2016 Festival/Expo Program Booklet

The CT Folk Board of Directors
extends Very Special Thanks
to Grassy Hill Entertainment
for their generous
and ongoing support
of CT Folk and the
Connecticut Folk
Festival & Green Expo
THANK YOU!
Welcome to the 2016 Connecticut
Folk Festival & Green Expo!
We are thrilled to offer you a full day of incredible music on the
mainstage, as well as in our Green Kids Acoustic Corner.
We hope you enjoy all parts of this festival and make it your
tradition to return every year to enjoy the wonderful music on
the Main Stage, the Contra Dance, Green Kids Activities, over 60
handmade artisans and non-profit organizations in our Green
Expo, as well as good food to satisfy all tastebuds! And don’t
forget to visit our Beer and Wine Tent, which is new this year.
It takes so many different talents to produce a festival. We are
grateful for our team of volunteers, our board of directors,
our festival director and production team, and our dedicated
sponsors who make this possible. The Connecticut Folk
Festival & Green Expo is a year-round effort which creates a
quality event that is free to everyone.
We are glad you are here, and thankful for your support of CT
Folk.
Musically Yours,
Barbara Shiller
President, Board of Directors
CT Folk
FESTIVAL SEATING
Seating is general admission throughout the day. There are
designated areas for persons with disabilities.
Beginning at 4:00 PM, there will be two additional designated
areas:“blankets and LOW chairs only” and “full-sized chairs.”
Tents, canopies and beach umbrellas are prohibited.
Please do not sit or congregate in the aisles.
Site Map
WPKN
Festival Stage
PwD Rest
Room
Volunteers HQ
Map is not drawn to scale.
CT Folk
Blankets and LOW Chairs
First Aid
CONTRA DANCE
(Lower Level Area)
Edgerton
Park
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CDs, Merchandise
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Beer and
Wine Tent
Festival Seating
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Green Kids
Activities
Giant Water
Fountain
Rest Rooms
PwD Rest
Room
Greenhouse
Food Court
Ashley’s Ice Cream
Chief Brody’s Bahn Mi
Christiano’s Pizzeria
Dads Food Truck
Elm City Kettlecorn
Everything About Crepes
Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant
Libby’s Italian Ice
One World Roasters
Raw You-niverse Smoothies & Beyond
Savvy Tea Gourmet
MUSIC SCHEDULE
FESTIVAL MAINSTAGE
11:00 AM
Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition Finalists:
Arms and Voices, O’hAnleigh, Amy Soucy,
Mike Vial and Ira Wolf
12:15 PM
Stacy Phillips and His Bluegrass Characters
1:00 PM
The Grebes
1:45 PM
Cricket Blue
2:30 PM
Jim Trick
3:15 PM
Winner of the 2016 Grassy Hill
Songwriting Competition
3:30 PM
Kate Callahan
4:00 PM
Grassy Hill Song Circle with Brad Cole,
Matt Nakoa and Robinson Treacher
5:15 PM
The Young Novelists, Winners of the
2015 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition
6:15 PM
Spuyten Duyvil
7:15 PM
Ryan Montbleau
8:45 PM
Susan Werner with special guest Trina Hamlin
GREEN KIDS ACOUSTIC CORNER
11:00 AM
Robert Messore
12:00 PM
Benny Mikula, The Lone Gnome
1:00 PM
Jay Mankita’s Playful Earth Music
2:00 PM
Shawn Taylor
3:00 PM
Liz McNicholl
4:00 PM
Robert Messore
CONTRA DANCE (IN THE LOWER PARK)
2:00 PM - 4:00 PM Family Friendly Contra Dance with
Wry Bred and caller Bill Fischer
GREEN EXPO ACTIVITIES
● 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Shadow Puppets with EcoWorks
● 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM – Bike Rodeo with Elm City Cycling
● 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM – Rain Barrel Demo with Bioregional Group
● 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM – Make Your Own Sock Puppets
with One World Puppetry
● 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM – Hoopla Zone with Bring the Hoopla
● 12:45 PM to 1:00 PM – Zumba Fitness with Beyond Fitness
● 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM – Wonderful Worms with Alexis of
Duck Truck Composting
● 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM – Mystic Touch Tank with Mystic Aquarium
● 2:00 PM to 2:30 PM – Yoga with Lani
● 2:45 PM to 3:00 PM – Zumba Fitness with Beyond Fitness
● 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM – Make Your Own Sock Puppets
with One World Puppetry
● 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM – Hoopla Zone with Bring the Hoopla
● 3:45 PM – PUPPET PARADE!!!!!
● 4:15 PM to 4:45 PM – Wonderful Worms with Alexis of
Duck Truck Composting
Throughout the Day
● Sidewalk Chalking and Bubbles with CT Folk
● Make Your Garden Grow with Massaro Community Farm
● Making “Sound Sandwiches” with New Haven Museum
● Natural History Kit with Peabody Museum
● Face Painting with Art Simplicated by Alicia Cobb
● Acoustic Music Performances at Devil’s Envy Hot Sauce Booth.
● Chair-Seat Caning and Weaving with East Street Arts
Green Expo Activity Leaders
ART SIMPLICATED is a visual arts company that specializes in face and
body paint for all kinds of events from birthday parties to fashion shows.
