UPDATED: 3/12/06

Folk/Acoustic Performers

Who's playing there?

• Check out this customized Syracuse-Area Music Calendar (from Musi-Cal)
• Or the New Times Club Calendar
• Join the Listserv and receive updates from area venues.

The Baby Boomers Playing music by the Mamas & the Papas, Crosby Stills & Nash, Simon & Garfunkel, old Beatles, etc., this group is made up of true "baby boomers" reviving the music they grew up with. Go figure.

The Burns Sisters The gals from Ithaca are long-time stars of the local scene, having scored a major-label contract at one point and also an appearance in a Hollywood movie (Ragtime?). Great harmonies and sass.

Cobblestone Crossing. Based in the Southern Tier, this four-piece unit offers lots of popular down-home stuff, ranging from Irish traditionals to John Denver hits, the Weavers to bluegrass.

Donna Colton Donna has a lusty, gravelly thing going that might remind you of Janis Joplin. A little bit of country and a little bit of blues and a dead-to-nuts vocal delivery that maybe gives you a shiver.

David Denzien is a folky writing and doing material in a social-issues vein. He has three albums, and performs in the Southern Tier region.

Ashley Cox Ashley won the Best New Artist SAMMY a couple of years back. She's got a young, intense, groove thing going acoustically. It's hard not to make a little bit of an Ani comparison. Ashley is also very connected to an aweful lot of the local young-acoustic Turks.

Dalton Keegan Duo Ethan Dalton and Mike Keegan on acoustic guitar and vocals. They host the Acoustic Cafe' at Spirits in Auburn, and they play around.

Folkstrings. A quartet made up of Syracuse-area folk and bluegrass veterans, doing an array of stuff, much of it in the trad and Sixties-folk pantheon.

Keith Harden. Keith is new to the area (spring 2002), having recently settled in Geneva. He's a singer-songwriter with a bluesy thing going on. In addition to 6 and 12 string guitars, Keith plays dobro, harmonica, blues ukulele, and piano. In addition to his originals, he plays vintage folk- blues-delta, country-blues, raggy-blues,americana, etc.. He's recorded and released six CDs (!). At this writing, he's gigging in the Rochester area especially.

Larry Hoyt. The host of WAER's popular Sunday-afternoon folk/acoustic show "Common Threads" is also an accomplished and ubiquitous local performer, often solo and occasionally with Henry Jankiewicz and Ed Van Cott (the Good Acoustics). Larry performs a broad array to classic folk (e.g., Paxton, Dylan), country (e.g., Cash), and rootsy Americana (e.g. Guthrie); plus, he has a boatload of originals, mostly written in the same vein.

The Lost Boys. John Cadley (certainly one of CNY's very best songwriters in the acoustic vein) and the rest of the boys infuse bluegrass with a singer-songwriter mentality. What they really need, though, is for some Weary Cowboy to whip'em up a nice website.

Lost Time. Speaking of bluegrass, this collection of CNY veterans have very quickly come to the fore in local grass circles, and have a wonderful album, too. (Plus, John, they have nice website.)

Howard Lyons Howard recently returned to Syracuse after two years in New Hampshire, where he cut his album, Hopes and Dreams (SkyDome Records), which was nominated for Best Folk Recording by the Native American Music Awards in 2001. (Native American tradition is a big part of Howard's musical emphasis.) His new album, Spirit Walk, is on the national label SOAR and is also earning awards.

Karen Savoca and Pete Heitzman A few years ago, Karen Savoca broke out on the national scene, as the result of a very successful Falconridge Showcase set. Then she and Pete signed with Fleming Tamulovich and touring with Greg Brown. But you can still occasionally catch them at Madison Hall or Happy Endings or any of the other great venues within shooting distance of Munnsville.

Merry Mischief. Based in Jordan, they have the whole Old English minstrel, Renaissance Faire costumed kind of thing going on -- plus Celtic, Erie Canal, folk music, and pirate shows (!). The have six CDs; Evening on the Erie was nominated for a Sammy.

Marcy Prochaska. Marcy is a dedicated hammer dulcimer player serving the Ithaca/CNY area. She plays a variety of folk, classical, and original music at dinners, receptions, garden parties, weddings, teas, and other special occasions. She has two albums out, including a recently recorded collection of Christmas music. She also seems to be very involved in dulcimer classes, other events, and the whole hammer dulcimer scene.

Shrinking Violets. Formerly of Syracuse, temporarily in Vermont, Darryl and Julia are now back in Rochester, with a new album and beginning to perform again in this aria. Beautiful originals and Julia's distinctive folk-viola.

Dave Snediker. Snediker is a veteran of numerous local bands: Sonic Whirlpool, Nineball, Nine Stories High, The Electric Chick Magnets, The Backwards Dog Project, The Mellow Paws, Love Scene Clear, Jomamma and the Soultrane.  Now he has embarked on an acoustic solo career.  When last we heard, he was expecting a new CD in March 2006.

Linda Stout. Based in Ithaca, Linda plays acoustic guitar mostly, plus baritone uke and some piano. She writes, sings, and performs "jazzy poppy-folk," she says; "some of my songs are like old standards,
some inspired by Martin Sexton and Tom Prasada-Rao." Her debut CD, "Good Luck Child" was named best solo CD and Linda was called best female singer in the 2004 "Jimmie" awards by writer Jim Catalano of The Ithaca Journal. She, has been compared to Dido, Everything But the Girl, and Norah Jones.

Jason Vatter. Although recently absent from the scene, the hardest working man in local singer-songwriting displays a major commitment to literate, lyrically sophisticated character studies andstories. He's got three albums (at last count), plus, until recently, he hosted the monthly SongSwap at Happy Endings. In his mid-20s, he's already a father figure to most other songwriters in the area.

Patti Witten Poetic folk-pop like Joni Mitchell, folk-twang like Lucinda Williams, an unhurried vocal style like Sarah McLachlan and luscious acoustic guitar like nobody's business. With 3 independent CDs and a growing performance and radio presence regionally and nationally, this Ithaca, NY-based singer and songwriter has earned more than 30 top honors from an impressive list of international and regional competitions that includes the Billboard, Mid-Atlantic, UNISONG, Great American and SIBL song contests.

With Area Connections

• The Kennedy's (Maura is formerly of Syracuse, now they operate out of Washington, D.C.)
• Martin Sexton (formerly of Syracuse, but then relocated and arisen from Boston, only to become a national force on the Adult Alternative circuit)