Concerts at the Center for the Arts — Saturday, October 6th 2018

Biddy on the Bench + Sean Connors & Sam Vogt

Saturday, October 6th 2:30pm-4:30pm – $10/$5, all ages
at Center for the Arts – 205 Prospect St.
For advance tickets visit: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3613920
For the Facebook event visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/532794890491250/

Biddy on the Bench Bio
The versatile combination of banjo, guitar, mandolin, tin whistle and four part vocal harmony lends itself equally to high-energy Irish rebel songs and shanties, lively session tunes, and mournful gaelic ballads. Grounded primarily in the folk/traditional style of Irish music pioneered by such bands as The Dubliners, Planxty, and The Bothy Band, Portland’s own Biddy on the Bench breathes life and authenticity into old standbys of the genre and lesser-known tunes alike.

In the winter months of 2013, Biddy on the Bench was formed. The members include Kevin Grgurich, Nick Frey, Noah Cotter, Casey Dyer, Tristan Cormack, and Trevor Cormack. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, Kevin, Nick, Tristan, and Trevor have been playing music together for close to a decade. Noah and Casey are Oregon natives and bring with them years of experience with Irish music. Together, Biddy on the Bench approaches each song, each melody, with a passion for the music and sharing it with others.

Sean Connors & Sam Vogt Bio
Sean Connors is an Irish fiddle player from Southern Oregon. He started making music when he was eight years old and has been playing traditional music ever since. Besides his love for local jam sessions, he has played at the Northwest Folklife Festival countless times, the Bellingham Folk Festival, and many other venues across the West Coast.

Sam Vogt, a Bellingham local, has been guitar-ing his way through a variety of genres of music for many years. He can be found playing with local pan-Celtic supergroup, Giant’s Causeway, the innovative fiddle and guitar duo, Reed & Vogt, and many more.

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Na Rósaí + Reed and Vogt + Alicia Guinn
Saturday, October 6th 6:30pm-8:30pm – $10/$5, all ages
at Center for the Arts – 205 Prospect St.
For advance tickets visit: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3613931
For the Facebook event visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/1916383861741662/

Reed and Vogt Bio
Laura Reed & Sam Vogt spent years independently collecting and adapting traditional Irish music for fiddle and guitar. So both were surprised to find each other wandering the halls of a Bluegrass festival. Having discovered themselves to be the only two remaining musicians unwilling to play a twelfth rendition of “What Have They Done To The Old Home Place?,” they retreated to remote Bellingham, WA until they’d transformed their mutual catalogs of jigs and reels into a carefully curated performance. Sam and Laura combine a warmth and precision in traditional melody with innovative harmonies for the modern ear.

Na Rósaí Bio
In 2010 Erik Killops returned to his hometown of Portland, Oregon after receiving his bachelors degree in Irish Music & Dance at the University of Limerick in Ireland. Shortly after he met recent New Jersey transplant Richie Rosencrans and California native Preston Howard at sessions around Portland. All three were eager to start a project and discovered common interests in regards to traditional music. After a few house gatherings, a weekly performance began at local watering hole. In the fall of 2012 flute player Conor O’Bryan moved to Portland from Chico, California and immediately joined the ranks of the group.

In the Fall of 2014 Na Rósaí released their debut album featuring an eclectic mix of traditional Irish music, old time Appalachian tunes, and a set of French tunes. Na Rósaí’s second album is currently in the works.

Alicia Guinn Bio
Alicia Guinn has danced in the sean-nós tradition for the past 20 years. Old-style Irish dance is incredibly rare to find outside of Ireland, and Alicia is one of only a handful of dancers teaching and promoting this tradition in North America.
Alicia is the organizer and teacher for Sean-nós Seattle. She was also a founder of the Sean-nós Northwest Festival in 2009 and currently serves as the festival’s Dance Director. In the past decade, she has worked for festivals throughout the U.S. and Canada, performing, teaching, and adjudicating sean-nós dance competitions.

Alicia’s sean-nós style has direct ties to the dance communities of Galway and Clare, including steps learned directly from Connemara dancers including Pádraig Ó hOibicín, Máire Áine Ní Iarnáin, Seosamh Ó Neachtain, and the Devane family.