Winter Joy at 65th Annual Univ of Chicago Folk Festival February 7-8

WINTER JOY AT 65th ANNUAL UNIV OF CHICAGO FOLK FEST FEBRUARY 7-8

THE 65TH ANNUAL UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO FOLK FESTIVAL is revving up for its annual fun on our beautiful Hyde Park campus! We’re excited to live up to our reputation for presenting rootsy traditional folk music and spotlighting ethnic arts onstage and in workshops. We will host two full nights of concerts on the evenings of Friday, 7 February and Saturday, 8 February in the University of Chicago’s historic Mandel Hall (1131 E 57th St), plus a full day of workshops and dances on Saturday, 8 February in Ida Noyes Hall (1212 E 59th St). Our concerts will also be streamed online.

Featured artists for 2025:

· ALUM RIDGE BOYS AND ASHLEE – Mining the fertile common ground between bluegrass, early country music, and traditional mountain music, The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee are Virginia’s torchbearers of the old-time sound. Ashlee Watkins (guitar, banjo), Andrew Small (fiddle, mandolin), Trevor Holder (banjo), Conner Vliestra (guitar, fiddle, mandolin), Marshall Willborn (bass), AJ Srubas (fiddle), and Rina Rossi (bass) have immersed themselves in the dance music traditions of the Blue Ridge region and developed a deeply-rooted old-fashioned bluegrass sound. Deep appreciation for Country and “Hillbilly” music of the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s enables the band to craft tasteful original songs and instrumentals that blend seamlessly alongside the classics.

Their powerful harmony singing and energetic instrumentals have captivated audiences around the globe and helped the band and individual members to win many awards at events such as the Annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, VA, the Mount Airy Fiddlers’ Convention in NC, and the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV.

· T’MONDE – Three remarkably accomplished young musicians come together in T’Monde, the Louisiana phenomenon that Offbeat Magazine has called “a creative fusion of classic country and out-of-the-way Cajun.” With a combined 10 Grammy nominations between

members Drew Simon (accordion, vocals), Megan Constantin (guitar, vocals), and Kelli Jones (fiddle, vocals), T’Monde brings influences ranging from early Country music to ancient French and Creole ballads to present day Cajun music. T’Monde has traveled all over the U.S. and the world showing that this small band can produce a big sound. Whether it be with their instruments or their voices, these three continue to display their unique sound that is unmatched in Cajun music today.

· RHYS JONES, NOKOSEE FIELDS & JOSEPH DECOSIMO –Rhys Jones has been playing traditional Appalachian, French-Canadian and Irish fiddle music for 30 years. Born in Chicago, he began his fiddling at age 7 in the fertile environment of the Chicago Barn Dance Company. Soon after, his family moved to southern West Virginia where he learned from the older generation of fiddlers, including Ernie Carpenter, Melvin Wine, Glen Smith and Wilson Douglas. Rhys continued his musical education while living in County Mayo, Ireland, and has now played for concerts, dances, workshops and festivals across the U.S. and Europe. He has won both fiddle and band contests at Clifftop and is regarded as “one of the bright lights of the current generation of traditional performers.” Rhys has three albums with the Vigortone label, appears on numerous compilations and recordings, and can be seen in the award-winning concert documentary Absolutely Irish. Rhys is also an accomplished banjo and guitar player.

Nokosee Fields has proven himself to be one of the most provocative, significant, and capable voices in the North American traditional music scene. A quest for balance shapes his work, whether he’s reconciling the weight of tradition with his creative impulses; challenging the demands and vacuity of colonialist, capitalist structures and systems with the richness of his experience and upbringing as a member of the Osage, Creek and Cherokee Nations; or simply anchoring the beat in the rhythmic push and pull of the multiple bands in which he works. The great nephew of celebrated Cherokee fiddler Sam O’Fields, Nokosee carries a longstanding Cherokee fiddling tradition into the present. Through powerful live and recorded performances, he lovingly and playfully reimagines his tradition with immense skills and sensitivity as a performer of traditional fiddle music.

