2023 HEADLINERS
ROB ICKES & TREY HENSLEY
Saturday, April 1, 8:00 PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
Steel-string bluegrass with all the intensity of rock ‘n’ roll.
– ACOUSTIC GUITAR –
Take a 15-time IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Dobro Player of the Year and a Tennessee-born guitar prodigy called “Nashville’s hottest young player” by Acoustic Guitar magazine, and you have Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, a powerhouse acoustic duo that has electrified the acoustic music scene around the world. Known for their white-hot picking and world class musicianship, as well as their soulful stone country vocals, the GRAMMY® nominated duo cleverly and uniquely melds bluegrass, country, blues, rock, jamgrass, and string band music of all kinds to create a signature blend of music that defies restrictions of genre. NPR has called Ickes and Hensley “two musical phenoms”; Vintage Guitar raved they’re an “acoustic firestorm” who “are changing the rules”; Acoustic Guitar describes their sound as “steel-string bluegrass with all the intensity of rock ‘n’ roll” and No Depression observed they’re “two of the finest musicians playing today.”
Ickes and Hensley have shared the stage or collaborated with Tommy Emmanuel, Taj Mahal, Vince Gill, David Grisman, Jorma Kaukonen, Marty Stuart, and Steve Wariner—all admirers of the duo. Ickes, the most decorated musician in IBMA Awards history and former founding member of bluegrass “supergroup” Blue Highway and highly sought-after Dobro master, has graced the recordings and concerts of artists such as Earl Scruggs, Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Tony Rice and more. Hensley, who earned IBMA Guitar Player of the Year nominations for the past three years, made his Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 11 (thanks to an invite from Marty Stuart with Earl Scruggs) and has appeared on stage with the likes of Johnny Cash, Peter Frampton and Old Crow Medicine Show.
All three of the Compass Records albums released by Ickes and Hensley have received widespread acclaim, including their debut Before The Sun Goes Down, which garnered a GRAMMY® nomination, and the combo’s current release World Full of Blues, which features collaborations with Vince Gill and Taj Mahal. Ickes and Hensley teamed with guitar master Tommy Emmanuel for a very special EP, Tommy Emmanuel – Accomplice Series Vol. I With Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley (released May 7, 2021 via Emmanuel’s label, CGP Sounds) to critical acclaim. The three high-powered guitar virtuosos performed together on the Grand Ole Opry on May 8, 2021 and from famed Nashville venue 3rd & Lindsley on May 9, 2021 via worldwide broadcasts to celebrate the release of the project. Ickes and Hensley have completed their fourth record for Compass Records with GRAMMY®-winning producer Brent Maher, which is set for release in early 2023.
THE FRETLESS
Sunday, April 2, 7:00PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
“The Fretless should thrill the socks off of anyone who is even slightly interested in folk fiddle playing. A bold, brave and ultimately satisfying adventure.”
– BLABBER N’ SMOKE –
Four ferocious players, masterful composition, and a genre-bending sound — Juno award-winning The Fretless is a Canadian quartet that has firmly taken its place on the map to a progressive form of “trad”.
A supergroup of celebrated solo artists, The Fretless has been creating a singular and signature sound that dares to expand the idea of what a string music quartet can be — transforming fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate, beautiful, high-energy arrangements that have quickly gained a dedicated following and accolades from around the world. Within what appears to be a simple and classical construct — two fiddles, a viola, and a cello — The Fretless has created a sound that is distinctly rich, multi-layered, and uniquely percussive. This tonal quality is pushing traditional music to new heights, producing a completely fresh approach to Folk music.
Starting with their debut album in 2012, The Fretless had a breakout year winning Instrumental Album of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and Instrumental Group of the Year and Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards(CFMA). Their self-titled follow-up album, “The Fretless”, took home Ensemble of the Year at the CMFA’s and features the tune “Waving To Ryan”, which is approaching two million Spotify plays. In 2015, they released “Bird’s Nest”, an album that solidified them as a force among the world’s roots music scene and earned them a 2017 Juno award for Instrumental Album of The Year. Recorded in a converted barn, straight to tape with a live audience in upstate New York, in 2018 they released “Live from the Art Farm”, an expanded rhythmic, harmonic, and stylistic exploration of the many folk genres they play. This album not only won them a CFMA for Best Instrumental Album but earned them a second Juno nomination.
