Mara Kaye is that rare cross-species phenomenon, a Blues Amphibian.  When others "sing the blues" as if offering an unusual small plate at the tapas bar, Mara has so immersed herself in the idiom that she goes down to the bottom and doesn't need air until the show is over.  She's a modernist rather than a museum piece: her creations can be darkly mournful, savagely vengeful, or gleefully erotic, but they are always leavened with Brooklyn spice.  Think 1928 Bessie Smith or 1937 Billie Holiday leavened with street smarts. Her heart is in her music, and there is no pretense, no distance, as audiences from here to Russia, at Joe's Pub and Brooklyn dives have found out.

The Horsenecks play hard-hitting and heartfelt Old Time and classic Bluegrass music. Their sound is centered around the pairing of the signature rhythmic Appalachian fiddle style of Oregonian Gabrielle Macrae, (the Macrae Sisters, Hook & Anchor) and the driving yet subtle three-finger banjo playing of Liverpudlian Barry Southern (Tramp Attack, The Loose Moose Stringband.) 

Lone Piñon is an acoustic conjunto from Northern New Mexico whose music celebrates the integrity of their region's cultural roots.  Multi-instrumentalists Noah Martinez and Jordan Wax use the fiddle, bajo quinto, accordions, quinta huapanguera, and bilingual vocals to play a wide spectrum of the traditional music that is at home in New Mexico.  Their performances are a celebration of the vibrant landscape of their home, a complex tapestry of styles that reflect the intercultural history of New Mexico and the musical legacy it has produced. Martinez and Wax formed Lone Piñon in 2014 as a way to explore and strengthen the oldest sounds of traditional Northern New Mexico string music, sounds that had all but disappeared from daily life. Far from the image of quaint, isolated village traditions that is often painted of Northern New Mexico, they discovered a network of related styles that cross state, national, and generational borders.  The duo’s active repertoire reflects this complexity and includes early conjunto duets, Hispanic Texan fiddle styles, New Mexican swing, contemporary New Mexican rancheras, Tohono O'odham fiddling from Arizona, huapangos from the Huasteca, and several regional styles from Michoacán.

Skillet Licorice is the latest project from San Francisco Bay Area roots-music luminaries Elise Engelberg and Matt Knoth. Whether they’re playing hot fiddle breakdowns, slinky blues, sparkling banjo breaks, ragtime or dreamy waltzes, the band displays an impressive command of styles and techniques that comes from deep study and loving dedication to America’s folk traditions. Skillet Licorice is hot, sweet, and just a bit greasy!

Join Kalabash instructor Clinton Davis and friends for our bi-monthly concert series of American Folk Music. 

Guest Artists: Clarke Buehling + Tom Marion!!!!

Join Kalabash instructor Clinton Davis and friends for our bi-monthly concert series of American Folk Music. 

This month we are thrilled to welcome The High Life Cajun Band!

Saturday January 14th at 6:30-9:30pm
$12 | $10 for members

Join us for a bi-monthly living room concert series with Clinton Davis + friends as they serenade you with music from the west. January's concert features deep country blues from Clinton Davis and Lady Rogo.

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