February 2013 (7 PM) - Carrie Elkin Band
The Sea The Sea weave their many voices into one.
Since the Fall of 2011, Chuck Costa and Mira Stanley have been touring the country, making new friends and evolving their sound.
Now a playful mix of old and new, acoustic and electric, raw and graceful, The Sea The Sea has created an inspired arsenal of harmony-rich, lyric-driven songs.
Dynamic and sincere, simple and true, their liveshows will leave you stirring.
We first saw this remarkable duo at Blue Rock at one of their open house during 2012 SXSW. Fast forward to the 2012 Grassyhill Kerrville New Folk competition where they were one of the six winners chosen from hundreds of entries. They returned to the hill country and participated in the 2012 Grassyhill Kerrville New Folk Fall Tour, where they simply blew audiences away at every concert. We are very excited to bring them to Sycamore Creek. They are accomplished musicians, and we just don’t know the superlatives that will adequately describe their harmonies. DON”T MISS THIS CONCERT.
You are in for a treat. Gail and I are pleased to invite you to experience the Hard Road Trio. I have known Steve Smith and Chris Sanders for several years and we have frequently talked about them playing Sycamore Creek. Well it is finally happening. Steve and Chris, along with bass player extraordinaire Anne Luna will present a wonderful Sycamore Creek concert of Americana and bluegrass music on October 5th
Their latest release, Monticello, peaked at #2 on the Cashbox Roots Music Chart, reaching #4 on the Folk DJ Chart (tying with Willie Nelson).
“This cd reminds me of the raw and colorful beauty of the New Mexico landscape. Stories of honesty and power. Steve Smith shines on the mandolin..... a master.” Tom Russell, El Paso
The Hard Road Trio is based in New Mexico, but they tour nationally, playing festivals, clubs and house concerts.
Steve, Chris and Anne are all very accomplished musicians, and their harmonies are impeccable. Here are some YouTube links to some of their songs:
Family Secrets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfAoKaF-pCM
Only So Fast http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMeN7tmxcPg
For more information about the Hard Road Trio, visit their website at: www.HardRoadTrio.com
You are cordially invited to join us for the first concert of the 2013 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winner Fall Tour. Each year hundreds of aspiring singer/songwriters from around the country (and quite a few from other countries) submit two songs in the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk competition. Thirty-two of the hopefuls are invited to come to the Kerrville Folk Festival and and play their two songs before a very receptive audience and a three judge panel of established singer/songrwriters. Six are then selected as that year's Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners.
Each fall, there is a Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk WInner Fall Tour culminating with the winners opening the annual Rice Festival in Fischer, Texas. For the fifth year in a row, Sycamore Creek has the honor of hosting the first concert of the tour. Five of the six 2013 winners will join us at Sycamore Creek on November 2nd for a very special "In the Round" concert. (The sixth winner had a previous commitment and she will join up later in the tour.)
2013 Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Winners playing at Sycamore Creek:
• Eric Bettencourt
• Honor Finnegan
• Adrianne Lenker
• Ed Romanoff
• Paul Sachs
Visit these websites for more information on the 2013 winners and to hear samples of their music.
Those of you who have attended these concerts in the past know how special they always are.
Gail and I have to pinch ourselves to believe December is finally upon us and the Eliza Gilkyson concert is less than a month away. We doubt that we need to introduce you to this wonderful artist. Those of you who regularly attend Kerrville have enjoyed her stunning performances for many years. When she walks onto a stage, it is a very special event. She is a consummate songwriter, and incredible musician, and one of our very favorite performers. When we embarked on this journey of hosting house concerts five years ago, we had a very short list of "must invites". Eliza was prominent on that list. We are so excited that she has agreed to play Sycamore Creek.
Eliza's Bio:
...“one of the most influential artists on the American folk music scene”– Maverick
Eliza Gilkyson is a politically minded, poetically gifted singer-songwriter who has become one of the most respected musicians in Folk and Americana music circles. The daughter of songwriter Terry Gilkyson, whose songs were recorded by artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, the White Stripes, and Dean Martin, Eliza was headed for a career in music at an early age.
She has appeared on NPR, Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, Etown, Sirius/XM, Air America Radio and has toured with Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Mary Chapin Carpenter. She has been inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame alongside legends Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, and Nanci Griffith, received a Grammy nomination for her 2006 CD "Paradise Hotel", and is an ongoing winner of the Austin Chronicle's various music awards, as well as the Folk Alliance Best Artist, Best Songwriter and Record of the Year.
Eliza’s music has always reflected her vivid vision of the world around her, full of joys and sorrows, each song a window into a life of struggle and triumph in a world she feels is “poised on the edge of moral, economic and environmental bankruptcy.” Her latest release on Red House Records, "Roses at the End of Time" illuminates the issues, the inspirations and the agonies of our time, and the struggle to remain human in the midst of multi-dimensional crises.
“...like the master writer she is, Gilkyson cuts through the jungle of posturing leftist verbiage and conservative spin...She packs a political punch that is as entertaining and blue-collar as the work of Woody Guthrie” – Houston Press
You can learn more about Eliza and her music on her website