Chapel Concert series
Saturday April 25, 7pm
Steeplechase
Steeplechase brings a captivating voice to contemporary Celtic music through a blend of traditional repertoire, inventive arrangements, and road-honed performance. At the core of this ensemble is Hanz Araki, a Juno award-winning and Grammy-nominated flautist & vocalist whose three decades of musical exploration across Irish, Scottish, Japanese, and American folk traditions inform the band’s distinctive sound. Raised in a Japanese-Irish household and carrying forward a centuries-old shakuhachi lineage, Araki’s musical depth and mastery is heralded as “…pure exhilaration for the ears” by Folkwords.
In Steeplechase, Hanz is joined by three of the Pacific Northwest’s most captivating purveyors of Celtic music: Sam Vogt on Guitar and whistles, David Lofgren on Bodhrán (the Irish frame drum), and Zach Bauman on Irish Bouzouki.
Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee June 14
The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee play music the way it sounded before bluegrass, old-time, and country went their separate ways. Rooted in the Blue Ridge music traditions of Southwest Virginia, the band draws from the fertile gray area of the 1940s and early 1950s — a transitional period where traditional and modern styles mingled freely, musicians who had grown up on old-time music at local fiddlers conventions were eager to try new things, and bands attempted to imitate new sounds they heard on radio and records. The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee's sound is earthy, direct, and unadorned: five masterful musicians and singers delivering stirring harmonies and hard-drivinginstrumental work with no modern gloss and no apology, alongside a handful of original compositions.
Tracy Grammar Sept 17
Called "a musician and singer of dazzling versatility" (No Depression), Tracy Grammer is among contemporary folk music's most beloved artists. Renowned for her pure voice, deft guitar and violin work, and incantatory storytelling, Grammer has recorded and performed with Joan Baez and Mary ChapinCarpenter, headlined several of the nation's top folk festivals, including Philadelphia Folk Festival and Falcon Ridge, and enjoyed 12 consecutive years as one of folk radio's 50 top-played artists, both solo and with the late Dave Carter.
Grammer is currently on tour celebrating her highly-anticipated eleventh release, LOW TIDE, which is the first of her albums to showcase her original songs. LOW TIDE was the ninth most-played album on folk radio in 2018 and was voted a Top 10 Album of the Year by Fish Records UK.
"One of the finest singers and musicians anywhere in folkdom." - Boston Globe
"A brilliant artist" - Joan Baez
"One of the most enduring, irreplaceable voices in American folk music." - Anti-Heroin Chic
Past shows:
Leah Song Nov 22
Born into a musical family from Georgia, Leah Song is a storyteller, song-catcher, musician, poet, and community builder known primarily for her role as front-woman of Rising Appalachia, alongside her sister Chloe. As a soloist she incorporates sultry vocals, storytelling, folklore, ballads and boleros into her laid back troubadour performances. Her music is based in the traditions of Southern soul, the diasporic music of the Celtic Isles and her deep studies of traditional folk music from across the Americas .
John Reishman & Eli West Dec 12, 5pm & 7pm
Celebrating the history of Susan Osborn’s Christmas series.
John Reischman is one of the premier mandolinists of his generation, who writes compelling original tunes, many of which have become standards. A member of the groundbreaking Tony Rice Unit, Reischman’s mastery has brought him a global reputation as one of the finest mandolinists of his era.
Eli West is an American Roots musician from the Pacific Northwest. A multi-instrumental creator of sonic spaces, Eli’s former training as a designer informs a sound that is lush and organic – neither manicured nor overgrown.
Lauded by Tim O’brien as a musician “making music the World needs,” Eli’s reputation as a crafter of considered, toneful environments has fostered collaborations with Bill Frisell, Andrew Marlin, John Reishchman, Julie Fowlis, and many other pillars of the growing Americana movement.
Sunday March 1 4pm
Caleb & Reeb + Glenn Hendrick
Sometimes we get so unnecessarily swept up in who’s rising and falling in music these days that the sheer joy of music is overlooked. Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms are a world apart from all of that nonsense and let you immerse yourself in the melody and story of their songs until all other cares of life fade away. They are writing music that lives at the true crossroads of Americana with some of the most traditional yet diverse sounds in the modern American roots landscape. They are redefining the soul of country music with their latest album, Gold In Your Pocket. Drawing from the rich traditions of bluegrass, old-time, and Cajun influences, their harmonies and heartfelt storytelling transport listeners to the place where classic and contemporary sounds intersect. Infused with the spirit of the Pacific Northwest and the energy of dance halls, their music is a celebration of life, connection, and the enduring power of roots music.
Glenn Hendrick is a San Juan Island artist and musician, weaving heartbreaking lyrics and stripped-down hooks that reel you into the apocalypse.