Sunday Street – AcousticMusicScene.com

Remembering Ian Tyson, 1933-2022

Michael Kornfeld — Sat, 07 Jan 2023 16:48:05 +0000

Ian Tyson

Ian Tyson, an influential Canadian troubadour best known for having penned the hit songs “Four Strong Winds” and “Someday Soon” as half of the internationally acclaimed folk duo Ian & Sylvia, died on December 29, 2022 at his ranch in southern Alberta at age 89. Folk DJ Charlie Backfish will pay tribute to him and his music during a special edition of his long-running weekly radio show Sunday Street that airs January 8 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET on WUSB 90.1 FM on Long Island, NY and online at wusb.fm or https://tunein.com/radio/WUSB-901-s2324/.

Born to British immigrants in Victoria, British Columbia on September 25, 1933, Tyson grew up in Duncan, BC. He was a rough-stock rodeo rider in his late teens and early 20s and took up the guitar as “the means by which to pass the time” during a two-week hospital stay while recovering from a shattered ankle — an injury he sustained in a bad fall while competing in the Dog Pound Rodeo in Alberta.

Tyson hitchhiked from Vancouver to Toronto in 1958 after graduating from the Vancouver School of Art and became part of the city’s nascent folk scene centered around the coffee houses of its bohemian Yorkville neighborhood. There he met a young singer named Sylvia Fricker, who would become his musical and life partner for a while. They moved to New York, where noted manager Albert Grossman (Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary, Pozo Seco Singers, etc.) signed Ian & Sylvia to Vanguard Records and they became an important part of the early 1960s folk revival.

The duo released its eponymously titled debut album in 1962 before getting hitched two years later. They would go on to record and release nearly a dozen albums. Although Ian and Sylvia’s 1964 sophomore release, Four Strong Winds, featured primarily covers of songs by others, its original title track became one of Canada’s best-loved songs and, along with “Someday Soon” and Sylvia’s “You Were on My Mind,” has been covered by numerous other artists — a number of whom will be featured on Sunday Street.

Here’s a link to view a video of Ian and Sylvia performing Four Strong Winds for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3m7ckGhnsc

As the folk boom began to wane later in the 1960s, spurred in part by the British Invasion, Ian & Sylvia moved to Nashville and began incorporating elements of country and rock into their music. They formed the band Great Speckled Bird in 1969 and becoming pioneers of country-rock, along with the Byrds and others.

After hosting a national Canadian television music show from 1970 to 1975, Tyson realized his dream of returning to the Canadian West. His marriage to Sylvia had ended in divorce in 1975 and Tyson, disillusioned with the Canadian country music scene, opted to return to his first love – training horses in the ranch country of southern Alberta.

Tyson Turns to Cowboy Songs and Western Music

His songwriting was greatly affected by his change in lifestyle – most notably on his third solo album, 1983’s Old Corrals & Sagebrush, comprised solely of traditional and new cowboy songs that he recorded after spending three idyllic years cowboying in the Rockies at Pincher Creek. Although Tyson didn’t know it at the time, a cowboy renaissance was about to find expression at the first Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering that year in a small cow town in northern Nevada. Invited to perform his ‘new western music” at it, Tyson was a regular attendee at the gatherings for more than 30 years. Tyson’s 1987 album Cowboyography also helped to re-launch his touring career across Canada and the U.S.

Tyson seriously damaged his voice following a particularly tough performance at an outdoor country music festival in 2006. “I fought the sound system and I lost,” he said afterwards. With a virus that took months to pass, his smooth voice was now hoarse, grainy, and had lost much of its resonant bottom end. After briefly entertaining thoughts that he would never sing again, he began relearning and reworking his songs to accommodate his ‘new voice.’ To his surprise, audiences now paid rapt attention as he half-spoke, half-sung familiar words, which seemed to reveal new depths for his listeners, according to publicist Eric Alper. Although a heart attack, followed by open heart surgery in 2015, further damaged his voice, Tyson continued to release music well into his senior years – including the 2015 album Carnero Vaquero and his last single, “You Should Have Known.” Released in September 2017 on Stony Plains Records, the Canadian label on which he released 15 albums since the 1980s, that song unapologetically celebrates the hard living, hard drinking, hard loving cowboy life.

