Mari Black & the World Fiddle Ensemble: A Fiery Fiddle Odyssey

Multistyle violinist and champion fiddler Mari Black comes to the Poppy with a spirited musical adventure featuring dance music from around the globe: Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddling, jazz, tango, klezmer, folk, original works, and more. Featuring: TBA Mari Black’s energetic playing, engaging stage presence, and commitment to bringing people together through music have made her a favorite with audiences across the country and around the world. Equally at home in a wide variety of ...
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Ali Dineen & Hannah Sassoon: Resistance & Healing in Shadow Puppetry & Song

New York City-based musicians and visual artists Ali Dineen and Hannah Sassoon present an evening of music and shadow puppetry, telling personal and historical tales of healing and resistance. They will perform original music, including new songs from Ali's recent album Light Comes In, as well as selections from different folk music traditions with guitar, accordion, cello, fiddle, vocal harmony, and harmonium. Featuring: Ali Dineen - vocals, guitar, accordion, harmonium Hannah Sassoon - vo...
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Josiah Johnson + Friends: Intimate Songwriting, Community Collaboration

Best known for being co-frontman of The Head and The Heart, Josiah Johnson heads an evening of songwriting based in a folk tradition that emphasizes connection to the internal source while recognizing the importance of communion and the connection to the light of others. Featuring: (Full lineup TBA) Southern California native, current Bay Area resident, former Seattleite, one-time Torontonian, and longtime tour-bus resident Josiah Johnson’s solo performances highlight a stripped-down, em...
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McKasson & McDonald: A Modern Take on Traditional Folk

The Poppy warmly welcomes Ryan McKasson and Eric McDonald, masters of tradition who purposefully explore the dark corners floating on its edges. Pulling from parallel strands of influence, the duo creates a swirling level of intensity that traverses darkness, light, and everywhere in between. Their new album focuses on the relatability of music hundreds of years old, weaving new ideas and tunes with the old to create a timeless sound. Featuring: Ryan McKasson - fiddle, vocals Eric McDonald ...
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Kathleen Grace: American Song

Ready for authentic storytelling, original compositions, and selections from the Great American Songbook? Globetrotting Arizona native and Los Angeles resident Kathleen Grace brings a pure sound and her honest and soaring voice to the Poppy for an evening of jazz, folk, and Americana. Featuring: Kathleen Grace - vocals Storm Nilsson - guitar Jeff Denson - bass Kathleen Grace’s latest album, No Place To Fall, is a sun-drenched landscape of music rooted in her desert upbringing and elegan...
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Kristine Barrett: Songs of Sanctuary

Kristine Barrett presents an evening of experimental folk melodies exploring the concept of refuge: a place that nurtures, extends, bridges; that asks us to appeal to our highest selves, to seek deeply the difficult questions and to be brave in the face of them. Her setlist: traditional music and ritual song from Norway, Iran, Estonia, Ireland, Sephardic Spain, Hungary, Brazil, and the Republic of Georgia. Featuring: Kristine Barrett - vocals, harmonium, piano David Robert Johnson - guitar ...
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Soul y Agua: Latin, Soul, and Folk

With an all-acoustic sound, rich harmonies, and soul-soothing rhythms, Soul y Agua blends influences from Mexico, Cuba, and Spain with jazz, R&B, and pop. The Bay Area-based quartet promises truly authentic original compositions along with select favorite traditional pieces. Featuring: Monica Maria Fimbrez - vocals, jarana, guitar Angelica Rodriguez - vocals Daniel Fabricant - bass Marlon Aldana - percussion Learn more: Website | Facebook     EVENT DETAILS   Tim...
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The Muted Jewel Tones & Anne Carol Mitchell: Folk, Jazz, and Three-Part Harmony

Guitarist/singer Anne Carol Mitchell and violinist Nissa Gustafson perform beautiful melodies that invite listeners to reconnect with the natural world. The Muted Jewel Tones, a vocal harmony trio, perform songs from the sophisticated to the ridiculous, bringing a little jazz, a little folk, a little pop–and hopefully, a little smile–to the audience. Featuring: Sandy Lindop - guitar, ukulele, vocals Raena Frohlich - guitar, ukulele, vocals Rose Koron - ukulele, vocals Anne Carol Mitchell ...
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Janam: Balkan & Appalachian Groove

