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!
Wednesday November 1st with Friction Farm - and your marvelous host Annette Wasilik.
Sat 1/6 - Dan Navarro (Gaithersburg)
Saturday January 6th, 2024
FocusMusic Presents Dan Navarro at Island Pride Oasis. 617 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 | 7.30pm | adv tickets $25, day-of $30 (members $25 at the door) | Livestream will be available for at least 48 hours after the event
Dan Navarro has had an eclectic 40+ year career as a songwriter, recording and touring artist, session singer and voice actor spread over 17 acclaimed albums, thousands of concerts, singing and voice acting in films like Oscar-winners Coco and Happy Feet, The Book of Life and Pirates of the Caribbean 5, TV series American Dad, Prison Break and Mr. Iglesias, hit games Fallout 4 and Red Dead Redemption II, hundreds of commercials in Spanish and English, and writing songs for Pat Benatar (the Grammy-nominated classic “We Belong”), The Bangles, Dave Edmunds and more. In early 2019, after 20+ years with Lowen & Navarro, he released his first studio-recorded solo album, “Shed My Skin”, to rave reviews. He’s the personification of the engaged Renaissance artist, even in COVID lockdown, with over 200 housebound live streams since March. Dan insists that art is food, music is love, and sleep is for babies.
More about Dan Navarro at dannavarro.com
Advance tickets $25 / day-of and door $30 (member / congregation as-applicable $25 at the door) - Livestream offerings (unless otherwise noted) will be available for at least 48 hours after the event and is included with all tickets
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.
Sat 1/20 - Laura Baron Album Release (Silver Spring)
"Baron’s vocal performance is a call beyond duty, ultimately superb..”
-Warlock Asylum
Saturday January 20th, 2024
FocusMusic Presents Laura Baron at Church of the Ascension. 633 Sligo Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910 | 7pm | adv tickets $25, day-of $30 (members $25 at the door) | Livestream will be available for at least 48 hours after the event
The Laura Baron Trio will celebrate the release of her new album with a dynamic concert on February 20, 2024, presented by Focus Music.
Laura Baron is an accomplished and talented singer-songwriter, known for her ability to inspire and entertain her audience. Her unique blend of indie folk, finger snapping jazz, and world influences adds depth and richness to her songs, making her music both engaging and thought-provoking.
Through her songwriting, Laura Baron has a remarkable talent for delving into the heart of the matter. Her captivating voice and compelling lyrics transport the audience to magical places creating a truly immersive and upbeat experience.
Laura has received awards and recognition for her work, as she possesses the ability to use music as a medium to awaken emotions, inspire thought, and entertain her listeners.
Her new music video, “Heal Out Loud” was created in support of a national effort to stop the stigma people face with mental health and substance abuse issues #stopstigmatogether
Her awards include several Wammies as well as four Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Gold Awards.
"Her voice is evocative and expressive. She breathes life into poignant lyrics...”-Band Camp Diaries
More about Laura Baron at laurabaronmusic.com
Advance tickets $25 / day-of and door $30 (member / congregation as-applicable $25 at the door) - Livestream offerings (unless otherwise noted) will be available for at least 48 hours after the event and is included with all tickets
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.
Sat 2/10 - Tina Ross (Gaithersburg)
FocusMusic presents Tina Ross.
Island Pride Oasis | 617 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 | 7.30pm | $25 adv / $30 door
After a full career as a Chiropractor, NY based Singer Songwriter Tina Ross is on fire writing, recording and performing. A voice/biology major in college, and vocalist in a Jazz trio throughout her health profession, in 2019 she made a career change and released her debut album in February 2023 to wonderful reviews.
First Tina had to overcome some physical challenges. After being accidentally hit in the throat, she could not sing for more than five minutes, and, after she injured her hands as a chiropractor, she searched for a way to adjust her guitar playing to the limitations of this disability. Open tunings were the answer and resulted in the distinctive, nuanced textures in her guitar playing.
Tina combines her soaring, intimate voice and sonic-scaped guitar playing with songs that are like a timeless painting. A quiet, elegant fierceness runs through her songs, speaking to wonder, humility, doubt and defiance.
