. If you still cannot find details contacting tickets@focusmusic.org.
Sun 11/13 - Goldpine
Goldpine
Sunday, November 13, 2022
FocusMusic Presents Goldpine at Focus Mount Rockville - Tikvat Israel | 2200 Baltimore Rd, Rockville, MD 20851 | 7.30pm
Exposing the pains of severed relationships and unearthing the pursuits of love and purpose, Goldpine is cathartic, moody, dissonant, and relevant. After nearly a decade of honing in on their sound, they’re ready to give the world their self-produced LP, One — set for release Friday, August 26. One is a snapshot of this season of their lives — symbolizing a new beginning and an homage to the halcyon journey under their previous band name “My One and Only” — leading them to where they are now. Laced with bold vocal harmonies and fervent lyrics, One is the perfect introduction to Goldpine.
From festivals like 30A Songwriting Festival and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, to listening rooms throughout the United States, Ben and Kassie have been offering their own brand of raw Americana to audiences large and small. WINNER of the 2022 Rocky Mountain Songwriter Contest and Finalists in the Kerrville Folk Fest 2021 New Folk Competition, the duo's bold harmonies are clearly a channel for their highly charged songwriting. Presented the “Discovery Award” in 2018 by acclaimed music critic, Robert K. Oermann (Music Row Magazine), Ben and Kassie declared performance as their love-share to the world, and since then, have maintained the love and commitment they put into their shows.
“…their musical arrangements are very innovative and eclectic.” - Melissa Clarke (Americana Highways)
“I love these guys...their never-ending onslaught of bold harmony is undeniable.” Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes), Grammy Award-nominated producer.
“…a melding of raw acoustic music with meaningful lyrics that paint a picture of their and our journey.” -Eric Dahl, host of Fox 17 Rock & Review Radio & TV
Tickets are $20 in advance and $20 at the door to members of Focus or venue (where applicable), $25 at the door to non-members. Virtual tickets (when available) are $20 in advance and $25 day-of the performance.
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)
Registration details will be EMAILED along with a receipt (two separate emails). For in-person events, please just check in at the front desk! For online shows a link will accompany your registration email. If you do not receive that email - please check your spam folder. If you still cannot find details contacting tickets@focusmusic.org.
Sat 11/19 - Lavenia Nesmith | Columbia MD
Lavenia Nesmith
Lavenia Nesmith at the One World Coffeehouse | 7246 Cradlerock Way Columbia, MD 21045 | Saturday November 19th, 2022, 7:00 pm | $25
A native Washingtonian, Lavenia Nesmith has performed locally and nationally, including Blues Alley, Twins Jazz, Bohemian Caverns, LaPortas, Jazz Night at Westminster, Oakland Mills Jazz Series, Henley Park Hotel, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Mandarin Hotel, Tuskegee Airmen Gala, The Arch of the Capitol, The Hart Senate Office Building, the Library of Congress, the Gaylord Hotel at the National Harbor and the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel in Atlanta, GA.
A promising musician since an early age, Lavenia suspended a professional musical career after college in order to start a family, raise two sons and follow a successful career path dedicated to public service, inspired to help others. Today, Lavenia is renewing the pursuit of her passion as a vocalist full-time.
"Her voice rich and resonant can be powerful and poignant, sultry or sweet..." - Janet Gilbert, The Baltimore Sun
More at lavenianesmith.com
*****Important pandemic-resistant features of this concert*****
*****Subject to change per guidance from CDC, local officials, and venue management*****
This event will have a socially distanced, limited-capacity, table seating. “Masks Only” tables will be available.
Event is open to fully vaccinated individuals only.
Attendees must wear masks inside the common areas of the Owen Brown Interfaith Center.
Performers and venue staff have been fully vaccinated.
Performers will not be required to wear masks while performing.
In the event that guidelines change and an in-person performance is no longer permitted, the show will be live-streamed and available to ticketholders for online viewing.
If your situation changes and you are unable to attend the live show, you will still be able to view the livestream as a ticket holder. More details for that option will be available when tickets go on sale one month prior to the show.
For more info, contact: OneWorldCoffeehouse@uucolumbia.net or call 410-381-0097
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.