September 25, 2010

 

At the beginning of Season III, Jan Krist delighted the audience at the Stained Glass Coffeehouse with fellow musician, Kitty Donohoe.  Now, to kickoff a star-studded Season V, Jan is back, this time with her husband, Alan Finkbeiner.  A dynamic team, together they have produced Jan’s newest release, When Planets Collide, touted as “a collision of musical styles and observations both humorous and heartbreaking.”

 

“Detroit born Jan Krist is a well-established veteran of the acoustic music scene; with 13 nominations and 4 Detroit Metro Music Awards under her belt, she has proven herself to be a Detroit area favorite. She can also claim the honor of being a finalist at the Kerrville song writing competition, in Kerrville TX, an annual event which helped to launch the careers of Lyle Lovett and Nancy Griffith. “

 

“Jan takes her ordinary, plain Jane demeanor and all the elements we’ve learned to take for granted (6 strings and common time) and lets us know, this is not your ordinary woman with a guitar, even if it is. ‘Her talent as a songwriter equals - if not surpasses her vocal gifts. She has an uncanny way of cutting to the heart of a topic and providing the listener with food for thought.’ (Image Journal)  ‘Evocative... somewhere between Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush, but it’s all Jan Krist. Unreservedly recommended!’” (Billboard Magazine)

 

http://www.jankrist.net/

 

October 16, 2010

Speaking about Michael Jerling, Phil Shapiro, of WVBrRs Bound for Glory, says, "I just really enjoy your music. And your humor. And your musicianship. There are a lot of topics that you sing about that NOBODY else is willing to tackle."

 

“Born and raised in Illinois, songwriter Michael Jerling became involved with music while helping to run the campus coffeehouse at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Now settled in Saratoga Springs, New York, Michael has been a noted artist on the club, college and festival circuits of North America since 1975. His baritone voice is backed up with consummate skill on six & twelve string guitars, harmonica and mandolin, all buoyed by his dry sense of humor.

 

“Michael displays his first-rate lyrical sense and impressive musicianship - borrowing from blues, rock, country and R&B. A keen student of the good and ghastly in American life, Michael weaves themes like a novelist, evoking our shortcomings and dreams without yielding to cynicism or sentimentality. Often praised as a "songwriter's songwriter" who composes in styles influenced by the wealth of American music, he has been characterized as an artist who performs his ‘extraordinary songs with the uncommon ability to deliver them to an audience with power and grace’".

 

http://www.michaeljerling.com/

 

“Mike Quick has always been an adventure waiting to happen…” says Michael Jerling, who is joined by his friend, Quick, for the second Coffeehouse performance of the season.  An adventure indeed!

 

“Wisconsin native Michael Quick has been writing and performing music for nearly thirty years in a variety of styles and venues. His performances have taken him throughout the Midwest to San Diego, where he lived for eight years while playing the Southwest and up the West coast. Mike has performed in table-thumping rock and roll bands as well as acoustically. Quick credits his diverse musical content to "his roots"… that is, his parents' superb vinyl record collection including such albums as "Lester Lanin Does The Big Band Polka", "Mitch Miller Performs The Hottest Numbers of 1961", and "The Best of Burl Ives".

 

"Mike Quick follows a tradition of storytelling folk singer-songwriters springing out of the midwest in the footsteps of John Prine, Tom Paxton and the late Steve Goodman.  RAIN (the cd) gives folk music fans a chance to hear Quick in a batch of songs that demonstrate his considerable talent as a songwriter."  (April, 2010, Frank Kocher, San Diego Troubadour)

 

 

http://www.mikequick.net

 

 

November 13, 2010

 

" If it were the intention of the creator or creators of this universe to perfectly blend together the night sky with moon and stars, it might have been their intention as well to deliver Claudia Schmidt as their messenger of reminder.” “Schmidt is a one-woman revitalization movement. Schmidt is the best at what she does.” (The Tribune, Oakland, Ca.)

 

For almost four decades Claudia Schmidt has been exploring the nuances of acoustic music with her voice, 12-string guitar and mountain dulcimer with an exciting collection of original, traditional, and contemporary writing. . (Her craft) is a quirky and wonderful hodge-podge (her word!) of music, poetry, story, laughter, drama, and celebrating the moment. All those elements of performing are brought to bear at a Schmidt performance as she mines the humor and poignancy of our lives. The stage is her natural habitat, and every member of her audience is made to feel welcome and energized by her presentation.