BEYOND FITNESS believes that dance is a great way for to have fun, get in
shape and celebrate life. The ambiance at BEFIT is designed to motivate
participants toward inspiring and helping others to persevere toward fitness
goals: health and happiness. At session’s end, participants should be energized after enjoying a great, exhilarating workout..
BRING THE HOOPLA has a mission: to bring the fun back into fitness. They
create a welcoming and positive environment while utilizing the hoop as a
form of play and exercise. Through encouraging instruction, using customdesigned hand-made hoops, Bring the Hoopla instills the importance
of confidence. Each child’s self-esteem and self-expression ensures a
successful program for everyone.
EAST STREET ARTS is dedicated to fostering the creation of art through
artisan training programs, workshops and community interactions for
persons of all abilities. The artists benefit from income opportunities as they
show and sell their work in the attached retail and gallery space.
ECOWORKS is a creative reuse center staffed by a group of volunteers
who are passionate about the arts and hate waste. They collect materials
destined for disposal and make them available to teachers, artists and other
creative folks.
ELM CITY CYCLING is New Haven’s home for bicycle advocacy and community. We are a volunteer-run, member-supported non-profit organization
that aims to make New Haven a better place to get around by bicycle by
both advocating for better bicycling conditions and organizing fun events.
LANI ROSEN GALLAGHER of Full of Joy Yoga has a passion for teaching
yoga to children. She looks for chances to improve the lives and futures of
children by practicing yoga with them and playing healthy games that help
them laugh, love and grow.
MASSARO COMMUNITY FARM is a non-profit, certified-organic farm
whose staff strive to enhance the quality of life for generations to come.
The farm’s operation includes a 175-member CSA, a weekly presence
at the Edgewood Park Farmer’s Market, sale of produce to select area
restaurants, and the donation of at least 10% of the farm’s crops to local
hunger relief agencies.
Green Expo Activity Leaders
MYSTIC AQUARIUM offers formal and informal education programs dessigned to inspire learners of all ages. Through inquiry-based teaching and
hands-on activities, programs such as today’s Touch Tank encourage people
to use and develop skills such as observing, hypothesizing, experimenting,
and drawing conclusions.
NEW HAVEN BIOREGIONAL GROUP sponsors walks, films, canoe trips,
potlucks, and other events to build community and local resilience and to help
residents of the Quinnipiac Bioregion connect with both their natural and built
environments.
NEW HAVEN MUSEUM collects, preserves, and makes available for research the materials which document the history of the greater New Haven
area. The museum’s Education Department provide programs and educational outreach to both young people and adults.
PEABODY MUSEUM goes “on the road” with its Natural History Kit, giving
Green Expo visitors the opportunity to touch.a replica of a T.Rex tooth, feel
black bear fur, compare the skulls of a deer, bear and beaver, and look closely
into the 8(!) eyes of a tarantula.
ALEXIS WILCOX of Duck Truck Composting, through her Wonderful Worms
Program, engages, educates and enchants children as she explains about
composting and showcases worms in their natural element.
Tidewater Institute has collaboratively
coordinated this year’s Green Expo
with CT Folk.
Tidewater Institute implements a modern approach to environmental
action through unusual partnerships, using 21st century tools that
assist individuals and communities to make sustainable and costeffective choices a part of everyday life.
Vendors and Exhibitors received
“clean and green” transportation to
the Green Expo today, courtesy of
Metro Taxi.
Thank You, Rob Callahan
Before there was CT Folk, there was Rob
Callahan, who singlehandedly founded
the Greater New Haven Acoustic Music
Society in 1991.
Rob has been a passionate promoter,
starting a concert series and hosting
open mics at the Brick’n’Wood and Cape
Codder cafe/pubs in the late 1980s. He
has been a consummate songwriter, artist
and musician. He’s currently a member of
the String Band.
He has nurtured and encouraged not only local singer/songwriters
and musicians of all kinds, but also has brought regional and national
folk acts to New Haven at Edge of the Woods, the Eli Whitney
Barn, Yale University, Quinnipiac University and the University of
New Haven. He has had a talent for coordinating arts and music for
fundraising events in his college years and beyond. He was a DJ
on WNHU, promoting music there and on public television. CT Folk
was born on the folk foundation that Rob built, and for this we are
all most grateful.
In 2013 Rob was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and
has been working to live life to its fullest, embracing the community
as the community embraces him. Please consider a contribution to
his fund:
robbiesfundforlife.com
Thank you, Rob, from
every one of us who
has had the pleasure
to know you, work
with you, or play
music with you!
Festival Hosts
BRUCE SWAN
Bruce Swan, is a radio programmer at WPKN
and host of the program “Music My Mother Would
Not Like.” His show airs on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th
Fridays of the Month from 1PM through 4PM.
“The program endeavors to highlight emerging
and established folk /Americana music and its
performers. I enjoy bringing artists to the listeners
and presenting them with music that they haven’t
heard before, or haven’t heard in a long time.”
WPKN, 89.5 FM, Bridgeport, CT is a listener
supported community radio station presenting
free form programming successfully since 1963.
