NATIONAL HEADLINER
LAURIE LEWIS & NINA GERBER
Saturday, April 10, 8 PM – 9:15 PM
Streaming Live from Berkeley to the Tucson Folk Festival!
Broadcast Online and to Park Place & MSA Annex Stage Big Screens
One of the contemporary acoustic music scene’s most skilled and enduring performers.“
– ACOUSTIC GUITAR MAGAZINE –
For fiddler, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and Grammy-winner Laurie Lewis, the traditions of bluegrass and folk aren’t so much tools in her hands, but burning sources of inspiration that have driven her through a 30+ year career at the forefront of American roots music. A pioneering woman in bluegrass, Laurie has paved the way for many young women today, always guided by her own love of traditional music and the styles of her heroes that came before.
Since her debut in 1986, Laurie has recorded over 20 albums. She’s been a founding member of the Good Ol’ Persons and the Grant Street String Band, twice been voted IBMA’s Female Vocalist of the Year, her classic rendition of Kate Long’s song, “Who Will Watch the Home Place?” won International Bluegrass Song of the Year, and her latest album with her band the Right Hands, The Hazel and Alice Sessions, was nominated for the Best Bluegrass Recording Grammy in 2017. Laurie’s recent album, “And Laurie Lewis“, was released March 27, 2020 and features intimate duets—among others—with Molly Tuttle, Mike Marshall, Nina Gerber, Tom Rozum, Tatiana Hargreaves, and Todd Phillips.
As famed folk artist and commentator Utah Phillips once said, “Whatever country music is supposed to be, she’s at the center of it.”
Laurie is joined by the inimitable Nina Gerber on acoustic and electric guitar. After carving a career out of what some might call the shadows, guitarist Nina Gerber is at last beginning to dare the light. Her first album as a leader, Not Before Noon, follows two decades which brought her to prominence without ever placing her name on the front of an album cover. Since her accompaniment of Kate Wolf first earned her recognition, her acute skills as performer, producer and arranger have continued to deepen. Her contributions to acoustic music have earned her a following as loyal as for the numerous high talents she has accompanied – proving the shadows equal to the spotlight in the creation of honest, powerful, and beautiful music.
Over the years, Nina has performed and recorded with: Karla Bonoff, Peter Rowan, Nanci Griffith, Greg Brown, Lucy Kaplansky, Mollie O’Brien, Dave Alvin, Rosalie Sorrels, Laurie Lewis, Terry Garthwaite, and many others. Her soulful enhancement of their music easily explains why several return the favor by appearing on her recent records.
REGIONAL HEADLINER
THE TUCSONICS
with Special Guests
Sunday, April 11, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Performing LIVE on Drive-In Stage at Park Place Mall
Broadcast Online and MSA Annex Big Screen
The Tucsonics is Tucson’s premier western swing band playing older tunes from the 30’s 40’s and 50’s from the likes of Bob Wills, Spade Cooley, Milton Brown, Gene Autry and much more. Complete with some of Tucson’s finest musicians, Alvin Blain (steel guitar), Lex Browning (guitar), Matt Mitchell (guitar), Nick Coventry (violin), Evan Dain (bass) and Fred Hayes (drums), this band is sure to deliver a night of fun!
FAMILY SHOW HEADLINER
RON PANDY
Sunday, April 11, 12:15 PM
Performing LIVE on Centennial Hall Stage presented by Arizona Arts Live! and Streaming Online
Throw out the rules when Ron Pandy hits the stage! A dad with an open mind and a sense of humor, Ron gets all ages out of their chairs fully participating in movement and spirited music. There are just some things about being a kid that remain the same through time and he makes those memories the ingredients of his show. Whether it’s finding a lost dog or learning how to spell chicken, he reminds us of the moral compass of child raising. Ron was the director of the children’s show for the Tucson Folk Festival for the first dozen or so years so he is ecstatic to be going back to his roots! If you’re between the ages of 3 to 90 you will enjoy this show! With Arlene Schadel on backup vocals, the songs take us back to a mirror of our own childhood. A memorable experience for all ages!