Since the band’s first album in 2012, The Fretless has been successfully touring at home in Canada, as well as globally throughout Australia, North and Central America, and six European tours. From intimate back rooms and rowdy dance halls to some of the worlds most iconic and prestigious stages, The Fretless has had the honor of performing for a wild variety of audiences. Select credits include the Cologne Philharmonic, Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra Hall, Shetland Folk Festival, Festival Internacional Cervantino, two sold-out shows at Celtic Connections, as well as sharing the bill with Canadian fiddle legend, Natalie McMaster, for Canada Scene at the National Arts Centre. A Fretless show is infectious, dynamic, and impressively relentless. They not only deliver expert musicianship, a soulful and electrifying performance but always invite the audience to feel the passion they hold for their music.
As they look toward 2021, The Fretless is eager to release their most ambitious recording to date — “Open House” — a 10 track guest singer collaboration, featuring an astounding list of powerhouse vocalists that will absolutely solidify The Fretless as an ever-evolving, truly transcendent group.
Outreach and inspiring the next generation of string players is very much a part of The Fretless’ ethos. They continue to support numerous fiddle camps, masterclass’ and workshops around the world, not only as instructors but as mentors. Over the past few years, they have connected with notable organizations such as the Calgary Youth Orchestra and the Luxembourg Youth Orchestra, creating and performing full orchestral arrangements of Fretless tunes, as well as working toward a series of professional symphony presentations.
The Fretless is Trent Freeman (Fiddle/Viola), Karrnnel Sawitsky (Fiddle/Viola), Ben Plotnick (Fiddle/Viola), and Eric Wright (Cello).
KYSHONA
Sunday, April 2, 6:00PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
“One of the most compassionate and uplifting young voices in Nashville today“
– NPR Radio –
Kyshona is an artist ignited by untold stories, and the capacity of those stories to thread connection in every community. With the background of a licensed music therapist, the curiosity of a writer, the patience of a friend, the vision of a social entrepreneur, the resolve of an activist, and the voice of a singer – Kyshona is unrelenting in her pursuit for the healing power of song.
Born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Kyshona has been embedded in the music world since her early years. She went from piano, to oboe, to percussion, and finally settled her love on the guitar. At family gatherings she listened to her grandfather, father, aunts, uncles and cousins sing and play music to pass the time. Noticing how happy music made her, she headed out and became a music therapist, sharing the gift of music with those in need. Only then did she discover her true happiness came from sharing her own songs with audiences that weren’t looking for healing, but found connection with her voice anyway. Her dream now is to sing to anyone, anywhere, that will listen.
Kyshona has always lent her voice and music to those that feel they have been silenced or forgotten. She began her career as a music therapist, writing her first songs with her patients — the students and inmates under her care. She soon found the need to write independently and find her own voice, and endeavor which led her to the fertile ground of the Nashville creative community and songwriting culture.
Since then, she has learned how to balance her music career with her passion to heal and foster community through her non-profit organization Your Song.
Her song Listen became an anthem for many in 2020. Of her album, one fan reviewer wrote: “Amidst these hard, divisive times this set of songs is a salve for the grief many of us are feeling about resulting loss of family, friends, and community.” Within the grooves of its 10 tracks, Kyshona blends roots, rock, R&B, and folk with lyrical prowess to uplift the marginalized and bring awareness to the masses. It’s for every silent scream, every heavy load, fearful thought, and a simmering sense of anger that the repressed, the lost, and the forgotten try to hide from the world.
Audiences will find a common thread of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and finding hope in her work. The show doesn’t end when the last song is sung. After her powerful performances, concertgoers often ask, “What can I do?”
Her response? “Listen.”
BROTHER BROTHERS
Friday, March 31, 8:30 PM
Featured Act after the Stefan George Memorial Songwriting Competition
on the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
“The warm harmonies and silky melodies of identical twins David and Adam Moss evoke the kind of ’60s-era folk tunes that reverberated through dark, wood-paneled bars in the Village.”