Tyson was a Much-Honored Artist During His Lifetime

Tyson earned numerous awards and accolades over the years. A Juno Award recipient for country male vocalist of the year in 1987 and a Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer since 1989, Tyson was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame – along with his former wife and singing partner, Sylvia, three years later. He became a member of the Order of Canada in 1994, received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2003, and was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2006. ASCAP paid tribute to him during the 20th annual Folk Alliance International Conference in 2008, while he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019.

January 7 Sunday Street Tribute to Ian Tyson will Feature Music, Stories and Reflections

On the January 7 edition of Sunday Street, Backfish will explore Tyson’s wide-ranging career. He’ll share some recently-recorded reflections from Tom Russell, a widely acclaimed folk and Americana singer-songwriter, painter and essayist who co-wrote may songs with Tyson and recorded Play One More: The Songs of Ian and Sylvia (2017), featuring some of the duo’s lesser-known songs.

A Tom Russell painting of his longtime friend, mentor and musical collaborator Ian Tyson.
“It’s hard to come forth with words about the passing of Ian Tyson, wrote Russell in a Facebook post shortly after he died. “My friend and mentor for so many years. He was the best man at our wedding in Elko. We co-wrote at least 10 songs including Navajo Rug [the 1986 Canadian country song of the year], Claude Dallas, Rose of San Joaquin, When The Wolves No Longer Sing, and Ross Knox. We had a good talk a little while ago. My thoughts go back to many great memories of co-writing songs in a cabin in the Rockies. It’s a sad day. He’ll be with me forever.”

Here are links to view videos of Russell and Tyson performing Tyson’s classic “Summer Wages” and their co-write “Navajo Rug” in Calgary in 2019:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4Rk-E_spoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlbCQ_DjdE

The three-hour radio show will also feature stories and observations from Tyson himself, Sylvia Tyson, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, interspersed with music. “Many of Tyson’s songs, as well as his vocals on the songs of others will be part of the three-hour program, according to Backfish. Besides Tyson himself, Ian and Sylvia, The Great Speckled Bird, and Tom Russell, listeners will hear from Neil Young (who covered “Four Strong Winds” on his 1978 album Comes A Time), Gordon Lightfoot (who Ian and Sylvia mentored and whose song “Early Morning Rain” was the title track of their 1965 release), Greg Brown and Bill Morrissey, Lucy Kaplansky, Fourtold, Gretchen Peters, James Keelaghan and Jez Lowe, Marianne Faithfull, Cindy Church, Corb Lund (an Alberta-based Canadian country artist with whom Tyson performed a series of concerts in 2018 and who told CBC News in a 2019 interview “He’s kind of our Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash or Leonard Cohen. He’s a guy who’s most embodied the region in art, musically at least.”), Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, The McDades, Michael Martin Murphey, and Bob Dylan (who recorded Tyson’s song “One Single River,” along with the Band, in Woodstock, New York, in 1967).

Long Island AcoustiCalendar for January-Early February 2010

Michael Kornfeld — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:25:22 +0000

Compiled by Michael Kornfeld

Detailed listings for more than 120 concerts, open mics, jam sessions, workshops and other musical happenings slated to take place during January and early February in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk appear in this installment of AcousticMusicScene.com’s Long Island AcoustiCalendar.

Friday, 1/1

Happy New Year!

Saturday, 1/2

Folk Music Society of Huntington’s Annual Members Showcase Concert features Maria Fairchild, Anna Dagmar, Ed Mocko, Denise Romas, David Waxman, Jonathan Bodian, David Bailey, Andy Romanoff, Jesse Oelbaum and Maria DelaCruz, at The Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (just off 25A at the Welcome to Centerport sign), Centerport. (www.fmshny.org). 631-425-2925. 7:30 p.m. $15; $12 for members.

