August 2021

Growing up in a musical and creative family made becoming a singer-songwriter an organic, even necessary thing for me. Songwriting is a natural outlet when life gets too loud, too harsh, OR even when it is too sweet! Words help me cope with life – but add music – and the tears flow more easily, the laughter bubbles up, the emotions that want to sit low and hide are allowed a voice and I can be free to express my stories.

That’s what my songs are. My stories.

My experiences include traveling and singing with a vocal group when I was young, to prison music ministry with a band, as well as being involved in multiple worship music ministries, owning and teaching in my music studio, recording a few albums of my own songs with a great Producer/Friend – Brandon Bee, (savethecityrecords.com), working with young vocalists in Italy who aspire to music and worship ministry, teaching vocal workshops at conferences, and various and sundry music festivals, recitals and concerts. Many of my songs have been selected and aired by podcasts such as Women of Substance, Music Matters among others.

My music is available for purchase and/or streaming at Apple Music, Amazon Music, ReverbNation, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

I have had the privilege of training up several performers and recording artists over a few decades of teaching singing, songwriting and keyboards. Artists such as Holly Starr, hollystarrmusic.com and Jennifer Dufoort with bonfiremusic.org in the Netherlands. In addition to giving private singing and piano lessons in my home studio, I have taught many classes in schools, churches and at conferences on vocals and performance. I have also had the honor of training up classical vocalists, and my studio has had many competitive successes in vocal competitions over the years.

Currently, due to the pandemic, my studio has been closed down (since I teach singing and it is an activity not to be done in close quarters at this time). Also my family has had some personal health and life-changing challenges that have caused me to step back a little and be available to serve and love on them. I am super grateful to have the opportunity to do that.

However, after more than a year of putting my music on the back burner I am returning to it with such an appreciation and joy in the work/play dynamic of songwriting again. My personal style of music leans towards Folk and Celtic, (My family is Scots/Irish). My 2nd album, dedicated to my late father who was so proud of his Scottish ancestry, includes my newest venture – a bit of Scots Gaidhlig singing. I am glad of the chance to share some of the old and the new of my song stories with a new audience who may be able to relate to the realities of life like those that inspired these songs. To allow what is difficult to become something beautiful is the utmost calling of the Creative artist.

Mary Loeffelbein

AKA YellowBird, AKA MaryKat

“Daddy was a seeker,” says Mare Wakefield. “Eventually he became a Salvationist minister. Mama was a gypsy, loving nothing more than a long stretch of highway.” Born with wanderlust in her DNA, Mare lived in eight different places before she was ten. “It was a roller-coaster way to grow up, but my brother and I learned to adapt and fit in fast,” she says. “We picked up Wisconsin accents in two weeks. Eighteen months later we were drawling like native Texans.”

For Turkish-born Nomad Ovunc, the journey was equally varied. His musical education began with classical piano at the exclusive Istanbul Conservatory and continued into jazz and more modern styles with a scholarship to Berklee College of Music. “My musical heroes range from Debussy to Keith Jarrett to Matt Rollings,” Nomad laughs, “I tend to genre-hop a lot, and focus on whatever’s needed to serve the song.” In addition to piano and organ, Nomad is adept on accordion, melodica, bass and percussion, and his gift for orchestration and musical arrangements includes a full arsenal of classical, country and jazz chops.

Currently based in Nashville, this husband-and-wife duo delights audiences with their mix of Americana, old-time country, jazz and contemporary folk. Called “Cozy brilliance … the merger of Natalie Merchant, Shawn Colvin and Dolly Parton” by the Louisville Observer and “Lovely — a little bit old country, a lot contemporary folk” by the New York Times, the pair have contributed music to original programming for CNN and Lifetime for the TV movie “A Very Merry Toy Store,” which featured their song, “Candles and Carols.”