– NO DEPRESSION-
Harmonizing folk duo The Brother Brothers are used to hearing Everly Brothers comparisons, but even Phil and Don couldn’t beat the sound of siblings Adam and David Moss, who share identical DNA. The twins started weaving their voices together before they hit first grade, learning by singing along to the Everlys, the Beatles and other artists they found in their dad’s record collection. On their new album, Cover to Cover, the Brother Brothers pay homage to those early influences and other favorite songwriters with unique arrangements of both beloved classics and songs they want more people to hear. Their exquisite version of The Beatles’ “I Will” holds special significance, because they created their own harmonies over the solo-vocal original when they were six.
Their most recent album of original music is Calla Lilly. Calla Lily is the follow-up to the Moss brothers’ debut album, Some People I Know, which garnered praise from taste-makers including NPR, Billboard and Rolling Stone Country. The album’s lead single, “On the Road Again,” sets mood of the album and showcases the brothers’ warm, immediate harmonies. Ironically, the Moss brothers wrote “On The Road Again” — a quintessential road that explores the life of the touring musician and speaks to one’s longing for the road — before the pandemic `it; it’s a paean to the connection and company of that diasporic artist community forged across stages, festival grounds, and long, winding roads.
The music video for “On The Road Again” kicks off with the brothers leaving New York City in the tour van and features a convoy of whimsical animated creatures who are along for the ride, culminating in a cartoon concert along the Hudson River. David Moss says of the track: “There’s no denying that life in motion can leave a person lonesome or aimless, but so can sitting still. The same part of our beings that gets homesick aches for life on the road. This song’s an exploration of that duality — a celebration and a lamentation in one.”
Tucson folk fans will remember The Brother Brothers from their times playing the Fox Theatre in support of Sarah Jarosz and I’m With Her. Now, they are bringing their trademark sibling harmonies to the Stefan George Memorial Songwriting Competition as our kickoff night headliners on March 31st.
NPR described The Brother Brothers newest album as “wonderful … fabulous old-time playing and sibling harmony.”
FAMILY SHOW HEADLINER
HANS MAYER
Saturday April 1 and Sunday April 2, 3:00PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Wildflower Stage!
Hans knew when he was five years old that he wanted to play the guitar, but it took until he was twelve to convince his parents to get one for him. Lessons went along with the guitar, but they didn’t last – the teacher wanted Hans to go in a classical direction, but he was already playing by ear all the songs he wanted to play off the radio and albums. Hans started writing almost as soon as he could play cords and once his younger brother Kit had learned to play guitar, it was the start of a series of bands fronted by the brothers, playing a mix of originals, Southern Rock and reggae-influenced tunes.
By his early twenties, Hans and Kit and their band, Northern Comfort, had moved to La Crosse in Southwest Wisconsin (it was where the tour bus broke down). A beautiful river town on the Mississippi, La Crosse was also a great college town that provided dedicated fans for their bands Dr. Scholl’s Revenge, Blind Baby Olin and the Workbenches and Jawbone. It was during the early part of their stay in La Crosse that Hans played and toured in a duo with folk musician/singer-songwriter John Smith.
After playing in bands for several years, Hans began touring and recording (playing bass guitar) with Native American Artist, Bill Miller, who he had met when they both lived in La Crosse. Miller was in demand all over the country and they played from one coast to the other, including all the big festivals (Michael Martin Murphy’s West Fest, the Philadelphia Folk Fest), national TV (Austin City Limits, The Today Show), a tour with Tori Amos and an appearance at the Ryman Theatre in Nashville (original home of the Grand Old Opry). Hans can be heard on Miller’s “Raven in the Snow” (1995), “Hear Our Prayer” (2000), “A Sacred Gift” (2002), “Spirit Rain” (2002) and “Spirit Songs: the Best of Bill Miller” (2004) CDs. “You are the Rain,” a tune co-written by Mayer and Miller (and appearing on the “Spirit Rain” CD) was selected by Rick Schroder for the soundtrack of his film, “Black Cloud.”