Combining funky Balkan rhythms, gritty Appalachian ballads, arresting vocal harmonies, and enchanting acoustic textures, Janam unites some of the Bay Area's most playful and imaginative devotees of southern Balkan and American roots music to weave together folk tunes and their own colorful compositions, taking their audiences on a labyrinthine musical ride. Featuring: Dan Auvil - percussion, vocals Tom Farris - laouto, guitar Juliana Graffagna - vocals, accordion Gari Hegedus - oud, saz, ...
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The Jimmy Grant Ensemble: The Music of Django Reinhardt

The Jimmy Grant Ensemble infuses swing-era pieces, originals, and traditional Roma tunes with Django Reinhardt’s crunchy rhythms and hot harmonies, creating a signature mix that includes Russian folk, bluegrass, Celtic, and classical music while remaining true to Django’s innovative guitar technique. Featuring: Jimmy Grant - guitar Javi Jiménez - guitar Sascha Jacobsen - bass Northern California native Jimmy Grant has performed with artists such as David Grisman, Gonzalo Bergara, Ludovi...
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Kat Morgan: Songs for Farewell and So Long

Drawing from folk and R&B traditions, Kat Morgan sings slow and powerful, metaphor-laced melodies about loving and living. Her Red Poppy debut promises to conjure moods from defiant to melancholic, from soppy sweet to broken and blue. Featuring: Kat Morgan - vocals, guitar, keyboards Alena Coons - bass Lien Do - drums Caitlin Ross - vocals Kat Morgan’s soulful, honeyed voice has been compared to Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso or Sharon Van Etten, and she has released two albums, Homegro...
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Hét Hat Club: Balkan-Inspired Jazz Manouche from Budapest

Straight from Budapest to the Red Poppy comes Hét Hat Club, four street musicians who put their own spin on classic Django-style jazz standards and Balkan folk melodies. On their first American tour, they’ll be playing songs from their just-released debut, Pompe It, and entertaining audiences with fresh arrangements that reflect their international roots. Featuring: Isaac Misri - guitar Antonio d'Erchie Jr. - guitar Valentin Desmarais - saxophone Fischer Balázs - double bass American ...
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Fellow Pynins: Roots Folk Duo

Weaving together banjo, guitar, mandolin, and bouzouki with tender vocal harmonies, nomadic folk duo Fellow Pynins tells enchanted stories both old and new of frolicking through pastures of sheep, dreams of death, and entering the chasms of the human experience. They will be sharing music from their 2016 release, Hunter & the Hunted, as well as new songs from their travels in the British Isles and Ireland. Featuring: Ian Van Ornum - vocals, mandolin, guitar Dani Aubert - vocals, banjo, bouz...
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Zina Bozzay & Vadalma: Hungarian Songs of Grief & Merriment

Zina Bozzay’s vibrant original arrangements of old Carpathian Basin village songs feature the rich melodies, funky rhythms, and colorful lyrics of traditional Hungarian folk tunes, realized by her genuine singing, the fiery fiddling of Matthew Szemela, and Misha Khalikulov's soulful cello. Featuring: Zina Bozzay - vocals Matthew Szemela - violin Misha Khalikulov - cello Trained by master singers in Hungary, Zina Bozzay has performed at the Táncháztalálkozó, Hungarian Heritage House, and...
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Beaucoup Chapeaux: Sounds of an Old-World Café

With a sound influenced by Django Reinhardt, Edith Piaf, Roma music, jazz, and folk, Beaucoup Chapeaux returns to the Poppy for an evening of originals and reinterpretations of traditional European classics, ready to transport you through time and space. Featuring: Maggie McKaig - accordion, vocals Luke Wilson - tenor guitar, plectrum banjo, vocals Murray Campbell - violin, oboe, English horn, vocals Randy McKean - clarinet, bass clarinet, piccolo, vocals Beaucoup Chapeaux founder and ...
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Amie Cota & the Liberation Project: American Folk & Soul