Sunday, 1/3

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn. 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Sunday Night Sinner’s Club, featuring folk and country music, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m. to midnight.

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarist plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation

Monday, 1/4

Island Songwriters Showcase monthly workshop at Five Town College (Room 217), Burr’s Lane, Dix Hills. (www.islandsongwriters.org). 8-11 p.m. Sign-up at 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic, The Village Lanterne, 143 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst. 631-225-1690. Sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic, hosted by Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m.; sign-up at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, 1/5

Live Mic, hosted by Rocky Divello and streaming live online, Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. (www.marthaclaravineyards.com). 7 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/6

Acoustic Long Island series of monthly concert podcasts features the duo Newland & Miller and Amy Ragan at the historic Deepwells Mansion, Route 25A, just west of the Moriches Road intersection, St. James. (www.acousticlongisland.com). 8-10 p.m. Free.

Vanessa Boyd, world trance Americana music, Spike Hill, 184-186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 11 p.m.

Stephanie Carlin brings her bluesy folk-jazz stylings to the Babylon Green Gathering at Pisces Cafe, 14A Railroad Avenue, Babylon. 631-321-1231. No cover.

Folk Open Sing, sponsored by the Good Coffeehouse and the Pinewoods –Folk Music Society of New York, Ethical Cultural Society building (basement), 53 Prospect Park West (near 2nd Street), Park Slope, Brooklyn. For information, call Alison Kelley, 718-636-6341.

Long Island Fingerstyle Guitar Club Open Mic, Westbury Friends Meeting House, 550 Post Avenue, Westbury. (www.lifgc.com). 8-10 p.m. Free for members; $10 suggested donation for others.

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m.

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, 1/7

Robert Bruey, a North Fork-based songwriter, earthy and soulful vocalist and deft & spare fingerstyle guitarist, whose music is honest and real, raw and meaningful, gritty and naturalistic, performs at O’s Food and Wine Bar, 552 North Country Road, St. James. 631-584-4600. 6-10 p.m.

Crooked Still plays Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn. (www.spsounds.com). 718-236-0236. 9 p.m. (doors at 8). $15 in advance; $17 at the door.

Old Time Jam with Zot’s Dream (jug music featuring banjos, washboard, washtub bass, tin-can drums, etc), Freddy’s Back Room, 485 Dean Street at Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. to midnight.

Friday, 1/8

2010 Banjo Roots Festival showcases varied styles of banjo music – Gil Sayre shares traditional banjo songs and tunes from West Virginia (8 p.m.), Emma Graves (9 p.m.), Cynthia Sayer Duo(9:30 p.m.), and local string band The Dust Busters (10:30 p.m.) — Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214.

De Temps Antan perform roots music from Quebec at Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 10 p.m.

Caleb Hawley and Reed Waddle, two up-and-coming artists, perform for the Grounds and Sounds Café at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook, 380 Nicols Road (just north of Route 347), Setauket. (www.groundsandsounds.uufsb.org). 8 p.m. open mic precedes concert at 8:45 p.m. $12.50.

Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen, a talented husband and wife folk duo, perform for the Garden Stage at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau, 223 Stewart Avenue (corner of Nassau Boulevard), Garden City (www.gardenstage.com). 516-248-8855. Open mic at 7:30 p.m. precedes concert at 8:30 p.m. $15 in advance; $17 at the door.

Saturday, 1/9

Asylum Street Spankers, the talented and wacky, genre-defying group from Austin, Texas, plays The Bell House, 149 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), Gowanus section of Park Slope, Brooklyn. 718-643-6510. 7 p.m. NYC’s own The Wiyos open.

The Eclectic Café presents East River String Band (a NYC-based ensemble who play pre-war favorites with guitars, banjos, ukuleles, fiddles, mandolin, harmonicas, kazoos and more) and Joe Stone (a gifted Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who also is part of Joe Iadanza’s Beautiful Band) at the Unitarian Universalist Society of South Suffolk, 28 Brentwood Road, Bay Shore. (www.eclecticcafe.org). 631-661-1278. 8:30 p.m. concert is preceded by an open mic at 7:30 p.m. $10; $8 for members.