 

“Work in clubs, theaters, festivals, TV, radio has added depth and dimension; and since she has always included her original work along with very personal versions of the work of others, what you get is a unique look at the world from someone who says what she sees with clarity, humor, and wonder. The San Francisco Bay Guardian said: ‘Schmidt's shows are a lot like falling in love. You never know what's going to happen next, chances are it's going to be wonderful, every moment is burned into your memory and you know you'll never be the same again.’ More succinctly, Garrison Keillor said, ‘When Claudia sings a song, it stays sung.’”

 

http://www.claudiaschmidt.com/

 

December 11, 2010

 

“When I first heard Johnsmith my attention was captured by his sweet, earthy voice and fine craftsmanship, but what drew me in was his heart. It's clear that he's lived the pain in his songs and that his optimism is hope born of wisdom. That's a rare thing and a gift to all who hear him." (Tom Kimmel) The Stained Glass Coffeehouse is happy to welcome him back this December.

 

“John was born into a rural eastern Iowa, large Irish Catholic family of ten kids. Pursuing a life of music has led him far from his small town roots. He has walked down the roads that made him whole, and when he brings that onstage, he connects with folks. He calls himself a blue-collar songwriter, banging out his tunes along the back roads one show at a time.

 

“Someone’s voice is not just an instrument; it’s more like the sound of their soul. It’s a connection thing that moves us. As a solo performer, Johnsmith opens up and bares his genuine self on stage. Night after night, CD after CD, he brings it all on full heart. Fellow songwriter Buddy Mondlock sums it up best: ‘ I feel like every time one of Johnsmith’s songs gets heard a little healing happens to the world.’

 

“Whenever you read or hear about the music of Johnsmith, certain watchwords always come up, regardless of the source. Words like uplifting, or integrity, heart, or soul. His songs and voice go straight to the heart, because that’s where they come from. “

 

  http://johnsmithmusic.com/

 

 

January 29, 2011

Offering her listeners a rare gift of original songs with uncommon depth and beauty infused with time-honored values of traditional American Music, Diana Jones has been called the new Emily Dickinson.” Her return to the Stained Glass Coffeehouse is a special event.

 

“Like Dickinson, Diana's work is informed by the themes that have run through her life-love, loss, and redemption. From the mournful lament of a dance hall girl, to the stomping melodic rant of a young woman's burial instructions.  She draws life from the rich crosscurrents of country, country blues and mountain music. The result is vibrant, contemporary music with a gritty and timeless feel.”

 

“Adopted as an infant and raised in New York, Diana left home at the age of 15 in search of her roots. Unlike her friends, Diana was attracted to the music of Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline, as well as contemporary artists Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton. It wasn't until she was reunited with her birth family and the music of the Eastern Tennessee hills some years later, that she discovered why that music had always moved her.  Chicago Tribune declared Diana Jones’ My Remembrance of You ‘the number 1 Country Album of the Year! Jones is on the verge of a critical breakthrough… Jones just might be the best American songwriter most people have never heard of.’”  (Chrissie Dickinson, Chicago Tribune)

 

http://www.dianajonesmusic.com

February 26, 2011

David Tamulevich and Michael Hough, Mustard’s Retreat, will appear on the stage of the Stained Glass Coffeehouse for the first time on February 26. Everything they do on stage is aimed at pleasing, moving and engaging their audience, whether it is singing their own gentle love songs and vivid ballads, telling tall tales or offering treasures from America's vast traditional song bag.

 

They met in 1974, both working as cooks in the Brown Jug café in Michigan, when they were students at the University of Michigan. "David and I were a pretty good team in the kitchen, even before we had music in common," Michael Hough recalled. Later, they performed at an Ann Arbor coffeehouse open mike and were an immediate success. “We're very different, but it's just obvious we really like singing together and bringing things out in each other. There's a chemistry that's worked from the first time we sang together," said David

David and Michael named themselves after a musical chum, Nancy Mustard, who taught David a guitar slide, around which he wrote an instrumental called "Mustard's Retreat". ” I watched them work their spell on the audience (and) the audience roared for more when they finished. I hated having to follow them,” says fellow folksinger, Garnet Rogers. Together for more than 35 years, “their engaging stage presence, myriad of subject matter, and the sheer joy that they take in playing has made Mustard’s Retreat one of the most revered bands in folk music today.”(Madison Folk Music Society)

 

http://www.mustardsretreat.com/

March 18, 2011 (Friday night)

Once again the Stained Glass Coffeehouse is delighted to welcome Magpie to its stage on Friday, March 18. This twosome of Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner opened our premier season in September of 2006 to the rave reviews that brought about an encore performance in Season II.  Be sure to come early!