Amie Cota’s sound, which melds American folk and soul, has been described as “Billie Holiday raised by hippies.” The vocalist formerly known as Amy LaCour returns to the Poppy accompanied only by bass and piano for an evening of music that’s not quite jazz, soul, or folk, but a delectable combination of the three. Featuring: Amie Cota - vocals Ruthie Dineen - piano Schuyler Karr - bass Over her nearly 20-year career, vocalist/composer Amie Cota has independently released four albums a...
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Nicole Stromsoe & Amber Gougis: Vintage Inspirations, Soulful Voices

Songstresses Nicole Stromsoe and Amber Gougis co-headline an evening of original material intermingled with old-school classics. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar and double bass, Stromsoe and Gougis aim to captivate audiences with enchanting vocals inspired by jazz, blues, R&B, and folk. Featuring: Nicole Stromsoe - vocals Amber Gougis - vocals Dorian Michael - guitar Ken Hustad - double bass With a voice that has been described as “nourishing,” “sensual,” and “rich,” Nicole Stromso...
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Madelina y Los Carpinteros: Latin American Folk Music

Madelina y Los Carpinteros presents an evening inspired by the socially committed Nueva Trova and Nueva Canción folk music of Cuba and Latin America. Performing standards from their repertoire, as well as unpublished compositions, the group will use well-crafted harmonies and layered acoustic instrumentation to present fresh interpretations of Latin American folk music from Chile, Argentina, the Andes Region, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and the U.S. Featuring: Madeleine "Madelina"...
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Fémina: Argentinian Urban Folk

Patagonian singer/songwriters Fémina make a stop at the Red Poppy as a part of their first-ever tour of the United States. Commingling rap and funk with Latin genres such as cumbia, candombe, rumba, and bolero, the popular trio boasts a theatrical and potent sound that unites melodic harmonies with poetic hip-hop. Featuring: Sofia “Toti” Trucco - vocals, guitar, ronroco Clara "Wewi" Trucco - vocals, percussion Clara Miglioli - vocals, guitar Hailing from the small mountain town of San M...
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Ampersan: Mexican Electro-Folk Rock

Join Ampersan in a sonic journey through the landscapes of Mexico and Latin America. Their music brings together the feelings of peasant songs, son, and psychedelica with rock, rap, and electronica. Featuring: Zindu Cano - jarana, acoustic guitar, vocals Kevin García - punteador, electric guitar, vocals Since its inception in 2007, Ampersan has rooted their sound in the traditional acoustic music of Mexico, with forays into contemporary classical music and experimentation. The duo’s comp...
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Willow Steps: Indie Folk Pop

With simple song structures and catchy melodies, Willow Steps features folky tunes of love and heartbreak by singer/songwriter Jesse Strickman and vocalist Leiya Mahoney. The duo’s introspective harmonies are accompanied by upright bassist Schuyler Karr for the celebration of their new community-funded EP, A Truth Too Big to See. Opening the evening is an acoustic set by eclectic Nevada City songwriters Cactus Cult. Featuring: Jesse Strickman - vocals, acoustic guitar Leiya Mahoney - vocals...
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The Village Road Trio: Folk-Inspired Classical Music

The Village Road Trio reimagines classical music with their folkloric instrumentation for a program of spirited and expressive sounds. From American bluegrass and swing, to Romanian tunes and favorite classical melodies, the trio takes on an extensive range of styles. Featuring: Alisa Rose - violin Rob Reich - accordion Daniel Fabricant - bass   Bassist Daniel Fabricant grew up in Ashland, Oregon, where he began playing guitar and trumpet in grade school. Since moving to the Bay Are...
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[DOUBLE BILL] Planes on Paper and Ghost Town Jenny: Folk & Western-Style Soundscapes

