St. Clair Productions Announces 2007/2008 Season

Ashland – With the demise of SOU’s One World Series, St. Clair Productions remains the only non-profit in Jackson County dedicated to bringing folk music from the US and the world to this area for your listening pleasure. The organization is family-friendly, offering free tickets to kids 12 and under and half-price tickets for teens 12-17. The 12th season of The Eclectic Music and More series begins September 29 and runs through May, with most concerts taking place at the Unitarian Center, 87 4th St., Ashland. The Eighth Annual Rogue Valley Blues Festival, with main events at the Historic Ashland Armory, 208 Oak St., takes place January 18-20, 2008.

Advance tickets for all events may be purchased on-line at www.stclairevents.com , by calling 541-535-3562 or at the Music Coop in the A Street Marketplace.

The Eclectic Music and More series begins Saturday, September 29 with the return of Harry Manx. According to producer Ariella St. Clair, last season’s show with Manx was one of the top 5 shows she has ever produced. Manx performs a fusion of Mississippi Delta Blues and traditional Indian ragas on lap slide guitar, blues harp, the six-stringed banjo, and most uniquely the Mohan Veena, a guitar/sitar hybrid. Manx recently won the 2007 CBC Radio's Great Canadian Blues Award. He also won the 2005 Maple Blues Award: Acoustic Act of the Year, the 2005 Canadian Folk Music Awards: Best Solo Artist, the 2003 Maple Blues Award: Acoustic Act of the Year – just three of the 27 awards and nominations Manx has received since 2001 .

On October 20, St. Clair Productions presents Rajeev Taranath. Taranath, whose last performance here was in 2003, performs on the sarod, the lyrical, richly-textured relative of the lute. Considered one of the top ranking performers of Indian classical music, Taranath’s concerts are distinguished by dazzling technical skill, deep introspection and a highly disciplined approach to the development of a raga or melody. From 1995-2005, he directed the Indian Music Program at the California Institute of the Arts, in Los Angeles.

Country Joe McDonald, whose band “Country Joe and the Fish” became a legend after its performance of "Fixin' To Die Rag" at Woodstock, presents his Tribute to Woody Guthrie on Saturday, October 27. McDonald deftly conveys all the charm, talent, and social and political consciousness of the legendary folksinger from Oklahoma. Opening the tribute with a moving performance of Guthrie’s best-known tune, "This Land is Your Land," McDonald sings 13 Guthrie songs, all in a strong clear voice that doesn't mimic Guthrie's style. Interspersed are antidotes and readings from letters Guthrie sent to Malvina Reynolds in 1955.

Changing styles again, St. Clair Productions presents Tingstad and Rumbel on Saturday, November 3. The music of Eric Tingstad (guitar) and Nancy Rumbel (double ocarina, oboe and English horn) speaks to the heart, embracing the natural world, connections to various traditions and deep feelings of peace. Their music could be called a fusion of chamber music and folk, including world music from America, the British Isles and Spain. Tingstad guitar technique harkens from a Segovian tradition combined with creative finger-style picking. Tingstad and Rumbel have performed, recorded and toured together for over 22 years with 19 albums to their credit.

On Sunday, November 11, SONiA & disappear fear team up with local favorite Blue Lightning for a double bill of soft rock. Whether in the bomb shelters "Miklats" in Israel or summer camps in Palestine, colleges, festivals or venues around the world, SONiA strives to disappear fear and spread her message of Peace. She has been nominated for a Grammy and has won numerous awards for her albums. She named her last studio CD "No Bomb Is Smart" and has used every opportunity she has to let people know that War is not the answer. She Loves Out Loud and Proud and donates 18% of all downloads of her music to end World Hunger. Jeep named her as one of 8 troubadours for their new National Campaign and video of the tour is currently on MTV. Ashland's favorite rock and roll dance band Blue Lightning turns it down a notch and plays "unplugged." You'll still hear their eclectic mix of cover tunes featuring their creative arrangements and lush vocal harmonies.

Saturday, December 1, at the Temple Emek Shalom Concert Hall, 1800 East Main St., Ashland, Alisa Fineman and Hurd Kimball take the stage. According to the Santa Cruz Good Times: "Two of my favorite performers... Alisa and Kimball's music sends shivers through me with the rise and fall of sweetly paired voices and compelling lyrics. Expect to hear strong harmonies and Hurd's technical prowess on guitar, mandolin and dobro “ Monterey County's Coast Weekly voted Fineman "Best Folk Musician" four years in a row and in 1991 she won top honors at the Kerrville Folk Festival for her songs, “One Lone Bird” and “I Could Not Ask For More.” Fineman’s latest CD Closing the Distance: Poems, Prayers and Love Songs features contemporary arrangements of traditional and original songs from the Jewish Diaspora.

