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| Friday, Nov. 4 @ 8 PM |
THE WIYOS |
$12/10 |
 http://truthfacerecordings.com/wiyos/
This New York City trio arrived on the folk scene in 2002 with a festive, eccentric repertoire of vaudevillian ragtime blues, early swing, jugband and old time country songs.
They "play" music by mixing physical comedy and theatricality with their three-part vocal harmonies, washboard/ harmonica/kazoo, guitar, and upright bass. It always ends up being an interactive show, with favorites by Fats Waller, Spike Jones and Uncle Dave Macon blending harmoniously with brand new songs to carry old time traditions forward into the 21st century.
Though relatively new to the folk world, the Wiyos have already picked up gigs throughout the US and Canada, including performances at the Newport Folk Festival, the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series, and the Rhythm and Roots Festival. |
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| Saturday, Nov. 5 @ 6 & 9 PM |
BOB WARREN |
$15/12 |
 www.bob-warren.com
For more than 30 years singer/songwriter Bob Warren has brought his melodic, uplifting soft rock to audiences around the Capital District. Branching out in the past few years, Bob has begun to tour nationally and has penned the score for two popular area musicals.
We always get the deluxe version of Bob's road show when he comes to Lena's, with a full complement of bass (Tony Markellis), guitar (Don Warren), soulful harmony vocals (Leah Carroll), drums and horns. |
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| Sunday, Nov. 6 @ 7 & 9 PM |
DAVID LINDLEY |
$22/18 |
 www.davidlindley.com
Redefining the word eclectic, acclaimed multi-instrumentalist David Lindley combines American folk, blues and bluegrass traditions with African, Arabic, Asian, Celtic, Malagasy and Turkish music, all with an expansive, playful approach that is as irresistible as it is virtuosic. "Mr. Dave's" unique perfromances feature a wild array of stringed instruments including (but definitely not limited to) Hawaiian lap steel guitar, Turkish saz, Middle Eastern oud, and Irish bouzouki, not to mention his uncanny vocal mimicry and demented sense of humor.
He has been smashing musical barriers throughout his four-decade career, from the pyschedelic Middle Eastern experiments of his world music rock band Kaleidoscope to the reggae grooves of El Rayo-X, and along the way he's been a deft sideman to everyone from Jackson Browne to Dolly Parton.
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| Friday, Nov. 11 @ 8 PM |
MARY McCASLIN
With Special Guests: Chris Chandler & David
Roe |
$12/10 |
 www.marymccaslin.com
A long-time Caffe favorite who rarely makes her way back east these days, Mary McCaslin is a link between traditional and "new folk." She plays ballads of the old west, her own songs of the new west and beyond, and is known for haunting renditions of pop standards and rock classics. Her versions of "Blackbird" and "Pinball Wizard" are made unique by her clawhammer banjo accompaniment.
Her songs have been recorded by Tom Russell, Bill Staines, David Bromberg, Kate Wolf and many others. Regarded as a pioneer of open tunings, and known for her distinctive vocal style, Mary's influences can be heard in many of the younger folk performers.
Opener David Roe is from New Orleans and has some eye opening stories from
a
personal point of view about the situation in New Orleans on his website.
Knowing that this is just one website and one person's tale, we are still
very overwhelmed emotionally about what everyone there is going through
daily and what hardships they face. |
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| Saturday, Nov. 12 @ 7 & 9:30 PM |
CHRIS SMITHER
With Special Guest Jon Shain |
$18/16 |
 www.smither.com /
www.jonshain.com
"His finger-picked guitar lines are sleek, unhurried and insistent. And then there's the voice -- equal parts gravel and molasses, Smither's singing sounds like a distillation of the folk and blues heroes he grew  up listening to in New Orleans." -National Public Radio.
Veteran bluesman Chris Smither draws deeply from American music, modern poets and humanist philosophers, projecting a kind of "streetwise mysticism." Guitar afficionados are drawn to Smither's Lightnin' Hopkins/John Hurt inspired fretwork; spiritual seekers nod in recognition of the hard won knowledge casually tossed off in his lyrics. |
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| Sunday, Nov. 13 @ 7 PM |
PETER MULVEY | $14/12 |
 www.petermulvey.com
A live wire on stage, Wisconsin native Peter Mulvey winds his way from full-throated rockers to plain-spoken musings, to Americana standards. He brings his full attention to his performances, inviting the audience to share in the moment of creating music. His signature sound involves unusual open tunings with the bass string tuned way down to create a deeply funky groove. In addition to his solo touring, Peter has released several albums for Signature Sounds, and has written music for film and modern dance. |
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| Friday, Nov. 18 @ 8 PM |
ROY BOOK BINDER | $15/14 |
 www.roybookbinder.com
For the past 30-odd years, Roy Book Binder has traveled the world, as a "keeper of the flame" and ambassador of the blues.
