A native of Virginia and Washington state, Bryan Bowers is an autoharp virtuoso, humorist, and story weaver. He spans generations of music and every human emotion in his performances that cover his own marvelous songs as well as powerful renditions of great folk tunes. In 1993, he was inducted into the Autoharp Hall of Fame whose membership includes Mother Maybelle Carter, Kilby Snow, and Sara Carter. The Coffee House is honored to have this world-class artist on our stage.
Opening for Bryan is Rick Fitzgerald, a veteran of the Portage Road Songwriters Guild, has delighted Coffee House audiences with his pure vocals, and masterful guitar and autoharp playing, with influences that include Bryan Bowers, John Denver, and Bill Staines. Rick was the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Champion, and runner-up in the International Autoharp Championship at Winfield. He is currently on the board of directors for the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering and chairman of the Make Our Own (MOO) Music Gathering.
Eccentric Acoustic is a trio featuring Ruth Williams on mandolin, Sandy Stehling on guitar, and Scott Emmons on bass. They perform a wide variety of music, ranging from swing era jazz and country blues to more contemporary country, folk, and Americana. Ruth Williams started singing harmony while doing the family dishes with her sister. She currently sings with Milwaukee’s Bel Canto Chorus. Ruth forsook the autoharp for the mandolin some years ago and has been a stalwart member of the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra for more than twenty years.Sandy Stehling began playing guitar as a way to avoid studying while attending UW-Madison. His transcript shows the success of this strategy. The lively folk music scene on campus at the time was a major influence. He has been heard playing as a soloist and in various groups in the Milwaukee area for many years. Scott Emmons, a multi-instrumentalist, is dean of the UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts. He performs in a classical guitar quartet, plays mando-cello in the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra, and is the director of the New Horizons Band in Waukesha. Ruth and Sandy have been making music together since they first met some thirty years ago. They have played with Scott informally in various musical gatherings in the Milwaukee area, and have enjoyed collaborating with Scott seriously for the past five years. The process of combining three individuals’ musical tastes into an ensemble repertoire yields the serious fun that is Eccentric Acoustic.
Folks would walk under the old Coffee House sign to enter a welcoming world of music and poet friends to talk about peace and justice, reminisce, and share their stories and songs. Tonight we invite everyone to join in on an old Coffee House tradition. Bring an instrument, a song or your own book of poems. You can come just to listen or join in yourself. - The Coffee House Friends Gathering and Open Jam is a time to gather together listen, appreciate everybody's contribution, and have fun singing -- that's what it's all about. In a jam session or song circle just try to be observant and feel your way gently. Each person who wants to can take a turn playing a song and they lead the group. The idea is that no one plays louder than the person leading the song. Depending on the size of the group you may be able to lead multiple songs when the circle comes around as each person takes a turn. We love if people just want to come to listen too. Wonderful time to visit with friends.
Forged in the depths of a cold Wisconsin winter of 2011, Pay The Devil brings together an eclectic mix of original compositions, bluegrass, folk, Irish traditional, Americana, and outlaw country.
The five-piece band features guitar, mandolin, banjo, upright bass, and drums (plus spoons and other traditional percussive instruments). They play music with heart, energy, and just the right amount of edge!