Hans’ involvement in children’s/family music began with a request to write a theme for a public radio show for kids. The theme music proved so popular that he was asked to create more music for the show and for kids in general. Hans teamed up with storyteller and writer, Frank Gosar, and they co-wrote some of Hans’ most popular songs including, “My Brother Eats Bugs.” Frank is currently a popular public radio host and potter in Oregon.
LISA SANDERS & BROWN SUGAR
Saturday, April 1, 5:00PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
Lisa Sanders is an electrifying harmonizer. Her heartfelt songs are genuine with deep meaning and conviction. A musical style that can only be described as soulful country blues, her genres include folk-pop, gospel, rock, and jazz. Writing, singing, and producing from her heart in nearly every genre for over three decades, Sanders continues to make an impact in the musical world.
Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar are a dynamic, soulful, heartfelt singing duo with a gift for crafting wonderful songs and storytelling. They have been together touring and recording as a duo going on two decades.
Both Lisa and Karen are originally from the East Coast. Lisa was born in Philadelphia and Karen was born in Manhattan, New York. Both have been residing in San Diego, California for many years, where they have honed their craft starting in coffee houses and bars to big stages and opening and performing for many diverse major stars such as Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, B.B. King, Dixie Chicks, Sarah McLachlan, Mary Gauthier, and many more.
Lisa recently was inducted into the San Diego Music Hall of Fame. She is a multi-award-winning, long-time respected singer-songwriter in the arts community, touring and recording for over 30 years. Along with her partner—better known as Brown Sugar Karen Hayes—Karen, who by day, cares for young people with special needs as their nurse. In the afternoon and at night, she is Brown Sugar—a soulful, beautiful, harmonizing, expressive singer!
Lisa’s newest project is Daughters of the Rising Tide, a full-length album co-written and produced by JT Nero of the Birds of Chicago with a special guest appearance by Allison Russell. Daughters of the Rising Tide is slated to be released in 2023.
Lisa has just completed season two of the hit NBC/Peacock series, Babble Bop, contributing original songs for the children’s series. She has just been asked back for season three!
Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar are now touring the US with multiple shows with Steve Poltz. This year, they are sharing festival stages with Jim Lauderdale, Dan Bern, The Shook Twins, TK and the Know Nothings, Sunny War, and many more.
Sanders has worked with musical legends including the Truckee Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, B.B. King and Babyface. Sanders continues to write, produce, and collaborate with artists from all over. She currently resides in San Diego as the founder of Star Woodwork by Lisa. Star Woodwork by Lisa specializes in handcrafted wooden materials into beautiful objects, structures and garden pieces.
Lisa Sanders and Brown Sugar are sure to touch your heart and soul with their music, warm and infectious humor, and gift for the songwriting and performing craft. Catch them while you can!
JUSTIN FARREN
Saturday, April 1, 7:00PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
Justin Farren was born and raised in Sacramento, where he lives in a house built with his own two hands – or as he likes to refer to it, “a living museum of my own mistakes”. Justin’s twin brother is a yellow truck named Yellow. Two round trips from California to Alaska, infinite dead-end, soul-sucking jobs and god knows how many miles of touring have forged an unbreakable bond between the two that no number of blown transmissions could ever sever. A wiser man would have driven that piece of junk into the Sacramento River the first time the engine caught fire, but wisdom’s just another word for knowing how to quit and thanks to Justin, Yellow is going to run forever. Still, one gets the feeling that Justin’s songs might just outlast her.
Justin Farren writes multidimensional songs that are both enchanting and seemingly effortless. Songs that are uniquely personal but endlessly inventive and highly relatable. Songs filled with the kind of sudden twists and turns that you never see coming but will never forget. Rich Warren of Folk Stage Chicago said “Justin Farren is an incredibly original artist with a lot of verve and energy and a terrific guitarist. He will absolutely charm you with the strange humor and cleverness of his lyrics.”
“Justin Farren is the avatar of the age and the only true path to enlightenment,” says David Wilcox. “If you want to attain total self-realization, get to know Justin Farren… and maybe he’ll do you a favor and pull some strings with his cosmic connections”. In the last few years, he’s won a bevy of awards including the Kerrville New Folk Competition, Songwriter Serenade, and Wildflower. He’s shared the stage with David Wilcox, Anna Tivel, Sam Baker, Matt Costa, Pierce Pettis, and many other outstanding performers. He is way more likely to toilet paper a house now than he ever was as a kid.
