The Folk Sessions & PFAA Present 'A Folk Summit', 3/26

Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, and Jack Williams. Three of the biggest names in Folk music will grace the PFAA stage for a not-to-be-missed concert on Saturday, March 26. Steve and Cindy will open the show with their sublime harmonies and the incomparable Jack Williams will take the audience home showcasing his formidable talents honed over the past 50 years.
Steve and Cindy have been performing together for 20 years, bringing together their love of traditional music and their wealth of original songs. Accompanying themselves with guitar, concertina and banjo, their live performances are known for rich harmony, compelling songs and a good dose of humor.

Steve Gillette has been writing songs since the 1960's. His songs have been covered by noted artists like Ian and Sylvia, John Denver, Garth Brooks, Linda Ronstadt, and Tammy Wynette. Steve's own versions are some of the best, with his warm baritone voice and his unique finger-picking guitar style (using a flat-pick and two fingers). Steve has many solo and duo (with Cindy Mangsen) recordings available. His most recent solo album, Texas and Tennessee, was named one of the Top Ten Folk Albums of the Year by Tower Records. Steve has conducted songwriting workshops all over the US and Canada, and is on the Board of Directors of the Kerrville Folk Festival. He is author of the book Songwriting and the Creative Process, a standard text in songwriting groups.

Cindy Mangsen is "one of the finest singers in American folk music" (Come for to Sing). Accompanying herself on guitar, banjo, concertina, or mountain dulcimer, Cindy is known for her compelling interpretations of traditional ballads, as well as for her own writing and her wonderful ear for harmony. She has recorded several solo albums (Songs of Experience received the Editor's Choice Award from Crossroads), as well as collaborations with Steve Gillette, Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills, and Michael Smith. Her latest solo album, Cat Tales, is devoted to "songs of the feline persuasion."

The music of Jack Williams, rooted in his native South Carolina, is shaped by a 51-year career of playing folk, rock, jazz, R&B, classical and the popular music of the 30s, 40s and 50s. He is counted among the most dynamic performers on today's "folk" circuit - "...one of the most enlightened and entertaining performers I've ever encountered", said Dave Humphreys of Two-Way Street Coffeehouse in Downer's Grove, IL. Jack is considered a "musician's musician", an uncommonly unique guitarist, a writer of vivid songs with a strong sense of place, and a storyteller in an old Southern tradition who further illustrates each tale with his guitar. Rich Warren of WFMT Chicago's The Midnight Special said, "His artistry is nothing short of amazing". Vic Heyman, in SING OUT! wrote, "He is one of the strongest guitar players in contemporary folk."

Steve and Cindy's website: http://compassrosemusic.com
Jack Williams' website: http://www.jackwilliamsmusic.com

Photo Credit: Neale Eckstein

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