Calendar of Events

Details and Tickets	OLS Sunday Jazz Brunch Sunday, May 19, 2013 11:00 AM You know what Sundays on the West End have been missing? JAZZ BRUNCH. Come on out to OLS' next Jazz Brunch on Sunday, May 19. This event is FREE to all OLS Members, just check in at the bar. $8 ticket for non-members, 11am to 2pm John Clark has assembled an all star band "The Jazz Workshop" to play one Sunday each month from 11am to 2pm. Join John on bass, Tracy McMullan on sax, Frank Mauceri on sax, Carl Dimow on flute, Peter Dugas on piano, and Peter McLaughlin & Hayes Porterfield on drums. There will be hot coffee (with or without amaretto or Jameson...), Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and a selection of breakfast foods for purchase). This concert will feature the music of Charles Mingus, Theolonius Monk, Miles Davis, as well as original compositions written by the band. Spend your Sunday with a croissant, a cocktail, and this incredible collection of Portland's finest performers in intimate One Longfellow Square. Tickets: OLS Members Free! Non-members $8 adv/ $8 door.
Details and Tickets	Putnam Smith CD Release: Kitchen, Love Sunday, May 19, 2013 7:00 PM Putting the "party" back in CD Release Party, the celebration of Putnam Smith's 4th studio album, "Kitchen, Love..." will appropriately enough kick off with an hors d'oeuvres potluck (bring some eats to share, and get an "I Love Cast Iron Pans" temporary tattoo!!). While we're eating, drinking, and making merry, fiddle/guitar trad band Sassafras Stomp will get the music started (bring your dancing shoes!), followed by a short set by up-and-coming singer/songwriter Caroline Cotter. Putnam's last critically acclaimed album went to #2 on the national Folk DJ Charts -- who knows, you may be at the CD release show of an album that goes to #1! More at: www.putnamsmith.com Video! ($12 adv/$17 door)
Details and Tickets	Decompression Chamber Music Season Five/Concert #5 Monday, May 20, 2013 6:00 PM CONCERT #5 "All For One and One For All" Bartok, Quartet #6. This "rush hour" concert series is designed for you! Stop in for an entertaining hour on your way home from work. Bring a date! Have glass of wine, listen to beautiful music, become a connoisseur. ($12 adv/$15 door, 6:00pm) There will be a $1 service fee added at check out for advance tickets.
Details and Tickets	The Portland Jazz Orchestra Thursday, May 23, 2013 8:00 PM Dr. Chris Oberholtzer and his 18 piece ensemble perform an evening of big band swing! ($5 students, seniors, and advance. $9 door)
Details and Tickets	A Benefit for OLS: Rex Fowler, Con Fullam, Tom Dean, Alana MacDonald & Kate Schrock Friday, May 24, 2013 8:00 PM A fantastic night of songwriters and storytellers from Maine! All proceeds go to One Longfellow Square! It's good to have friends! OLS has made a few over the years and none more special than this talented cast that has come together to support our wonderful room by donating a rare and unforgettable one-time concert event! OLS will be calling on more friends in the future so look for these special benefit concerts and come out to support your favorite venue and hear some great music! Longtime friends and collaborators, Rex, Tom & Alana will perform solo, material from their Aztec Two-Step and Devonsquare catalogs, as well as songs they co-wrote and performed together over the decades. A rare treat from these artists with Maine roots and a love for our venue. Con Fullam held the release party for his first CD (after a long and highly lauded career writing hits for others) at OLS and has been a friend of the venue ever since. He has brought us several great concerts and continues his work with children's music in Portland! Kate Schrock has performed at OLS many times and was happy to join in the party with her trademark blend of jazz and rock gospel. ($25 advance / $30 door)
Details and Tickets	Verbalized Medicine presents The Clinique Saturday, May 25, 2013 8:00 PM Soul Funk HIp Hop Dance Party!! One night only… Portland's own, Verbalized Medicine take over One Longfellow Square to celebrate the release of their new album, "The Clinique." They're bringing along a star-studded menagerie of Maine's finest musicians and artists: Northern Lights, the Red Hot Lady Like dance troupe, Clik North, Wisdom, and more. DJ Onax and DJ Emoney will keep the masses moving all night long with high energy wax. Arrive early, stay late, don't even blink… You don't want to miss a beat. Maine floor will be open for dancing, get your groove on! Seats available in baclcony. Drink specials! ($5 adv/ $7 door - No service fee!)