The station has broadcasted continually from the Cox Student Center at the
University of Bridgeport.
wpkn.org/Hosts/bruce-swan
STEVE WINTERS
Steve Winters celebrated 42 years in June of hosting
“Profiles in Folk” June on the WSHU Public Radio
stations headquartered in Fairfield. The program
airs Fridays from 10 p.m. to midnight and is the
longest running folk music show on Connecticut
radio and one of the longest in the Northeast. A
founding member of the Eli Whitney Folk Festival,
the original predecessor to the Connecticut Folk
Festival, Steve has served through the years
as emcee of the festival’s mainstage Saturday
evening concerts and serves on the festival’s
advisory board. He is a retired newspaper editor
and now works part-time as a freelance writer and
public relations specialist.
profilesinfolk.org
CT Folk has purchased RENEWABLE ENERGY CREDITS (RECS) to offset
power usage for the Conecticut Folk Festival & Green Expo.
Festival Stage
STACY PHILLIPS AND HIS
BLUEGRASS CHARACTERS
New Haven’s own Grammy Awardwinning artist Stacy Phillips is an
internationally renowned fiddler
and Dobro player who in 1995 won
a Grammy and an International
Bluegrass Music Association Award
for his featured work on “The Great
Dobro Sessions” album on Sugar
Hill Records. Stacy will be playing
with his regular group of “Bluegrass
Characters” that includes Phil
Zimmerman on mandolin and banjo;
Andy Bromage on guitar, and Pete
Kelly on bass. Together for more than
four years, the band hosts a monthly
bluegrass jam at the Outer Space in
Hamden and has been performing
throughout Connecticut and the
Northeast. A longtime musical fixture
on New Haven’s music scene, Stacy is
a highly respected figure in bluegrass
music and the author of more than
25 books and DVDs on resonator
guitars and fiddling. Several of his
works are considered classic texts in
their fields. In addition, he’s recorded
three solo CDs and has released
an album, “Neo-Urban Traditions”
with longtime musical partner Paul
Howard that ranges from Brazilian
and Hawaiian to klezmer and swing
styles. It’s an album indicative of
Phillips wide-ranging and inventive
musicianship that has earned him
accolades around the world and a
vital role in a host of bands ranging
from the AfroSemitic Experience to
Three Finger Poi. In recent years
he has appeared at the festival
as a member of the Professors of
Bluegrass.
stacyphillips.com
INCLEMENT WEATHER
In the event of inclement weather, the Contra Dance will take place
in the Eli Whitney Barn, located outside the park in the property
across the street from the Eli Whitney Museum (951 Whitney Avenue,
Hamden). Enter the Barn’s pathway at the CT Trust for Historic
Preservation sign.
Unless there is severe or dangerous weather, all other activities
and performances will take place, rain or shine. If the weather is
uncooperative, any schedule changes will be announced from the
stage and posted on Facebook at facebook.com/ctfolk.
FOLK FRIDAYS
October through May, CT Folk presents
semi-acoustic concerts, often on the
First Friday of the month. Performing next at
Folk Fridays: Beppe Gambetta on October
14th. Discounted tickets are available now at
ctfolk.com
FIRST AID is available at the
Volunteers HQ area, located
immediately behind the
CT Folk information booth.
THE GREBES
They are a folk-rock and neo-folk
band, not a flock of freshwater
diving birds. And they have a sense
of humor. Hailing from Concord,
New Hampshire, The Grebes are a
band with an ever-evolving lineup
centered around the songwriting of
guitarist Brad Schneider. As they
succinctly put it, “the indie folk/punk/
pop-inspired Grebes plan to win your
heart through sing-alongs, cheeky
stage antics and heartfelt/awkwardly
sincere stage banter.” They certainly
won the support of the audience at
CTFolk’s “Auditions Night” in April.
One music blogger characterized
the band this way: “Their sound is
perfectly sloppy and tight. It is loudly
full and softly subtle. It is Blues and
Clues all at the same time. They
found Carmen Sandiego and Waldo
who were both hiding in the suitcase
their drummer uses as a bass drum.
Harmonies they sing both lift you to
the angels and toss you to the devil.”
(www.yourband.info). The group
released a four-song EP in 2015 and
they maintain a full schedule of local
and regional gigs.
facebook.com/thegrebes
The Reitz Group LLC
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Financial Advisor
77 Wall Street
First Floor East
Madison, CT 06443
(203) 421-6886 Office
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Registered Representative of INVEST Financial Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. INVEST and its
affiliated insurance agencies offer securities, advisory services and certain insurance products and
are not affiliated with The Reitz Group LLC.
CRICKET BLUE
Vermont-based folk duo Cricket Blue
is one of three sets of artists chosen
to appear at this year’s festival
through CTFolk’s “Auditions Night”, a
concert program where the audience
provides the festival’s Board of
Directors with written feedback.
Cricket Blue’s music is inspired by
diverse aspects of the American folk
tradition: old and current, popular
and obscure. Laura Heaberlin and
Taylor Smith write songs marked
by close-knit harmonies and words
about myth, confusion, love, and
the ends of things. They accompany
themselves with elegant and delicate
finger-picking guitar, Cricket Blue’s
sometimes mingled, sometimes
markedly contrasting imaginations
form the bones of the duo’s sound.
Laura’s perceptive lyrical voice
elevates the mundane and makes
the sublime pocket-sized. Taylor
threads images and characters
into narratives that flicker between
enigmatic and nakedly honest.
They count songwriters like Anaïs
Mitchell, Jeff Mangum, Joanna
Newsom and Laura Marling among
their influences, as well as poets and
storytellers like Dylan Thomas, Alice
Munro and Angela Carter. Laura and
Taylor became friends at Middlebury
College in Vermont, where they
studied philosophy and literature.
