Scheduled Performers

Tempest - Since forming in 1988, Tempest has delivered a globaly renowned hybrid of high-energy folk-rock fusing Irish reels, Scottish ballads, Norwegian influences and other world music elements. The last 20 years have seen the San Francisco Bay area based act release 12 critically acclaimed CDs.The quintet features Lief Sorbye on vocals, double-necked mandolin and mando-guitar; Adolfo Lazo on drums; Michael Mullen on fiddle and vocals; James Crocker on guitar; and Damien Goonzalez on vocals and bass. Bam Magazine says, "Be prepared to stomp your feet, maybe even break into an impromptu jig, 'cause these guys are brash, bawdy, and brilliant." Dirty Linen magazine says, "The tremendous energy that Tempest inspires you to expend is staggering...one of the best live shows I've seen in years." And from the Philadelphia Folk Festival (with attendance of more than 30,000, and at which Tempest is a returning top headliner this year), "Tempest brought down the house with its mad, high-energy mix of Scottish, Irish, and Scandinavian traditions filtered through driving rock and roll. Here's a band to convince your oh-so-bored adolescent kids that folk isn't so geeky after all." www.tempestmusic.com

Small Potatoes - "Take a bunch of styles of acoustic, folk, western, blues and swing, add very hot guitar work, and vocals so tight you need WD-40 to get them apart,"* and you have Small Potatoes - the Chicago-based duo of Rich Prezioso and Jacquie Manning. Rich and Jacquie call themselves eclecto-maniacs; they describe their music as "Celtic to Cowboy" and say in has taken them "years of careful indecision" to come up with a mix of music that ranges from country, blues, and swing to Irish, with songwriting that touches on all of those styles and more. A listen to a few tracks on "Waltz of the Wallflowers", Jacquie's theatrical, one-of-a kind 1998 Kerrville New Folk winning title track, Rich's powerful "1000 Candles, 1000 Cranes," or their Celtic-flavored rendition of the Jefferson Airplane classic "Lather" provides a more than ample illustration of their talent and creativity. "They lay out a blanket and every song is a picnic," said Warren Nelson, Big Top Chautauqua/Tent Show Radio--Wisconsin Public Radio, Bayfield, WI.. (* Opening quote is from Fondy Acoustic Music Alliance, Fond du Lac, WI.) www.smallpotatoesmusic.com

Jack Williams - A guitarist/singer/songwriter/storyteller - is outstanding in skill, depth and integrity. Among acoustic guitarists he is near-legendary. Having avoided the compromises of the commercial music industry during his 50+-year professional career, Jack is now a sought-after artist on contemporary acoustic music stages from Newport to Kerrville and abroad. Kevin Oliver of No Depresssion described Jack's music as "….equal parts folk storytelling and Tin Pan Alley songcraft, delivered with the impassioned soul of an old blues singer." Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) called Jack "The best guitar-player I've ever heard." Growing up in South Carolina, Jack worked as a hired-gun guitarist in the Civil Rights-Easy Rider 60's with John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Turner, Jerry Butler, Z.Z. Hill, Hank Ballard and many others. During that era, his bands also backed up artists such as the Shirelles, the Del-Vikings, the Coasters, the Drifters, and the Platters. Jack Williams' music sparkles from all these influences - creating truly all-American southern music. www.JackWilliamsMusic.com

Mike Agranoff - Mike Agranoff is a tall, skinny whirlwind from New Jersey, with a red beard and a funny hat. His performance might include a song of heart-stopping emotional impact, a Scott Joplin piano rag, an acapella Irish patter song sung to the melody of a mile-a-minute fiddle tune, a riveting recitation in the style of Robert Service, and some of the most delightfully horrible parodies in the English-speaking world. Mike plays a superb fingerstyle guitar in idioms ranging from ancient harp tunes to obscure Tin-Pan-Alley compositions. His concertina arrangements of music by anyone from Bach to Berryman's may be haunting, complex, exciting, but are, above all, musical. His storytelling is every bit as compelling as Arlo Guthrie's or Garrison Keillor's. Known for his quick and clever humor, Mike Agranoff will put a lie to any notion that folk music is boring. www.MikeAgranoff.com

Stephanie Corby - Stephanie is an award-winning songwriter and performer (Kerrville and Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals, among others) from Massachusetts. "Here's what Stephanie Corby brings to the party," says Marilyn Rea Beyer, Music Director, WUMB, Boston: "Heart-stopping vocals, appreciation for smart language, a buoyant sense of melody and more than a little bit o' soul!" Songwriter Ellis Paul adds: "Stephanie has the kind of voice that can make the waters part - loud, sweet, and soulful - and she has an engaging, original stage spirit as well. She could have saved Moses a lot of trouble." Stephanie will be joined in her performance by David Glaser. www.stephaniecorby.com

Ricochet - Ricochet says they are the quartet that put the "harm" in harmony. It's barbershop singing with a bellylaugh performed by tenor Wally "Low Beam" Reynolds, lead Dave "Gigalo" Lasko, bass Brian Crim (you may have seen him on "Beverly Hillbillies"), and baritone John "String Bean" Fisher. They never won a contest, but they never lose an audience!

Joe Giacoio - Avalon's 2007 Songwriting Contest winner, Joe says he was abandoned in a music store as a young child in the Bronx and raised by a pack of acoustic guitars. This explains a lot. Joe has won many awards for his strange guitar playing and even stranger songwriting. Songs about post-apocalyptic nostalgia and the existential crisis's [sic] of super-heroes are accompanied by "guitar ninja" heroics reminiscent of Preston Reed and Michael Hedges. Joe has often been featured on the "Guitar Gods and Goddesses" stage at the Falcon Ridge Folk festival. In addition to Avalon, his songwriting credits include First Prize for Lyrics in the 2006 Great American Song Contest. Joe tours along the East Coast, and he mentions that he is a not just a member, but the President of the Chest Hair Club for Men www.joegiacoio.com

The Hula Monsters - "One of the best bands in the world" said The Washington Post, and we think you'll agree! A swing band with Hawaiian flavor, the Hula Monsters' repertoire includes Hawaiian, rockabilly, blues, country and jazz standards - all with Hula Monster attitude. The quintet of Dave Giegerich (steel guitar, dobro), Moe Nelson (bass), Ben Holmes (drums), Mark Noone (guitar, ukulele) and Dave Chappell (lead guitar) have played top-tier venues like the Birchmere (Alexandria) and the Kennedy Center (Washington, DC), along with many other club and festival appearances. The extensive list of acts that the members of the group have performed and/or recorded with includes Bill Kirchen, Dan Hicks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Percy Sledge, Danny Gatton, Bill Harrell, The Slickee Boys, Kevin Johnson, Pam Tillis, Queen Ida, Johnny Gimble, and Marvin Hamlisch. Band members have also performed on many national television broadcasts and radio programs www.hulamonsters.com