Details and Tickets	The Stray Birds Thursday, May 30, 2013 8:00 PM When The Stray Birds take the stage, the spotlight falls on three voices raised in harmony above the raw resonance of wood and strings. It is a sound drawn from the richness of American folk music traditions, spun with a stirring subtlety and grace. From bustling street corners to silent halls, their performances speak to an uncompromising reverence for songs. Darlin' Corey (Erica Brown and Matt Shipman) opens! Video! ($12 adv/$17 door)
Details and Tickets	DudeFest 2013 (The Big Lebowski) Friday, May 31, 2013 8:00 PM ABIDE! The Dude abides over One Longfellow Square for a night of mayhem featuring a screening of the Coen Brothers' cult hit, The Big Lebowski. With a Costume Contest judged by a panel of local celebrities. Causasians (White Russians) on special all night. Doors open at 7 pm. This evening customarily sells out.($8, NO service fee) "Half-price tickets if you come in a bathrobe but ONLY IF there are any tickets left! Order in advance to be safe! Doors may open before 7pm if we are ready.
Details and Tickets	Joe Walsh, Darol Anger, Grant Gordy and Karl Doty Saturday, June 01, 2013 8:00 PM Encore Performance! Portland based mandolin master Joe Walsh (Gibson Brothers, Yulegrass, Stowaways), fiddler extraordinaire Darol Anger (Republic of Strings, Yulegrass, The Furies etc.) blistering guitar hero Grant Gordy (David Grisman Quintet) and Karl Doty, bass (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and A Far Cry) will come together for a special night of acoustic string music. Come and join us for an evening of inspired original tunes, expertly crafted standards and spontaneous musical serendipity with this once in a lifetime cast of super string stars. Video! ($22 adv/$27 door, 8PM)
Details and Tickets	An Evening With Tom Chapin Friday, June 07, 2013 8:00 PM Grammy winning folk legend come to One Longfellow for the first time! In a career that spans five decades, 23 albums and three GRAMMY awards, multi-talented singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Chapin has covered an incredible amount of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway, as well as working extensively in films, television and radio. As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two long and productive parallel careers, both as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children's music. In the former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and effortlessly charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. In either format, Chapin's infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth consistently shine through, whether he's performing on record or in a concert hall, an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra or in an intimate coffeehouse. Tom's YouTube Channel! Video! ($20 advance / $25 door, 8 PM)
Details and Tickets	Shelley King Saturday, June 08, 2013 8:00 PM The soulfulness of a Gospel singer overtaken by the fire of the blues! The music of Shelley King draws from and blends a spectrum of roots music styles, but one word succinctly describes it: soulful. Be it R&B, folk, blues, country, bluegrass or rock — or combinations of and variations on those themes — she delivers the goods straight from the heart with a voice that’s splendidly rich and warm and as big as all outdoors. Writing “a proverbial trunk full of instant hits and yet-unheard classics,” as the Austin Chronicle describes her songs, King has risen from the vibrant music scene in the Texas capital city to charm fans across North America, Europe and Japan, win two Austin Music Awards, and be named the Texas State Musician for 2008. Video! ($15 adv/$20 door)
Details and Tickets	Aoife O’Donovan CD Release Tour "Fossils" Sunday, June 09, 2013 8:00 PM “NEW CD Fossilsout June 11th!” “Aoife recorded her album last October and it was produced by Tucker Martine (My Morning Jacket, Beth Orton, The Decemberists), which is due out June 11 on Yep Roc Records. “ Aoife, founder and lead singer of Crooked Still, is also guest vocalist with the Goat Rodeo Sessions a collaborative album by Yo Yo Ma, Chris Thile, Stuart Duncan and Edgar Meyer! For the past 10 years, Aoife has been fronting the alt-bluegrass/string band Crooked Still, which she formed when she was 18. Despite her young age, Aoife has toured in ten different countries, performed with the Boston Pops and the Utah Symphony Orchestra and has appeared on countless radio and television programs. Her natural talent for songwriting recently came to the attention of Alison Krauss, who recorded Aoife’s song Lay My Burden Down, which is included on Alison’s album Paper Airplane (2011 Rounder Records) and can also be heard in the film Get Low (2010 Sony Pictures). Aoife’s crystalline voice has also been heard on True Blood (HBO) and Private Practice (ABC). Click here for a three song sampler from Aoife https://soundcloud.com/yep-roc-music-group/sets/aoife-odonovan-sampler/s-HS4gv Video! ($20 adv/$25 door, 8PM)