Tina hosts a monthly zoom concert/interview hybrid broadcast, through the Folk Project of NJ, where seasoned Singer Songwriters play their songs and Tina engages them in a lively conversation about their inspiration and process of songwriting. She also hosts/MCs The Folk Project’s Open Stage.
Tina was named Focus Music’s 2023 Rising Artist, a finalist in the UK Songwriting, International Acoustic Music Awards and International Blues and Roots Radio Contests and honorable mention in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.
"This CD is Ross’ debut. The songs warm the soul like a fireplace in the winter & fill the room with a special amber glow."
~ Americana Highways , John Apice
“Tina Ross will bring you joy. Her gorgeous voice, well written songs, and her great connection with the audience will take her places. Do check her out!!”
~Jill Padua – Presenter River Vibes Concerts
Advance tickets $25 / day-of and door $30 (member / congregation as-applicable $25 at the door) - Livestream offerings (unless otherwise noted) will be available for at least 48 hours after the event and is included with all tickets
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.
Sat 3/2 - Amy Speace (Gaithersburg)
“Amy Speace is on a roll. Each new release has brought an expansion of her voice and her art, and she has reached the level of absolute mastery. Folk music doesn’t get any better than this.” — MARY GAUTHIER
FocusMusic presents Amy Speace.
Island Pride Oasis | 617 S Frederick Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 20879 | 7.30pm | $25 adv / $30 door
“Amy Speace seems to have the most reliable muse in Music City and an ear for sonic settings that help her carefully chosen words soar and drift. Just when we thought she couldn’t be any more vulnerable, she arrived this year with Tucson, an album written largely at a recovery center where Speace confronted some early life trauma and its long shadows. If a folk artist is supposed to share everything while teaching us something about ourselves, Speace is an exemplar.”
— CRAIG HAVIGHURST - "STRING THEORY" HOST, NASHVILLE, TN
Heralded by Rolling Stone and Billboard Magazine, Amy Speace is one of contemporary folk and Americana music’s leading voices of the new generation. Lauded by mentors Judy Collins, Tom Paxton and Janis Ian, as well as the songwriting community in Nashville, her songs have been recorded by Judy Collins, Red Molly, Sid Selvidge among others. After 20 years of touring, she has played concerts all across the US and Europe and has graced stages from Glastonbury Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival in the UK to Rocky Mountain Folks Festival and Mountain Stage.
She began her career in the iconic folk venues of New York City where she was discovered by Judy Collins and signed to her Wildflower Records label. Relocating to Nashville in 2009, she quickly became embraced by the songwriting community, with regular shows at The Bluebird Café as well as her international touring. In 2020, her song “Me and the Ghost of Charlemagne” was named International Song of the Year by the Americana Music Association UK. Her 2021 release, “There Used To Be Horses Here” received widespread critical acclaim from Rolling Stone to Billboard. Performing Songwriter gave it 5 out of 5 stars and named it as the #4 release of 2021. Her latest album, “Tucson” (Windbone/Proper Records) landed #1 on the Folk Radio Charts in April, 2022 and was widely lauded as one of Speace’s finest work. This year, her 2013 record, “How To Sleep In A Stormy Boat,” which was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered was named to the Top 10 Albums of the century.
A “writer’s writer”, she is a published poet, with pieces appearing in 2022’s Spring edition of 2River Review and Euophia. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, Salon.com, American Songwriter, No Depression.
Advance tickets $25 / day-of and door $30 (member / congregation as-applicable $25 at the door) - Livestream offerings (unless otherwise noted) will be available for at least 48 hours after the event and is included with all tickets
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.
Sat 3/23 - Joe Jencks (Charlottesville)
FocusMusic and Unity of Charlottesville present Joe Jencks.
2825 Hydraulic Cir
Charlottesville, VA 22901 | 7pm
Joe Jencks is an 25-year veteran of the international folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter, and celebrated vocalist based in Chicago. Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, Joe delivers engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. Having penned several #1 Folksongs including the ever-relevant Lady of The Harbor, Jencks is also co-founder of the harmony trio, Brother Sun. From Festivals like Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Mariposa, and Old Songs, to venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Jencks has enthralled diverse audiences with his approachable style. Joe is noted for his unique merging of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Jencks serves it all up with a lyric baritone voice that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel.
More about Joe Jencks at www.joejencks.com
Tickets coming soon from Unity of Charlottesville.
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.