EOH Highlights 42nd Season of Music and Art

EOH Artists Coming to the 2013 Main Stage Series: Calendar and Links to You Tubes Below

The Earlville Opera House opens its 42^nd season on May 4^th! Here’s why we are so excited! Highlights this summer include guitar and folk legend Leo Kottke who sold out his show the last time that he played the EOH main stage and new this summer Grammy-winning country star Suzy Bogguss. “Suzy Bogguss’ appealing girl-next-door approach, her choice to straddle the fence between contemporary and traditional C&W and her perfectly pitched voice” made her a household name among country music fans. Even if you are not a country music fan and you have ever heard her sing her signature song, “Someday Soon,” the experience will stick with you for a lifetime. “A twangy, yearning tune of a girl longing for a boy who loves “his damned old rodeo” as much as he loves her, Bogguss elicits youthful hope that hasn’t leaned toward jaded frustration quite yet. Not many singers can make riding the rodeo sound like the most romantic thing in the world, but that’s what makes Bogguss an artist and not just a vocalist.”1

EOH is honored to have a major force on the New England folk scene come to our main stage this summer! Dar Williams crafts articulate songs that speak to the heart, the soul, and the mind. She’s a writer that peers through a lens at her own life. Her lyrics help us to examine our own lives with new eyes: Why is it that as we grow older and stronger/ The road signs point us adrift and make us afraid/ Saying ‘You never can win,’ ‘Watch your back,’ ‘Where’s your husband?’ / Oh I don’t like the signs that the sign makers made.

And when you just can’t think about them anymore, the Blues have continually been a national resource for fighting our troubles with creativity, humor and good times. EOH is bringing these outstanding artists to help fight the blues! Country-blues artist David Jacobs-Strain is a consummate finger-style and slide guitarist. He brings an old-school sensibility to a new generation of blues and roots rock. The red-hot blues of the Joe Louis Walker Band (see left) are fueled by his passion and innovation that revolutionized the art of the electric guitar. He was voted Most Outstanding Guitarist by Living Blues and will be inducted into The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame this year. In July, compare JLW to the scorching guitar of legendary British Blues rocker Kim Simmonds in Savoy Brown. Finally, crowning the blues is the sultry Queen of the Minor Key, Eilen Jewell. “With a burnished voice lingering somewhere between Billie Holiday and Neko Case, Eilen Jewell’s aching vocals are pure, country-gospel, box-car soul.”

For Celtic music lovers, Genticorum (left) plays the wild Celtic music of Quebec with boundless energy and unmistakable joy. Full Set from Ireland gathers six unbelievably talented singers and musicians that are full of energy and innovation, while remaining true to their traditional roots.

For a taste of that Nashville sound, International Guitar Duo, Loren & Mark would make Chet Atkins proud with their finger-picking prowess. World-class bluegrass band Della Mae (right) has toured the world on behalf of the US State Department representing an American art form, Bluegrass, abroad. The IBMA-award winning bluegrass of the Claire Lynch Band, with “one of the most beautiful voices in the music business,” is backed up by a sizzling band that sparkles with virtuoso musicianship!

Americana music lovers will delight in The Sweetback Sisters band. “Like a pair of luxurious soft cashmere socks for your ears, the silky vocal harmonies are a decadent treat.” The band romps through vintage honkytonk, western swing and Tex-Mex with equal expertise! Their sound takes you back to the mid-fifties to mid-sixties era, “beginning around the time country bands started using electric guitars and taking it up to the Bakersfield era, which employed electric bass and drums along with the Telecasters.”

Don’t miss the fiery soulful Cajun music of Jesse Lege & Joel Savoy (right). Fiddler Joel Savoy has been a driving force in the Cajun renaissance, and Jesse Lége is a genius on the Cajun accordion, winning every award possible from the Cajun French Music Association. He was recently inducted into the Cajun Music Hall of Fame!

EOH starts the season with a celebration of local talent! The Treasures in the Heart of NY Showcase celebrates CNY arts and music while supporting local food cupboards. For New York’s Path Through History weekend, Voices of Tabernacle will honor NYS composers. Hugh Humphreys brings to life a production of Spoon River Anthology with riveting tales of love, triumph, failure, secrets, and crimes.

There is still more to come – including our Earlville Awesome House series! The Earlville Opera House is a beautiful historic landmark and a living testament to local and New York State history. In addition to its performances, EOH features three art galleries as well as workshops. For more information, http://www.earlvilleoperahouse.com or call 315-691-3550.

1. Bryan Buss, All Music Guide source

2013 Calendar: (Dar Williams right)

Earlville Opera House Main Stage Season
Sat, 5/4 Treasures in the Heart Showcase:
Pamme Swan, Caitlin Grossjung, Rabbit in the Rye, Tumbleweed Highway
Sat, 5/11 David Jacobs-Strain ~ Slide Guitar – Blues Roots
Sat, 6/1 Loren and Mark ~ Flat pickin’ International Guitar Duo
Sat, 6/8 Joe Louis Walker Band ~Grammy-winning’ Blues
Sun, 6/9 Voices of Tabernacle ~ special guests: Sherburne-Earlville HS Chorus
6/15-6/16 Spoon River Anthology ~ Hugh Humphreys’ production takes on the poetry of life and death in a small town
Fri, 6/21 Leo Kottke ~Virtuoso Guitarist
Sat, 6/29 Genticorum ~ Award-winning Powerhouse Québécois-Celtic
Sat, 7/6 Sweetback Sisters ~ Roadhouse Country & Western Swing
Fri, 7/12 Della Mae ~ World-class Bluegrass
Fri, 7/19 Jesse Lege & Joel Savoy Trio ~ Fiery, Soulful Cajun
Sat, 7/20 Savoy Brown ~ Rockin’ Legendary British Blues
Sat, 7/27 Suzy Bogguss ~Grammy and CMA Award-winning Country Star
Sat, 8/3 Dar Williams ~ Razor & Tie’s Folk-Rock Singer/Songwriter
Fri, 8/9 Galumpha ~ Comedic Modern Dance
Sat, 8/31 Eilen Jewell Band ~ Honky-Tonk Blues: “smoky vocals and swinging rhythms”
Sat, 9/21 FullSet ~High-Energy Trad From Ireland