The Eighth Annual Rogue Valley Blues Festival takes place January 18-20 with the main events at the Historic Ashland Armory. Friday evening’s acoustic concert features headliner Corey Harris, Nathan James and Ben Hernanadez, and Paul Sprawl, opening. Saturday evening’s dance features headliner Sugar Pie DeSanto, second band TBA and Annie Mac and Love Gun, opening. Sunday evening is a special New Generation of the Blues Showcase with the Ben Rice Band, Yesterday, and three young guitarists ages 10-13 – TJ Moore, Jumpin Josh and Gunnar Roads – all of whom are already performing at blues festivals and other venues in the Portland area.

Robert Greygrass, former Ashland resident and Shakespeare Festival actor, returns to grace the stage at the Unitarian Center as part of the St. Clair Productions Eclectic Music and More series on Friday, February 8. Part Lakota and Cherokee, Greygrass performs on the Native American flute, tells the traditional stories and weaves ceremony into his performances. He has toured his one man shows "Walking on Turtle Island" and "Ghostlands of an Urban NDN" across the United States, British Columbia, Australia, and Germany. Greygrass currently resides in Los Angeles where he often performs in movies and on stage.

A musician who believes that musical expression is accessible to everyone, Joe Craven will perform on Friday, February 29 and give a workshop on Saturday, March 1. For almost 17 years, Craven was the highly respected multi-instrumentalist with the David Grisman Quintet. He’s played and/or recorded with Jerry Garcia, Stéphane Grappelli, Maria Muldaur, Vassar Clements, The Persuasions, Psychograss, The Alison Brown Quartet, Darol Anger, Rob Ickes, Bob Brozman, Ramblin' Jack Elliott and many others. He's a madman with anything that has strings attached, including hospital bed pans, gas cans, cookie tins, roasting pots, fiddles, mandolins, tenor guitars, saz, cuatro and a world of percussion instruments including animal bones, latex squeeze toys, cake pans, waste cans, umbrella stands, martini shakers and...Himself. Suitable for little kids to grandparents, Craven’s workshop is entitled "The Wacky, Wonderful World of Joe Craven: Thinking Outside the Box...and Playing On It!"

The Sugar Beets will have you up and dancing on Friday, May 7. Their music draws from the foot-stomping traditions of bluegrass, Celtic, and old-time fiddle music yet is inextricably woven to the worlds of Motown, gospel, country, and pop. With two female vocalists, acoustic guitar, keyboards, fiddle, mandolin, upright bass, and drums, they will set your feet stomping as if you've just arrived at a disco house party at the Grand Ole Opry,

Saturday, May 8, at Havurah Shir Hadash, 185 N. Mountain, Ashland, Shelly Mitchell presents her one-woman performance of Talking With Angels. Based on a true story, the drama unfolds around Gitta Mallasz's courageous attempt to save her three Jewish friends and over 100 women and children from deportation by sheltering them in a slave labor factory in the center of Budapest. Hanna Dallos, Mallasz’s childhood friend and one of the workers in the factory, was a conduit for an angel’s message of personal responsibility and self-awareness. Mallasz and her three friends all kept detailed diaries of the poetic and highly personal teachings they experienced over a period of seventeen months from June of 1943 through December of 1944. Mitchell has performed Talking With Angels over 200 times at various theatres on both the East and West Coasts and in Ireland at the Dublin International Theatre Festival.

A spiritual music ensemble based in the Jewish tradition, Ya Elah performs on Saturday, April 5 at Havurah Shir Hadash. Texts are drawn primarily from Jewish sources and also from the rich poetry and liturgy of other spiritual traditions. The music sparkles with the influences of Bulgarian village songs, Middle Eastern melodies, and Medieval Choral works. This ensemble of female vocalists and multifaceted instrumentalists performs the original compositions of Artistic Director Bon Singer, best known for her 14 years of work with Kitka as artistic director, composer, arranger and singer.

Singer/songwriter Freebo performs on Saturday, April 12. From bass player/band member with Bonnie Raitt for a decade to countless studio sessions and tours with artists ranging from John Mayall, CSN, Maria Muldaur and Ringo Starr, to T.V. appearances on "Saturday Night Live," "Midnight Special," and "Muppets Tonight," as well as tuba performances with Dr. John and the legendary Spinal Tap, Freebo has evolved into an award winning singer/songwriter. He has three solo CDs, including his latest, "Before The Separation,” which was nominated in 5 categories in the JPF Awards, had 2 songs in the top 10 of the International Songwriting Competition, and won the prestigious South Florida Folk Festival Songwriting Competition.

The World’s first Celtic All-Star Grateful Dead Jam Band Wake the Dead ends the 2007/2008 Eclectic Music and More series on a real up-beat on Saturday, May 10 at Havurah Shir Hadash. With eight of the best known Celtic performers in the West, Wake the Dead flows seamlessly from rock grooves to hot Irish reels, and from haunting airs to achingly beautiful melodies familiar to Deadheads everywhere. "Sugaree" in waltz time, bracketed by an ancient harp tune and infused with a poignant Celtic longing. "Bertha" thundering out of "China Cat" on a mandolin tidal wave. The eerie lilt of the uilleann pipes, gives a glow to "Bird Song."