President’s Letter
Folknotes 01/30/25
Hello Everyone,
Here is the latest QCB news.
New Workshops This Sunday
Leo Coffeehouse, Sunday, February 2, 2025
Looking Ahead: Leo Coffeehouse, Sunday, February 9, 2025
WoodSongs Hurricane Helene Instrument Drive
Reference Information For New Subscribers (Below my sign off)
New Workshops This Sunday
I want to highlight two workshops that will be held at Leo this Sunday. The first one is brand new: Back to Basics from 4:15 to 5:15 PM. The second one has been held one time before, but I didn’t highlight it: Patriots and Protesters led by John Fonner from 5:15-6:30 PM. See below for more on these workshops.
Leo Coffeehouse
Sunday, February 2, 2025
3:00 PM: 1st Sunday Rise Up Singing
Tell all your friends and bring the kids! Everyone picks songs from Rise Up Singing and Rise Again song books which are available to purchase or to use in the circle. The incredible Al Wauligman will lead us on the piano.
Back to Basics Workshop
Introducing another opportunity to play and sing. “Back to Basics Circle” is for anyone who wants to refine their technique, and share their experience with others. Newcomers are encouraged to come. Easy chords and transitions…. plus easy tempo and strumming are the focus of this group.
Please join Isaiah Tam, Alana Johnson and Bob Schrock in the Green Room (the 1st floor conference room) on the first Sunday of the month at 4:15-5:15pm.
5:15 PM: Patriots and Protesters led by John Fonner
Let’s unite and heal our communities through song! Protest songs point to injustice and challenge us to make things better. Patriotic songs celebrate the best in our communities and draw us together. We’ll create a list of 10-15 songs to practice together so that any of us can lead a group of others. (Upstairs in the big room.)
5:15 PM: Open Jam
Anyone can bring songs to lead in the circle while others provide backup and harmony.
Performances 6:40-9:00 PM
1st Set: Dave Gilligan
Dave Gilligan was once described by a colleague as, "The guy my mother warned me about.” Why? Perhaps his annual solo set will provide an answer; perhaps not.
2nd Set: Stick & Bindle
A Cincinnati area folk duo made up of Steve Covington and Anne Bangert. They bring their rootsy, multi-instrumental tunes and traditional tributes to the alt-country/Americana scene. Their debut album, Lore and Laments, is now available on all streaming platforms and in vinyl.
3rd Set: Back Porch Hounds
The Back Porch Hounds play a roots music mix of country blues, old style jazz, Celtic, old-time and bluegrass. It’s mostly old, obscure music with a modern edge, plus some originals. If they look like a bluegrass band from a distance, it’s because they love tapping into the many roots, and instrumentation, of traditional music. The hounds include: Frank Fitch, Dennis Henderson, Fred Hautau, and Dale Farmer.
Looking Ahead: Leo Coffeehouse
Sunday, February 9, 2025
5:15 PM: Songwriters Collaborative
Come and share your songs with other songwriters for encouragement and friendly critiques.
5:15 PM: Open Jam
Anyone can bring songs to lead in the circle while others provide backup and harmony
6:30 PM: All Evening Open Mic
Sign up at 6:00 PM to perform 1 -2 songs. 8 minute limit.
Sound system will be set up.
WoodSongs Hurricane Helene Instrument Drive
Now along with dropping them off at Leo Coffeehouse on Sunday nights (see Neil Harrell or Janice Alvarado), anyone can drop playable, good condition instruments off at area music stores, including Willis Music stores and Buddy Roger’s. For more information and a list of stores accepting instruments for the WoodSongs Hurricane Helene instrument drive, go here.
New: Instruments will be collected through January. All donated instruments will be delivered to Lexington. WoodSong volunteers will then deliver them, along with donated instruments from other areas, to Tennessee and North Carolina musicians.
From the WoodSongs website:
“The area around Asheville NC and east Tennessee is rich with musical heritage. With your help, WoodSongs will collect and deliver over 1000 FREE instruments to the musicians of the mountains who lost everything in the storms and help restore the music of the front porches of Western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.
“We were very successful organizing instrument drives for tornado victims in western Kentucky and again for the flood victims of the mountains. Nearly 2000 instruments were collected, restored and delivered absolutely FREE to the musicians who needed them.”
That’s all for this Folknotes, I hope to see you soon.
Neil Harrell
President, Queen City Balladeers/Leo Coffeehouse
Facebook:
QCB/Leo Coffeehouse Membership
We are keeping our standard annual QCB membership dues at $20.00 for a family, or for a single person plus a guest. Last year, knowing that the pandemic cut into our contingency funds, as we continued to pay overhead expenses with no income, some members donated larger amounts to QCB. We very much appreciate the support of all QCB members at all levels.
We are exploring setting up our website to allow the payment of different levels of dues support. For now, if you’d like to pay the standard dues, you can pay them online here or by a check at Leo. (We’ve discontinued our P.O. Box, I will have a mailing address in the next newsletter for those who wish to mail their membership dues.)
If you would like to donate more than the $20.00 standard dues, you can do so by check, or through our website. When you get to the page with the box to relay instructions, just note that you are paying a larger amount for your dues.
For visitors who prefer not to become a member, a donation of $5.00 (cash) per person helps us pay the rent for our non-profit organization. Donations can be slipped in the box at the welcome table outside our performance room, Founders Hall. If you can’t afford that, pay what you can afford or nothing at all. We will welcome you to join us either way.