Johnson Girls, Songs of the Sea Concert Held 2/12 At Polytechnic University

With a sound that has been called exciting, haunting, uplifting, and full of harmony, the Johnson Girls give hair-raising performances of powerhouse chanteys, tender ballads and just plain fun songs, bringing audiences to their feet wherever they go. The Johnson Girls are an energetic all-woman, mostly a cappella, group performing folk music with an emphasis on songs of the sea and shore. Each member of the group, Joy Bennett, Alison Kelley, Bonnie Milner, and Dierdre Murtha, brings a specialty and style to the ensemble. The Johnson Girls' extensive repertoire of both traditional and contemporary music includes songs with an Afro-Caribbean influence, songs of the inland waterways, of fishing, mining, Irish, Anglo-American, Italian and French Canadian ballads and work songs, and much more.

Join in the music on Friday, February 12, 7:30pm at Polytechnic University, Dibner Auditorium, 5 Metrotech Center in Downtown Brooklyn. A short ride from Manhattan, accessible on A, C, F (Jay St.), N, M, R (Lawrence St.), 2, 3, 4, 5 (Borough Hall) trains. Metrotech Commons is across Jay St. from the back of the Marriott, enter The Commons from Jay St. Dibner Library is on the left, a rather modern university building. General Admission is $20. Members of the Folk Music Society, $10, children, and full-time students under 22 are free. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/96907; Information: www.folkmusicny.org; or 718-672-6399.

Sea music may well have been the first "world music." Ships' crew members from many countries were heavily influenced by the music they heard from one another. Their work songs and other shipboard music incorporated the different rhythms and styles from their own often diverse cultures as well as those they encountered during their voyages. The Johnson Girls came together in 1997 following the Mystic Seaport Sea Music festival to burst through the barrier of this previously male dominated genre.

One newspaper account of The Johnson Girls at the Wadebridge Festival in Cornwall, UK said: "The Johnson Girls, shanty singers from America, took the place by storm..." "Those who thought a shanty singer had to be male, bearded and with a beer gut, had better think again." Craig Edwards, Festival Director, Mystic Seaport Museum, said, "Their repertoire ranges from driving chanteys to ballads and laments, all rendered with rich harmonies in their own inimitable style. Whether leading a sing-along aboard the Peking at South Street Seaport in New York or firing up a festival stage, this group is a winner."

The Folk Music Society of New York, Inc. hosts concerts for music lovers who can relax and listen, sing along on the chorus, or dance in the aisles to the best of traditional music. For more information go online to www.folkmusicny.org.

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