Justin’s fourth full-length album, Pretty Free, was released on October 23rd, 2020. It’s a homespun masterpiece featuring 11 original songs crafted and recorded in a shed in Justin’s own backyard. The majority of the songs on the record have won awards In various songwriting competitions around the country, and the album features some of the finest musicians on the planet, Including Brian Chris Rogers, Anna Tivel and Andre Fylling among others.
The Sacramento News & Review described him as “a storyteller with an impeccable voice, a guitar and a head-full of funny, tender and engaging observation”. Justin says, “songwriting is a way of reminding myself what’s important.” He plays a cheap guitar, but everyone always asks him about his tone and how to get it. They don’t know that the sound they’re hearing is in his fingers. It’s in his playing – a combination of unboxed fluidity, unbridled creativity and muted space. The only way to get Justin Farren’s tone or to write songs like him is to be him. He can write a song about anything. Just watch.
RAMSEY ROBERSON
Sunday, April 2, 5:00PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
Eric Ramsey and Robby Roberson—award winning singer songwriters and multi-instrumentalists—team up as a powerful, eclectic American Music duo. Their performances feature original compositions and select cover tunes and are legendary for their scope and creativity. Both are winners of the Stephen George Memorial Songwriting Contest, Robby in 2013 and Eric in 2017.
Robby Roberson sings original musical stories steeped in reality and imagination, happiness and sorrow – delivered through the musical strings of multiple instruments, played skillfully and with passion.
Robby’s songwriting and his vocal style is evocative of an organic urban acoustic music vibe that is enhanced by diverse and dynamic rhythms and grooves. He uses the instrumentation as an equal, interconnected partner of his songs and not just for melodic accompaniment. His songwriting has not gone unnoticed across the valley and state – he is the winner of the Stefan George Memorial Songwriter Contest at the Tucson Folk Festival in 2013 and a finalist in the band contest at the Pickin in the Pines Music Festival. He has also performed in the prestigious Tempe Center for the Arts Songwriters Showcases III and VII.
Robby’s musical versatility makes it possible for him to be a solo act or to include other talented musician friends in a duo, trio or quartet setting.
Robby is a longtime Tempe resident, and has for years been a major force in the Valley music scene.
Eric Ramsey’s original compositions reflect his musical influences, but come from a place all their own. He writes from experience about the human condition – at times sensitive, at times humorous, always thought-provoking. His arrangements and delivery encompass a spectrum of styles, from delicate fingerpicking to raucous, bluesy bottleneck slide.
In 2022 Eric won the International Blues Challenge Solo/Duo Competition. He is also three-time champion of the Phoenix Blues Society’s Blues Showdown, winner of the Stefan George Memorial Songwriting Contest at the Tucson Folk Festival in 2017, and has performed in the prestigious Songwriter’s Showcase produced by Tempe Center for the Arts. He’s been a featured performer at the Prescott Center for the Arts, The Dripping Springs (TX) Songwriter’s Festival, the Flagstaff Folk Project, Superstition Blues Festival and many more.
Eric lives in the Phoenix area with his patient, long-suffering wife, three kids and dogs of indeterminate pedigree. He can often be found in the garage, where his family prefer he practice—especially the banjo…
MARIACHI NUEVO AZTECA DE TUCSON
Saturday, April 1, 12:00 PM
from the Tucson Folk Festival Plaza Stage!
Alumni from Mariachi Aztlan de Pueblo High School, Mariachi Nuevo Azteca de Tucson are some of the Old Pueblo’s best and brightest on the mariachi scene! They have recently played the Rialto Theatre with Mariachi Estrella Juvenil Inc. as part of their anniversary show, “Un Homenaje A Lose Grandes”, and regularly bring their ensemble to events throughout Southern Arizona. Now, they are gracing the Tucson Folk Festival’s Plaza Stage with their full-bodied, enlivening mariachi sound.