One of the finest guitar finger pickers active today, Roy has an eclectic repertoire that includes blues, country tunes, bluegrass, and folk.
On his long musical journey through the last half of the 20th century (much of it spent in a motorhome), Roy toured and studied with blues great Reverend Gary Davis, performed with bluesmen like Homesick James and Pink Anderson, played old-time hillbilly blues as a regular on the Nashville Network, and appeared as a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. His most recent CD is Polk City Ramble (Rounder). |
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| Saturday, Nov. 19 @ 8 PM |
TRIBUTE TO RAY CHARLES |
$10 |
 Benefit for Caffe Lena
This is another in our popular series of tributes to some of America's most important musicians. This time we honor a music superhero who rose from rags to riches through sheer brilliance of spirit and talent. He began as one of the humble folk, a blind black boy from the segregated south. In secularizing the song structures, call and response techniques, and screams, wails and moans of gospel music, and blending it with blues lyrics, Ray Charles virtually invented a new genre. In recognition of Ray's passing in 2004, some of Saratoga's finest musicians offer their spin on hits like "Georgia On My Mind," "Hit the Road Jack," "You Are My Sunshine," "Take These Chains From My Heart," and much more.
Featuring:
George Fletcher—Guitar; Nick Parslow—Drums; Elizabeth Woodbury—Piano; Arlen Greene—Bass.
Vocalists: Rick Bolton & Jeff Walton; Kara Storti; Jeanne French; Addie & Olin Boyle; Mary Migliozzi; Rosanne Raneri.
Backing Vocals by The Dwyer Sisters: Sharon Bolton, Molly Dwyer, and Katy Farone |
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| Sunday, Nov. 20 @ 3 PM |
WIDGET AND THE WIDGETTES | $10 for adults
$5 for kids |
Special Family Concert!
This fun band of seasoned, Capital District entertainers plays a wide variety of Celtic music from jigs and reels to the lilting harp music of Turlough O'Carolan. They weave together an all-ages program of engaging songs with special entertainment provided by Widget, a frisky little step-dancing unicorn!
The Widgettes featuring Larry Meyerhoff on hammered dulcimer, bouzouki and bones, and the incomparable vocalist Adrienne Bowman, Peter Jones on fiddle, and Elio Matarazzo on wooden flute and tin whistle. |
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| Friday, Nov. 25 @ 8 PM |
DAKOTA DAVE HULL | $12/10 |
 www.dakotadavehull.com
Hailed by everyone from Dave Van Ronk to Doc Watson, from the Washington Post to Downbeat, Dakota Dave's guitar style is an infectious, unique blend of jazz, ragtime, folk, blues, Western swing, and vintage pop.
A gifted composer as well as a strikingly original interpreter, Dakota Dave calls what he does "classic American guitar." Van Ronk called Dave "one of the best guitarists in the world." |
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| Saturday, Nov. 26 @ 8 PM |
ANNIE AND THE HEDONISTS | $14/10 |
 www.pickingandsinging.org/annie_rosen
This fun quartet's repertoire of acoustic folk, blues, jazz standards, bluegrass, gospel, labor ballads and early jazz sparkles with an "uncommon joy-de-vivre" (Don Wilcock).
The torchy, jazzy, spine-tingling vocals of Annie Rosen take center stage, with three and four part harmonies provided by husband Jonny Rosen (guitar), Steve Fry (mandolin, guitar & trumpet), and Betsy Fry (electric bass).
Bottomline: they LOVE all music and LOVE to share it with their fans! You'll love it, too! |
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| Sunday, Nov. 27 @ 3PM |
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING | FREE |
If you are a dues-paying member of Caffe Lena you are encouraged to come hear the board of director's annual report and plans for the coming year. In addition, you will be asked to elect new board members.
Your ideas and feedback are welcome and your vote will count. Refreshments will be provided. For more information please call Sarah in the office at 583-0022 or e-mail sarah@caffelena.org. |
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