Acoustic Music Concert Series

All CCA acoustic music concerts are held at the
Chincoteague Senior Center on Church Street. 

For directions to the Senior Center, click here.

Fall 2010 Concerts

Spring 2011 Concerts

Fall 2011 Concerts

Concerts in the Acoustic music series run September through November and March through May.  All concerts are held at the Senior Center on Church street.  Show time is 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are available on line, at retail outlets and at the door.  The best buy is the $40 season ticket that covers the three concerts for either the fall or spring series.  Advance tickets are $15 for adults.  Tickets at the door are $18.  Student tickets are $5.

   Fall 2010  Concerts                           

Jennings & Keller
Saturday, September 25, 2010 7:30 p.m.
Fusion Folk Americana

Laurie Jennings Oudin and Dana Keller an acoustic duo based bring a wealth of experience to their collaboration, from the Broadway musicals of New York to the honkytonks of West Texas. Their music is called "Fusion Folk Americana' - a blend of many different elements that comes from their vast and wide-ranging musical backgrounds. With the release of their debut CD, 'Susan's House', Jennings and Keller are quickly gaining recognition throughout the country. In 2007 alone, they were finalists in five songwriting contests across the nation: South Florida Folk Fest, Suwanee SpringFest, Susquehanna, SolarFest, and Falcon Ridge Folk  A former Shakespearean actress, Laurie has been a singer and songwriter for many years. Dana Keller is a veteran pedal steel, dobro, and guitar player has spent years performing on stage or in the studio with such luminaries as Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Stevie Wonder, Larry Graham, Marvin Gaye, Dave Mason, Johnny Rodriguez and The Allen Brothers, to name a few. He has opened for, among others, Spirit, Pure Prairie League, Gordon Lightfoot, Waylon Jennings, and Buck Owens.

Click here for ticket information
Tickets will be in retail outlets after Labor day.

Visit Jennings & Keller's Website
www.myspace.com/jenningsandkeller

Ernie Hawkins Blues Guitar Workshop
Saturday, October 23, 2010 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
$30
Join Ernie Hawkins for a guitar workshop before the concert at the Chincoteague Island Senior Center.   Minimum class size is five participants. 

REGISTRATION IN ADVANCE IS REQUIRED
Click here for registration details

Ernie Hawkins - concert
Saturday, October 23, 2010 7:30 p.m.
The Blues

For many years Ernie Hawkins has been playing concerts, clubs, blues and folk festivals, workshops, colleges, museums,  and celebrations in the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe.  At every stop in the road from A Prairie Home Companion to Antone's to the Madrid Jazz Festival, Ernie Hawkins has thrilled his audiences.   He has played with blues greats including Son House, Mance Lipscomb, Fred McDowell, Jim Brewer, Rev. Gary Davis and many others.

In 1973 Ernie moved to Dallas for graduate school and earned a Ph.D. in phenomenological psychology. Again he managed to find the blues scene and hooked up with players all over the southwest - learning some Lemon Jefferson, Funny Papa Smith, Henry Thomas and Lightnin' Hopkins. With Ph.D. in hand, Ernie wandered back into music.

In the early '80's he recorded his first solo album of ragtime guitar," Ragtime Signatures". His second CD "Blues Advice" was dedicated to the memory of his teacher, Reverend Gary Davis on the occasion of the centennial of his birth.

Ernie Hawkins  has been featured in Sing Out!, Finger Style Guitar, Dirty Linen, Acoustic Guitar, Blues Revue and Vintage Guitar magazines. He has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour and XM Radio. Ernie appears on Maria Muldaur's Grammy and Handy nominated and Indie Award winning album Richland Woman Blues and was the guitarist for the national support tour.

