Performers Spotlight for 2024 |
Blue Ribbon Tea Company
Blue Ribbon Tea Company has long supported the Fall Folk Festival. Bill and Kathy Kostelec met through their shared love of black-and-white photography. Sometime later, after finding out that Bill sang and played guitar and finding his book full of songs, Kathy began to push him to play in public. He pushed back, bought her a mandolin, and said he needed a backup singer. They have been performing together ever since.
Bill is also a virtual singing library of American roots music. He grew up listening to his dad sing old railroad and prison songs. Consequently, he enjoys playing songs by Jimmie Rodgers, Robert Johnson, and Hank Williams. Kathy, originally from western Kentucky, is a multi-instrumentalist, playing mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and sometimes the autoharp. She took up all of her instruments in Spokane after marrying Bill. As a young girl, Kathy's love for reading and writing poetry was a significant part of her life. This love for poetry naturally transitioned into songwriting once she had an instrument in her hands, a journey that inspires many. Website: theblueribbonteacompany.com |
Brittany Jean
Originally from West Chicago, IL, Brittany Jean is a singer/songwriter in the Pacific Northwest. She currently lives in Brewster, WA, a tiny apple town. Brittany’s style is rooted in the folk and Americana music she has loved all her life; in one way or another, every slice-of-life song she brings with her is a love song.
During the past few years, Brittany’s performances have ventured farther and farther from home — opening for Three Dog Night’s sold-out show at the City Winery in New York City, playing the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, taking on her first international tour on Vancouver Island, British Columbia to name just a few of her adventures. Brittany has released four full-length albums — all recorded in Nashville: Whispered Stories, Leavin’ Home, Wander With Me, and All The Love. Website: bjeanmusic.com/ Email: [email protected] |
Hank Cramer
Hank Cramer is a fulltime traveling folksinger from Winthrop, WA. His repertoire includes Western, Celtic, maritime, cowboy songs, and sea shanties. Hank is one of the best-loved folksingers in the American West. He is widely known for his booming bass voice, smooth picking on a vintage flat-top guitar, and his wry sense of humor. He has over a thousand modern and traditional songs, spanning genres of Celtic, Appalachian, maritime, cowboy, and plain old folk music.
Hank is more than simply a performer, however. He is a historian and educator who weaves music and history into presentations that bring to life the rich story of America’s westward movement. He also gives his audiences insight into the “folk process” by which traditional songs evolve and change to describe new events. Hank now has nineteen CDs, several movie soundtracks, and music videos to his credit. While he usually performs a regular concert series like most musicians, Hank is strongly drawn to performances in educational settings that enable him to delve into his dual loves of history and music. Website: www.hankcramer.com Website: www.reverbnation.com/hankcramer Email: [email protected] |
Hubbardston Nonesuch
Hubbardston Nonesuch performs madrigals, which are ancient Western European music. We sing without instruments, art songs, folksongs, sacred music, and tavern tunes of 500 years ago.
Contact David Liezen at [email protected]. |
South Asia Cultural Association
South Asia Cultural Association's (SACA) mission is to promote and educate the citizenry of Spokane and the outlying areas about South Asia's rich heritage, traditions, and cultures, specifically the Indian sub-continent. SACA's efforts have significantly enriched the cultural diversity of the Spokane area. With a history of 30 years, they have brought a variety of diverse programs to Spokane. They will present folksongs and folk dances from India at the Fall Folk Festival, further enriching our cultural landscape. They will request audience participation.
Contact Sreedharani Nandagopal at [email protected]. |
Spokane Dulcimer Guild
Spokane Dulcimer Guild is comprised of amateur musicians who play and build the Mountain Dulcimer, Lap Dulcimer, and Plucked Dulcimer. If you are familiar with the instrument, you will know that all three types are identical! We welcome any stringed instrument to our group, as the addition of hammered Dulcimer, guitar, bass or fiddle, mandolin, and banjo adds to the richness of all the tunes we play. Anyone is welcome to our jams! We usually get together twice a month on the first and third Fridays. At the Fall Folk Festival, come and experience the sweet music of the mountain dulcimer and hear a brief history of this folk instrument.
More information is available at spokanedulcimerguild.net. Contact Joanne Heinz at [email protected]. |
Trillium-239
Trillium-239 has been described as the harmonic equivalent of peanut butter and jelly: distinctly different and perfectly complementary. Playing guitar, banjo, and cello, their original songs and intricate harmonies have been enticing audiences across the Northwest. Humphrey and Hartman, both performers in their own right, joined forces in the mid-90s, and Cellist Michelle Cameron joined them in 2003. Solid vocals and tight harmonies remain the signature of their high-energy performances.
Playing primarily original material, Janet and Mary's writing styles are diverse; their lyrics are gloriously unique and wrapped in silky harmony. Adding Michelle Cameron to the group brings a dynamic range and a new focus on unique and complex arrangements.
The acoustic trio Trillium-239 brings award-winning performances to audiences in the Pacific Northwest. Complex melodic lines and quirky lyrics are highlighted with masterful arrangements on various instruments. Cello, guitars, and banjo provide thoughtful support for tight vocal harmonies, and first-rate T-239 songs are steady fare at concerts, festivals, and special events. Together, Trillium-239 mixes a scintillating musical cocktail that's creating a buzz.
The name "Trillium-239" is the fusion of the lovely 3-petaled woodland flower and the atomic mass of a plutonium isotope. The latter is a nod to the Hanford nuclear site, home to the world's first full-scale atomic reactor during WWII. The Hanford Site directly or indirectly drew the three members of Trillium-239 to Richland, Washington.
Sporting double-digit-sized shoes and soaring vocals, Trillium-239 has been dubbed their hometown's divas. Their original writing and harmonic style reflect the influences of Bach, Shawn Colvin, and Mississippi John Hurt. Tight vocal arrangements have been called "Ear Candy." High-energy performances are a Trio signature.
Contact Trillium-239 at (509) 531-2805 or [email protected].
Website: http://trillium239.com/
Playing primarily original material, Janet and Mary's writing styles are diverse; their lyrics are gloriously unique and wrapped in silky harmony. Adding Michelle Cameron to the group brings a dynamic range and a new focus on unique and complex arrangements.
The acoustic trio Trillium-239 brings award-winning performances to audiences in the Pacific Northwest. Complex melodic lines and quirky lyrics are highlighted with masterful arrangements on various instruments. Cello, guitars, and banjo provide thoughtful support for tight vocal harmonies, and first-rate T-239 songs are steady fare at concerts, festivals, and special events. Together, Trillium-239 mixes a scintillating musical cocktail that's creating a buzz.
The name "Trillium-239" is the fusion of the lovely 3-petaled woodland flower and the atomic mass of a plutonium isotope. The latter is a nod to the Hanford nuclear site, home to the world's first full-scale atomic reactor during WWII. The Hanford Site directly or indirectly drew the three members of Trillium-239 to Richland, Washington.
Sporting double-digit-sized shoes and soaring vocals, Trillium-239 has been dubbed their hometown's divas. Their original writing and harmonic style reflect the influences of Bach, Shawn Colvin, and Mississippi John Hurt. Tight vocal arrangements have been called "Ear Candy." High-energy performances are a Trio signature.
Contact Trillium-239 at (509) 531-2805 or [email protected].
Website: http://trillium239.com/