Concerts are Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Tickets $15 in advance (and for members) or $18 at the door.
Select Your Tickets for Rockville Concerts Here
Mount VernonAlexandria
Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 Danny Schmidt and Carrie Elkin
Danny Schmidt is best known for his riveting poetic lyrics, which have drawn favorable comparisons to Leonard Cohen and Townes Van Zandt for their depth and complexity. And gypsy spirit Carrie Elkin is best known for her incredibly soulful and dynamic vocals, which have drawn favorable comparisons to Patty Griffin at her most powerful, and Nanci Griffith at her most intimate.
Together, the respective strengths they each bring, individually, merge into a much greater whole . . . a performance of great energy and spirit . . . and one that audiences seem to be able to connect with on a multitude of levels, at once: Emotionally, Spiritually, and Intellectually.
"Danny Schmidt is a force of nature: a blue moon, a hundred-year flood, an avalanche of a singer-songwriter. His songs are a flood of poetry, mythology, folk wisdom, and surprise."
- Sing Out! Magazine
"I have never seen a performer so in love with the act of singing. That's the gospel truth, and from what I've subsequently learned I'm not the only one to believe or state that. Onstage Elkin was simply a force of nature….”
- Maverick Magazine
Mike Agranoff is not only a collector of songs and a master at arranging them, but is also a writer of songs and recitations. He plays a superb fingerstyle guitar in idioms ranging from ancient harp tunes to obscure Tin-Pan-Alley compositions. His concertina arrangements of music by anyone from Bach to the Berrymans may be haunting, complex, exciting, but are, above all, musical. A performance might include a song of heart-stopping emotional impact, a Scott Joplin piano rag, an a capella Irish patter song sung to the melody of a mile-a-minute fiddle tune, a riveting recitation in the style of Robert Service, and some of the most horrible parodies in the English speaking world. Whatever else he does, Mike puts a lie to the notion that folk music is boring.
"Quite possibly the most reverent irreverent musician on the planet, Mike is absolutely irrepressible as he turns that genre inside out and back again in the blink of a twinkling eye. His parodies are legendary for their groan factor and insightful brilliance, but Mike is just as apt to restore an ancient heartfelt tune to its original splendor with his artful and deft guitar work."
- Flying Cat Music"
Greg Trooper is a singer/songwriter who has released 11 albums since 1986. Raised in the shore town of Little Silver, NJ he became enthralled by the greater New York area’s rich music scene. He discovered a sort of holy musical trinity in the work of Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, and Hank Williams, with their guiding lights of passion, literary dexterity and plainspoken honesty. It’s one reason Trooper’s music feels equally informed by Memphis soul, Greenwich Village folk and Nashville twang.
"Greg Trooper sings about people for whom love is an illusion but an essential one."
- The Nation
"Trooper is the complete package. Some musicians have the music down, some have the lyrics, some have the phrasing, but few put it all together. Trooper does it all."
- Frank O. Gutch Jr., Rock and Reprise
David Jacobs-Strain is a virtuosic slide guitar player and a storyteller with a passionate one-man show that is both humorous and deeply lyrical. A bridge between today’s indie folk troubadours and the delta guitar slingers of the 1930s, David plays with precision and sings with emotional abandon. He’s a tall Jewish blues singer from Oregon, a Stanford drop-out in a trucker hat, and a Left Coast poet; one part Leo Kotke, one part Ken Kesey, and one part Robert Johnson. Is it Delta Blues? Gangsta Grass? Geekabilly? Secular Humanist Gospel? Whatever it is, it's put him on stage at the Newport Folk Festival, MerleFest, the Strawberry Music Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Fest, and on tour with Lucinda Williams, Etta James, Bob Weir, and Boz Scaggs.
"He doesn’t just rock out: he’s learned the art of crossing musical boundaries from the masters. His music has a fiery passion that’s exciting and engaging, tempered with an aesthetic reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest, where he grew up and cut his first guitar strings. Don’t be fooled by his youth; Jacobs-Strain knows what he’s doing."
- The Washington Post
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Craig Bickhardt, Don Henry and Lizanne Knott
A Craig Bickhardt live set is a mix of absurd anecdotes and personal confessions, accompanying a well-stocked bag of original tunes and the occasional choice cover. His decades in music have given his performances the depth of experience – his love songs seem sweeter and more poignant, his story-song narratives more true-to-life than they could have in the past.
At Don's shows, you'll easily spot those who have yet to hear his songs; upon first experiencing them, the listener is often moved to laughter or tears, sometimes both at the same time! And everyone leaves humming, because Don Henry songs stay with you.
Don's unique perspective is expressed in instantly memorable melodies and equally smart arrangements that appeal to listeners across musical borders, and across the nation.
Lizanne is a beautiful talent. Soft spoken words, intelligent poetic lyrics and a voice that defies any age. A class act all the way around and beloved by her friends and fans alike. A rare artist." Tina Shafer - Artistic Director - New York Songwriter's Circle
"After all his years in the big time, [Bickhardt] has managed to retain that purity of spirit...refreshingly real."
- Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer
"For a co-composer of the moving hit 'Where've You Been,' Don Henry wields a wicked sense of humor."
- Cincinnati Enquirer
"Absolutely gorgeous music. We've rarely had as big a reaction to any artist in recent years that we've had for Lizanne Knott."
- Bob Harris, BBC2, London
