Category Archives: Acoustic Adventures

Former Alaskan, Frank Solivan, is bringing his Dirty Kitchen to town. Frank is a monster fiddler and mandolinist who is making big waves nationally these days. His original music is making it’s way up the bluegrass charts and he is showing up at major bluegrass festivals across the country. He will be the featured artist at the Anchorage Folk Festival, and he’s kicking off his Alaska tour in Fairbanks. He and his band are stocked with hot musicians who really cook. In Frank’s hands, instruments take on a life of their own. You hear power. You hear volume. You hear crispness, clarity, timing and taste. All combined with passion and drive. The Blue Loon is the perfect place to catch this sizzling Bluegrass band–not meant for the solemn atmosphere of a concert theatre. As a special treat, local Fairbanks band, Steve Brown and the Bailers, will open the show.

Get it while it’s hot at the Blue Loon, Saturday, January 21

Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen 8pm, Saturday, January 21 at the Blue Loon opening act, Steve Brown and the Bailers

Tickets $28 available at Grassroots Guitar, 488-0556 or www.acousticadventures.com

Sponsored by Sophie Station Hotel and Dollar Rent-A-Car

8pm, Friday, October 28 at Pioneer Park Theatre $28

The Bee Eaters trace their roots back to musical traditions as diverse as bluegrass, Celtic, jazz and old-time. While today’s new breed often produces an amalgamation of sounds and styles based on a distant view, the Bee Eaters were raised embedded in these traditions… raised to mold, meld, shape them and carry them forward, leaving their own indelible marks in the process.

Tashina Clarridge, the 2005 Grand National Fiddle Champion, has toured with Mark O’Connor, Tony Trischka and Laurie Lewis and has performed at Carnegie Hall as a part of MacArthur Fellow/Grammy-winning bassist Edgar Meyer’s Young Artists program. Multi-instrumentalist brother Tristan is an innovative cellist and 5-time Grand National Fiddle Champion.

Hammer dulcimer virtuoso Simon Chrisman brings an unusual style to an instrument that has previously been thought to have limited range and technique. His inventive virtuosic touch and sophisticated rhythmic sensibilities are redefining the instrument and earning the attention of musicians from all over the world.

Tickets are available at Grassroots Guitar, by phone (907-488-0556), or online here.  http://www.acousticadventures.com/acts.html

A tribute to Bill Staines  with special MC Mike Flynn
8pm, Friday, Oct. 21 at Pioneer Park Theatre
Price $28

We are holding a party to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Bill’s first trip to Alaska! Folk Sampler’s host Mike Flynn will MC this fun evening as one of our special guests (and a surprise to Bill!). Fairbanks singer-songwriters, Susan Grace, Will Putman and Ryan Bowers will open the show by playing a Staines song and a couple of their own.

Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular and durable singers on the folk music scene today, performing nearly 200 concerts a year and driving over 65,000 miles annually. He weaves a blend of gentle wit and humor into his performances and one reviewer wrote, “He has a sense of timing to match the best standup comic.”

In 1975, Bill won National Yodeling Championship in Kerrville Texas. Another important recognition was given to him in 2007. Presented by the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association, The Jerry Christen Award recognized Bill’s contribution to New England folk music.

Currently, Bill has recorded 26 albums; The Happy Wanderer and One More River were winners of the prestigious Parents’ Choice Award. His songs have been recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary, Makem and Clancy, Grandpa Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, Nanci Griffith, Glen Yarborough and many others.

Tickets are available at Grassroots Guitar, by phone (907-488-0556), or here
alaskatix.com or acousticadventures.com

Location: Pioneer Park Theatre at 8pm on Airport Road, Fairbanks, AK
April 22, 2011

Don’t miss the last concert of the Acoustic Adventures season! A song-swap cobill with these two wonderful singer-songwriters is the perfect way to cap things off. Redhouse Records recording artists, John Gorka and Eliza Gilkyson, are two of the most respected musicians and singer-songwriters in Roots, Folk and Americana circles. More information and a sample of their music can be found at www.acousticadventures.com. In celebration of our season, we will have a special drawing at the concert for a two-night getaway for two at Black Rapids Lodge.

John Gorka returns to his roots with his 11th studio album, “So Dark You See”, his most compelling and traditional album to date. Windham Hill has also recently released a collection of John’s greatest hits called Pure John Gorka. His songs have been recorded by many artists including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell.

Eliza Gilkyson is a politically minded, poetically gifted singer-songwriter, who has become one of the most respected musicians in the Americana genre. In 2006, she was recognized with 3 Austin Music Awards and 4 Folk Alliance Music Awards including song of the year. Recently, Eliza’s meditative tune “Requiem,” was nominated for a Grammy.