They released their second EP, Io,
in April and recently they’ve shared
the stage with such acts as the Stray
Birds, Darlingside and Antje Duvekot.
cricketbluemusic.com
Duck Truck Composting
We’ll build a bin, teach your class, or
raise your garden right!
Alexis, Worm & Compost Educator
203-494-8342
alexis@ducktruckcomposting.com
PETS are allowed in Edgerton Park during the event. Please keep
pets leashed and respectful of park grounds.
JIM TRICK
There’s a gentleness to Jim Trick’s
music that provides the perfect
framework for his insightful and
succinct songwriting, He’s a Bostonbased singer-songwriter who will
sneak up on you and then quickly
engage with you on a deep, emotional
level. That’s what occurred on CT
Folk’s “Auditions Night.” Influenced
by John Gorka, Bruce Cockburn,
Neil Finn, and Charles Bukowski;
Jim takes the acoustic guitar down
a path of percussive, intricate, and
ethereal ranges creating well thought
out melodic support for his carefully
crafted lyrics. Jim has performed
throughout the Northeast, repeatedly
appearing at such venerable venues
as Club Passim, Godfrey Daniels
and Caffe Lena. He is a frequent
guest lecturer at the Berklee College
of Music in Boston. His most recent
release, Further From the Tree was
fully funded by his loyal fan base
during a four week “Trick-Starter”
campaign. The album features the
song “A Road Called Home” cowritten with Nashville’s Rachel Taylor.
It depicts a recent trip in which Jim
and his wife Alison traveled 10,500
miles throughout the U. S., not
knowing from night to night where
they would sleep. “We needed an
epic adventure,” he said. “In many
ways, the song and trip were a line
we drew in the sand in terms of
how we want to live our lives going
forward. In some crazy way, this new
album is propelling us into a truer
version of life, steeped in freedom
and satisfying a wild curiosity.”
jimtrickmusic.com
The South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (RWA) has set
up a GIANT WATER FOUTAIN, near the Green Kids Activities area,
for sharing the RWA’s high quality water. The fountain’s features include
both bubblers and water-bottle fill stations.
SI MANGIA
“ D OV E S I M A N G I A B E N E ! ”
• Pizzas, Calzones
• Foccacia Breads
• Dinners
• Stuffed Breads
• Hot & Cold Sandwiches
• Salads
• Italian Bread
• Catering Available
PHONE: (203)230-8610
3825 WHITNEY AVENUE
HAMDEN, CT 06518
KATE CALLAHAN
Hartford’s Kate Callahan returns to
grace the stage of the Connecticut
Folk Festival, this time as the newly
designated
Connecticut
State
Troubadour. Kate, a West Hartford
native, was selected in March by the
Connecticut Office of the Arts to serve
a two-year term as the state’s 16th
troubadour, an honorary designation
that offers holders a platform from
which to showcase their musical
talents at state-sponsored events
as well as promote Connecticut
through song and projects. Kate has
already penned a song “Connecticut
Roads” which aided her in winning
the designation over intense
competition. And she’s using social
media – YouTube – to blog about
her troubadour experiences. One
goal she will pursue as troubadour
during the next two years is to
develop a musical therapy program
to serve female inmates in the
state’s correctional institutions. State
troubadour is a fitting award for this
singer-songwriter who describes her
music as “contemporary soulful folk.”
She’s already racked up several
awards for her music, including being
named “Best Singer-Songwriter” in
the Connecticut Music Awards. All
this from a woman who in 1996 was
left with traumatic brain injury after
a skiing accident. She attributes
her recovery from the injuries to the
efforts of her mom, Marcia McDavid,
and the healing power of music. Kate
last appeared at the Connecticut
Folk Festival in 2012 as part of a
Connecticut Artist Song Circle. It’s
a privilege to welcome her back as
State Troubadour.
kate-callahan.com
CONCERT INFO FROM CT FOLK
The CT Folk Events email list will let you know about concerts and
other activities that are provided by the CT Folk organization. To receive
announcements from this list, visit ctfolk.com to sign up.
The Elsewhere in Connecticut webpage at ctfolk.com/connecticut
announces folk and roots music events in Connecticut produced by other
organizations and venues.
To contribute information about an upcoming folk/roots music event in
Connecticut, email the concert details to ctfolknews@gmail.com. Be
sure to include the date, location, time and ticket price.
CT Folk Festival & Green Expo
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BRAD COLE
The songs of Brad Cole address the
ups and downs of the human condition with both wit and raw insight.
