2011-2012 CFS Events

This is where we try to list all CFS events during the year. The calendar changes regularly as we add more concerts and events. So you will want to check back here often! Many listings link to web pages that usually have more information.

Charlotte Folk Society Old Time Music Jam & Ice Cream Social. July 10, 2011, from 1-4 pm, at the Historic Rosedale Plantation, 3427 N. Tryon St., Charlotte. Free and open to the public.

• The front doors to the concert space do not open until 7 PM; concerts will begin at 7:30 PM. Gatherings are free and open to the public; donations are appreciated.

• Monthly Gatherings feature an hour-long concert, followed by slow & fast jam sessions, dulcimer club, a song circle and more often than not a Celtic session. For details on the Slow Jam, go here. For details on the Song Circle, go here. For details on the Dulcimer Club, go here.

• Except where noted, concerts are at the Great Aunt Stella Center, 926 Elizabeth Avenue Charlotte. Map here. Ample surface parking is available adjacent to the Stella Center, with free parking available after 7 PM in a nearby parking deck. Call 704-563-7080 with questions.

August 12, 2011: Internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Si Kahn generously performs to benefit CFS. His songs celebrate family, community, work, and freedom. He's best known for Aragon Mill -- beloved and recorded round the world by countless other singers. Website here.

September 9, 2011: Rye Mountain Boys bring their authentic style of bluegrass to GASC. Band members Jim Collier (mandolin, vocals), Brian English (fiddle), Hugh Moore (banjo), Cliff Hale (guitar, vocals), and Zack Mondry (bass) share a passion for traditional bluegrass that carries their listeners back to the era of Bill Monroe. Visit their website here.

October 14, 2011: Bishop Dready Manning is a blues preacher who spent some 20 years totally "in the blues life," until a conversion experience led him into the church. For the past 40 years, he's used blues guitar, harmonica, and vocals to share the gospel message with his congregations. Site here.

November 11, 2011: Michael Reno Harrell and David Childers, two of our region's most accomplished and popular singer/songwriters, trade songs on the GASC stage. Randy Saxon will accompany David Childers. Come hear their reflections on 21st century life in the South. Michael's website here. David's website here.

December 11, 2011: CFS Holiday Jam & Potluck features a short performance of diverse seasonal songs by Carol Raedy's Community Singers. The festivities will take place at Dilworth United Methodist Church, 605 East Blvd., Charlotte. 4 - 9:45 PM. Bring a dish to share or donate $5/person towards expenses.

Janary 13, 2012: Annual Young Talent Showcase highlights impressive talents of young musicians, including 2011 Marilyn Meacham Price Youth Scholarship recipients Jake Bartholomew and Davy Fee.

February 10, 2012: The Flat Possum Hoppers, an old-time and early country music stringband, not only captures the joy of early American music. They can also tell you all about its history! Band members are Tom Hanchett (fiddle), Tom Estes (banjo), Ruth Kee Wherry (bass), Mark Helms (mandolin), and John Cone (guitar). Video here.

March 9, 2012: Abigail Lennox and Earl's Chair (Michael Albert and Henry Lebedinsky) will help us celebrate St. Patrick's Day with an evening of new and traditional Celtic songs and tunes. CD Baby listing here.

April 13, 2012: Red June is a young progressive bluegrass/Americana band based in Asheville. The trio includes champion fiddler Natalya Weinstein (Polecat Creek), steel guitarist and vocalist Will Straughn (Emma Gibbs), and John Cloyd Miller, grandson of pioneering bluegrass fiddler Jim Shumate, on guitar, mandolin, and vocals. Website here.

May 11, 2012: Member Showcase. Back by demand, the popular Charlotte Folk Society Members' Showcase shines the spotlight on our many talented member musicians!

June 8, 2012: Viva Klezmer! Since the late 1700s, Charlotte's Jewish citizens have figured prominently in the city's history. We honor that history with a concert by Viva Klezmer! Klezmer has been described as "Jewish jazz." We promise your toes will be tapping to music by Gene Kavadlo (clarinet), Ali Kavadlo (violin/percussion), Mike Mosely (guitar), and Ron Brendle (bass)!

Our Gatherings are made possible, in part, with funding from the Arts & Science Council and the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources, and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Old Time Acoustic Music Jam - The Charlotte Folk Society hosts a monthly open Old Time Acoustic Music Jam at the Asbury Care Center Living Room at Aldersgate at 3800 Shamrock Drive. Jammers should drive past the museum towards Sharon Amity Road and make a right turn at the traffic light at Tipperary Place. Stop at the Guard Gate and say that you're going to the Asbury Care Center to the Folk Society jam session. The guard will direct you to the correct building and the receptionist in the Asbury Care Center will direct you to the Living Room. Generally, the jam takes place on the second Sunday of each month, from 2 to 4 PM. The format allows for each musician to take a turn sharing or leading a song or tune. Contact Jam Coordinator Tom Kelleher at 704-366-9441 for more information. For the next dates, check the right side of our home page.

Post Gathering Song Circle - Following each monthly gathering, singers among us unite in voice for about an hour or so at the Great Aunt Stella Center. For details on the Song Circle, go here

Post Gathering Old Time Music Slow Jam - Following each monthly gathering, new players join fiddler Ed Gebauer to play Old Time instrumental tunes for about an hour or so at the Great Aunt Stella Center. For details on the Slow Jam, go here

Charlotte Folk Society Celtic Sessions - Each month on a Sunday afternoon, players interested in Celtic music get together for a session. For details on the Celtic Session, go here

Charlotte Folk Society Slow Celtic Sessions - For those interested, but not quite ready for the Celtic Session mentioned above, a beginners Slow Session occurs once a month. For details on the Slow Celtic Session, go here