Open Mic, Sonoma Coffee Café, 601 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge. 7 p.m.

Katie Pearlman Trio performs for the Homegrown Music Café at St. Gerard Majella Church, 300 Terryville Road (just south of Route 347), Port Jefferson Station. Also performing will be Robert Bruey, Patrick Berlinquette and Jeff Jacobs. (www.homegrowncafe.com). 8 p.m. $10.

2010 Banjo Roots Festival continues at the Jalopy Theatre, showcasing varied styles of banjo music – Gil Sayre (8 p.m.), Allison Williams and Her Band (9 p.m.), and an Old-Time Square Dance (10:30 p.m.). 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214.

Sunday, 1/10

2010 Banjo Roots Festival showcases varied styles of banjo music – afternoon workshops are followed by evening performances beginning at 7 p.m. — Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214.

Folk Jam & Sing-Along sponsored by the Folk Music Society of Huntington, a monthly gathering for mostly amateur musicians and those who love to sing, during which everyone joins in on songs primarily from the book “Rise Up Singing,” Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street, Huntington. 1-4:30 p.m. Free.

Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade, named Outstanding Folk Artist of the Year in the 2008 Boston Music Awards, play during Sunday brunch at Superfine, 126 Front Street (between Adams and Jay Streets) in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn. 12-2 p.m.

Pat Wictor and Harry Manx, two top-notch roots and blues artists, share a bill and celebrate the release of new CDs as part of the Sunday Street Acoustic Concert Series at the University Café in the Student Union Building at Stony Brook University. 631-632-1093. (www.universitycafe.com). 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 online until Jan. 7; $25 at the door if available.

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn. 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Sunday Night Sinner’s Club, featuring folk and country music, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m. to midnight.

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarist plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Monday, 1/11

“Music from the Hive” singer-songwriter series, Mirelle’s Restaurant, 170 Post Avenue. Westbury. 8 p.m.

Open Mic, The Village Lanterne, 143 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst. 631-225-1690. Sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic, hosted by Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m.; sign-up at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, 1/12

Live Mic, hosted by Rocky Divello and streaming live online, Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. (www.marthaclaravineyards.com). 7 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/13

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m.

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, 1/14

Babylon Village Arts Council Second Thursdays Concert Series at Astoria Federal Savings Bank, 180 West Main Street, Babylon. (www.babylonvillagearts.org). 7:30 p.m. Free.

Green Palate Open Mic Night, an evening of music and poetry with a featured performance by banjo player-singer Maria Fairchild plus an open mic, Cold Spring Harbor Public Library, Main Street (Route 25A), Cold Spring Harbor. 7-9:30 p.m.; performer sign-up at 6:30 p.m. $5 admission includes healthy snacks.

An Acoustic Evening with David Hidalgo and Louis Perez of Los Lobos at the YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. (www.boultoncenter.org). 631-969-1101. 8 p.m. $65; $60 for members.

Hokums Heroes play the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 10:30 p.m. $10 cover.

Old Time Jam with Zot’s Dream (jug music featuring banjos, washboard, washtub bass, tin-can drums, etc), Freddy’s Back Room, 485 Dean Street at Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. to midnight.

Over a Cardboard Sea, eight-piece nostalgia act from Maine, at the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9 p.m. $10 cover.

Friday, 1/15

Robert Bruey, a North Fork-based songwriter, earthy and soulful vocalist and deft & spare fingerstyle guitarist, whose music is honest and real, raw and meaningful, gritty and naturalistic, performs at O’s Food and Wine Bar, 552 North Country Road, St. James. 631-584-4600. 6-10 p.m.

Bill Carney’s Jug Addicts present a raucous blend of jug band, old time, Tin Pan Alley, early jazz and blues at Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 10 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Miller’s Crossing, LI-based bluegrass band, performs for the HPL Cafe at the Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street, Huntington. 7:30 p.m. Free.