His passionate and distinctive delivery of roots-based folk music, woven
with the grit and groove of old school
bossa nova and rhythm & blues,
moves the listener’s soul in a direction that is unexpected, yet perfectly
familiar. Glide Magazine described
Brad’s fourth and latest full length
album, Lay It Down, as “one of the
most beautiful albums you will hear
With Josh Ritter
SATURDAY
10.8.16
DELBERT
MCCLINTON
this year”. Brad had been a fixture on
the Chicago music scene for years
before moving to New York City. He
led several Chicago based bands including Treatment, The Second Story and toured with NYC-based The
Subscribers. Along with singer-songwriter Jeff Libman, he is co-founder
of the acoustic/soul collective known
as Check With Lucy. He was also a
longtime member of Chicago’s Old
Town School of Folk Music’s monthly
“Songwriters Forum”. In addition to
an extensive touring schedule, Brad
also records for social media a weekly one song segment called “Cover
Story” in which he discusses and performs another artist’s song he finds
relevant and compelling.
bradcolemusic.com
ANDREW
BIRD
WITH SINKANE
FRIDAY OCT 14
011 6
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2016
October 18
ONE WAY EXPRESS
NOVEMBER 18
12.4.16
SAT
OCT
29 TH
COLLEGESTREETMUSICHALL.COM
MATT NAKOA
Matt Nakoa is an internationally
touring singer/songwriter, recently
appearing at The White House,
throughout India, and regularly with
folk icon Tom Rush. Growing up
on a small goat farm in rural New
York State, Matt discovered music
as a means of teenage escape
and trained to be a concert pianist.
He was ultimately accepted as a
vocalist to Berklee College of Music
where he studied alongside soonto-be Grammy winners St. Vincent
and Esperanza Spalding among
others. After college, Matt landed in
New York City’s vibrant piano bar
scene and quickly became a star
performer at Manhattan’s Brandy’s
Piano Bar, with lines waiting outside
the door each Saturday night.
Across the board his song craft has
garnered awards, including a win at
Kerrville Folk Festival’s prestigious
New Folk Competition. As a recent
review on CoverLayDown.com put
it, “Matt Nakoa is “one of those well
kept secrets you just can’t help but
celebrate: intimate and genuine,
soulful and bittersweet, a rich
poetic songbook sung in praise to
a complicated, emotionally present
world.”
mattnakoa.com
ROBINSON TREACHER
If entertainment can be defined as
an agreeable occupation of the mind,
then Robinson Treacher has found
a way to encompass this in every
aspect of his contribution to musickind. Whether playing the role as
front man to the soul-rock infused
Delaware Hudson, as co-collaborator
to the Alt-Country based Tensleep, or
as a solo singer/songwriter, Robinson
seems to drain himself of energy in
the pursuit of portraying moments
of musical passion. This passion is
evident in every attempt he makes
to involve listeners in the spiritual
orchestrations of emotion that
have been meticulously tempered
into songs. Chameleon-like in his
approach to songwriting, he refuses
to be pigeonholed into one particular
genre. Believing that each song is
forged from its own unique terrain,
he takes great pains in choosing the
vehicle by which passengers might
best weather the bumps, potholes
and blind curves found between
the first note and the last. Those
notes. become a road on which to
experience life. Treacher is building
this road for himself, but would be
the first to admit that the companions
define the journey.
robinsontreacher.com
Yale University
proud to be a part of the
2016 CT Folk Festival
& Green Expo
Contributing to a Strong New Haven
SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
STRONG NEIGHBORHOODS




BIOTECHNOLOGY START-UPS
Creating a vital downtown through Yale’s community investment program
Supporting public school education through New Haven Promise
Strengthening neighborhoods by helping Yale employees buy homes
Growing New Haven’s biotech industry and the local economy
onhsa.yale.edu
THE YOUNG NOVELISTS
They’re baaaaaaccckkk. The Young
Novelists from Canada were winners
of the Connecticut Folk Festival’s
2015
Songwriting
Competition,
earning them a full set on the main
stage this year. Simon & Garfunkel
meet Johnny & June. Graydon
James and spouse Laura Spink –
The Young Novelists – in their duo
version (they have a band also)
wrap beautiful harmonies around
songs culled from their small-town
roots. Known for a heart-on-theirsleeve approach to songwriting and
performance, they balance equal
parts grace and grit. They are riding
the buzz created by release in 2015
of their full-length album, made us
strangers, and appearances the past
two summers at festivals in Canada
and the U.S. They are currently at
work on a new full-length album. As
an author with one novel – The Mall
of Small Frustrations – published and
two others in the works, Graydon’s
words carry a weight and depth that
demand repeat listens. The hope, he
says, is having a listener connect with
the sentiment he explores, if not the
specific subjects. That connection
is perhaps most intense from the
stage. Graydon and Laura won over
last year’s competition judges with
succinct and honest lyrics packaged
in a cutting edge presentation and
now they have the opportunity to
expand that in a full main stage set.
theyoungnovelists.com
Banquet Facility & Catering
Angela Collela
Manager/Owner
577 South Broad Street
Meriden, CT 06450
Phone: 203-265-3553
Fax: 203-265-3566
email: angelacolella@snet.net
www.ilmonticello.com
PHOTO CREDIT: The photographs of Bill Fischer, Robert Messore, Bruce Swan, Steve
Winters and Wry Bred are by Marilyn Catasus. Visit her webpage to see more of her
beautiful work: catasus.net
GRAPHICS: The front and back cover images are by Derek Signore, Sound Magazine.
SPUYTEN DUYVIL
Take a giant bowl, mix in equal
measures
of
blues,
old-time
Appalachian music, jug band
sounds, gospel, bluegrass, punk
rock and modern Americana, stir it
all up vigorously and the resulting
gumbo is Spuyten Duyvil (Spite-en
Die-vil), one of the hottest bands
in folk and acoustic music during
the past last five years. Based in
New York’s Hudson Valley, this sixmember ensemble is centered on the
husband and wife songwriting duo
of Mark Miller and lead singer Beth
Kaufman. And it all began so simply:
The gift of a bouzouki from wife to
husband, a copy of the venerable
songbook, Rise Up Singing, and
a covered stone porch on which
to sing, play and listen. It wasn’t
long before a tribe of friends began
showing up to join in. Eventually,
from those sessions, Spuyten Duyvil
emerged. It’s a powerhouse of a
group that not only offers up raucous
rootsy contemporary music but also
embraces traditional folk music.
