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Kingfisher band

☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough First Saturday Contra February 1, 2020

Contra Dance

The Monadnock Folklore Society presents the Peterborough, NH First Saturday Contra Dance on February 1, featuring Hannah Johlas calling with the band Kingfisher.

Contra dance is a fun, relaxed style of folk dance which has flourished in New England since the 1700s. Partners form lines and dance a short sequence of steps with their neighbors. Dancers are welcome to bring a partner or a group of friends, but it’s not necessary – traditionally, dancers are encouraged to change partners throughout the evening.

Hannah Johlas is a fresh voice in the New England contra caller rotation. Based in western Massachusetts, her concise teaching, smooth calling, and thoughtful programming provide a fun dance experience for new and experienced dancers alike.

Kingfisher is a Boston-based contra dance band consisting of Cecilia Vacanti (fiddle) and Jeff Kaufman (piano, mandolin, drums, synths).

The dancing begins at 8:00 PM. The dance also hosts a free jam session for beginning and intermediate musicians at 6:30 PM and a workshop for new dancers at 7:30 PM.

Admission is $10 or $7 for students and seniors.

The dance takes place in the historic Town House in Peterborough, NH at 1 Grove Street. For more information call 603.762.0235 or visit www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.

 

The Dublin Folk Show in Dublin NH on Friday, January 31, 2020

Concerts

The Dublin Folk Show: a tribute to the American Folk Revival benefitting MATS (Monadnock Area Transition Shelter) will be held on Friday, January 31, at 7 pm at Dublin Community Church. The show is sponsored by Dublin Community Center, the DubHub Open Stage & Monadnock Ukulele Group. Tickets, at $10 each, are available at the DubHub, the Toadstool Bookshop or online at dublinfolkshow.eventbrite.com or through the event page on Facebook.

The Dublin Folk Show hosted by Volkert Volkersz and will feature top Monadnock area acoustic musicians including Decatur Creek, Kota, Mulligan Row, the Monadnock Ukulele Group, Bruce Simpson, Tom Smith, Bob Pope & Lisa Greenleaf, Amy Conley, Scott & Jeannie Butler, and Frank Jenkins. These outstanding musicians will be highlighting folk music of the 1950s and 1960s, including songs by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, The Kingston Trio, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, John Denver and many more. This will be a fun sing-along evening benefitting a good cause on a cold winter night. Dublin Community Church is located at 1125 Main Street in Dublin. Parking is available behind the community center and church, as well as at Yankee Publishing and behind Town Hall. For more information email info@dublincommunitycenter.org or call 563-8080. Snow date will be Sunday, Feb. 2.

Kingfisher band

☼ ☼ ☼ Contra Dance in Peterborough NH on Saturday, February 1, 2020

Contra Dance

The Monadnock Folklore Society presents the Peterborough, NH First Saturday Contra Dance on February 1, featuring Hannah Johlas calling with the band Kingfisher.

Hannah Johlas is a fresh voice in the New England contra caller rotation. Based in western Massachusetts, her concise teaching, smooth calling, and thoughtful programming provide a fun dance experience for new and experienced dancers alike.

Kingfisher is a Boston-based contra dance band consisting of Cecilia Vacanti (fiddle) and Jeff Kaufman (piano, mandolin, drums, synths).

The dancing begins at 8:00 PM. The dance also hosts a free jam session for beginning and intermediate musicians at 6:30 PM and a workshop for new dancers at 7:30 PM.

Admission is $10 or $7 for students and seniors.

The dance takes place in the historic Town House in Peterborough, NH at 1 Grove Street. For more information call 603.762.0235 or visit www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.

32nd Ralph Page Dance Weekend | January 17 – 19, 2020 in Durham, NH

Contra Dance

32nd Ralph Page Weekend
January 17, 18 and 19, 2020
UNH, Memorial Union Building

Cost: $15 to $85 depending on sessions

web site for info: www.neffa.org

E-mail contact: info@ralphpage.neffa.org

The Ralph Page Dance Weekend combines the best of traditional and contemporary New England contra dance and music with some of the best musicians and dance callers around. There are two exciting evenings of grand dancing, with enriching opportunities during the Saturday and Sunday workshops.

☼ ☼ ☼ Nelson Solstice Party | Nelson Town Hall on December 21, 2019

Concerts, Contra Dance

On Saturday, December 21, we’ll hold our Annual Solstice Party starting at 7:00 PM. The Monadnock Folklore Society brings this community event to the Nelson Town Hall each year, admission is $5, and treats are appreciated for the dessert potluck.

This year the evening will begin with a holiday concert featuring a selection of traditional and original seasonal music performed by The Solstice Sisters(Alouette Iselin, Melanie Everard, Kim Wallach, & Heather Bower) and friends.

The Folklore Society invites you to bring along your favorite holiday dessert and we’ll supply the beverages for the intermission. After the concert, the chairs and benches are cleared to make way for a traditional New England Contra Dance. Unfortunately, or not, the dance is often interrupted by various groups of unsavory characters presenting their idea of seasonal entertainment. These diversions, sometimes involving costumed individuals making complete fools of themselves or performing ancient ritual dances to help us through this dark time of the year, are generally tolerated as once they are applauded and fed we can return to dancing the night away.