Bill Staines, the talented traveling troubadour, makes his annual visit to the Our Times Coffeehouse at the Ethical Culture Society building d Country Road in Garden City. (www.ourtimescoffeehouse.com). 8 p.m. $15.

Third Annual Tribute to John Hartford features The Steam Powered Water Train Boys at the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 8 p.m.

Saturday, 1/16

Brooklyn County Fair featuring the varied country and bluegrass music sounds of Rooftops, Uncle Monk, The Newton Gang, Blue Harvest and Citgrass at the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 8 p.m. – 1 a.m.

Folk Music Society of Huntington’s Hard Luck Café series presents its annual Open Mic Night at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (just off 25A at the Welcome to Centerport sign), Centerport. (www.fmshny.org). 631-425-2925. 7:30 p.m. $10; $7 for members.

Open Mic, Sonoma Coffee Café, 601 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge. 7 p.m.

Saturday Night Jam, Sunny’s, 253 Conover Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn. 8 p.m.

The Second Waltz, a benefit for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society featuring performances by Robert Bruey, Jessie Haynes, Jack’s Waterfall, Miles to Dayton and Damaged Goods, takes place at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, 18 Peconic Avenue, Riverhead. (www.vail-leavitt.org). 631-727-5782. 8 p.m. $25 and $30.

Steep Canyon Rangers play the Shelter Island School Auditorium, Route 114, Shelter Island. 631-749-0978. 8 p.m. $20-$25.

Treasures from the National Folk Archive Workshop by Joe Hickerson at the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 2 p.m. $25.

Suzanne Vega performs songs from her forthcoming CD and some of her classics as part of the Fabulous Folk Series, hosted by WFUV’s John Platt, at The Landmark on Main Street’s Jeanne Rimsky Theater, 232 Main Street, Port Washington. (www.landmarkonmainstreet.org). 516-767-6444. 8 p.m. $35-$45.

Sunday, 1/17

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn. 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Talented LI-based artists Denise Romas and Patrick O’Rourke swap songs for an hour, followed by an acoustic open jam, at the BACCA Cultural Center, 149 N. Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst. 1-5 p.m. Free.

Sunday Night Sinner’s Club, featuring folk and country music, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m.- midnight.

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarist plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Monday, 1/18

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange: Rebecca Pronsky hosts an in-the-round session with Jason Myles Goss and Annie Crane, followed by The Bowmans, at Union Hall, 702 Union Street at 5th Avenue, Park Slope. (www.brooklynsongwritersexchange.com). 718-638-4400. 8 p.m. Free.

Open Mic, The Village Lanterne, 143 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst. 631-225-1690. Sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic, hosted by Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m.; sign-up at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, 1/19

Live Mic, hosted by Rocky Divello and streaming live online, Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. (www.marthaclaravineyards.com). 7 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/20

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m.

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, 1/21

Acoustic Open Mic, hosted by Joe Vicino, Toomey’s Tavern, 251 South Ketcham Avenue, Amityville. 8 p.m. 631-264-0564.

Old Time Jam with Zot’s Dream (jug music featuring banjos, washboard, washtub bass, tin-can drums, etc), Freddy’s Back Room, 485 Dean Street at Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. to midnight.

Original Voices at the Vail, a monthly songwriters showcase hosted by Jessie Haynes with featured performers (The Mondays CD release party) and an open mic, Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, 18 Peconic Avenue, Riverhead. (www.vail-leavitt.org). 631-727-5782. 7:30-10:30 p.m. (doors open and open mic sign-up at 7 p.m.). $5.

Vetiver, a folk band, plays The Bell House, 149 7th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues), Gowanus section of Park Slope, Brooklyn. 718-643-6510.

Friday, 1/22

Paul Geremia, an acclaimed country blues fingerpicker, plays the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9 p.m. $10 cover.

Saturday, 1/23

Clogging and Old-Time Dance Workshop with Kristen Adreassen at the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 2 p.m.

