NISSWA - The 2015 spring schedule for Grassroots Concerts has been announced by Dawn Stattine, artistic director of the non-profit series in the Live Well Nightclub and Coffee Bar at Nisswa.
The first of five Friday shows this season features Oregon musician Beth Wood on Feb. 27. After 18 years of touring and nine albums, Wood makes her Grassroots Concerts debut in the 7:30 p.m. show.
"Beth Wood is a triple threat, a thoughtful songwriter and talented multi-instrumentalist with a supple, soulful voice" says The Washington Post.
She began her musical journey in Lubbock, a high plains Texas town with a rich musical heritage that includes Buddy Holly, Mac Davis, Joe Ely and others. She studied classical piano, violin, harp, and voice and became serious about her music while a student at Brevard College in North Carolina earning degrees in literature and guitar. Then she moved to Austin, Texas. She and husband Marty now live in Eugene.
She won the Dave Carter Memorial Songwriting Contest from the Sisters Folk Festival and similar honors from the Kerville Folk Festival, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, Wildflower Festival, Telluride Troubadour Contest, Mountain Stage and Billboard.
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Wood is a three-time featured artist on a songwriters' Caribbean cruise with Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, John Prine, Patty Griffin, EmmyLou Harris, and Richard Thompson.
In June 2014 she released "Sometimes Love," a well-produced album to follow up her outstanding 2010 recording, "The Weather Inside."
The Eugene Weekly says "Sometimes Love" is ..."strong and engaging pop-country, her soulful alto occasionally recalls Dolly Parton and her songwriting brings to mind the iconoclastic folk singer Patty Griffin."
Grassroots Concerts are the nonprofit cultural offerings of a small, happy society of largely omnivorous but gentle folk dedicated to the preservation of live entertainment in vicarious times.
This is the 27th year for the series. Wood will perform in the 292ndconcert. To see a complete list of previous concert performers, go to www.grassrootsconcerts.org/Previous_Artists.html
The rest of the spring schedule:
• March 13: Willy Porter returns with his righteous brand of finger-picking guitar style and rich songwriting for an evening of high-test tunes and fun. The Milwaukee artist has toured worldwide since his Grassroots Concerts debut 22 years ago.
• March 27: The Lowest Pair is an old-time, roots-influenced duet, featuring the high lonesome harmonies of banjo pickin' songsters Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee. They perform two-banjo traditional and original music.
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• April 17: Sparky and Rhonda Rucker is a humor-filled journey through 400 years of African-American cultural and folk history, encompassing old-time blues, Appalachian ballads, slave songs, Civil War music and original compositions.
• May 3: Mark Kroos plays two guitar necks at the same time in a style characterized by open harmonies, polyphonic textures, and incredible tapping technique. His musical madness is as entertaining to watch as to listen to.
The Live Well Nightclub and Coffee Bar is located in the Journey Church next to the school in Nisswa.
Grassroots Concerts are made possible in part by a grant provided by the Five Wings Arts Council with funds through the Minnesota State Legislature. Grassroots Concerts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the Internal Revenue Code.
At each concert, we welcome non-perishable food and cash donations from generous guests, with donations delivered to local food shelves by our volunteers.
Concert general admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12 with listening attention, when accompanied by an adult. Doors open at 6:30 for seating preference.
For information go to www.grassrootsconcerts.org , call 829-4092 or email information@grassrootsconcerts.org .