Click here for ticket information
Tickets will be in retail outlets in early October.
Visit Ernie's Website

Maggie Sansone & Andrea Hoag
Saturday, November 20, 2010 7:30 p.m.
Celtic-Christmas Duo

Maggie Sansone brings a unique beauty and vision to the ancient music of the Celts. Her albums ring with a Renaissance spirit, Celtic melodies, and a jazzy new crossover into what she calls "cool Celtic." It's a fusion of ancient sounds and modern sensibility, fueled by the innovative use of old and new instruments. And at the center of it all, there are the percussive yet melodious sounds of Maggie's wooden mallets dancing across the dulcimer's seventy strings.

Maggie is known throughout the U.S. as a performer, producer and teacher of the hammered dulcimer. She has recorded nine albums including AFIM Indie winner, MIST AND STONE, and is author of eight music books (published by Mel Bay). Maggie is founder and president of the Maggie's Music record label  www.maggiesmusic.com.

For her November concert Maggie will be joined by Grammy Nominee, Andrea Hoag on fiddle.  The concert will present both her standard repertoire as well as holiday music.

Click here for ticket information
Tickets will be in retail outlets in early November.

Visit Maggie's Website

For updated news about these and all of our events, subscribe to the CCA e-newsletter   

  Spring 2011  Concerts                           

Eric Taylor
Saturday, March 26, 2011 7:30 p.m.
Contemporary

Growing up in Georgia, Eric Taylor learned blues guitar stylings from Mississippi Fred McDowell and Lightnin' Hopkins. Later, after finding his own voice as a guitarist and songwriter he moved to Texas.

Taylor would probably be as well known as his more celebrated Texas contemporaries Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett and Nancy Griffith if not for a sporadic recording career. Both Lovett and Griffith have recorded his songs and Griffith has called Taylor "the William Faulkner of songwriting in our current time."

A winner of the Kerrville Folk Festival, Taylor has also headlined the prestigious Newport Folk Festival.

Taylor has been described as "one of those songwriters that has the ability to plop you down in the middle of a story or a situation and make you care that you're there." Arthur Wood, founding editor of Folkwax wrote, "simply said Eric Taylor is an American Treasure."

Visit Eric's website

Barry & Holly Tashian
Saturday, April 16, 7:30 p.m.
Country

Barry & Holly Tashian are duet singers, songwriters and touring musicians.  The Tashians have recorded 7 albums with producer Jim Rooney since 1989. In 1994 the National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD) awarded their album "Straw into Gold" Country Album of the Year. In 1998 their album, "Harmony" was nominated for Bluegrass Album of the Year by the Nashville Music Awards. They have performed together on numerous TV and radio shows and festivals worldwide

As songwriters, Barry and Holly have written for Kenny Rogers, Solomon Burke, Ty England, Daniel O'Donnell, The Nashville Bluegrass Band, Roland White, Kate Brislin and Jody Stecher, Niall Toner and many others. They also offer workshops on song writing and harmony singing wherever they perform.

Barry first won national attention with his legendary rock group, Barry & The Remains, recording an album on Epic Records at age 19 and the band appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and Hullabaloo.

The Remains toured with the Beatles, as the opening act on The Beatles' North American tour in 1966. Barry wrote a book about the tour, Ticket to Ride: The Extraordinary Diary of The Beatles Last Tour, which was published by Dowling Press, Inc. in 1997.

From 1980-1989, Barry was a member of Emmylou Harris' Hot Band, appearing on countless television and radio shows as vocalist and guitarist. He recorded 10 albums with Emmylou Harris during this period. Before that , he recorded with country rock innovator Gram Parsons on Gram's debut album "GP".

Barry and Holly have recorded with Tom Paxton, Charlie Louvin, Nanci Griffith, Iris DeMent, Suzy Bogguss, and Delia Bell.

Visit the Tashian's website
Listen to tracks from the Tashian's CDs
Listen to Barry & Holly Tashian in a live performance at the Grande Ole Opry

Sarah McQuaid
Saturday May 21, 2011
Singer/Guitarist & Songwriter

Madrid-born Sarah McQuaid was raised in Chicago, studied philosophy in Strasbourg and spent many years in Ireland before pitching up in Penzance, Cornwall, in 2007. Drawing on the traditions of Ireland, America and the UK, her music is sublime and compelling, characterized by warm, velvety vocals and a distinctive acoustic guitar style.

