The University of Chicago Folklore Society
1212 E. 59th St.
Chicago, IL 60637

Performers

Billy Boy Arnold

Billy Boy Arnold has been a blues performer in Chicago and throughout the world for the past sixty years. Well known for his singing and blues harp, Arnold received his first instruction at age 12 from Sonny Boy Williamson in the late '40s, and went on to make many classic recordings on Vee-Jay Records throughout the '50s. He went on to a respected career in the Chicago club scene, and has toured extensively in Europe since the '70s. Arnold will be joined onstage by Bob Stoger on bass, Kenny Smith on drums, and Billy Flynn and Little Frank Krakowski on guitar.

Bonsoir, Catin

Christine Balfa (guitar, vocals), Anya Burgess (fiddle, vocals), Yvette Landry (bass, vocals) and Kristi Guillory (accordion, vocals) play together with an intensity that stems from their passion for their music and culture. It is not unlikely to hear a wide variety of Cajun music styles during their set. They have been influenced by Cajun music local heroes such as Edius Naquin, Octa Clark, Adam Hebert, Joe Warren Cormier, Aldus Roger, Sheryl Cormier...the list goes on. Their repertoire ranges from songs learned from archival field recordings of non-commerically recorded home music to the music of the 1930s and 1940s like early Lawrence Walker and the Segura Brothers, all the way through the post World War II dancehall-era and into the present day. Bonsoir, Catin also enjoys writing their own style of organic traditional Cajun music that comes from their experiences as veteran Cajun musicians. Yes, Bonsoir, Catin is an all-female Cajun band. Their music is an expression of what it is to be a Cajun woman--feminine, classy, smart, brave, take-charge, and no-nonsense.

Kristi Guillory grew up watching her guitarist grandfather, Jesse Duhon, who played with Octa Clark and the Dixie Ramblers during the 1930s. She found the accordion and began playing Cajun music when she was 10 years old. Christine Balfa began playing music as a teenager with her father, Dewey Balfa, and has continued her family legacy in a major way. She plays the guitar in the rhythmic style of her uncle Rodney Balfa. Yvette Landry, the "queen of Cajun bass," comes from a long line and venerable line of musicians. Her grandfather, Lucien Landry of the Louisiana Six and the Bill Landry Orchestra was one of the most important Louisiana musicians of the 1930s and into the 1950s. Her grandmother, Viola Hebert Landry played with her brothers in the Louisiana six. Anya Burgess grew up in New England and began playing traditional music at a very young age; she now runs a violin building and repair shop on the banks of the Bayou Teche in Arnaudville, LA.

-information and photo from bonsoircatin.com

James Bryan and Carl Jones

James Bryan is considered by many to be the best traditional Southern fiddler playing today. Born in 1953 and raised in Boaz, Alabama, James began playing fiddle at the age of eleven. He was encouraged by his father Joe Bryan who played guitar, taught James his first tunes, and introduced him to area fiddlers such as Monk Daniels and members of the Johnson family. He learned tunes from local repertoires as well as bluegrass tunes from master fiddler Kenny Baker; who accepted Bryan as an apprentice. He won his first fiddlers' convention at the age of twelve. James and his father played at local radio stations, dances, and fiddle conventions. In 1970, at the age of sixteen, James won the title of Fiddle King at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddler's Convention in Athens Alabama. Three years later in 1973 he won it again. In 2011, James received the prestigious Alabama Folk Heritage award for his lifetime of fiddling.

James has recorded two solo albums on the Rounder label and many more with Norman and Nancy Blake as the Rising Fawn String Ensemble. He plays Southern old-time and bluegrass tunes learned by ear as well as vintage tunes from New England and Britain, many collected from rare old tune books or "gleaned" from his extensive knowledge and archive of old 78 rpm records.

Carl Jones has been involved in the old-time music community ever since he first attended fiddlers' conventions in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia back in the 70s. As a student in the commercial music program at the University of North Alabama, he was able to hear many great songwriters in the famous Muscle Shoals Studios. He later toured with Norman and Nancy Blake and James Bryan as a member of the Rising Fawn String Ensemble, playing mandolin, guitar,banjo, and fiddle. He often plays as a duo with James Bryan, when possible with his partner (fiddler) Erynn Marshall, or as part of a trio with Bruce Green and Don Pedi. Known for a humorous and enthusiastic, light-hearted approach, Carl has taught at many music camps around the country, and his songs have been recorded by the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Kate Campbell, Rickie Simpkins, Little Windows, and a growing list of others.

Bua

Bua plays Irish traditional music with "a precision and intensity that is rarely heard on this side of the Atlantic." Their sound stands out among modern bands in the genre by "keeping the music down the path of tradition" and reminding listeners of such fondly-remembered greats as The Bothy Band and Planxty.

