Dance, Guitar, Percussion (Non-Drum Kit), Voice, Body Rhythm
Styles - Swing, Doo Wop, Traditional Folk, Old Time, Country Blues
Techniques - Vocals: Vocal Stylings, Doo Wop Harmony, Swing Harmony; Dance: Fundamentals of Ballet, Appalachian Clogging; Guitar: Strumming Variations, Syncopation, Simple Fingerstyle; Rhythms: Washboard, Bones and Body Rhythms with Commonalities
“Folk festival in a box” Barbara Silverman has performed in concerts, festivals and workshops across the land. Dubbed a stunning vocalist early on by the Old Time Herald, she ever displays an engaging presence, bluesy vocals, clever originals, solid swing guitar, spirited piano back-up and washboard pyrotechnics. She is also a proclaimed “master teacher” of music and dance.
Barb’s renowned Laketown Buskers jug band thrice captivated the iconic “Prairie
Home Companion” followed by countless Midwest fests and venues. She has
appeared in award winning bands in West Virginia and Colorado; clogged on The
Studs Terkel Show; frequented prominent Chicago folk clubs; shared stages with
Emmy Lou Harris, Bill Monroe, Odetta, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, Greg Brown,
David Bromberg, Buffy St. Marie and more. She has seven recordings available
on Vetco, Marimac and independent labels.
Leader of The Teflons sextet featuring lush harmony and dynamite solos, Barb is
half of the beloved old-time/swing duo Silver Rose. That duo ballooned into the
exciting collaboration Buds and Shoots that mainstaged the Chicago Square
Roots Fest and Wisconsin White Oak Fest, and launched the recently created
Trio D’Argent.
Barb is a founding cast member of Songs of Good Cheer, the famed winter
concert series created by Tribune icons Eric Zorn and Mary Schmich now
entering the 26th year. A multi-department faculty member at the renowned Old
Town School of Folk Music, she was part of their first international exchange to
England and Finland. Barb has performed and taught at Indiana University
Northwest, Urban Gateways, The Discovery Center and prominent venues
dotting the Midwest. She received repeated grants from the City of Chicago
Office of Cultural Affairs as well as the Maurice and Hulda Rothschild
Foundation.
To this day Barb is ever vibrantly teaching and performing. Find her recordings
and appearances at www.silverbeammusic.com in her many incarnations.
Education: Indiana University - Bachelors Degree
Chicago Dance Center, Columbia College Dance Center, Chicago City Ballet Supplemental Training
Started at the Old Town School in September of 1996
