Ten Pound Fiddle goes Celtic

If Ten Pound Fiddle booking manager Sally Potter had to assign a theme to the Fiddle’s upcoming 52^nd season, it would be “Celtic invasion.”

“The folk music umbrella is really big. Louis Armstrong said ‘all music is folk music,’ and it sort of is. We have lots of different categories: blues and Celtic and singer-songwriters and Appalachia and old-time and bluegrass …” Potter said. “In putting together the schedule, I try and get one or two or three of each into that season. But every year, there’s always kind of an overflow of something. Last year was what I call the ‘Canadian invasion,’ partially because the current administration has kicked up the fees for work visas, so any Canadian performer that was already under a work visa was trying to get down here and get as many gigs as they could under their old visa before they had to think about buying a new one.

“This year, it’s kind of the ‘Celtic invasion,’ with the same idea,” she continued. “We probably have six or seven either Canadian bands or bands from the British Isles or Ireland coming over to visit because, again, they’re under their own work visa and before it runs out, they want to get in as many gigs in the United States as they can.”

The “invading” artists include Canadian duo Cassie and Maggie, Irish band Lúnasa (which Potter said she’s been trying to book “for years”), Irish duo Carolyn Keane and Tom Delany, and Canadian band Maggie’s Wake. Additionally, singer-songwriter Cathie Ryan, guitarist John Doyle and accordionist Mick McAuley will celebrate “An Irish Christmas” at the beginning of December. There will also be two St. Patrick’s Day sings this year, led by Abbey Hoffman and Michael McConeghy of the Super Secret Cult Band and Potter herself.

Of course, many other sub-genres of folk music will be represented in the Fiddle’s 30-some concerts this season. That includes perennial favorites like Joel Mabus and May Erlewine, who play the Fiddle every year, and first-time performers like singer-songwriters Fairhazel and Mary Gauthier (who used to perform annually at the Pump House in East Lansing), Christian/folk artist and drag queen Flamy Grant, acoustic string duo Warren & Flick and indie-folk musician Abigail Oakley.

“We have three or four categories,” Potter said. “There are some artists that we bring back every year or every other year. There are some artists that are on a four- or five-year rotation because they don’t come through the Midwest very often. You’ve got to catch these people on tour. And then there are some artists that we’ve never had before.”

Potter stressed that admission to each concert is just $5 for students.

“I tutor at LCC, and there are some students who stop by tutoring, and I give them a schedule. Then they come to a show, and they’re blown away,” she said. “It’s live music. It’s artists at the top of their game. And then they just keep coming, and they bring their friends for a $5 bill.”

The Fiddle is making use of five local venues for its shows this year: University Lutheran Church, Edgewood United Church, The Robin Theatre, UrbanBeat and the new Old Town Cultural Center (formerly the Old Town General Store). 

“This is our initial show with the Old Town Cultural Center, but I’m sure it won’t be the last,” Potter said.

The Fiddle also hosts 18 to 19 contra dances and five Fiddle Scout gatherings per season, as well as sponsoring eight or nine Tune In open mics at The Robin Theatre.

“So, that’s like 70 events in eight-and-a-half months,” Potter said. “It’s crazy, but it works because the community supports us, and we only do it for eight or nine months, and then we get the summer off.”

Aside from all that, the Fiddle is working on putting together a book called “The First 50 years,” which will be out by Christmas. It covers the organization’s founding and first five decades through pictures, articles and personal remembrances.

Until the season begins in September, Potter said fans can satiate their hunger for quality live music by attending the plethora of free local concerts around town.

“It’s outrageous. I mean, Tuesday through Saturday, there’s a free show every night. Take your thermos and your chair and just go,” she said. 

There are also plenty of folk festivals around the state. The Fiddle sends out frequent email newsletters with a running list.

“There’s a folk festival every weekend,” Potter said. “We just had Hiawatha and Blissfest before that, and the Buttermilk festival and the Noreast’r Festival and Spirit of the Woods. So, if you love folk music, there are there are outdoor festivals happening all summer long.”