John and Eliza have both graced the stage of Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, etown and have performed world wide.
“…Displaying humor, wit, and a winning charm, Gilkyson commands our attention. Listen.” ~Popmatters
“Nobody turns a phrase like John Gorka… engaging melodies, captivating lyrics.” ~CMT.com

Mace & Trudy’s Acoustic Adventures presents  Karen Savoca with Pete Heitzman  in Concert
 
 8pm, Friday, February 25
 Pioneer Park Theatre
 
 Tickets $28
 Available at Grassroots Guitar, by phone 488-0556 or online

Here’s what the press says about Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman…

“Cleverly written and embracingly beautiful songs that have a beguiling way of changing and reconfiguring themselves like an aural kaleidoscope.” -Duluth News Tribune

“Sparkling arrangements… joyous abandon” -Dirty Linen

“It’s soul power… a quality so rare. Very highly recommended” -Pure Music

Karen Savoca lives her life down in the dirt – she feels the moist, fertile soil of life between her toes, and digs her hands into the dark, rich earth. She loves to make nourishing relationships grow by planting community everywhere she travels. She comes back from time to time to tend to the bounty that results. Her songs and her music are her seeds, and her rich, supple, creative vocal style is her hoe. – Bob McKillop, Maine

Click here for a youtube performance by Karen and Pete

8pm, Friday, October 29
Pioneer Park Theatre

Tickets $35 available at www.acousticadventures.com,  alaskatix.com, Grassroots Guitar or by calling 488-0556

Sponsored by FNSB Parks & Recreation, Sophie Station Hotel  and Dollar Rent-A-Car

Dynamic on stage, down to earth off stage, 13-time Grammy winner Dan Tyminski has the voice, instrumental chops, and charisma to be counted among the most recognizable and popular male vocalists on today’s bluegrass and country music scenes. Yet his demeanor – low-key and laconically sly – ensures that all the accolades are the product of his own innate gifts. Since 1994, his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor singing have been key components of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era.

Tyminski notably stepped ever more deeply into the popular conscience as the singing voice of George Clooney in the Coen Brothers’ Odyssean farce O Brother, Where Art Thou? In addition to being a pivotal element in the plot of the film, his powerful rendition of the Stanley Brothers’ version of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” became a surprise hit single – firing off a popular renaissance in bluegrass in the process. The song was given the Country Music Association (CMA) award for Single of the Year, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Award for Song of the Year, and a Grammy Award for Country Collaboration with Vocals. The project was also honored with the IBMA Award for Album of the Year, as well as the Grammy Award for Album of the Year – a rare achievement for a soundtrack project.

Growing up in the unlikely bluegrass state of Vermont, Dan Tyminski very quickly saw there was little difference between the rolling hills of New England and those of East Tennessee, as his parents raised him to a soundtrack of bluegrass and old-time country music. When barely 21 years old, he was plucked from the ranks of regional bluegrass bands to join the Lonesome River Band, first appearing on their 1989 release Looking for Yourself.

As a 15-year member of Alison Krauss and Union Station, his forceful vocals showcase the band’s commitment to classic bluegrass, even as their sound has evolved into a richly hued hybrid that draws from a myriad of styles and sounds. With Union Station, Tyminski has participated in a string of highly regarded and commercially successful albums. The band has been showered in Grammy, CMA, and IBMA awards, among others, and Tyminski has been named Male Vocalist of the Year by the IBMA four times and was recognized as 2004’s Male Vocalist of the Year by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA).

Tyminski has also released two acclaimed solo albums, the soul-stirring Carry Me Across the Mountain (2000) and the Grammy-nominated Wheels (2008), a riveting collection that blends the sophistication of Union Station with the intensity of Dan’s hard-driving approach. Wheels was named the 2009 Album of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Since 1994, 13-time Grammy winner Dan Tyminski has contributed his ace instrumental skill (mainly on guitar, but also on mandolin) and burnished, soulful tenor to the sound of Alison Krauss and Union Station, arguably the most visible and successful bluegrass band in the modern era.

Dan is also known for his powerful singing on the “O Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack as the voice of George Clooney.

Location: Pioneer Park Theatre, on October 29 at 8pm. 

Tickets are available at Grassroots Guitar, by phone (907-488-0556), or online here.

In all, Kathy has had 16 top 10 hits and numerous country music honors. Her 1986′s folky Walk the Way the Wind Blows, proved to be her critical and commercial breakthrough. Her cover of Nanci Griffith’s “Love at the Five and Dime” was her first Top 5 hit, and the record produced three other Top 10 hits. Her 1987 album Untasted Honey offered two No. 1 country hits, “Goin’ Gone” and her signature hit, “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses.” The latter won CMA’s single of the year. Other No. 1 hits include, “Come From the Heart” and “Burnin’ Old Memories,” and “She Came From Fort Worth.” She won a Grammy for “Where’ve You Been,” and also twice captured the CMA’s female vocalist trophies.

Her 2008 CD, Coal, was nominated for a Grammy. Coal, combined her social activism with songs about coal-mining.

Kathy is bringing her band to Fairbanks for the first time as part of her Moving Mountains Tour. Sponsored by Sophie Station Hotel, Fairbanks Folk Fest and CHET-FM

Tickets are $35 and are available at Grassroots Guitar, www.acousticadventures.com, www.alaskatix.com or by calling 488-0556. 

Performance will take place on Sunday October 24th at Hering Auditorium