Schedule for Canalfest 2009

Scott Ainslie (http://cattailmusic.com)

From community concert series and local schools to the Kennedy Center and the renowned Empire Music Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland; Scott Ainslie plays and speaks of the music he loves with passion and authority. Combining thirty years of scholarship with almost forty playing guitar, Ainslie presents a beguiling mix of the African and American roots of the Blues, in story and song.

A Phi Beta Kappa and honors graduate of Washington & Lee University, Ainslie was a leader in the North Carolina Visiting Artist Program and served on its state board from 1988-1990. He was a University of North Carolina Public Fellow in 2000, and was awarded the 20th Annual Sam Ragan Fine Arts Award by St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College. Ainslie has received numerous other awards and grants for his artistic and scholarly contributions through Blues performance, documentation, scholarship, and education.

Ainslie has three solo compact discs of traditional and contemporary blues, and is the author of Robert Johnson/At The Crossroads (1992)---a book of transcriptions of the recordings of this Mississippi Blues legend with complete annotated lyrics, a brief Johnson biography and historical notes. He is also the video teacher for Robert Johnson’s Guitar Techniques (1997) on that Starlicks Master Sessions video lesson, recently released as a DVD. Ainslie maintains an active schedule teaching, leading workshops, writing, recording, and performing.

In late 2004, he produced a challenging CD of original songs, The Feral Crow, with producer and bassist Scott Petito at NRS Studios in Catskill NY. The album features the talents of Ainslie, Petito, vocalist Leslie Ritter, electric guitarist Marc Shulman, drummer Jerry Marotta, and keyboardist Peter Vitalone. The Feral Crow has garnered critical praise and spent a two months at #22 and #78 of the top 100 albums on the folkradio.org playlists and is currently seeing airplay in the United States, The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Serbia, Montenegro, Hong Kong, Israel, and Australia.

Having come of age during the Civil Rights Era just outside of Washington, DC; Ainslie now makes his home in Brattleboro, Vermont. When he is not touring, he teaches locally and is actively involved with local arts groups and progressive politics.

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Mike & Ruthy (www.mikeandruthy.com)

Mike and Ruthy are a song-writing, harmony-singing, banjo and fiddle-slinging duo from the Hudson Valley who have been described as literate, political, organic, and inspired. They recently joined Pete Seeger for his performance at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and joined the incredible cast of musicians at Pete's 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden.

Mike and Ruthy are a musical couple whose love was forged in New York City amidst a swirl of rock, anti-folk, and Americana enthusiasm. They harmonized from the first night they met, bringing smiles to their friends' faces with original songs and layering raspy fiddle over pop-strummed guitar. It was 1999, and their band, Rhinegold, played to pre-trucker-hat hipsters in the East Village and then gathered to play more songs around the cluttered coffee table at someone's apartment. Richard Buckner played low on the small bedside stereo as these young, nocturnal band-mates got some early morning sleep.

It's true that Mike was originally recruited by his college to play hockey and Ruth had gone to school for acting, but now they began a new path together, crafting songs and recordings and touring the world. Ten years later, Mike and Ruthy are married and living upstate with their new son, William Puck. With 7 years of touring under their belts with folk band The Mammals, they have begun a new chapter, one that still incorporates the best sounds and textures that old-timey and rock music can offer.

Their first duo CD "The Honeymoon Agenda," was well received by fans and critics alike. "When most newlyweds take their honeymoons, they jet off to some sunny, all-inclusive resort in the Caribbean. This young couple opted to spend their postnuptials at home in West Hurley making their first album as a duo. 'The Honeymoon Agenda' is a 40-minute expression of love. Here's hoping the couple's anniversaries yield more records this good." - Hudson Valley Chronogram

"Waltz of the Chickadee" is the brand new recording, released on their own Humble Abode Music label in the spring of 2009. With a few guest appearances by their family and friends, the record is full of great new lyrical journeys surrounded by moody mountain sounds and tasteful twang.

On the heels of the roots-based "Chickadee" session, Mike & Ruthy began collaborating with their new friend Craig Santiago and long-time collaborator José Ayerve whose graceful drumming and bass playing have already inspired another CD's worth of original folk-rock material. This project, tentatively titled "Rise," will hopefully be finished by the end of the year.