In 2002, Brían Ó hAirt (Lead vocals, concertina, sean-nós dance) became the youngest and first American to win the coveted Sgiath Uí Dhálaigh shield at the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Listowel, Co. Kerry. Brian Miller (guitar, bouzouki, backing vocals, flute) has gained a strong reputation in the US and Ireland for his traditional guitar styles and has been featured on RTE television and radio and NPR with many different groups. Sean Gavin (flute, Uilleann pipes) is the son of County Clare fiddler Mick Gavin and studied Uilleann pipes with Al Purcell, a student of Leo Rowsome. Devin Shepherd (fiddle) studied with Kathleen Keane and Liz Carroll and was for nine consecutive years the winner of the Midwest Fleadh Cheoil Irish music competition.

Bua has performed at many of the top Irish festivals in North America including the National Folk Festival, Lowell Folk Festival, Boston's Irish Connections Festival and the Milwaukee Irish Festival. As individuals they have shared the stage with a host of top Irish musicians including Martin Hayes, David Munnelly, Liz Carroll, Len Graham, Paddy Keenan, Larry Nugent, Pat Broaders, Dennis Cahill, John Williams and Frankie Gavin.

-information gathered from buamusic.com

The Kentucky Clodhoppers

The Kentucky Clodhoppers are an old-time style dance band from Clark and Estill Counties in east-central Kentucky. They play a repertoire of old tunes that were indigenous to the area in the days when square dances were the preferred form of popular entertainment for all ages. Even today a loyal entourage of flatfoot dancers always turns out for their performances because they play the kind of music that always gets the feet moving. They have made a home for themselves at local bluegrass festivals as representatives of the kind of music bluegrass evolved from.

Mainstays of the band over the years have been fiddlers Billy Don Stamper and John Harrod, banjo player Earl Thomas, Jr., and mandolinist Donnie Rogers. They are joined by John Hatton on guitar, and Jesse Wells on bass. Billy Don's and John's mountain style fiddling, Earl's unique old-time banjo style, and Donnie's songs and stories have made them a hit throughout the region.

The Quebe Sisters Band

In 1998, at ages 7, 10, and 12, Hulda, Grace, and Sophia Quebe began taking fiddle lessons under Joey and Sherry McKenzie in Burleson, Texas. Going on to win regional, State, and National fiddle championships, the three sisters have since established themselves as a truly remarkable presence on the traditional music scene.

Performing a lively, versatile mix of Western swing, bluegrass, vintage country, and jazz and swing dance standards from the '40s through the '60s, the Quebe Sisters Band have marveled audiences across the country with Texas-style fiddling and three-part harmony vocals, and have been featured performers at the Grand Ole Opry, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Lincoln Center the Strawberry Music Festival, and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, and have performed with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Marty Stuart, Asleep at the Wheel, Merle Haggard, and Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers.

They are joined onstage by five-time Texas State Guitar Champion Joey McKenzie on rhythm guitar and Drew Phelps on upright bass, a student of legendary string bassist Dave Holland.

-information gathered from quebesistersband.com

The Stars of Heaven

The Stars of Heaven are an all-female Chicago gospel group, founded in 1990 under the founding leadership of their current manager Sharon Liggins. Being inspired to sing by her mother, Sharon formed a quartet of ladies to minister the gospel in song around the Chicago land area. Formerly lead by their mother the late Flora Liggins, these ladies continue the legacy she left behind of singing praises to the Lord, writing and arranging their own songs. In 2005, and 2008 they performed for the 21st and 24th Annual City of Chicago Gospel Musical Festival coordinated by Ms. Pam Morris. In 2010 they would complete a live CD recording titled "Wait on the Lord" published by their own publishing company Steaven Publishing. These ladies have shared the stage with many great artists such as The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Lee Williams and The Spiritual Qc's, Doc McKenzie and the High-lites, Soul Stirrers, Jesse Dixon and many others.

-information and photo from thestarsofheaven.com

Tony Holt and the Wildwood Valley Boys

Drawing from Bluegrass traditions of southeast Indiana, Tony Holt and the Wildwood Valley Boys are a nationally touring group who have been featured on stages throughout the US and Canada. Comprised of members of the Holt family of the famed Boys from Indiana, the group is traditional in nature, but performs some well-heralded original numbers. Tony Holt plays guitar and sings lead vocals for the band. Aubrey Holt sang lead and tenor and played guitar for the Boys from Indiana before their retirement in 1995, and continues this role in the group. Both Tony and Aubrey reside near Milan, Indiana. Tom Patrick, the "Old Coonhunter," plays bass in the group and cites both gospel and traditional bluegrass in his influences. Jeremy Blankenship started out with the Shively Family Band at age eight; he plays banjo and some guitar for the group. Greg Moore joins the band on fiddle; Greg resides in eastern Kentucky and previously recorded with the band on their "Back Country Road" album.

-information and photo from wildwoodvalleyboys.net

Terry Oldfield

As is customary at every Folk Festival concert, we will begin each act with a short set of traditional bagpipe music. Chicago bagpiper Terry Oldfield will return this year to pipe in the 52nd Folk Festival.