Spintuition Contra Dance Band

☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough First Saturday Contra Dance on January 4, 2020

Contra Dance

The Monadnock Folklore Society presents the Peterborough, NH First Saturday Contra Dance on January 4, featuring Steve Zakon-Anderson calling with the band Spintuition.

Contra dance is a fun, relaxed style of folk dance which has flourished in New England since the 1700s. Partners form lines and dance a short sequence of steps with their neighbors. Dancers are welcome to bring a partner or a group of friends, but it’s not necessary – traditionally, dancers are encouraged to change partners throughout the evening.

Dance caller Steve Zakon-Anderson has been leading contra dances for over 25 years. He has performed at dance camps and festivals from Alaska to Florida. Steve’s clear teaching, precise calling, and sense of humor have made him a favorite of dancers of all ages and abilities.

Music for the dance will be provided by Spintuition, an award-winning New England based folk band that blends creativity and tradition into tight harmony and joyous rhythms. Silas Hamilton (Guitar, Piano, Fiddle, Vocals, Feet), Willy Clemetson (Fiddle, Vocals, Feet), and Samuel Foucher (Accordion, Piano, Vocals) play primarily contra dance style music but they have also crafted sweet arrangements of traditional songs into their repertoire for concerts.

Accordionist Samuel Foucher of Harrisville was the 2012 recipient of the Johnny Trombly Scholarship, which supports and encourages young musicians interested in playing the piano or other instruments for traditional New England dance music.

In 2019, two years after the band was formed, Spintuition tied for first place in the Young Tradition Vermont contest in Burlington. Since then the band has been exploring new territory.

Presenting a compelling mixture of spicy tunes and glorious old songs in the styles of trad-Irish, French-Canadian, and old-time, Spintuition has cultivated a vibrant and vital sound.

The dancing begins at 8:00 PM. The dance also hosts a free jam session for beginning and intermediate musicians at 6:30 PM and a workshop for new dancers at 7:30 PM.

Admission is $10 or $7 for students and seniors.

The dance takes place in the historic Town House in Peterborough, NH at 1 Grove Street. For more information call 603.762.0235 or visit www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.

☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough Contra Dance on Saturday, December 7, 2019

About, Contra Dance

The Monadnock Folklore Society presents the Peterborough, NH First Saturday Contra Dance on December 7, featuring Lisa Greenleaf calling with Dave Langford, Jeremiah McLane and Eric McDonald.

Lisa Greenleaf is a contra dance caller known for her humor and community-building attitude, her high-energy calling, and her articulate teaching of zesty and flowing dances. Lisa has been calling for many years throughout the USA and internationally for dances, weekends, and weeklong camps.

Fiddler Dave Langford is an experienced and versatile veteran of 20 years of playing for contra dances. Dave combines multiple styles of fiddling with fierce energy and drive.

The music of composer, accordionist, and pianist Jeremiah McLane is a unique blend of Franco-American, Celtic, jazz, and roots influenced music.

Guitarist Eric McDonald is one of New England’s premier acoustic performers and instructors. Born and raised in the Boston area, Eric studied at Berklee College of Music under the tutelage of John McGann, Eugene Friesen and many other world class musicians.

The dancing begins at 8:00 PM. The dance also hosts a free jam session for beginning and intermediate musicians at 6:30 PM and a workshop for new dancers at 7:30 PM.

Admission is $10 or $7 for students and seniors.

The dance takes place in the historic Town House in Peterborough, NH at 1 Grove Street. For more information call 603.762.0235 or visit www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.

☼ ☼ ☼ Windborne | Nelson Town Hall | December 6, 2019

Concerts, Dance Music, Events, History, Songs

Coming off two years as featured vocalists for Christmas Celtic Sojourn in Boston, as well as a collaboration with Nowell Sing We Clear, Windborne, known for their powerful vocal harmony and stunning original arrangements, presents songs of the season along with their diverse repertoire of music from around the world in this can’t-miss concert.  Windborne has collected and studied polyphonic vocal music for over 15 years from traditional singing masters from cultures around the world, Windborne is able to shift from radically different genres like no band you have ever heard, as comfortable with an improvised Corsican couplet son, as an English protest ballad from the 17th century. Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share a vibrant energy onstage – their connection to each other and to the music clearly evident. They educate as they entertain, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing. Join us on Friday, December 6, 2019, 7:30 PM at the Nelson Town Hall for a concert of seasonal music. Admission is $18/$15(Sr/Jr).

While all four singers had other careers, ranging from trapeze artist to dance anthropologist, the outpouring of requests for performances led them to make spreading this music and message their full time work, and they are now touring across the US and UK.

“The best musical discovery of the year…Stunningly powerful vocal harmony in the tradition of the Watersons, The Voice Squad, and Coope, Boyes, and Simpson, Windborne sets a new bar for folk harmony singing today”

-Brian O’Donovan, National Public Radio