Chatham County Line: IV: Pitchfork Record Review

"IV is the most rewarding offering from Chatham County Line to date. It's a little bit bigger and a little more elaborate than its predecessors, but it's an incremental step toward something more expansive. It still retains the best elements of the band's music-- its separation from the moment. This music isn't a product of its era, but nor is it married to a bygone one. It's essentially timeless, both in terms of era and when I find I can listen to it. That's a quality any band would be happy to claim."
- Pitchforkmedia.com Record Review 03-18-2008

Another great album from one of the new wave of young (under-30) string bands plying the back roads of Americana. CCL are functionally a bluegrass unit - guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin and double bass. But their music reflects their youth and diverse musical interests, but they never veer into the "newgrass"-cum-jazzesque fusion of the 70s generation. It's hard to pin a label on 'em. But the music's mighty fine!

BLUEGRASS MIDWEST - NOW!

For further festival information, VISIT THE WEB SITE call 217-243-3159 or email info@bluegrassmidwest.com.

Special Saturday Morning Open Stage & Showcase - 10:30 a.m.

Saturday Afternoon 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Separate Area - Workshops for acoustic Instruments - Adults & Youth.

Weekend Jamming Rooms - $5.00 Pass or Concert Ticket Required

Mighty Fine Fiddler Alert! St. Pat's Day at FitzGerald's!

April Verch - When you see
twenty-seven year old April Verch perform, the first thing that strikes
you is the pure energy that infuses her fiddle playing and stepdancing.
Infused with both Canadian and Appalachian influences, her fiddle
playing and vocals are a sweet mix of old and new. Award-winning
fiddler, step dancing expert and vocalist April Verch brings new
meaning to the word multi-tasking. A winner of both the Canadian Grand
Masters Fiddle and Open Fiddle Championships.

• In the Club: 8pm and
10pm (2 sets) aprilverch.com

St. Patrick's Day Festival at FitzGerald's

On Monday, March 17th, when most clubs, bars and restaurants have had their fill of Irish partying from the weekend before, FitzGerald’s will open its backyard tent and club to host its own “féile” (festival) with non-stop music, food and dancing beginning at 2pm.

Next Gen of Chicago Singer-Songwriters

Where and when will we meet (and hear) the next Steve Goodman? Obviously, never. But there are new singers and songwriters cropping up among the under-30 generation who are carrying on. Many of them are mighty fine. To wit, Chicago Farmer. Check out his song "The Village" on his MySpace page. Mighty fine indeed.



MySpace.com - Chicago Farmer - CHICAGO, Illinois - Folk - www.myspace.com/codydiekhoff

About Chicago Farmer Cody is a folk-singers folk-singer and a poets poet. He was born and bred in Delavan IL, population 25, surrounded by the endless skies of the American Midwest. Before moving to Chicago in 2003, Cody tried his hand at sessions in Nashville and carefully hewed and tested his art in college town bars and honky-tonks around the Midwest.

He now plays regularly in the city and its not uncommon to see whole rooms full of strangers erupt and sing along to the choruses of his songs on their first listen (Ive seen it happen). Codys voice is powerful and gritty, emotionally piercing while subtly imbuing additional layers of meaning and poignancy in his lyrical delivery. His song-writing is deeply rooted in the American Folk tradition and all of its grit but with a post Dylan sense of wit, perspicacity and that certain savior-faire.

The Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter) : Fiddle Club of the World

The Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter) kicks off its inaugural season with a series of three monthly meetings that will each offer an unplugged concert by a featured guest musician. The concert will be followed by a jam session for club members with the featured guest. Several tunes from the upcoming meeting’s guest will be posted a month ahead of time on this website (http://oldtownschool.org/connect/fiddleclub/) under the category “Tunes” linked on the right sidebar.

St Patrick's Day Gig

An Evening of Traditional Irish Music
featuring Devin Shepherd, Theresa Shine and Bob Locke
with special guests including Mary K and Bob Lopardo, Mary and Jim Grosso plus Jack Swain


Sat., March 15, 8:00 pm
Philander's
1110 Pleasant Street, Oak Park
In the Carleton Hotel

World Music Festival
To benefit the Music for Life Foundation providing instrumental music scholarships to needy students in Chicago and the Western Suburbs - www.musicforlifefoundation.org.