 

“Terry's voice is a truly impressive instrument, not only because of its natural power, but also because of her versatility…  Greg is an outstanding guitarist whose finger style approach owes a lot to his heroes, guitar legends such as Reverend Gary Davis, Big Bill Broonzy, Nick Lucas, Phil Ochs, and Rolly Brown... From the beginning Terry and Greg's interests in various musical styles have led them to be eclectic in their repertoire. Rather than confine themselves to a single style, Magpie has always embraced a musical rainbow, and with impressive proficiency in each different genre.

 

"’Magpie performs songs of and for the Earth.  The absolute perfection and clarity of their arrangements and harmonies is masterful and stunningly emotional.  They are among the finest songwriters and performers of our era.’  - Baltimore Folk Music Society)  ‘...simply, absolutely, unequivocally wonderful...they'll thrill you to boots and melt your heart...”’(Colin Irwin, Melody Maker, London, England)

 

http://www.magpiemusic.com/

April 16, 2011

Mark Dvorak, our April headliner at the Stained Glass Coffeehouse, is “a modern day troubadour who has never stopped performing, writing and recording. He has been called a folk singer’s folk singer who has an encyclopedic knowledge of traditional songs. His songwriting has been called ‘wondrous’ and ‘profound.’

 

“’With hundreds of songs in his repertoire, Mark is an entertainer whose performances are marked with a clear knowledge of his music and art.  He understands what a given audience comes to hear.  He continues to be an integral member of the faculty at Chicago’s venerable Old Town School of Folk Music.  No one spins a yarn or sings an old-timey song with more skill and respect than Mark Dvorak.  ‘He’s a builder of the folk world – in Chicago, in the region and across continent.  His singing and his songwriting bring the heart of folk music into our contemporary world with authenticity, humor, fun and a great warm voice’  (Lilfest, Wilmette, IL) 

 

“His roots are in Chicago, but since 1981, Mark has performed in nearly all of the United States. His natural style of performing can make an old song sound new and a new song sound familiar.  Entertaining warmth, sincerity, distinctive talent and variety in presentation have distinguished Mark Dvorak as one of today's important folk artists. “

 

http://www.markdvorak.com

May 21, 2011

 

"Nora Jane Struthers performs her material with a voice as pretty and homespun as the vintage dresses she favors on stage. ‘It’s not really bluegrass, it’s not really old time, it’s not folk – it’s all of these things,’ she explains.  The Stained Glass Coffeehouse is happy to welcome this talented artist as the final performance of its fifth season.

 

“Nora Jane comes by her affinity for traditional American styles naturally. Born in Virginia and raised in New Jersey, Struthers grew up singing with her father Alan, a veteran of a Minneapolis bluegrass band. ‘That’s how folk music and traditional music have been passed down forever – playing and singing with family members,’ she says. Trained classically as a teenager, she started writing her own songs in high school, and began her performing career while she was a student at New York University, playing in a folk-rock style... (But she became) a full-time teacher of high school English before making a professional leap into music with a move to Nashville in 2008 and formulating (her) unique fusion of traditional styles.

Nora Jane Struthers calls her music “Classic Americana.” “It’s Americana at its finest from a hardworking artist who simply loves what she does. Her traditional look and sound is refreshing, and perhaps that is where her true gift lies.” (C.W.Ross)."Nora Jane infuses bright, fresh lyrics into this traditional genre with sheer intelligence. Musically, she take unconventional twists and turns, while 'holding you to the road' with commanding charm." (Claire Lynch)

http://www.norajanestruthers.com/

 

 October 10, 2009

“One of the most glorious voices in all of contemporary folk music,” says the Chicago Tribune.  Anne Hills was born in Moradabad, India, the third daughter of educational missionaries. Raised in Michigan, she attended Interlochen Arts Academy where she formed her first folk trio.  Later, she moved to Chicago’s fertile folk scene in 1976 and co-founded the folklore center Hogeye Music, still a force in the Chicago music scene. Now based in Pennsylvania, she endows each show with her exceptional vocal and acting skills (she is a wonderfully acerbic comedian), as well as with her fluid ease on banjo and harmonica.” (Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times).  She also has a deep commitment to social justice… and to children (which) keeps her busy with benefit concerts and community service projects.

