Fiddle Club of the World

Dan Gellert opens a new Fiddle Club season

It’s a go. Fiddlers of all stripes, banjoists and all old-time music lovers should not miss this opportunity to sit up close to listen to Dan and play a few tunes. Some tunes for the jam session will be posted later this week.

March 28 (Sat) 8:00
Dan Gellert
Old-Time doesn’t get any better than this!
Leadway Bar and Gallery (5233 N. Damen)

(click to enlarge)

Sugar in the Gourd

From “Roustabout,” an LP documenting the 1976 Indiana Fiddlers Gathering (aka Battle Ground)

Black-Eyed Susie

From the 2006 Midwest Banjo Camp, with bones by Clif Ervin!

Follow this link to Dan’s website for more audio samples from his incredible new CD, “Waitin’ on the Break of Day.” You can buy it there, too.

To register, go here. Or you can browse through all the workshop listings at oldtownschool.org.

Filed under: Meeting Schedule by Paul | March 17, 2009 | Comments (0)

Guest Artists for Fall 2008

Meetings held in varied locations. Check schedule below.

October 4 (Sat) 2:00
Frank Ferrel
Wicked Good Yankee Fiddling
Chief O’Neill’s Pub (3471 N. Elston)
Real New England fiddling, to be served up aplenty by Frank Ferrel, is a spicy stew of Irish, Acadian and Cape Breton Scottish blended with Yankee ingenuity. It’s hot and wicked good to dance to. Mr. Ferrel, who currently hails from Maine, was first inspired by the fiddling of his grandfather, a resident of West Virginia and Ohio. Then, while stationed in Boston shipyards in the 1960s, he fell under the sway of the Irish, Acadian and Canadian Maritime fiddlers who frequented the dance halls on Dudley Street.
or
Frank Ferrel will present a mini-concert and workshop on fiddling for contra dancing. Participants will be invited to join the band for one dance that evening at the Midway Contra in Ida Noyes Hall at the University of Chicago.
or

Click here to register for October 4 meeting.

(click for another view)
or

To hear some Frank Ferrel tunes.

(click for another view)
or

To hear some Alan Jabbour tunes.

To hear some Ken Perlman tunes.

or
October 29 (Wed) 8:00
Alan Jabbour & Ken Perlman
Fiddle-Banjo Summit
Paddy O’Splaines (2434 W Montrose)
Alan Jabbour learned many of the tunes we play today directly from Henry Reed, the Hammons Family and others masters of a generation that has passed on. Ken Perlman provides a solid and spirited second on clawhammer banjo. Banjoists (and other instrumentalists) are always welcome at Fiddle Club meetings, but this time, there will be something especially for you. Mr. Jabbour, now retired, was the longtime director of the Center for American Folklife at the Library of Congress.
or
or
Click here to register for October 29 meeting.
Note: if you register for Old Time Ensemble on Wednesdays next session (starts that night), you are automatically registered for Fiddle Club of the World meeting.

or
or
November 30 (Sun) 6:30
Karen Solgard
The Enchanting Sound of Norse Fiddle
Leadway Bar and Gallery (5233 N. Damen)
The Hardanger fiddler or hardingfele, the national instrument of Norway, is a richly decorated fiddle with four extra strings running beneath the fingerboard. They vibrate sympathetically along with the bowed strings and give a haunting depth to the fingered melodies. These enchanting and ancient tunes can also be played on a standard fiddle. Karen Torkelson Solgård is a fiddler, sinter and story-teller whose personal mission is teach American audience about the national music of her forebearers. Ms. Solgard comes to us from Minneapolis.
or

To hear some Norwegian tunes from Karen Solgard.
(coming soon)

Click here to register for the November 30 meeting.

(click for another view)

(click to enlarge)

Filed under: Meeting Schedule by Paul | September 11, 2008 | Comments (0)

Just Added, a July Meeting

Our featured guest artist is Felipe Valle, “El Huracán Huasteco,” in town for July from Mexico City. Felipe is a young master of Son Huasteco, a regional style of folk music from the area north of Veracruz. The favored rhythm of Son Huasteco, called ‘huapango,’ is well-suited for zapateado, (Mexican step-dancing or clogging). Son Huasteco features virtuosic and flamboyant fiddling, alternating with improvised vocals with a distinctive yodel.

Sunday, July 20, 6:30-9:30

Leadway Bar and Gallery 5233 N. Damen, Chicago

Go here

To register for the meeting (aka ‘pay your dues’)
Or you can register by phone at 773.728.6000

The cost is $15.

Accompanying Felipe will be his long-time friend and musical compadre Juan Rivera, fiddler and multi-instrumentalist with Sones de Mexico.