Indian, Balkan and American Folk Music by

• Sandalwood Sitar Ensemble (Sitar)
• Cavatina Duo (Guitar and Flute)
• Farmer's Market Band (American Folk)
• and more!

with Guest MC Scott Thomas, WFMT radio personality

Saturday, March 15th
First United Church, 848 Lake Street, Oak Park (click for Google Map)
7:00 - 9:30 pm
Tickets available at the door: $15/person and $45/family
Information - 708 488 9280

Last Minute Concert Notice

Event Detail Concerts & Events

Carrie Newcomer is a multi-faceted singer-songwriter, storyteller, and activist who does not believe in having any one label stuck on her artistry. "Carrie is a touchstone of authenticity in an image-driven, media-defined musical world. She is a beautiful singer and songwriter, and deeply refreshing." –Rosanne Cash

Sunday, March 9th at 7:00pm in the Maurer Concert Hall of the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N Lincoln Ave. $20 ($18 for OTS members); $16 seniors and kids. Box Office: 773-728-6000 or Tix.com

Lincoln Elementary School's PTO is raising money to plant an inner-courtyard garden in honor of Marie Fegan, the longtime kindergarten teacher who passed away last year. OPFMB washboard, Dobro and kitchen sink picker Miguel Gonzalez is playing drums and singing with THE MEN FROM DAD. Food is by WISHBONE. Fitzgerald's is smoke free. And the cause is worthy.

Banjo + Orchestra Concert

Concert With Northside
College Prep Orchestra

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 7:30PM in
Chicago

This a very special concert featuring the
Chamber Orchestra of Chicago's premier fine arts high school
performing a selection of Miles' works for banjo and
orchestra.

Program will include the Firefly
Sonata, Movements 1 and 3, as well as the Prelude to the
Yellowird Concerto.

North Side College Prep High School, 5501
N. Kedzie, Chicago. Orchestra is under the direction of Leo Park.
Orchestration by Margaret James.

ADMISSION IS FREE

Long Gone Lonesome Boys at FitzGerald's

MySpace.com - Long Gone Lonesome Boys

The LONG GONE LONESOME BOYS are John Milne, a California native, and Patrick Penney, a Georgia boy. They sound like brothers when they sing their beautiful alt-country songs together. If you like drinkin' songs, cheatin' songs, and great harmony singing you'll love these guys. Backing them up on mandolin/steel guitar are Chicago native Pat Keiner who also chimes in with wonderful tenor harmonies, Chicagoan Leslie Walle-Santos on drums, and Wisconsinite Jesse Woelfel on upright and electric bass.

Some friends from the FitzGerald's scene are playing there this Thursday, FEB 21. If you're not otherwise occupied, please try to stop by. FitzGerald's is now Smoke Free!

Borders Live at 01: Patty Griffin

"A distillation of bare-bones vocals and delicately sketched musical accompaniment, Patty Griffin's Children Running Through bears witness to a child's clear-eyed joy."

This is very nice. A live in-store performance from Borders Store #01 in Ann Arbor, MI. It's part of a series featuring acoustic and un-plugged songwriters; and it's free on the Web.

Borders Live at 01: Patty Griffin

Blogged with Flock

Group-Singing - Pete Seeger - Rise Up Singing - New York Times

Amateur group-singing has been around forever, of course, at bars, churches, schools, camps and stadiums. Community sings like the one in East Lansing are pitched halfway between the ritual of the campfire singalong and the self-conscious American folk-music movement of the 20th century.

Group-Singing - Pete Seeger - Rise Up Singing - New York Times

Blogged with Flock

Heather writes in - "On the afternoon of Sunday Feb 17th, Sunny Side Up will be playing at Fitzgerald's. Come out and support bluegrass music in the west suburbs. Kids are welcome. Bring the whole family, it will be a great show!"

And I say, "Mighty fine!"

Greg Reish - Old Time Strings

A concert of American crime songs, including songs about some of America’s most notorious bad guys (and gals). Friday, February 15, 2008, 7:30 p.m., in Roosevelt University's historic Ganz Hall, 430 S. Michigan Ave, Chicago (in the Auditorum Theatre Building). Free admission.

Mighty Fine Jam Session ...

TRAD FEST at THE OLD TOWN SCHOOL - OPEN HOUSE

Friday, January 25, 2008 6:30 PM at the Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall, 4544 N Lincoln Ave.

Trad Fest Open House with Foghorn Stringband, Carolina Chocolate Drops and Garry Harrison & The New Mules. Foghorn Stringband, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Garry Harrison &
The New Mules will host banjo and fiddle round-robins, square dancing
in two rooms, and open jam sessions throughout the School.

Tickets $5 Box Office: 773.728.6000 Tickets available online at Tix.com.

Mother Maybelle Recalls The Bristol Sessions