Whereas her acclaimed debut album album When Two Lovers Meet was a feast of Irish music, 2008’s I Won’t Go Home ’Til Morning is an enchanting celebration of old-time Appalachian folk, with Sarah’s arrangements punctuated by her own fine compositions and a cover of Bobbie Gentry’s classic ‘Ode to Billie Joe’. Sarah is also the author of a highly-regarded guitar tutor, The Irish DADGAD Guitar Book.                            

Crow Coyote Buffalo, an album of songs co-written by Sarah with fellow Penzance resident Zoë (author and performer of 1991 hit single ‘Sunshine On A Rainy Day’) under the band name Mama, has also been garnering rave reviews since its January 2009 release; one critic described the pair as “Two pagan goddesses channeling the ghost of Jim Morrison”.                        Photo by Ronald Rietman

Sarah’s third solo album, provisionally titled The Plum Tree And The Rose, focuses both on early music (including Elizabethan material as well as songs in Old French, Old Occitan, Italian, Middle High German and Latin) and on originals inspired by such topics as Bess of Hardwick and the garden created at Kenilworth by Robert Dudley for Elizabeth I. Its release is expected sometime in 2010.

    “Sparkling guitar and compelling alto voice ... reminiscent of Pentangle’s best efforts ... a gentle and magical recording that I will return to time and again.” — Tom Druckenmiller, Sing Out!

    “Likely to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.” — Aled Jones, BBC Radio 2

    “Her singing has shades of Baez minus the operatic warble and Gillian Welch without so much Nashville twang.”
— Spiral Earth

    “Beautifully spare ... a melancholy but somehow celebratory collection.” — The Irish Times

    “One of those rare things, a very lovely personal album but also an incredibly good introduction to Appalachian folk music. Highly recommended.” — Americana UK

    “Quietly expressive and supremely affecting performances ... Not a weak link anywhere in earshot ... This is a truly lovely record.” — NetRhythms

    “Truly spine-tingling ... A touching album from a genuine artist.” — Hot Press

    “A rare beauty of an album.” — FATEA Magazine

    “Pure magic!! We are running our folkclub for 16 years now but I never experienced such a thrilling interaction between artist and audience who rewarded you with three encores!! You have the ability to create an intimate atmosphere with your stories, songs and guitar playing and make the audience part of the gig.” — Piet Snellen, De Fookhook, Sevenum, Netherlands

Visit Sarah's website: www.sarahmcquaid.com

Click here for ticket information

For updated news about these and all of our events, subscribe to the CCA e-newsletter   

  Fall 2011  Concerts                           

Sparky & Rhonda Rucker
Saturday, September 24, 2011 7:30 p.m.
Songs and  Stories from the American folk tradition

"Sparky Rucker is unique! He'll make you glad to be alive and struggling."
Pete Seeger

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker have performed throughout the U.S., singing songs and telling stories from the American tradition. Sparky Rucker has been performing over forty years and is internationally recognized as a leading folklorist, musician, historian, storyteller, and author.

Rhonda Rucker is an accomplished harmonica and piano player, and also adds vocal harmonies to their songs. She has developed her own unique style of playing harmonica, which complements their music, whether they are playing railroad songs, Appalachian music, blues, slave songs, Civil War music, gospel, work songs, cowboy music, ballads, or Sparky Rucker's original compositions.

The couple has 11 recordings to their credit, and performance highlights include Kennedy Center teacher workshops, 2003 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the International Children’s Festival.  Their 1991 CD, Treasures and Tears, was nominated for the W.C. Handy Award for Best Traditional Recording. They have also contributed music to the syndicated television miniseries The Wild West (directed by Kieth Merrill). Sparky's unique renditions of John Henry and Jesse James were used in the National Geographic Society’s 1994 video entitled Storytelling in North America. Sparky Rucker has also appeared on numerous radio programs, including National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, Prairie Home Companion, and Mountain Stage. He also performed in Carry It On and Amazing Grace: Music in America, two videos produced by the Public Broadcasting System.