The Calamity James, a local old-timey girl band, plays the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 10:30 p.m. $10 cover.

An evening of roots rock with Justin Townes Earle and Carrie Rodriguez at The Landmark on Main Street’s Jeanne Rimsky Theater, 232 Main Street, Port Washington. (www.landmarkonmainstreet.org). 516-767-6444. 8 p.m.

The Kennedys, a gifted and sparkling husband and wife folk-pop duo, perform as part of the First Acoustics series (singer-songwriter Patrick Fitzsimmons opens) at the First Unitarian Congregational Society, 50 Monroe Place (at Pierrepont Street), Brooklyn Heights. (www.firstacoustics.org). 718-288-5994. 8 p.m. $30.

Lucky 13, touring LI-based trio featuring Marci Geller, Cathy Kreger and Susan DeVita, perform for the Last Licks Café at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, 109 Browns Road, Huntington. (www.lastlickscafe.com). 631-427-9597. 7:30 open mic precedes concert at 8:30 p.m. $15.

Open Mic, Sonoma Coffee Café, 601 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge. 7 p.m.

Saturday Night Jam, Sunny’s, 253 Conover Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn. 8 p.m.

Sunday, 1/24

Robert Bruey, a North Fork-based songwriter, earthy and soulful vocalist and deft & spare fingerstyle guitarist, whose music is honest and real, raw and meaningful, gritty and naturalistic, performs at O’s Food and Wine Bar, 552 North Country Road, St. James. 631-584-4600. 6-10 p.m.

Django A Go Go 2010, a massive jam session featuring French virtuoso guitarist Stephane Wrembel and more, celebrates 100 years of Django Reinhardt, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 7 p.m.

The Kennedys, a gifted and sparkling husband and wife folk-pop duo who inaugurated the Sunday Street Acoustic Concert Series five years ago, return to the University Café in the Student Union Building at Stony Brook University. 631-632-1093. (www.universitycafe.com). 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 online until Jan. 21; $25 at the door if available.

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn. 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Sunday Night Sinner’s Club, featuring folk and country music, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m. to midnight.

Monday, 1/25

Open Mic, The Village Lanterne, 143 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst. 631-225-1690. Sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic, hosted by Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m.; sign-up at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, 1/26

Live Mic, hosted by Rocky Divello and streaming live online, Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. (www.marthaclaravineyards.com). 7 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/27

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m.

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, 1/28

Acoustic Open Mic, hosted by Joe Vicino, Toomey’s Tavern, 251 South Ketcham Avenue, Amityville. 8 p.m. 631-264-0564.

Robert Bruey, a North Fork-based songwriter, earthy and soulful vocalist and deft & spare fingerstyle guitarist, whose music is honest and real, raw and meaningful, gritty and naturalistic, performs at O’s Food and Wine Bar, 552 North Country Road, St. James. 631-584-4600. 6-10 p.m.

Ken Korb and Friends play the Grey Horse Tavern, 291 Bayport Avenue, Bayport.

Old Time Jam with Zot’s Dream (jug music featuring banjos, washboard, washtub bass, tin-can drums, etc), Freddy’s Back Room, 485 Dean Street at Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. to midnight.

Friday, 1/29

The Felice Brothers play the YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. (www.boultoncenter.org). 631-969-1101. 8 p.m. $22.50; $17.50 for members. Sold Out.

M Shanghai String Band plays the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9 p.m. $10 cover.

The Ukuladies play the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 10:30 p.m. $10 cover.

Saturday, 1/30

Howard Fishman draws from folk and jazz sources in creating his own unique musical stylings, which he performs tonight at Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 10 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Open Mic Night at Soul Growth, 50 West Montauk Highway, Lindenhurst. 631-957-4692. 8 p.m.

