Chamberfolk: Three classically trained musicians playing original music, as intricately arranged as a string quartet, lyrically rooted in the singer/songwriter tradition, and wrapped in three-part vocal harmonies reminiscent of both Appalachia and Medieval Europe. Building from the tonal depth of the cello (or is it a bass?), layer in the shimmering sounds of a violin and the strikingly natural addition of banjo to create a sound at once familiar and impossible to categorize. Unapologetic genre-benders, Harpeth Rising fuses Folk, Newgrass, Rock and Classical into something organically unique. Maria Di Meglio cello, was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Michelle Younger in Charlottesville, VA, and Jordana Greenberg, violin, grew up with many influences from many differering genres of the music world, and each graduated from prestigious music schools and love presenting original music to happy audiences. New for our stage tonight, here is your chance to see three beautiful musical souls come together and entertain us with their totally original presentation! (Photo by Michael Wilson)

Matt's goal is to write songs as intricate and introspective as his songwriting heroes Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, all while singing his songs as honestly and soulfully as his vocal heroes, Ray Charles and Otis Redding.

Vance exploded onto the scene in the early 90’s, with buzz spreading quickly. Who was this multicultural arts teacher knocking them dead at open mics? After opening Shawn Colvin’s 1992 Fat City tour, he took much of America by storm and by surprise. “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god, it was enough to earn him that rarity: an encore for an opener,” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in its review of a show from the Colvin tour. Like all great artists, Vance truly happens live. In fact, he developed his reputation with his jawdropping, diverse, funny, devastating, and gorgeous live performances. Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker, the late George Carlin have all requested Vance to be added to their bills. Can something be wry, aching, hysterical, evocative, provocative, fun, beautifully sung, and consummately played all at once? Can it? That’d be Vance Gilbert and his transcendent new album “BaD Dog Buffet”. With the generous assistance from a varied list of super-respected guests—including Celtic harpist/singer Aine Minogue, bluegrass boys Darol Anger and Joe Walsh Jr., jazz sax player Grace Kelly, country rock hero Roy Sludge, and guitar mainstay Kevin Barry—this talented man’s musical truth plays out shamelessly on BaD Dog Buffet.

Tracie studied violin and music composition at the University of North Texas. Not completely satisfied, she decided to jump into songwriting. Head first.... We're very glad she did!

At the crossroads of blues & American roots music you’ll find Brooks Williams. Just when you think he can’t sing a bluesier note, he sings it, or strum a deeper groove, he strums it. Born in Statesboro, Georgia, the town made famous by the classic song Statesboro Blues, Williams did his apprenticeship in the small bars and coffeehouses of New York and Boston. With each year and each subsequent album his tours took him further and further afield. Twenty-eight albums later and his tour schedule has never been busier with shows throughout Europe, North America and the UK. The result of those early years is an unflagging career that goes from strength to strength. Besides solo shows and shows with the “Lucky Star Trio,” in recent years he has collaborated with Hans Theessink, Abbie Gardner, and Guy Davis, to name but a few. He’s ranked in the Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists, and “has a beautiful voice,” says AmericanaUK, “that you just melt into.” That voice earned Brooks a nomination for Best Male Vocalist by Spiral Earth, one of the UK's most respected roots music publications. He has an impeccable ear for a good cover. His latest album, “Lucky Star” includes a cover of the Walter Hyatt classic, “Going To New Orleans,” that features a Second Line groove so deep it would make the late Allen Toussaint proud. He also writes songs that are “sophisticated musically, and yet sound immediately familiar – a sign of a skilled songwriter.” (Down At The Crossroads) Check out “Gambling Man,” and “Bright Side of the Blues.” Williams is no stranger to the major stages and festivals, like Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Vienna’s JazzLand, the legendary Guthrie Center, Scotland’s Celtic Connections, Kerrville Festival in Texas, and the UK’s Glastonbury Festival. His music has charted on North America’s FOLKDJ, the EuroAmericana chart and Blues Lists around the world. WUMB-FM in Boston (USA) voted him one of their Top 100 Artists. Praised by Blues Matters, fRoots, Rolling Stone, the Boston Globe and Mojo, Williams is at the top of his game. “Setting new standards and a fresh direction for the blues,” says Blues In Britain.