The group’s members know and
understand traditional music and
they reinterpret it with a verve and
vitality that brings it alive for a new
generation of music lovers. Their
latest album “The Social Music Hour/
Vol. 1”, a collection of 13 traditional
songs
performed
in
Spuyten
Duyvil’s inimitable way, gives strong
testimony to that contention. One
thing is certain: After hearing Spuyten
Duyvil, you’ll be leaving the festival in
a grand and joyous mood.
spuytenduyvilmusic.com
Producing a free festival and green expo of this size is a major
undertaking. Volunteers are the backbone of the event, from the
Board of Directors to every beautiful person you see today in a
turquoise shirt that says STAFF on the back.
Please thank them! These are not people volunteering to save the
price of a ticket; these are people with a strong sense of community,
all working together toward the common goal of producing a
memorable and fun day for all to enjoy.
Thank you, volunteers. This could not have happened
without you!
RYAN MONTBLEAU
Ryan Montbleau came late to the
music business even though his
father was a rock bassist for part
of his life and Ryan received his
first guitar at age nine. “I was a late
bloomer,” he allows. “I didn’t really start writing songs until I was in
college. I’d be sitting in the back of
a class in my chemical engineering
program and writing poetry in my
notebook. At that point, I knew something had to change.”
And did it change.
Today, Ryan Montbleau is a popular
and beloved songwriter and bandleader on the festival circuit, he’s
recorded 10 albums, and he’s deepened his craft as an artist by playing
with other musicians after he and his
longtime band ended their full-on, 10year heavy touring schedule.
“I loved playing with my original band
and still do, whenever we may get
the chance. But touring with different
musicians has taught me to be a
better bandleader and forced me
to be a better musician,” he says.
“Another thing I’ve learned is that as
you continue your life
as a songwriter and
performer, you learn
your limitations and
grow into them. You
learn how to push
yourself to write lyrics
that get as close to
what you want to say
as possible, or to find
the right music to
say it with, or to sing
in a way that really
carries the message
in your heart.” After graduating from
Villanova University, Ryan began his
career at the turn of century as a solo
performer, appearing often at the old
House of Blues in Cambridge, Mass.
and other Boston area venues where
he built up a local following.
That loyal following expanded greatly
after he formed the Ryan Montbleau
Band and went from the coffeehouse
and folk scene into the world of jam
bands. With only a few personnel
changes, the band had a decade
long run from 2003-2013, their latest
album together being 2012’s landmark and classic “Growing Light.”
ryanmontbleau.com
TRINA HAMLIN
Trina Hamlin will be appearing as
Susan Werner’s special guest.
Regarded as one of the best
harmonica players on the folk circuit,
Trina presents a driving, sensuous
rhythm
in
her
performance,
reawakening audiences to the art of
the instrument. Trina also seamlessly
moves to guitar and piano as well as
adding vocals.
trinahamlin.com
TRASH - RECYCLING - COMPOST
CT Folk is working to create a zero
waste event.
Separate receptacles for trash,
recycling and compost are located
throughout the grounds.
SUSAN WERNER
One thing is for certain about festival
headliner Susan Werner: When
it comes to music, you cannot
pigeonhole her. She is one of the
boldest creative forces on today’s
folk and acoustic music scene.
We welcome Susan back to the
Connecticut Folk festival after an
electrifying performance with Trina
Hamlin at our 2010 festival. Susan
has proven time and time again
her unwavering ability to deliver
on the truly original promises of
her inventive, visionary way of
making music. Over the course
of her colorful career, Susan has
cultivated a reputation as a daring
and innovative songwriter. She boldly
endeavors to weave old with new
to create altogether new genres of
music when existing ones do not suit
her muse, and she regularly keeps
audiences guessing and laughing
simultaneously. Dubbed by NPR as
the “Empress of the Unexpected,”
Susan confirms her reputation as an
artist changeable as the weather with
her latest recording “Hayseed” on
which she pays tribute to American
agriculture and to her Iowa farm
roots. “Hayseed” is the fourth in a
series of concept albums that began
with the 2004 release of “I Can’t
Be New” on which she offered her
contribution to the Great American
Songbook by writing originals in the
style of Gershwin and Cole Porter,
but from a present-day woman’s point
of view. Other albums in the series
include “Classics” which delivered
entirely new string arrangements of
mainstream popular songs by top
songwriters from a “classical” pop era
– the 1960s and 1970s, and
2007’s “The Gospel Truth”,
a collection of original
songs drawing on gospel
music traditions from folk/
bluegrass to Americana
to
R&B/soul/spiritual,
and presenting lyrics that
have been praised by
religious believers and
non-believers alike. It led
to her being chosen “Best
Contemporary Folk Artist”
at the 2008 International
Folk
Alliance
music
conference.
susanwerner.com
Kids Acoustic Corner
ROBERT MESSORE
11:00 AM and 4:00 PM
robertmessore.com
BENNY MIKULA,
THE LONE GNOME
12:00 PM
facebook.com/thelonegnome/
JAY MANKITA’S
PLAYFUL EARTH MUSIC
SHAWN TAYLOR
1:00 PM
2:00 PM
jaymankita.com
LIZ MCNICHOLL
3:00 PM
lizmcn.com
shawntaylortunes.com
KIDS
MUSIC IN
THE GREEN
EXPO
AREA
Contra Dance
BILL FISCHER
It is with great joy that Bill Fischer returns to the
Connecticut Folk Festival this year to lead the
dancing. Bill has been calling dances for over
30 years, starting out in New Haven, with a
contra dance series that has been a fixture of the
region’s folk music and dance scene since 1976.