People’s Music Network Winter Gathering features workshops, song swaps, an open round-robin concert, Songs of the Spirit presentations, informal singing and jamming, plenty of opportunities for networking, and more on Saturday and Sunday. Renaissance Charter School, 35-59 81st Street, Jackson Heights, Queens. (www.pmnnyc.home.att.net). 718-786-1533. $140 registration for the weekend includes meals and Friday night concert in Manhattan celebrating the People’s Voice Cafe’s 30th anniversary with Emma’s Revolution and others.

Denise Romas, a performer whose beautiful voice and guitar accompaniment bring a special sound to well-known songs and to her own well-written and often poignant originals, performs at Long Island’s Best Desserts, Chandler Square, 104 Main Street, Port Jefferson. 631-403-4316. 7-10 p.m.

Sunday, 1/31

People’s Music Network Winter Gathering in Jackson Heights, Queens (see Saturday 1/30 listing).

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn. 4:30-7:30 p.m.

Sunday Night Sinner’s Club, featuring folk and country music, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m. – midnight.

The Sweetback Sisters play the Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9:30 p.m. $10 cover.

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarist plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Monday, 2/1

Island Songwriters Showcase monthly workshop at Five Town College (Room 217), Burr’s Lane, Dix Hills. (www.islandsongwriters.org). 8-11 p.m. Sign-up at 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic, The Village Lanterne, 143 North Wellwood Avenue, Lindenhurst. 631-225-1690. Sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m.

Open Mic, hosted by Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m.; sign-up at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, 2/2

Live Mic, hosted by Rocky Divello and streaming live online, Martha Clara Vineyards, 6025 Sound Avenue, Riverhead. (www.marthaclaravineyards.com). 7 p.m.

Wednesday, 2/3

Acoustic Long Island features artist TBA, Deepwells Mansion, Route 25A (just west of Moriches Road intersection), St. James. (www.acousticlongisland.com). 8-10 p.m. Free.

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn. 718-218-9737. 7 p.m.

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy Theatre, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 718-375-3214. 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, 2/4

Gathering Time (folk-rock harmony trio featuring Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus and Hillary Foxsong) and Six Gun (veteran LI country artists), perform as part of the Live in the Lobby series at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, 71 East Main Street, Patchogue. (www.patchoguetheater.com). 631-207-1313. 7:30 p.m. $10.

Old Time Jam with Zot’s Dream (jug music featuring banjos, washboard, washtub bass, tin-can drums, etc), Freddy’s Back Room, 485 Dean Street at Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. to midnight.

Friday, 2/5

Jonathan “Sunshine” Edwards performs at the YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. (www.boultoncenter.org). 631-969-1101. 8 p.m. $35; $30 for members.

Gathering Time, folk-rock harmony trio featuring Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus and Hillary Foxsong, return to The Garden Stage at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau, 223 Stewart Avenue, Garden City. 516-248-8855. 8 p.m. $15.

Island Songwriters Showcase at Border’s, Jericho Turnpike (Route 25), Syosset. 8 p.m. Those wishing to perform must sign-up with Vinny Crici at 7:30 p.m. (www.islandsongwriters.org).

Martyn Joseph, a singer-songwriter from Wales, performs for the Finch Mountain House Concert Series in Babylon. 631-661-1278. 7 p.m. potluck supper precedes 8 p.m. show. $20 suggested donation for the artist. Reservations required.

David Laibman and Norman Savitt, acoustic guitarists, share a bill for The Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture building, 53 Prospect Park West at 2nd Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn. (www.bsec.org). 718-768-2972. $10.

Peacesmiths’ Topical, A-typical, Folk Music, Poetry & Whatever Coffeehouse, First United Methodist Church, 25 Broadway (southern end of Route 110), Amityville. 631-798-0778. 8 p.m. $7 suggested donation includes refreshments.

Saturday, 2/6

Beaucoup Blue, a gifted father and son blues and roots duo from Philadelphia, play the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s First Saturdays Series at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (just off 25A at the Welcome to Centerport sign), Centerport. (www.fmshny.org). 631-425-2925. 7:30 p.m. open mic (sign-up at 7) precedes concert at 8:30 p.m. $20; $15 for members.