Details and Tickets	Miss Tess and the Talkbacks Saturday, June 15, 2013 8:00 PM “When you decide to go into the studio,” reflects Miss Tess from her home in New York City, “the timing has to be just right.” In fact, uncanny timing informs and enhances nearly everything Tess does, from her disarming, behind-the-beat vocal phrasing to her solid yet gently swinging rhythm guitar. In the years since she first emerged, she has wisely learned to trust her sense of timing. “In this case, we had a batch of unrecorded songs, the studio I wanted to use was available, and the band was tight after touring all year.” The resulting album, Sweet Talk (available October 16), is Tess’s first studio album in three years, her first for Signature Sounds, and the debut of her newly christened backing outfit, The Talkbacks. While still bearing hallmarks of the simmering, jazz-inflected sound that has made Tess and her former band the Bon Ton Parade a club and festival favorite, Sweet Talk introduces a more personal mix of influences. By blending her knack for melodic and rhythmic improvisation and interplay with elements of honky-tonk, western swing, and golden-era pop standards, she and her multifaceted supporting band have arrived at a style simultaneously refreshing and hauntingly familiar. “By changing the name of the band,” she says, “I wanted to let people know that our sound had evolved: now there’s a much stronger country and early rock’n’roll influence—and different instrumentation.” Video! ($12 adv/$17 door)
Details and Tickets	Sam Amidon Thursday, June 20, 2013 8:00 PM *NEW ALBUM! Bright Sunny South* out May 14th on Nonesuch Records. Produced by Amidon with his childhood friend and longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman) and legendary English engineer Jerry Boys (Buena Vista Social Club, Vashti Bunyan, R.E.M.) and recorded in London, the record features a band made up of Bartlett and multi-instrumentalists Shahzad Ismaily and Chris Vatalaro. Jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler also makes a cameo. Amidon himself not only sings but also plays banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and piano on the album. Amidon describes Bright Sunny South as a “a lonesome record” and a return to the more spare sound of his 2007 self-recorded debut, But This Chicken Proved Falsehearted: “There was an atmospheric quality to my last two records; those albums are like a garden of sounds,” says Amidon, “but this one is more of a journey, a winding path. The band comes rushing in and then they disappear. It comes from more of a darker, internal space.” Sam will be joined for this show by drummer/pianist Chris Vatalaro, touring drummer with Antibalas, Imogen Heap, Richard Fairhurst, Elysian Fields, and many others. Check out a track from the new CD here! Alessi's Ark opens! ($15 advance/$20 door) A limited number of student tickets will be available for $10 either in person at the Box Office in advance or at the door!**
Details and Tickets	EMEFE Friday, June 21, 2013 8:00 PM Soul, Funk, Afrobeat, Jazz & Rock with groovy guitars, blaring horns and African percussion evoke the likes of Big Sam, Sly and the Family Stone and Fela Kuti all at once! The floor will definitely be open for dancing! EMEFE has only one intention: to play music that frees everybody in the audience & everybody listening at home. The group plays its own mix of afrobeat music as created by the late Fela Kuti, mixed with the funk of Sly Stone and jazz and hip hop influences, all with a rock and roll edge. EMEFE consists of 4 horns, 2 guitars, bass, drums, keyboard, shekere and congas. EMEFE means Music Frees All. Video! ($10 adv/ $15 door)
Details and Tickets	Chris Smither Saturday, June 22, 2013 8:00 PM Some artists continually reinvent themselves; others, like Chris, identify their muse early on and spend their careers single-mindedly pursuing it, remaining recognizably themselves through a career-long process of refinement, growth and discovery. Chris has a brand new YouTube channel of his own! Check it out here! Chris' New Album Hundred Dollar Valentine Video! ($22 adv/$27 door, 8PM) Chelsea Berry opens!
