The big tent is going up at the North House Folk School campus for concerts on September 12-14. On Thursday and Friday, Larry Groce and the Mountain Stage crew will perform with each of the Mountain Stage featured artists performing a set of about 30 minutes. On Saturday, some of those same artists will participate in the Unplugged XII, an informal songwriters’ circle, an intimate gathering of amazing musicians.
Good things come in threes!
This year North House Folk School is celebrating three days of craft and three nights of music at Unplugged XII, Sept 12-15 in Grand Marais. For the third year in a row, the folks from West Virginia’s Mountain Stage Radio Show will be welcomed to campus.
For the last two years Mountain Stage Radio has been a dynamic addition to the Unplugged event. The radio show records live shows on Thursday and Friday nights, which are broadcast nationally during the following year. Thanks to the support of the Cook County Visitor’s Bureau guests can again enjoy three inspiring nights of music.
Thursday and Friday nights feature 25- to 35-minute sets from each of the performers with a grand finale “everybody on stage” song to close the evening. By contrast, the classic Unplugged concert on Saturday night employs a more informal “songwriter in the round” format in which performers take turns sharing stories, music and bantering on stage.
On Thursday, September 12, Mountain Stage will feature Dead Man Winter, BoDeans, Jill & Julia (Jill Sobule and Julia Sweeney), The Pines, and the Jonathan Rundman Acoustic Trio. On Friday, September 13, Mountain Stage will host Tom Paxton, Lori McKenna, Matraca Berg, Andrew Walesch, Jonathan Brown, Drew Kennedy, Jon Vezner and Jeff Gilkenson.
Unplugged concert performers on Saturday, September 14 include Tom Paxton, Matraca Berg and Jon Vezner, along with performers yet to be named.
There are three opportunities to take music coursework with performers during the event: Jonathan Brown will host a half-day fingerstyle guitar workshop, Larry Groce offers a half-day listening session, and Tom Paxton, Matraca Berg and Jon Vezner are collaborating to offer a two-day songwriting workshop.
Also on the schedule for the Unplugged weekend are traditional craft mini-courses in everything from birchbark weaving to bread baking, and a speaker series. For the second year our Points North Auction will give online bidders the opportunity to bid on lodging, experiences and gift certificates with distinct North Shore flavor at www.biddingforgood.com/northhouse.
Tickets for this year’s Unplugged concerts are available for purchase online, and event details, performer links and other weekend highlights are all available at www.northhouse.org. More information about Mountain Stage and recordings of last year’s shows recorded in Grand Marais are available at www.mountainstage.org
Mountain Stage Radio Show is a highly-successful radio show that features live music in the folk, roots and Americana traditions. It is heard by audiences worldwide – the show is produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed by NPR. Over 1,400 tickets were sold for last year’s event, and guest feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
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