Saturday Concerts
begin at 7:30 pm

Sunday Concerts
begin at 2:00 pm

(except where
otherwise noted)

Something Old, Something New is a concert with multiple performers: Liz Simmons (of Low Lily), Mike Agranoff, Howie Bursen, Andy Cohen, Kim Wallach (of The Short Sisters), and Wendy Grossman.

Liz Simmons
Born in San Francisco to musician parents, Liz spent her early childhood traveling through the wilds of north America in a sky blue VW bus. Her parents were itinerant, moving from California to Oregon, then to Ketchikan, Alaska where they played regular gigs in the pubs for the locals. Liz and her sisters’ lullabies were traditional songs, and by day their soundtrack was the rock and roll and New Orleans brass music their parents played in their band. Once the family settled in rural New Hampshire, Liz received classical musical training, but soon found her way back to folk music. She was particularly drawn to the intersections of traditional music, and how they connect with contemporary sounds.

In 2005, Liz received a BA from Goddard College where she studied American vernacular music of the 1920s and 30s. She then went on to found Annalivia and then Low Lily with Flynn Cohen, as well as perform alongside Long Time Courting, Hannah Sanders, EVA, Livingston Taylor, Tom Chapin, and others. 2021 saw the release of "Poets", her first solo album in fifteen years, which has been lauded as "an ageless album" (Irish Music Magazine), "more than the sum of its considerable parts" (RNR Magazine), and "pure poetry indeed" (Goldmine Magazine). lizsimmons.net

Mike Agranoff
Mike Agranoff is one of those folk performers that steadfastly defies categorization, and yet amasses stalwart fans from folk aficionados of all categories. He draws his material from sources as diverse as traditional ballads and fiddle tunes, Tin Pan Alley, contemporaries in the Folk World, and his own witty pen. He delivers it with a skilled hand on guitar, piano, and concertina, an almost telepathic transmittal of the essence of the song, and occasionally sly twinkle in the eye in anticipation of some of the most horrible parodies ever perpetrated on an unsuspecting audience. A signature feature of Mike’s performances are his inclusion of some heart-stopping spoken word pieces that rivet the listener to unforgettable stories. www.mikeagranoff.com

Howie Bursen
Howie Bursen is known for his warm baritone voice, devilish sense of humor, red-hot banjo wizardry and inventive guitar arrangements. Chicago Magazine said of him, "stunning guitar arrangements...easily one of the finest banjo players ever heard." Feature articles in Banjo Newsletter and Frets followed the release of Bursen’s first solo album on Folk Legacy Records. His song “Small Business Blues” is included in Seeger’s book, Carry It On. Bursen holds a Cornell Ph.D. in Philosophy. A professor-turned-grape grower, he makes wine at Sharpe Hill Vineyards in Pomfret, CT. His last album “Banjo Mannikin” highlighting his banjo pyrotechnics received national airplay. sallyrogers.com

Andy Cohen
Andy Cohen grew up in a house with a piano and a lot of Dixieland Jazz records, amplified after a while by a cornet that his dad got him. At about fifteen, he got bitten by the Folk Music bug, and soon got to hear records by Big Bill Broonzy and the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, both of which reminded him of the music he grew up to. At sixteen, he saw Reverend Gary Davis, and his course was set. He knew he had it in him to follow, study, perform and promote the music of the southeast quadrant, America’s great musical fountainhead. Although he’s done other things, a certain amount of writing and physical labor from dish washing and railroading to archeology, playing the old tunes is what he does best. www.andycohenmusic.com

Kim Wallach
With original songs, traditional gems, hard-earned wisdom, an out-of-left-field sense of humor and instrumental skills on piano, guitar and banjo, Kim has performed both solo and with the Short Sisters up and down the east coast, in the Midwest, California, Texas, and England, since 1978. Every concert and album is a smorgasbord of songs, stories, emotions and discoveries. Kim has been a certified public school music teacher and performed for young audiences in schools all over eastern Massachusetts, as well as leading songwriting residencies. kimwallach.com

Wendy Grossman
Wendy Grossman graduated from Cornell University in 1975, where she was the president of the Cornell Folk Song Club, and was a full-time folksinger from 1975-1983. She then went on to found the UK magazine The Skeptic in 1987. Her writing credits since 1990 include writing for publications like Scientific American, the Daily Telegraph, New Scientist, Wired, and Wired News. Her original album of folk music was entitled Roseville Fair (1980), she now has a new album: "The Last Trip Home". www.pelicancrossing.net