Visit Sparky and Rhonda's website

Listen to the NPR interview with Sparky & Rhonda

Click here for ticket information

Ruth Wyand
Saturday, October 22, 2011 7:30 p.m.
Vocalist, Guitarist, Songwriter

Ruth Wyand has toured throughout the United States, Europe, and New Zealand performing her brand of Americana on guitars in her extensive collection, some of which were built exclusively for her. She especially enjoys her 1932 Dobro, her 1947 Gibson LG2, the National Steel, and her Morning Star crafted by the world-renowned Richard Mermer. Victorious in competition, Ruth Wyand became the first woman ever to win the Gamble Rodgers Music Festival's Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in St. Augustine, Florida and most recently placed first among soloists at the Appalachian Blues Festival in Charleston, West Virginia.

♦ "She's such a great guitarist in a world where accomplished women guitarists are still few and far between. Her interesting use of open tunings, claw hammer, Piedmont and Travis picking, along with harmonics and drumbeats on the guitar, kept the audience totally absorbed and enchanted,"
Devonport Folk Club Auckland, New Zealand.

From a Scott Joplin rag on acoustic guitar to a smoking Dwayne Allman lead on electric, Ruth embraces history. Her style of guitar playing and songwriting is heavily influenced by swing, ragtime, country, folk, and blues genres.  

Ruth has been invited to play at the Chet Atkins Guitar festival in Nashville for Mermer Guitars, the Newport Guitar Festival for Mermer Guitars, Linda Manzer Guitars and D’Ambrosio Guitars and at The Northeast Folk Alliance for The Martin Guitar Co. She has been a headliner at The South Florida Folk Festival, The Gamble Rodgers Folk Festival, The Aiken’s Music Festival and has taken home awards from several songwriting and guitar competitions. The South Florida Songwriter’s competition, The Hank Williams Songwriting Competition, Founder’s Folk and Bluegrass Festival’s performing/songwriter competition, The Gamble Rodger’s fingerstyle guitar competition, Walnut Valley Festival’s songwriter/performer competition, and the Philadelphia Folk Factory’s People’s Choice award. 

Visit Ruth's website

Click here for ticket information

Greg Trooper
Saturday, November 19, 2011 7:30 p.m.
Contemporary Singer-Songwriter

"Lou Reed said it all: 'My life was saved by rock and roll,'" says Greg Trooper, "and I know hundreds of other musicians who feel the same way. Music is the thing that makes me want to get up and work. I've tried to do other things occasionally but always, always, always, my real passion is listening to, making and writing music."

According to Trooper, music helps him exorcise his demons, offer gratitude for his blessings and encourages him to find the humanity and humor in everything. "I try not to take myself too seriously, because when it's all said and done, music is incredibly fun. I just want to express myself as a writer and have a ball while I'm doing it."

Today Trooper is considered a "songwriter's songwriter" by industry insiders. Steve Earle, Billy Bragg, Maura O'Connell, Vince Gill, Robert Earl Keen, Lucy Kaplansky and numerous other artists in the U.S., Canada and Europe have recorded his songs. Having toured extensively for the last fifteen years, Trooper has established a reputation as an exuberant performer whose wit and vigor have charmed audiences across the country and Europe.

♦  "an artist of considerable insight and passion"
Billboard magazine

♦ Trooper's "songs and delivery grab you by the throat."
 Nashville music critic Robert K. Oermann

♦ Trooper "sings with a clarity of purpose and a variety of effect that few in the acoustic world match."
Music critic Barry Mazor

Visit Greg's website

Click here for ticket information

Comming in 2012!!!!

May 2012
Big Wide Grin
www.bigwidegrin.com

September 2012
North Sea Gas
http://nsg.gplrank.info/

For updated news about these and all of our events, subscribe to the CCA e-newsletter