A leading interpreter of the fiddle, banjo, and song traditions from the Appalachian South, Joseph Decosimo has introduced audiences around the world to the beauty and vitality of the region’s music. A student of the last master traditional musicians in his home region of Tennessee, Joseph draws on a well of profound creativity and repertoire to create fresh sounds. His performances are inviting and nourishing, connecting audiences to the older music’s transcendent beauty.

· BOHOLA – bohola is comprised of Irish piano accordion virtuoso Jimmy Keane and remarkable bouzar (bass bouzouki/guitar hybrid) player and vocalist Pat Broaders. Together, they play a driving, muscular, and very emotive style of Irish music with deep roots in the ‘pure drop’ tradition, infused with the raw and gritty urbanized vernacular of the Irish and Irish-American experience.

The Courier News said of them, “Though most of the tunes bohola plays are well over 150 years old, the music comes across more vibrant than the moribund sounds of much of today’s alternative rock. Their sound comes from the Irish version of jam sessions, but bohola puts the noodling of many current jam bands (Dave Matthews, among others) to shame.”

· MISSISSIPPI GABE CARTER – As a young man, Gabe saw a documentary on Bentonia, MS guitarist Jack Owens. From that point on, he was deeply influenced by the blues native to that region, especially Owens and Skip James. During Carter’s last decade of living and busking on the streets in Chicago, he earned the nickname “Mississippi” through his eerily modal playing and growly blues-belting.

· NATHAN GOURLEY, LAURA FEDDERSEN & BRIAN MILLER – Both Gourley and Fedderson (fiddle), from Boston, MA, are steeped in the lifelong study of the Irish musical tradition and at the same time, deeply influenced by their American roots. They play in a distinctive style of twin fiddling, sometimes playing in taut unison or variously exploring chordal harmonies and rhythmic and melodic variations.

Brian Miller (guitar) fell in love with Irish traditional music and song as a teenager in northern Minnesota and followed the music to its source in Ireland and its many strongholds in the U.S., playing with and learning from a rich assortment of tradition bearers along the way. He also performs with Bua, Danny Diamond, and The Lost Forty, a project that revives historic songs of Irish immigrants to the Midwest.

· IZAKI METROPOULOS, SOPHIA METROPOULOS LAOUTO & GEORGE LAWLER – Izaki has played the violin since he was five years old, but when he was ten, he developed an interest in traditional Greek folk music. He joined a Greek dance group and taught himself the music by ear, working out pieces on the violin even if they were played by other instruments. “It connected me to my culture and my community,” he said. His sister Sophia plays bouzouki and guitar and sings soulfully.

George Lawler is an accomplished percussionist, drummer, and music producer who is adept at many genres of percussion, from ancient to electronic, with an emphasis on styles from the Middle East and Mediterranean region. George has performed in 23 countries and has been awarded a DCASE grant to tour India with the group “East meets Middle East.”

Artists are subject to change. Links to artist photos available upon request via email.

Free workshops and dance instruction will be offered at Ida Noyes Hall on Saturday, 8 February, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM. Please watch our website, www.uofcfolk.org and our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/UCFolkFest, for details.

The pricing of each concert will be $30 regular, $20 seniors, and $5 students (with ID). Tickets go on sale at the Logan Center on 15 January. The Folklore Society will additionally provide online

opportunities for generous fans to donate to help cover this year’s costs and support future Folk Festivals. Tickets can be purchased online as well as over the phone at (773) 702-ARTS.

The Friday evening concert will begin at 8:00 PM Central Time; Saturday at 7:30 PM. Livestreams of both concerts will be available on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com /UCFolkFest and our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@universityofchicagofolklor3095

Concerts will be ushered in by bagpiper Scott McCauley. Concert programs follow and do not reflect order of show:

Friday, February 7th, 8:00 PM

T’Monde

Rhys Jones, Nokosee Fields, Joseph Decosimo

Mississippi Gabe Carter

Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee

Nathan Gourley, Laura Feddersen & Brian Miller

Saturday, February 8th, 7:30 PM

Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee

bohola

Izaki Metropoulos, Sophia Metropoulos Laouto & George Lawler

T’Monde