Details and Tickets	The Portland Jazz Orchestra Thursday, June 27, 2013 8:00 PM Dr. Chris Oberholtzer and his 18 piece ensemble perform an evening of big band swing! ($5 students, seniors, and advance. $9 door)
Details and Tickets	A Very Special Evening with Zach Deputy-- Storyteller Show Friday, June 28, 2013 8:00 PM On his recent release Another Day, soul-singer and guitarist Zach Deputy– with the help of Grammy-winning producer Scott Jacoby– taps into the spirit of Al Green, Taj Mahaland Stevie Wonder, creating a soulful rhythm and blues album rich with ballads and mid-tempo songs. The record will appeal to fans of contemporary artists like Jack Johnson and Amos Lee, while retaining a classic sound and feel. Full of hope and anticipation of the promise of Another Day, a new day, it is a pivotal point in the career of a touring musician heretofore known as a master of live looping and a staple in the grass-roots club and festival circuit. Video! ($15 adv/$20 door)
Details and Tickets	Roy Book Binder: The Good Book CD Release Thursday, July 11, 2013 8:00 PM *NEW CD! The Good Book* - Roy's first studio album in TEN years! Roy has been described as a guitar pickin' hillbilly bluesman. Back in the 60's he began his career, traveling and learning guitar from the legendary Rev. Gary Davis and Pink Anderson, a medicine show entertainer who recorded back in 1928. Book Binder has recorded five albums and has performed at most major blues and folk festivals in the U.S. and Europe, including Merlefest. He has toured with Bonnie Raitt, and has shared the stage with many great bluesmen including; BB King, John Jackson, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee. Roy has appeared regularly on Nashville Now, a national cable TV show and has been included in Sheldon Harris' book, The Blues who's who. Roy is a veteran teacher whose engaging style of music and storyteller have enraptured his students at many workshops nationally. He is a regular at the Fur Peace Ranch. ($15 adv/$18 door, 8pm) Video!**
Details and Tickets	Slaid Cleaves Friday, July 19, 2013 8:00 PM Grew up in Maine. Lives in Texas. Writes songs. Makes records. Travels around. Tries to be good. "A sharply observant songwriter with a deep appreciation for the ageless fundamentals of folk, country, and rock . . . one of the country's most compelling roots artists." — Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader Video! ($20 adv/$25 door)
Details and Tickets	Gregory Alan Isakov Sunday, July 21, 2013 7:30 PM NEW CD! Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now calling Colorado home, Gregory Alan Isakov has been traveling all his life. Songs that hone a masterful quality beyond his years, tell a story of miles and landscapes, and the search for a sense of place. Music has been a stabilizing and constant force. “I’ve always had this sense about music and writing, that I sort of have to do it. Like I’ll implode without it. I probably wouldn’t do it if I felt any other way.” His song-craft lends to the deepest lyrical masterpieces, with hints of his influences, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Springsteen. He has been described as “strong, subtle, a lyrical genius” but the source of his writing often remains a mystery to him. “My songs have nothing to do with me; they have a life of their own. A lot of times I won’t know what a song is about when I’m writing it. It just has a certain feeling about it.” Video! ($15 adv/$20 door) David Ramirez opens!
Details and Tickets	Celtic Fiddle Festival Friday, October 11, 2013 8:00 PM Called "three of the finest folk violinists anywhere" by The Washington Post, Celtic Fiddle Festival celebrates the violin in all its globe-trotting variations. Fiddlers Kevin Burke (Ireland), Christian Lemaître (Brittany, France) and André Brunet (Quebec, Canada) showcase a fascinating juxtaposition of international and individual styles. Sold-out tours and standing ovations give testimony to the electricity and excitement generated by the group. Along with acclaimed guitarist Nicolas Quemener from Brittany, the quartet combines their talents, musical traditions, and spontaneous humor for an evening of dazzling energy and subtle grace. These traditional masters showcase their regional repertoires and together conjure an experience of breathtaking performances. Video! ($30 adv/ $35 door)
Details and Tickets	Aztec Two Step Saturday, October 26, 2013 8:00 PM After taking their name from a Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem and recording the first song ever written about Jack Kerouac’s iconic American novel, On The Road- discover the band that has been described as the bridge to the Beat Generation and instrumental in ushering the music of the sixties into the 1970’s and beyond. For more than four decades, Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman have been writing and performing songs that helped make their generation’s musical memories, all the while inspiring a generation of young singer songwriters. Video! ($27 adv$32 door, 8pm)