President’s Letter

Folknotes 09/26/24

Hello Everyone,

Here’s the latest QCB news:

  • Leo Coffeehouse, Sunday, September 29, 2024

  • Looking Ahead, Leo Coffeehouse, Sunday, October 6, 2024

  • Looking Further Ahead, Leo Coffeehouse, Sunday, October 13, 2024

  • Reference Information For New Subscribers (Below my sign off)

Leo Coffeehouse, September 29, 2024

5:15 PM: Riley School Musicians
(Kyle Meadows, who was originally scheduled to play the first set at Leo tonight, had to cancel due to illness. We wish him a quick recovery.)

Riley School musicians Amy Bogard, Tim Clarke, Doug Mast, Kate Riker and Kathy Schneider have stepped up to fill in for Kyle. They will sing, and accompany themselves, with pipes, flute, whistle, bodhrán, accordion, concertina and mandolin.

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: Kyle and Doug Meadows
Kyle Meadows has played multiple instruments throughout his life, recently enjoying the concertina. Doug began playing a drum set in his teens and learned to play bodhrán while performing with the Berea College Folk Ensemble. They have been making various forms of music together for many years, and now enjoy playing Irish traditional music together. (kylemeadows.com)

2nd Set: Dean Vamvas
Lead vocalist and creator of the band Seldom The Same which plays Americana music including folk, traditional roots, country, bluegrass and pop genres. Dean is music coordinator for the Northern Kentucky Unplugged Acoustic Society. Along with Seldom The Same, he plays music at monthly jams for Unplugged, Cincinnati Amateur Acoustic Musicians, farmers’ markets and other Cincinnati venues.

3rd Set: Two Blue
Jan Hunter and Ron Sachs are an acoustic duo who have been performing since the 1970’s featuring guitars and strong vocal harmonies. The material ranges from Gershwin to the Beatles to U2 and others, as well as originals.

Looking Ahead: Leo Coffeehouse, October 6, 2024

3:00 PM: 1st Sunday Rise Up Singing (New day and new time)
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.

5:15 PM: Workshop Led By The Bings: “Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco!” 
Explore the rich musical heritage of French-speaking south Louisiana. What is that wonderful secret ingredient that makes this music as unique as a bowl of hot gumbo?  Bring your instruments and voices and you'll find a song or two that you can add to your own repertoire. 

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: Mark & Nancy
Mark and Nancy have been singing together since they met in New Hampshire 45 years ago. Their music is inspired by their lives together, and they perform both covers of songs that mean a lot to them and original songs. They are best known for the effortless blend of their voices and their harmonies. 

2nd Set: Grey Dogs
Influenced by the Chicago/Brit invasion blues, traditional Irish music, classic country and American folk-rock bands like the Byrds, Bob Dylan and The Band. Lead singers Dave Gilligan, Mike Fair and Jay Sofanec cover a broad spectrum of American Music.

3rd Set:  Steve and Donna Bing 
The Bings are now based out of Houston Texas where their group is known as “The Laughing Lizards”.  Steve plays fiddle, cajun accordion, harmonica, tenor banjo and is an old-time dance caller!  Donna joins him on vocals and plays guitar, fiddle and banjo-uke. Expect some Appalachian old-time, Louisiana Cajun and Texas swing music. Visit their website

Looking Further Ahead:
Leo Coffeehouse, October 13, 2024

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.

Performances: 6:40-9:00 PM

1st Set: Dave Sanders
Folk singer who plays guitar with a unique finger and capo style. Dave’s songs range from 1930 to the 1970’s with a couple pieces from the 1600’s, each performed with his own unique treatment.

2nd Set:  Maurice Mattel
A singer-songwriter/photographer/artist whose music ranges from Americana/Alt Country to Rock&Roll, and Blues. He has glowing reviews both nationally and internationally.  Maurice, along with his band the Tempers, have performed countless shows and were recently featured on PBS "Song of the Mountains". Maurice's current release -"JUNGALINGLE" - is available via Bandcamp. www.mmattei.com

3rd Set: Don Broerman & Michael Ronstadt
Michael G. Ronstadt who has appeared on more than 200 albums in the last 20 years and traversed a wide range of musical styles from singer-songwriter, folk, jazz, classical, Americana to new age, comes together with Donald Broerman whose original classical and classical crossover compositions have reached listeners in 73 countries and 5 continents.

That’s all for this Folknotes, I hope to see you soon.

Neil Harrell
President, Queen City Balladeers/Leo Coffeehouse

Facebook:

Main page

QCB SongFarmers page

QCB Members Group page

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.