Heather says it was also her mom who encouraged her to enter a songwriting contest in 2002. She was able to enter a couple of songs and meet Miranda Lambert, who was one of the judges. That began a collaboration with Lambert and other local talents, including recent Grammy-winner Kacey Musgraves.

She plays gypsy jazz, jump jive, latin grooves, swing, international folk originals on anything from the piano to the spoons! WINNER of the Colorado Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Troubadour Award in 2003, NEW FOLK WINNER 2002 at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas and 2001 Falconridge Folk Festival AUDIENCE FAVORITE. Originally from England, she now resides in Provincetown on Cape Cod, MA, where she performs every summer. She's traveled around the globe to over 70 countries, picking up world-beat grooves and stories on the way; jumping box cars, riding on freight boats and has even played music with an elephant orchestra in Thailand. She runs a 1920's SPEAKEASY with her band ZOE LEWIS AND THE BOOTLEGGERS specializing in Prohibition era jazz, which has become a big summertime hit on Cape Cod. ZOË has performed across the USA, Europe, Australia, Canada and works for OLIVIA cruises. She's performed with the INDIGO GIRLS, PAT BENETAR, JUDY COLLINS, RICHIE HAVENS and NANCI GRIFFITH to name a few. In 2013 she was voted PROVINCETOWN WOMAN OF THE YEAR. She has released 7 albums of original material and is working on a new CD, a CD for kids, a collection of poems and a one-woman play.

Scott Sean White is a songwriter born and raised in Texas. He splits his time between Nashville and his home in Poetry, TX - commuting back and forth once or twice a month to Nashville to write, record, and perform.

"If a life well-lived is defined by the sum of its experiences, Evie Ladin has lived one to the fullest, and she’s not done yet. Evie’s mastery of the clawhammer banjo is an absolute wonder, and the soulful, salty tanginess of her voice grips the listener and refuses to let go as it narrates some wild musical tales" — WOMAD Festival Evie has always been surrounded by music – credit to her upbringing as daughter of an international folk dance teacher, and an old-time folk music devotee, she grew up thinking that playing music, dancing, singing with others was what people do. Though entrenched in the traditional cultural arts of Appalachia, her home was in Northern New Jersey, New York City, Baltimore – in cities, not mountains. But the tradition bearers came through these towns, and stayed in her house. They played in her living room, and weekends were spent running free at music festivals and house parties. The neo-trad kinetic-folk of the Evie Ladin Band is a mingling of the deep Appalachian sound of clawhammer banjo, guitar, bass and percussive dance, with contemporary storytelling and original, conversational interplay among the band members.

Straddling the fence between folk and country, with a voice like amber honey that is impressive for both its power and intimacy, Claudia Nygaard delivers songs that are heartfelt, humorous, scrappy, and sensual. And so are the stories in between them. She is a captivating storyteller, with a twinkle in her eye that makes everyone in the audience think she is sharing a secret with them alone. Emotionally fearless, she shares her deepest sorrows with a rare vulnerability and tenderness one moment, then a quick wit and an outlandish, irreverent sense of humor the next. As a salaried staff songwriter on Nashville’s Music Row, Nygaard learned her craft well. Her latest CD “Let The Storm Roll In” rose to #1 on the Cashbox Roots/Country chart and #8 on the Folk DJ chart. Two of the songs, “Georgia Boy” and “J.C.” won the Kerrville, TX Folk Festival “New Folk” songwriting competition for her, but they weren’t the only songs that radio took a liking to. EVERY song on the album received airplay. “Storm” was also highly praised by the press. It received five stars from Americana benchmark magazine “Maverick”, and legendary folk music magazine “Sing Out” claimed the songs “rival the likes of Guy Clark or Ian Tyson”. -- Photo by Brenda Ladd