To hear some tunes from Felipe and Juan, go here.

The Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter) welcomes players of all instruments and listeners who want to sit up close to masters of traditional dance music.

Filed under: Meeting Schedule by Paul | July 8, 2008 | Comments (0)

Meeting June 15th & Announcements

Let’s play our tunes together!
or
Sunday, June 15, 6:30-9:30
or
Leadway Bar and Gallery 5233 N. Damen, Chicago
or
It’s free. Just let me know you’re coming. (ptyler@oldtownschool.org)

or
Announcing the 6th Midwest Fiddle Championship.

Click the above link for rules and information about the Youth and Fiddle Team contests scheduled for 7 pm, Thursday, July 10th at Giddings Plaza in Lincoln Square. An online entry form will soon be linked to the information page. For more, contact me at ptyler@oldtownschool.org.

Youth and Fiddle Team winners will perform on the Main Stage of the Chicago Folk & Roots Festival 2008 at 12:55 pm, Sunday, July 13th in Welles Park.

Added this year is a division for Fiddle Bands with Dancers. Five specially invited fiddle bands will compete on the main stage. Immediately following, three of the bands will proceed to the Dance Tent so every one can dance to their music. There will be a brief instruction period before each band plays.

Filed under: Meeting Schedule by Paul | May 22, 2008 | Comments (0)

Fiddle Club meeting coming up May 10th!

It’s Cajun fiddling with Will & Holly Whedbee

Leadway Bar and Gallery 5233 N. Damen, Chicago

NEWS FLASH!!!
or
The meeting will start at 4:00 pm
(Not 3:30 as previously announced.
The bar doesn’t open till 4. Doh!)
or
You can still sign up.
Find workshops here.

or
And

DOUBLE NEWS FLASH!!! We’ll begin with a special showing of
or

The producers are Old Town School parents who, at one time, were in a variety of fiddle and banjo classes and the Old Time Ensemble. They will be there. This is something extra special.

You can still sign up for the May meeting by calling the Old Town School of Folk Music at 773.728.6000. If you want to bring a guest, you’ll have to sign them up for the Club. Hurry. It’s first come, first served.

Paul Tyler, Convener

The Fiddle Club of the World meetings start with an unplugged concert by the featured guests. The concert will be followed by a jam session for club members with the featured guest. Several tunes you can learn are posted on this website under the category “Tunes” linked on the right sidebar.

Filed under: Meeting Schedule by Paul | May 6, 2008 | Comments (0)

Paddy Jones will be here this Friday! (March 14)

And that’s how the Fiddle Club of the World (Chicago Chapter) begins.

At the Leadway Bar and Gallery 5233 N. Damen, Chicago

NEWS FLASH!!!
The party room at the Leadway is a bit bigger than I thought.
We’ve opened up space for six more members.
Sign up quick. Find workshops here.

or
Please note a slight change in the schedule for the evening.

In the interests of Paddy’s accompanist being able to show up on time, we’ll start about 8ish. And we will begin with a bit of a session, to try to find some common ground between the enthusiasts for Irish trad and the old-time crowd.

Paddy’s concert set will start at about 8:30. Around 9:30 we’ll have a big session and play the tunes that are posted here for you to learn.

And then we’ll have some more tunes.

Also note. Space is limited.
We have room for only twenty members. As I write this, there are just two slots still available. If you want to bring a guest, you’ll have to sign them up for the Club. Hurry. It’s first come, first served.

I might have to look for a bigger space for the next meeting.

Paul Tyler, Convener

Filed under: Meeting Schedule by Paul | March 11, 2008 | Comments (0)

Announcing the Fiddle Club of the World

Meetings of the Fiddle Club of the World are schedule for the party room of

Leadway Bar and Gallery
5233 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-728-2663

Space is limited, so register early.

March 14 (Fri) 7:30
Paddy Jones

Paddy Jones is one of the last pure players of the traditional music of Sliabh Luchra (pronounced Shleeve Lew-cra), a mountainous region on the borderland between Counties Kerry and Cork in the southwest corner of Ireland. The distinctive style of this region makes heavy use of polkas and slides, and relies less on the reels and jigs that are more standard in the “trad” Irish repertoire. The undisputed master of the Sliabh Luchra style was the legendary Padraig O’Keefe, who was Paddy Jones’ teacher.
or

To hear some Paddy Jones tunes.

(click to enlarge)

April 20 (Sun) 6:30
Lynn “Chirps” Smith
Traditional tunes from downstate Illinois and beyond are the forte of this fiddler long known for his work with the Volo Bogtrotters. Chirps now plays with the New Bad Habits.
or

To hear some Chirps Smith tunes.