Mike and Ruthy love writing, recording and playing shows and music festivals as a duo or 4-piece band. The added joy and demands of parenthood have given them a new appreciation for the power of good music and the fine community of people they have connected with across the country and the world. Enjoying the beauty of the moment is their shared goal, and you can hear it in every song they sing.

© 2009 Mike and Ruthy (used with permission)

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Mariaville Cattle Company(www.cattleband.com)

Mariaville Cattle Company band started the summer of 2007 when Bob Chandler (bass) , Pat Attanasio (Vocals, Guitar, fiddle and Pedal Steel) and Lars Breckenridge (drums) Got together to play local clubs and festivals. Spring of 2008 we added Frank Cross (keyboards) and Chuck "Nashville" Lebrecht (Guitar) for a total of 172 years of making music. We play everything from blues, bluegrass, southern rock, country, and classic rock.

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Pat Wictor (www.patwictor.com)

In a remarkably short period of time, Pat Wictor has become the name that is being chatted about on the acoustic, blues, folk and Americana circuits. Steeped in American "roots" music, Pat is a contemporary songwriter and interpreter drawing on the rural country, gospel, and blues traditions of our nation.

An American by birth, Pat was raised outside of the United States until his teenage years, living in Venezuela, Holland, Norway, and England. This time abroad gave him an unusually deep awareness of being a resident of a country while also a world citizen. Through these early experiences, he gained an appreciation for taking different paths to arrive at the same destination.

Indeed, Pat took a convoluted path to folk music, winding his way through rock, heavy metal, and jazz. He started with guitar, shifted to bass, moved to saxophone, and then quit music entirely before a return in 1993, a time when he also began composing songs. By 2001, he left a teaching career to pursue music full time and does so in the broadest way possible. An adept improviser and accompanist, he is sought after as a collaborator, sideman and session musician, with numerous recording credits to date. His monthly e-mail column, "A Few Choice Words," is read by thousands of subscribers. He is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on writing, interpreting, and rearranging songs, on slide guitar and other guitar techniques, and various topics of music history.

His performances--part fireside chat, part meditation on matters earthly and transcendent--feature his originals. In addition to his own tunes, he is quick to offer up a newly-discovered lyric from another performer, or a fresh arrangement of a traditional song, delighting in introducing his audience to innovative material. With flowing red hair and zen-like calm, Pat embraces his audience with the sincerity of his music and the clarity of his voice, inviting them in.

Pat views his life and his music as a journey, populated with an ever-shifting landscape of people, places and emotions. It is a journey he is eager to share with others, knowing that it is the experiences along the way, not the arrival, that initiate the most profound changes.

Pat's fifth CD, Heaven Is So High...And I'm So Far Down, was released in July '06, and has receivved nationwide airplay on folk and specialty radio programs. The disc features standout originals like "I Will Walk With You," the a cappella "Raise My Voice and Sing," and the title track. The CD also includes distinctive versions of Bob Dylan's "Oxford Town," Dave Carter's "When I Go," and a swampy, rousing version of "You Got To Move," featuring Abbie Gardner of Red Molly. His previous CD, Waiting for the Water, also received wide radio play, reaching #4 on the FolkDJ charts in February 2005, and remaining on the charts for months afterward.

HONORS AND CREDITS:

2007 Finalist, New Folk competition, Kerrville Folk Festival
2006 Most Wanted, Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist Showcase
2006 Nominee, Emerging Artist of the Year, International Folk Alliance
2006 Nominee, Best Gospel Song, "Love Is the Water," Independent Music Awards
2006 CD Favorites, "Heaven Is So High..", The Midnight Special, WFMT Chicago, Rich Warren, host

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Riverview Ramblers (www.riverviewramblers.com)

The Riverview Ramblers are one of the hottest bluegrass groups to hit New York's Capital District Region in recent years. Based near Albany, the Ramblers play a variety of tunes ranging from straight-ahead bluegrass to newgrass and Americana and a few things in between. This is homemade, hometown bluegrass music... full of spontaneity, camaraderie, and the acoustic vibe.