In addition to contra dances in and around the
Northeast, he has called at various dance camps
regionally and nationally. Much of his calling
activity centers on special occasion “barn” dances
including the monthly musical event BMAD at his
home in Bethany. Other events include school
dances, private parties, special occasions such as
weddings, birthdays and anniversaries, and dances
in extended care facilities where he has done
dances for people using wheel chairs and walkers.
billthedancecaller.com
WRY BRED
Wry Bred engages in joyful musical
conversations with driving rhythms
and exuberant harmonies. With Julie
Sorcek on flute and saxophone,
Mickey Koth on fiddle, and Robert
Messore on guitar, the trio sensitively
supports dancers and callers alike.
The band was founded in 2009
and has been playing at dances,
concerts, private parties, and
similar events ever since. They’ve
developed a growing reputation and
won the respect and admiration of
dancers and music lovers throughout
the region and beyond. The
members of Wry Bred each bring
years of experience as dancers and
musicians. Wry Bred has played for
contra dances in Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, Massachusetts,
and Rhode Island.
biteyourownelbow.com/Wrybred
Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition
HOST: THE YOUNG NOVELISTS
The Young Novelists (Graydon James and Laura Spink), the winners of the
2015 Grassy Hill Songwriting Competition, will introduce each of this year’s
finalists. They will also be performing on the Festival Mainstage at 5:15 PM.
More than seventy-five singer-songwriters entered recordings in this
year’s Grassy Hill Songwrting Competition.
Today’s finalists will each perform two songs on the Festival
stage. Afterwards, the panel of judges will confer and select
the first, second and third place finishers. The winner will be
announced from the stage in the early afternoon
The First Place winner will receive a cash prize, will perform
again this evening, and will be invited to be part of the 2017
Connecticut Folk Festival & Green Expo lineup.
ARMS AND VOICES
New Haven-based Arms & Voices
is the brand new band anchored
by Steve Rodgers (vocals & guitar)
and Jessy Griz (vocals and keys)
supported by Seth Adam (bass/guitar)
and Adam Christoferson (drums/
percussion) as well as occasional
guest members. Their songs are
a melodic, lyrical exploration into
the human spirit and condition,
interwoven with rich harmonies. The
members of the band each have
a rich history in the Connecticut
music scene, most notably Steve
Rodgers who was the leader of the
longstanding underground band
Mighty Purple that toured nationally
for 15 years and released nine
full-length albums. He is the founder,
director and music curator for The
Space and The Outer Space in
Hamden, two community-based
music venues recognized nationally
as destination tour stops for bands of
all levels and genres.
facebook.com/armsandvoices
O’HANLEIGH
Vermont’s O’hAnleigh draws on their
ancestral roots and diverse musical
talent to entertain audiences with the
lively and haunting rhythms of Irish
America. Since 2000, their dynamic
multi-instrumental
performances
feature rich, fluid harmonies and
an enormous playlist of classic
ballads, rousing pub tunes, and
original songs and tunes that have
garnered noteworthy praise from
fans and music critics the world
over. Tom Hanley, Becca Hanley,
Doug Riley and Cindy Hill bring the
traditions of Irish immigrant culture,
history, literature and music to life.
O’hAnleigh’s premier album, Of Irish
Crossings Told, was released on St.
Patrick’s Day 2006, and their second
album, Farewell Roscommon, was
released two years later and contains
a growing list of original pieces, that
Tom and Cindy compose.
ohanleigh.com
AMY SOUCY
Amy Soucy is gifted with a versatile,
powerful and fluid voice and her
original compositions express the
longings of the human heart through
voice and song. Based in Beacon,
N.Y. after residing for 20 years in
New York City, Amy has performed,
recorded, harmonized and written
with a variety of artists whose music
stretches across many genres. She
brings an equally varied musical
background to her artistry, including
singing in choral groups, musical
theatre and even opera. Her debut
album “This River” was released last
fall and features music that ranges
from harmony–laden bluegrass to a
cover of rocker Neil Young’s classic
“Comes a Time.”
amysoucymusic.com
IRA WOLF
An independent new-folk singer/
songwriter, Ira Wolf uses her
Americana melodies and honest
lyrics to connect on an intimate and
vulnerable level with her audience,
and is inspired by each new
experience her adventurous life has
given her. Ira left school in 2012 in
pursuit of something bigger. She
traveled for a year, exploring Europe
and Australia, writing, recording, and
learning about the world and herself.
