We are pleased to invite you to the last concert of this abbreviated season. These artists are both former Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Award Winners and dear friends of ours. We are honored to have them back to share the Sycamore Creek stage.
Daniel C. Boling
Winner of the Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk songwriter contest, the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, and others, Daniel shares experiences from a life well-lived in three countries and seven States. This balladeer/songwriter with the friendly tenor brings his well-crafted story songs to happy audiences throughout the U.S. and in Europe in over one hundred shows a year, from House Concerts and listening rooms to major festivals – Kerrville, Winfield, Woody Guthrie, and others. Daniel is also a member of the iconic 1960s folk trio The Limeliters and the trio frequently performs with The Brothers Four and The Kingston Trio.
Born into a traveling Air Force family, he later worked as a National Park Ranger (yes, the gun-toting kind) and as a Criminal Investigator for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. He started touring full-time at 50, when most guys are planning their retirement. He has eight albums out – the newest, LIVE AT THE KITCHEN SINK, was produced by Jono Manson and released on Berkalin Records in May 2018. Daniel’s 2016 album, THESE HOUSES, was considered for GRAMMY Nomination as “Best Folk Album”, and was chosen among Top 10 Albums of 2016 by Folk Radio DJs across the U.S.
Daniel’s songs tell interesting stories about a variety of characters, including himself. He plays guitar and banjo with a deft fingerpicking style that always enhances the stories, and a bit of harmonica into the bargain. His clear tenor draws positive comparisons to John Denver and Pete Seeger, and like Pete, Daniel is happiest when his audience sings too!
There’s a lot of Steve Goodman in Daniel’s delivery and storytelling. You can also hear the influence of other classic folk singers and songs from the great American folk tradition. It’s no surprise that iconic Appalachian folk singer Jean Ritchie is his second cousin. He’s won numerous songwriting awards including Kerrville New Folk, Walnut Valley Festival, Santa Fe bluegrass and Old Time Festival, Albuquerque Folk Festival, and Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.
Daniel also performs for senior living communities playing a show he calls “Songs My Daddy Loved.” Remember when family and friends still got together on the porch in the evening and made their own music? Songs carried the news and kept traditions alive. These are songs from back then and from the early radio days: Folk; Gospel; Country; & Pop from the 30s, 40s and 50s and Daniel’s own songs that still carry on the tradition. You’ll recognize songs from Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, the Carter Family and lots of others you love. And Daniel’s lovely wife Ellen will join in for some duets!
There’s a reason that Still On The Hill calls him “one of the most talented songwriters on the circuit.” Whether you’ve walked the very same roads, you can’t help but relate to these songs – and no matter what your story is, you’ll love Daniel’s.
Visit Daniel's website at http://www.danielboling.com to learn more about him and try out his music.
Wes Collins
At age 44, Wes Collins and his wife Anita made a pact to become writers: she started writing fiction and Wes penned his first song. A few years later, they were both multi-award-winners in their fields. Collins more than makes up for lost time with songs so dense with ideas that a first listen only scratches the surface. Come for a haunting melody and some intricate fingerpicking and stay for the wit and deep literary intelligence. There is always more to find in a Wes Collins song.
Wes has played shows from coast to coast including: The Blue Bird Cafe in Nashville, TN; The Kerrville Folk Festival in Kerrville, TX; the Cary Theater in Cary, NC (opening for Dave Olney); and many more. He is a winner of the prestigious Grassy Hills New Folk Competition and a North Carolina Arts Council Songwriting Fellowship, and has been featured as a finalist in The Telluride Troubadour Contest in Telluride, CO; The Songwriter's Serenade Competition in Moravia, TX; and The Wildflower Performing Songwriter Contest in Dallas, TX.
Welcome to The Ether is Collins' second record. It was produced by Chris Rosser at the top of a mountain during a historic snowstorm and features guest performances by Jaimee Harris, Danny Gotham, and FJ Ventre. Welcome to The Ether finds Wes at his best: timidly falling in love in “Pelican”, coming to terms with a loved one’s disability in “Stethoscope”, or cavorting with ghosts in “Everyone Dances”. The record ends with his perennial set-closer “I Love You Guys”, as much an ode to drunken buffoonery as it is a song of gratitude to the listener.
You can have a taste of Wes' music and learn more about him you can visit his website: http://www.wescollins.com