 

 “Anne Hills is such an exquisite singer that it’s understandable that people might be swept up in the pure beauty of her voice and thereby overlook her writing. That would be a mistake. For me, Anne’s writing, in songs like ‘Follow That Road’ and many others, is as direct, melodic and deep as any work being done today. She is quite simply one of my absolute favorite songwriters.  (Tom Paxton) “Four stars! ... Hills is the heir apparent to [Judy] Collins...” (Coral Hughes, The Austin Chronicle)

 

http://www.annehills.com

 

November 7, 2009

  "A brilliant songwriter and performer." (Ed Becker, KDHX, St. Louis) Ben Bedford has made his mark on the music scene in a very short time. With an understated intensity, he delivers intriguing sketches of America, its individuals, their victories and their struggles. Poignant, but never sentimental, Bedford's portrait-like songs capture the vitality of his characters and draw the listener deep into the narratives. With the release of his second album, Land of the Shadows, Bedford “...has proven himself to be a truly inspired and talented storyteller...” according to Arthur Wood (FolkWax). In its first month of airplay, Land of the Shadows reached number one on the Folk-DJ charts with three songs in the top ten.

 

"Bedford's stories tell stories from the inside looking out, taking the listener into the heart and the soul of the subject. Great songwriting has always done this, but sometimes we forget and it takes someone like Bedford to remind us of the magic." Dorothy Hamm  "...a rich, story-filled collection that portrays like a web of lay lines, mankind's interlaced journey across America down through the centuries." Arthur Wood, FolkWax

 

http://www.benbedford.com

 

December 5, 2009
         

“… This man makes more music from an Autoharp than you can imagine from a 12-string guitar and a harpsichord combined. Bryan Bowers has more stage presence and charisma than any stage performer in recent memory." (The Washington Times) Bryan was raised in New Bohemia near Petersburg of the Civil War's Battle Of The Crater fame. As a child, Bowers would tag along with the field workers and gandy dancers and learned to sing old call-and-answer songs. Bowers recalls, "The music I heard while working in the fields was mesmerizing…” After a stint in college with the guitar, he discovered the autoharp.  He relocated to Seattle, WA in 1971 and played for coins as a street singer and in bars for the right to pass the hat.

 

From this unglamorous beginning, Bryan Bowers has become a major artist on the traditional music circuit. He has redefined the autoharp and is also well known as a singer-songwriter. Bower's creativity and talent have won him induction into Frets Magazine's First Gallery of the Greats. For nearly three decades, Bryan Bowers has been to the autoharp what Earl Scruggs was to the five-string banjo. He presents instrumental virtuosity combined with warmth, eloquence, expression and professionalism.

 

"To call Bryan Bowers' performance simply a 'concert' would be inadequate if not inaccurate ... (it) could better be described as an experience!" (Deseret News)

 

http://www.bryanbowers.com/

 

 

January 16, 2010

“SPUDS rule!” (Meredith Carson) *I have never been so fascinated by a singing duo…they're original, funny, energetic, profound, always respectful of the music but always daring to try new things. When they get their hands on music, rhythmically and harmonically, it just takes off."  (Phee Sherline)

 

Small Potatoes, the Chicago based folk duo of Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso, say it has taken them years of careful indecision to develop a repertoire they describe as "Celtic to Cowboy."  Superb musicianship and showmanship, award-winning songwriting, and a strong sense of tradition has made them, as Dirty Linen Magazine said, "one of the most polished, inventive, and entertaining shows on the circuit.”

 

When you see Small Potatoes perform, you hear two great voices, some fine guitar playing, and a touch of tin whistle, flute, mandolin, bodhran, and other percussion toys. They have the unique ability to adapt to the style of music they happen to be playing.  They seem comfortably at home whether playing an upbeat cowboy swing tune or a tender, traditional ballad  -- though there are no rules here either, sometimes the traditional sounds contemporary, sometimes the contemporary sounds traditional.  And they also pay attention to the little things, the warmth, the humor and a rapport with the audience that makes for a memorable performance. Sherline says, "The audience… loves them. It's a stand-up-and-shout kind of love."