In the summer of 2013, Ira’s journey
led her to make a home in Nashville,
where she lived in her car for a month
until she landed a part-time job as
a nanny. Since settling in, Ira has
collaborated with some of Nashville’s
top writers and musicians, and set out
on her very first tour just two years
ago. Following that tour, she worked
tirelessly to create and release
her debut album, “Fickle Heart,” in
September 2014 and began touring
full-time. Although she continues
to make Nashville her home-base,
Ira maintains a life on the road.
She is currently touring to promote
her sophomore project, “Honest,”
released in March.
irawolfmusic.com
MIKE VIAL
Mike Vial is a singer-songwriter
from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He drinks
too much coffee, plays Heritage
and Taylor guitars, teaches guitar
lessons, and tries to take his dog for
two walks every day between a busy
gig schedule, and his baby’s nap
schedule. Mike’s music has been
marked by two existential crises, the
first being his experience auditioning
at Michigan music programs, but not
being accepted. “That failure made
me a better person,” he reflects. “I
was forced to examine my identity
and how music would still be a part
of my life.” This disappointment led
to a change of direction, one that
developed his writing voice and poise
in front of an audience. After college,
Mike performed music part-time for
eight years while teaching high school
English, but in 2011 faced his second
crisis: He left his teaching to focus
on music. Throughout 2012-2013, he
toured a large part of the U.S. and
Canada. He has released a digital
album entitled “Mike Vial’s Entire
Music Collection” that features all his
singles and his three EP releases.
mikevial.com
Songwriting Competition Judges
MICHAEL KORNFELD
BILL REVILL
Michael is president of the Folk Music
Society of Huntington, vice president
of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA), a member of the Folk
Alliance International board of directors, editor and publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com and an award-winning communications & PR strategist.
Michael is a frequent speaker and
mentor on PR and communications
topics at music conferences. He organizes the annual Huntington Folk
Festival and has coordinated NERFA
one-day conferences.
Bill has produced and hosted
“Acoustic Blender” on Middletown’s
WESU since the spring of 2010.
Airing, and streaming, on Tuesday
evenings, the show features a
veritable mix of acoustic-based music,
with occasional in-studio guests, as
well as festival and concert ticket
giveaways. Savvy folk aficionados
follow “Acoustic Blender - WESU
FM, Middletown CT” on Facebook.
Examples of Bill’s photography and
paintings (landscape and seascape)
can be viewed at his website.
AcousticMusicScene.com
willrevill.com
RICH PATCHKOFSKY
KATHY SANDS-BOEHMER
Rich is a multi-year blue ribbon
recipient at the Roxbury Pickin’ and
Fiddlin’ Contest, showcasing his
impressive guitar work, as well as
a profound knowledge of the blues
and traditional musics. His many
years in the local music scene, as
well as his involvement in groups
such as Cornbread and Dirty but
Ragged, have earned the respect
and acknowledgment of many on the
local music scene.
Kathy is the booking manager and
publicist for the me&thee coffeehouse
in Marblehead, MA and is proud of
the fact that this venue has been
presenting live music since 1970! In
addition, Kathy is on the board of the
North East Regional Folk Alliance
(NERFA) and the Boston Area
Coffeehouse Association (BACHA).
She’s a life-long music fan and has
been known to play music (on the
radio) while driving.
facebook.com/rich.patchkofsky
meandthee.org
STEVE WINTERS
CT Folk is thrilled that Steve is
once again serving as the evening
host of the Festival Mainstage.His
profile can be found on the Festival
Hosts page of this program booklet.
CT
Folk
Board of Directors
Barbara Shiller, President
Sue Truax, Vice President
Helene Sapadin, Secretary
Peter Kaufmann, Treasurer
Kate Callahan
Coleen Campbell
Amy D’Amaro
Lisa Kaston
Ken McEwen
Kathy Moran
Joseph Owers
Frank Vincent Pergola
Alice Rietz
Charles Rothenberger
Leah Lopez Schmalz
Advisory Board
Louis Audette
Nathan Bixby
Robert Congdon
Susan Forbes Hansen
Joshua Mamis
Barbara Manners
Robert Messore
Peter Salovey
Meredith Tarr
Larry Tomascek
Melinda Tuhus
Bob Wall
Steve Winters
Festival Director
Nicole Heriot-Mikula
Green Expo Coordinators
Brittany Chamberlin
Leah Lopez Schmalz
Festival Advisor
Coleen Campbell
Lighting
Jamie Burnett
Merchandise and CD Sales
Kathy Moran
Profiles of Performers
Steve Winters
Sound
HB Group, Festival Stage
Craig Lundell, Contra Dance
Waste Management
Alexis Wilcox
Dana Rozansky
Volunteer Coordinator
Lis Kubelle
Special Thanks
Lianne Audette
Pierce Campbell
Michael Clay
Edgerton Park Conservancy
Elm Shakespeare Company
First Presbyterian Church
Jones Family Farm
Michael Kornfeld
Mik McEwen
Mountain Road Wine & Liquor
Veronica Parsloe
Rich Patchkofsky
Bill Revill
Kathy Sands-Boehmer
Helene Sapadin
Bruce Swan
Eli Whitney Museum
Westville Kosher Market
Steve Winters
Many Thanks to Our Sponsors
for their generous support!
2016
CONCERTS BEGIN AT 7:30 PM
(Except April 7th at 7:00 pm)
First Presbyterian Church Hall
704 Whitney Avenue, New Haven
VISIT CTFOLK.COM FOR DISCOUNTED TICKETS
2017