From dual vocals to ambient soundscapes, Planes on Paper join Ghost Town Jenny for an evening of cinematic folk with a dark side of country and soul. Through the vocal synergy of Navid Eliot and Jen Borst, the two core members of Planes on Paper, a special kind of musical beauty emerges. The Washington-based folk group combines Navid and Jen’s intricate vocal harmonies with instrumental landscapes of acoustic and pedal steel guitars, percussion, bass, drums, and horns. Their latest EP, The Ru...
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[DOUBLE BILL] Justin Seagrave and Faust & Fox: Dream Pop and Stories From a Distant Sun

Brother-sister dream pop duo Faust & Fox join classically trained guitarist Justin Seagrave for a night of hauntingly addictive love songs and whimsical storytelling. Featuring: Justin Seagrave - guitar, vocals Schuyler Karr - bass Matthew DePasquale - percussion, keyboard, trumpet, back-up vocals Trevor Marcom (Faust & Fox) - lead vocals, guitar Kate Marcom (Faust & Fox) - lead/back-up vocals, additional percussion Justin Seagrave’s music is informed by classical, folk, b...
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Vadalma: Hungarian Folk Songs in Handmade Arrangements

Vadalma (“Wild Apple”) is a collaborative project led by Zina Bozzay with Matthew Szemela and Misha Khalikulov that explores vibrant, intimate arrangements of old Hungarian folk songs. Singing songs directly from village traditions of Transylvania, Moldavia, Transdanubia and other parts of the Carpathian Basin, the musicians integrate both traditional and original accompaniment to frame these rich melodies. Trained in Hungary, Zina Bozzay has performed at the Táncháztalálkozó, Hungarian Herit...
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Diana Gameros: I Am Home: A Musical Reflection on Love, Migration and Identity

For an evening of Latin-influenced indie pop and folk, Diana Gameros shares original compositions inspired by her life as an immigrant, her constant search for "home" and by the stories of others she met along her journey. Originally from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Diana Gameros is a singer, songwriter, and music instructor. Gameros creates authentic, inspiring music that reflects the 21st century experiences of a young indie artist at the borderlands between cultures, languages, and genres. Now ...
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The Mark Growden Quintet: Soulful Chamber Folk

For a rare Bay Area performance, Mark Growden and his long-time collaborators bring to the Red Poppy a combination of soulful vocals with elements of chamber, folk, and jazz. Mark Growden is a composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist and the director/founder of The Calling All Choir. Raised in a small mountain community in Northeast California, his work emanates earthy, soulful and poetic tones. Growden has ten years of experience teaching music in schools and currently leads singing worksh...
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Janam: Dark Side of Love – Balkan & Appalachian Groove

This special reprise of Janam's 2013 Valentine's Day show will explore the shadowy side of love with tormented love songs, murder ballads, and more ‒ a perfect tone for a dark midwinter evening. Integrating funky Balkan rhythms, gritty Appalachian ballads, arresting vocal harmonies and enchanting acoustic textures, the band creates an inspiring musical experience. Janam (a term of endearment) unites some of the Bay Area's most playful and imaginative devotees of southern Balkan and American r...
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Beaucoup Chapeaux: Parisian Bistro, Italian Café and Cirque

Since 2009, Beaucoup Chapeaux has played numerous tours throughout Northern California and the Pacific Northwest and has spent countless Friday evenings in a French café in their hometown of Nevada City, CA. Over 500 concerts later, every show is still a new, lively voyage. The band has been referred to as a talented, astonishing juggernaut with music hauntingly wild and beautiful. Reinterpreting traditional tunes from a wide swath of Europe and the Balkans, Beaucoup Chapeaux also presents origi...
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Amy LaCour Trio: Music for the Soul-Searching

Oakland-based vocalist Amy LaCour returns to the Red Poppy with cellist Misha Khalikulov and percussionist Josh Mellinger for a night of original material inspired by the American traditions of folk, soul, blues, jazz, and bluegrass. Amy and Misha began collaborating in late 2013 and quickly discovered a musical chemistry. Misha brings years of classical training and improvisational experience to Amy's blues and folk-based songwriting. The result is a spare and intimate setting that highlights m...
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