 

http://www.smallpotatoesmusic.com

 

 

 

February 13, 2010

“Hearing the songs of Michael Smith in this day ad age is like reading an anthology of short stories by Hemingway after decades of only comic books. It's a realization that songs can hold a whole lot more than they're usually expected to hold, that they can possess a genuine sense of place as evocative and magical as the finest.” (Song Talk)

Michael Smith bought a guitar at fifteen (for five dollars) and was soon playing in a group inspired equally by the Kingston Trio and Harry Belafonte. The act was called The Kalypso Kids and played a lot of VFW halls and psychiatric hospitals. Later, in college and after, he played with different groups. "Those were days when you got hired by the week and people stood in line. They didn't even have to know who you were. It was Folk Music, and Folk Music was happening," Michael did entirely his own material. "I would say the song was Fred Neil's. People would say 'Oh, I hadn't heard that one.' I'd say 'It's one of his better ones, don't you think?'”

 

Michael has spent years in Chicago at The Earl of Old Town and the Old Town School of Folk Music, continuing to write.  He is well known for his ”The Dutchman” and the music for a production of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. “His songs are so resonant in layers of myth and magic, and so perfectly enhanced by the genuine beauty of his melodies and instrumental arrangements, that you can listen to a single one over and over for an afternoon and feel satisfied.”(Song Talk) Michael says. "I feel I was born to write songs."

 

http://www.michaelsmithmusic.com

 

 March 6, 2010                                  

Kate Eggleston was one of the outstanding concerts of the Stained Glass Coffeehouse’s first season.  "She is a virtuoso guitarist and hammer dulcimer player, and her songs blend vivid, often gripping, imagery with memorable lyrical melodies." (Michael Parrish, Dirty Linen).

Kat is one of the most accomplished singers / songwriters today. Elating audiences with her beautiful blend of sweet melodies and gentle honesty, Kat's music is universally appreciated by young and old alike. Her songs touch a wide range of life's experiences with unusual clarity and authority. On (her recording) Second Nature we're in for honest lyrics honestly sung. In a clear alto with flawless intonation, Kat goes straight to the lyrical and emotional truth of every word and every note. Her musings on home, childhood, and her father's garden are gems of direct, unassuming plainspokenness

"Kat Eggleston not only has the soul of a poet but the voice of an angel, not to mention that the lady can play a mean guitar." (Dennis Palkow, Chicago Tribune). 

http://www.kateggleston.com

April 10, 2010

“Randall Williams explodes onto the scene like a bolt of lightning. It's rare that a honey-toned tenor carries as much force as Williams. Combine that voice with highly articulate guitar work and superlative songs for a most powerful presence.” (Sing Out Magazine)

 

Shortly after Randall Williams graduated from the Royal Conservatory of Mons, Belgium at the head of his class, he returned to the world of traveling with his guitar, writing songs in train stations and sleeping on couches, then singing and playing on street corners, cafés, and pubs. Randall is as much at home in a Bangkok slum or a Senegalese village, at the Kennedy Center in D.C. or the Fine Arts Palace in Brussels sandwiched between a twitchy orchestra and a full house, or shoeless on the floor of your living room. Randall has sung in a dozen languages in over 35 countries.  Randall says: “I can celebrate every day that I'm moving forward doing what I love.”

 

"When Randall left the confines of classical music largely behind, they lost a great talent, but the world gained a good friend - a friend who will tell its stories with grace, compassion, humility and humor." (Lynne Andrews)

http://www.whereisrandall.com/

May 15, 2010

"Al Day is brilliant and completely original." (Rich Warren, WFMT)  Hailed as "Most Promising Songwriter" by Chicago Magazine when he entered the music scene, Al Day has appeared in clubs and colleges throughout the United States and on such radio and TV shows as WFMT's "Midnight Special," WFMT's "Studs Terkel Show," WBEZ's "The Earth Club," and WTTW/Channel 11's "Sound Stage." His songs have supplied not only himself, but also other artists with original material. The most extensive piece Al has written to date is the libretto for the opera, Two Soldiers, which was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

"Day's rough, gravelly voice is one of the most engaging in town, and his control over it is nothing short of amazing. He can switch from high falsetto to a sandpaper voice with a facility that eludes most of us when trying to tie a shoelace." (Chicago Reader)  "Passion fills Day's intelligent, poetic, carefully crafted lyrics and radiates from his voice . . . His ability with metaphor and strikingly unusual imagery, along with his way of bending phrases and words, takes the listener on an unforgettable journey." (Sing Out Magazine) 

http://www.aldaymusic.com/about.html