Concert at the Freight & Salvage 
Sheila
Kay Adams
comes from a small mountain
community in Madison County, North Carolina. For seven generation her
family has maintained the tradition of passing down the English,
Scottish and Irish ballads that came over with her ancestors in the mid
1700’s. Sheila learned these ballads from her older relatives,
primarily from her great-aunt, Dellie Chandler Norton and cousin, Cas
Wallin.
In
performance, Sheila sings
the traditional Appalachian ballads in the same style in which they
were handed
down to her – the same intensity, the same profound feeling for the
ballad and
in a powerful, strong voice.
Audiences love to hear Sheila tell stories about her childhood and the community in which she grew up. Under the direction of Lee Smith, Sheila compiled several of these stories in Come Go Home With Me, a 1997 winner of the North Carolina Historical Society’s award for historical fiction. Sheila’s fictional novel, My Old True Love was a finalist for the Book of the Year Award from both the Southeastern Booksellers Association and the Appalachian Writers Association. She has been a featured performer in several documentary films, news and magazine articles, and was a technical advisor and singing coach for the award winning film, Songcatcher. In April, 1998, Sheila was chosen to receive the prestigious North Carolina Folklore Society’s Brown-Hudson Award in recognition of her valuable contributions to the study of North Carolina folklore. As her great-aunt once said, “She might not always know where she’s going, but she sure knows where she comes from.”.

Evo Bluestein was born into a musical family; his father, the late Gene Bluestein, was a professor of folklore at the University of Minnesota and California State University, Fresno. During his early years, Evo was extremely lucky to encounter great tradition-bearers like Dewey Balfa, Tommy Jarrell, Bessie Jones, and Jean Ritchie. He plays 10 different instruments, but is best known for his virtuosity on the autoharp, and has designed his own 'harp called the Evoharp! Evo has taught at many music camps, including Pinewoods, Swannanoa, Augusta, and Festival of American Fiddle Tunes.
http://evobluestein.com/
Evo
Bluestein appears in concert on Thurs. night
at the Freight and in a concert for young children Saturday
morning at the Berkeley Public Library Main Branch, and will
teach an autoharp workshop at the Jazzschool
on
Sunday.
Our own Bay Area Stairwell Sisters Evie Ladin, Stephanie Prausnitz, Lisa Berman, Martha Hawthorne and Sue Sandlin crank out old-time music with a modern intensity: fiddle tunes from Alabama to Scotland, old songs of trains, boats and possums, and new song of trial and work, loss and love, and all-night parties. Now in their eighth year as a band, the Stairwell Sisters have brought their music to all kinds of places, from Lincoln Center (NYC) to Celtic Connection (UK) and have appeared on Prairie Home Companion. This year, they released their third CD, "Get Off Your Money", produced by Lloyd Manes (father of the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Manes).
The Stairwell Sisters appear in concert on Thurs. night at the Freight, and Evie Ladin will teach a clogging workshop Saturday evening at the square dance.
http://www.stairwellsisters.com