Shoestring Saturday III
Music Festival
Arrival as early as 2:00pm
Music will start at 4:00
Dinner served 5:30pm
Artist CDs available on site.
Footloose Productions
Doug Harper
Performing songwriter and recording artist
SONGS TO WARM, AMUSE & INSPIRE
Doug Harper is a performing songwriter and recording
artist, hailing from the Central Appalachian Region,
The sound of the New River music culture is the
golden thread running his songs. “Hybrid Folk”
is a term he coined to describe his grafting of musical
styles to American folk roots. If you're looking for
"mainstream status quo", look elsewhere. Doug
reaches deep and wide for subject matter, which is
carefully selected for its redeeming value. Audiences
come away from performances warmed, amused, and
inspired. A gratified listener once commented, “I feel
like I was just read to!”
He is joined on acoustic bass by long time friend & accompanist Dave Fondale.
Recording projects include SCRAPBOOK 2000, TRAVELOGUE
2002, SEASONS 2004, KEEPSAKES 2007. Variety is the operative
word for each of these unique “hybrids”. Doug and his wife, Shelley,
performed two cuts on the CD THE ROAD HOME I and one on
ROAD HOME II, each produced by Ron Sowell, music director of
West Virginia Public Radio’s “Mountain Stage”.
The Carpenter Ants
Even the best bands come and go but the Carpenter Ants have been around - with virtually the same line up - for more than 16 years. The Ants have defied the odds and outlasted most of their peers for a number of reasons. First and foremost, regardless of the occasion, the band never fails to have a good time. And, after more than 2,000 performances, the members still like and respect each other - and you can feel it in their music.
Having evolved into WV's premier rythm & blues group, the band has unearthed a wealth of classic and forgotten American music. The Ants wail through classic R&B, country-swamp and gospel-soul with equal conviction. A few years back, the band caught the ear of famed singer/songwriter/producer/rock'n'roller Don Dixon. The upshot was the band's second record, the all-gospel Picnic with the Lord. Last year Dixon anxiously signed on to produce the groups third effort, Ants in Your Pants, and steered the band to Scott Beal's Gaff Music.
The core of the group consists of guitarist Michael Lipton, drummer Jupiter Little, bassist Ted Harrison and vocalist/saxophonist Charlie Tee. A revolving cast of auxillary Ants include singer/songwriter Larry Groce, host of the internationally syndicated radio show "Mountain Stage," ex-NRBQ guitarist Steve Ferguson and Robert Shafer, one of the Country's premier Telecaster slingers and two-time national flatpicking champion.
The group's trademark sound -- rich, soulful harmonies, stinging solos, and a rock-solid rythm section -- captures that rare, loose-but-tight feel, and has won the band international as well as regional fans. The Ants have traveled to Moscow. The trips found the group performing at a variety of venues including the 3,500-seat Russia Concert Hall, the city's most prestigious room, a TV show with a national audience of 100 million(!!), funky clubs and gaudy venues.
Bark-O-Lounger
The Bark-o-loungers are a unique Charleston trio that plays music for the mind and body. Combining the talents of guitarist Michael Lipton and bassist Ted Harrison (who have played together in the Carpenter Ants for nearly 25 years) and drummer Mark Davis (Voodoo Cats, Barebones), the unique ensemble came together playing art openings where people were taken with their rhythmic and melodic improvisations.
Solidifying the group and taking a name, they developed a moody, groovy, spacy sound rich with textures and rhythms. Points of comparison and inspiration are guitarist Bill Frisell, Brian Eno and German innovators Can. Depending on the crowd, the mood and the occasion, the group is likely to add its own take on a variety of blues-based tunes to the mix.
Bassist Tristram Lozaw, the most recent addition and a new Charleston, adds yet another dimension of aural textures. Not only is the idea of two bassists unique but the resulting sound further sets the group apart.
Lipton and Lozaw have played together off and on for nearly four decades, since their high school days in Miami, FL, and have collaborated on a number of music projects for film and radio documentaries. Recently, the two earned a Peabody Award along with producer Trey Kay for their musical contributions to his “Textbook Wars” documentary.
The McGraw Brothers
The McGraw Brothers have been playing their unique blend of blues, funk, rock and originals for audiences in the two Virginias for nearly twenty years. Emerging out of The Acousticats, which they founded in the early 1990’s, Bob and Kevin McGraw have
since been partners in bands such as Big Daddy and Three’s A Crowd. They now concentrate primarily on their work together as a duo. The McGraw Brothers always feature the powerful harp playing of brother Bob, who is considered by many to be West Virginia’s finest harmonica player. But, just as important to the group’s sound are the moving lyrics, emotional singing and propulsive guitar playing of Kevin McGraw who writes all of the group’s original material. The McGraw Brothers... they’ll move your heart and mind... but they’ll also move your feet!
Lady D
Lady D is Doris A. Fields; a West Virginia
native and graduate of W.Va. State
University.
Lady D has been singing since the age of
three years old. She is also an actress,
songwriter and director. She has toured
her one-woman show, “The Lady and
the Empress” since 2003. It is a musical
stage play based on the life and music of
blues legend, Bessie Smith. Her acting
experience also includes a five year stint
with Theater W.Va’s productions of Honey
In the Rock, Hatfields and McCoys and
various other shows. On the local scene,
Lady D was very active in productions with
the Charleston Stage Company, Children’s
Theater and Kanawha Players.
As a professional vocalist, highlights of
Lady D’s career include being the opening
act for the legendary soul group, the
O’Jays at Charleston’s FestivALL in 2007. In
2008, Lady D’s original song, “Go Higher”
was chosen as the best Obama Inaugural
Song and earned her a trip with her band, MI$$ION to Washington, DC to perform
at the Obama for Change Inaugural Ball in 2009.
Lady D has released four cds: “Nobody’s Bizness: Music from The Lady and the
Empress,” “My Turn,” “Go Higher” and “She’s Nobody.”
Contact: Doris A. Fields
ladie_d@hotmail.com
304.590.1042
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