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Annie and the Hedonists (http://jonny.aberman.org/hedonist)

A band with a great lead singer and tight harmonies, covering an eclectic mix of acoustic folk, torchy blues, standards, bluegrass, gospel, labor ballads, early jazz, ...

A wild ride across the vast acoustic music landscape Greg Haymes, Times Union
Two Couples in Perfect Harmony Phil Schwartz, Schenectady Daily Gazette
Annie and the Hedonists blew the place away Ralph Hunt, Heartland Music

Annie & the Hedonists features:

• Annie Rosen on lead vocals; "The beauty of her voice only reflects the beauty of her soul" - Jonny
• Jonny Rosen on guitar and vocals;
• Steve Fry on mandolin, trumpet, guitar, keyboard, and vocals;
• Betsy Fry on bass and vocals.

Metroland 2008 "Best Acoustic Band" : "What's your pleasure, folkie? Country blues? Bluegrass? Celtic music? Current singer-songwriters? With Annie Rosen's world-class vocals toppping off layers of fine instrumental work, this local quartet offer one-stop listening in more tasy genres than you can shake a pick at. That's why they take the acoustic cake."

Times Union "Faves of 2008" : "Annie and the Hedonists' "Good Ole Wagon" (Windy Acres): Jazz, blues, country, folk, bluegrass ... it's all here. Annie Rosen's versatile, vintage-tinged voice is the perfect match for the Hedonists' ace musicianship."

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Red Molly (www.redmolly.com)

On a July evening in 2004, at their campsite at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner and Carolann Solebello harmonized for the very first time. As they sang their campmates off to sleep, they knew they had stumbled into something extraordinary. Audiences seem to agree. Since that summer night, Red Molly has garnered a devoted regional fan base, and has begun laying the groundwork for national touring. These ladies have a lot of fun on stage, and it’s contagious. Red Molly consistently brings concert-goers to their feet with stunning three-part harmonies, crisp musicianship, and a warm, engaging stage presence.

The magic of Red Molly stems partly from the richness and diversity of each member’s “pre-Molly” experiences. Laurie (vocals, guitar, banjo) left a career in psychology to pursue her love of singing. She worked for several years as a backup singer, and also released two solo albums, These Old Clothes (1999) and The Things I Choose To Do (2004). Abbie (vocals, Dobro, guitar) has a background in jazz, bluegrass, classical and a cappella music. She released two solo albums, My Craziest Dream (2004), a collection of swing standards featuring her father Herb Gardner on piano, and Honey on My Grave (2006), a collection of acoustic originals. In May 2008, she released a duo album, Bad Nights/Better Days, with Anthony da Costa. Carolann (vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin) spent several years as a professional theater actor before releasing her solo album, Just Across the Water (2000). She went on to release two albums with power folk quartet CC Railroad, Smile Whatever (2001) and Black Horse Motel (2004).

In July 2006, Red Molly’s first full-length CD, Never Been to Vegas (2006), was released. Recorded on a December evening before a studio audience of fans and friends, Never Been to Vegas is a collection of fourteen carefully-chosen songs that span more than a century of great American songwriting. Never Been to Vegas quickly climbed into the Top 30 on the Radio & Records Americana chart, a rare accomplishment for an independent album. And listeners of WUMB radio Boston voted the CD one of the Top 10 CDs of 2006.

Red Molly's newest release, Love and Other Tragedies (2008), is their first full-length studio album. Produced by Ben Wisch, it finds the women of Red Molly adding a little spice to their winning recipe. The new album features a fuller, more “polished” sound than their previous releases, due in part to the contributions of guest artists Mike Weatherly (upright bass), Duke Levine (mandola, lap steel), and Jake Armerding (fiddle). In addition, the ladies incorporated more original songs into the mix this time. Songs written by Laurie, Abbie, and Carolann mingle admirably with songs by well-known contemporary writers Gillian Welch and Susan Werner, up-and-coming artists Amy Speace and George Wirth, traditional American gospel tunes, and standards from the bluegrass and jazz worlds.

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