begin at 7:30 pm
begin at 2:00 pm
otherwise noted)
Virtual Valley Folk Music Zoom Sings
We continue hosting a Virtual Valley Folk Sing on Zoom for singers in the folk community, even though are live concerts have resumed. Our aim is to bring some US and UK singers together to sing for each other. You have the advantage of being able to mute your mics and sing and play along at home while your fellow musicians share their favorite tunes. It’s not quite the same as being in the room, but for this trans-Atlantic bunch, it may be a perk of the lockdown to be able to see each other in this way (and one heck of a lot cheaper than a real visit). We chose the 3pm NY / 8pm UK time to suit some people who are not working long hours in the US, while not keeping the UK singers up too late.
Upcoming Valley Folk concerts:
Seán Dagher
Concert at 144 Cedar Street, Corning
In the red-brick UM Church--door on First St.
Seán Dagher is an active performer, arranger, and composer of music from various folk and classical music traditions: Celtic, Baroque, Medieval, Arabic, French-Canadian, and Maritime. Seán sings and plays Irish bouzouki, mandolin, oud, and banjo. Seán’s strong, powerfully gentle voice is widely known from his recordings for the Assassin’s Creed video game series, including Black Flag. (Ask your young friends and relatives about that!) His renditions of sea shanties and other songs from the games have been streamed some 70 million times. His own Shanty of the Week video series receives thousands of views a week and has a loyal following the world over. More info...
Medusa (quartet)
Concert at 144 Cedar Street, Corning
In the red-brick UM Church--door on First St.
Get ready to stomp your feet, laugh, cry, and hear sounds you've never heard before with this electrifying chamber-folk band. Wielding forgotten fiddles that would turn classical music scholars to stone, these four folk musicians are reimagining the Western String Quartet. By inviting back instrumental voices previously regarded as too ugly for “polite society” Medusa tempts us to redefine what is beautiful. With their Canadian Folk Music Award (CFMA) nominated debut album, Medusa’s dynamic arrangement style cross-pollinates the songs of Middle Eastern, Scandinavian, Celtic, Appalachian and Eastern European music, as well as original tunes, to create something previously unheard. The band connects audiences across dividing lines of culture and identity to reveal the common thread beneath. Please bring your classical-music-appreciating friends—they will not be disappointed! More info...
Tommy Sands
Concert at 144 Cedar Street, Corning
In the red-brick UM Church--door on First St.
County Down’s singer, songwriter and social activist has achieved something akin to legendary status in his own lifetime. From the pioneering days with the highly influential Sands Family, bringing Irish Music from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Moscow’s Olympic Stadium, he has developed into one of the most powerful songwriters and enchanting solo performers in Ireland today.
His songwriting, which drew the admiration of Nobel Poet Laureate Seamus Heaney (N. Ireland 1995) and father of US folk music Pete Seeger, prompted respected “Sing Out!” Magazine to regard Sands as “the most powerful songwriter in Ireland, if not the rest of the world”. His songs, like There were Roses, and Daughters and Sons, which have been recorded by Joan Baez, Kathy Mattea, Dolores Keane, Sean Keane, Frank Patterson, Dick Gaughan, The Dubliners and many others have been translated into many languages and were included in the English language syllabus in German secondary schools.
Sands not only taught Arizona prisoners to write their defense stories in song, he completed a CD written with Protestant and Catholic schoolchildren in towns and villages around Northern Ireland. During the Good Friday Agreement Talks, his impromptu performance with a group of children and Lambeg drummers was described by Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon as “a defining moment in the Peace Process”. Tommy Sands’ concert will be a welcome return to our stage. As a musician and peacemaker, he brings people together. More info…
This project is made possible, in part, with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program (SCR), a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.
Valley Folk T-shirts, hats, aprons,
and more now available!
Check them out here in our Bonfire store
Summer folk festivals...
click here for some of our favorites
Valley Folk
Corning, NY, USA