In early 2020, Mare & Nomad were scheduled to be in Nashville to quickly finish a new record before heading out to tour the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. Then Covid hit, and the duo — usually accustomed to traveling six months out of the year and playing 100+ shows — were suddenly homebound. Once they accepted that fact that they were now not going anywhere, the duo were able to devout a luxurious amount of time to finishing their latest record. Some tracks were re-mixed, some parts were scrapped, some songs were completely re-done.

“The pandemic allowed us to make the record we’ve always dreamed of,” offers Nomad, whose credits on No Remedy include piano, accordion, flute, backing vocals, synth and percussion.

Produced by Ovunc and mixed by Grammy-nominated engineer Bobby Holland (ZZ Ward, Maggie Rose, Wade Bowen), the record features eleven original songs with arrangements artfully executed by bassist Brian Allen (Jason Isbell, Brandi Carlile), drummer Wes Little (Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys) and guitar, banjo and mandolin from Tim Galloway (Luke Bryan, Josh Turner).

Throughout the entire record, story and song are woven seamlessly together by Mare’s intimate delivery and Nomad’s exquisite piano and accordion. Pre-orders of the album are available at https://marewakefield.com/product/no-remedy-cd with the digital version set to hit streaming services May 21.

To launch the record, the duo will release the joyful mantra, “Give Myself to Love” on March 19. Accompanying the single is a safely-shot companion visual that features band members in satellite locations and two dozen cameos beamed into a floating 70s-style TV set, replete with rabbit ears.

In addition to work on the new record, the duo have been keeping their performance chops up during the pandemic with live stream virtual concerts twice a month. Each show includes deep-cut requests, a cover or two, a trivia contest and a segment called “Oya’s Jazz Café” in which Mare & Nomad perform a jazz standard for Ovunc’s mother, Oya, who stays up till 4am to watch the concerts live from her home in Turkey.  It’s become a very sweet community of friends and fans,” says Mare. “We can get anywhere from a few hundred to 1000 or so people tuning in – our record is 6,000 streams for a super fun Carpenters Tribute. It’s been one of the brightest silver linings of all this, the slowing pace, the clearing of an over-crowded calendar, the staying put.”

Kerrville NewFolk finalists and a Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist, Mare & Nomad have toured the U.S. significantly the past 5 years, having also appeared at SXSW, the Tumbleweed Folk Fest, the Plymouth Folk Fest, and on WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour, a syndicated show out of Lexington, KY. The pair are currently organizing a special livestream to coincide with the album’s release with an eye to do some in-person shows and house concerts this fall.

“Cozy brilliance … The merger of Natalie Merchant Shawn Colvin and Dolly Parton.” – LEO Weekly

“Lovely vocals and even lovelier songs…a la Dar Williams or Patty Griffin.” – New York Times

“An arresting collection of folk pop.” – New Times, Nashville, TN

I am Lyle Morse, also known as “Lonesome Lyle“. An outstanding acoustic guitarist, harmonica player and stunning singer-songwriter-performer who currently calls Eastern Washington state his home. I have been refining my musical vision and talents over a number of decades, and I currently entertain in countless acoustic music friendly private functions, coffee houses, bistros, restaurants, street fairs, resorts, theaters, wineries and folk and arts festivals throughout Washington, Idaho and Montana.

My music has been highlighted, and performed live on National Public Radio affiliates as well as commercial and college radio programs featuring blues, folk and original music. I have also performed on network television and cable TV. Purely because I find the music so expressive, moving and profound, I concentrate my energies on acoustic blues music, but I do venture into other forms of American roots music.

Some of my primary “soul shadows” and musical influences have been Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters and Keb Mo. My sound is “groove-based” and other influences include British blues, the Chicago blues stylists, Detroit soul/rhythm & blues, country blues, folk, jazz and “Americana” music. Great blues music is found in a wide variety of musical contexts, and I try to incorporate this music into my performances. Throughout my life, music has been my constant companion. I cannot remember a time when I did not desire to play the guitar, and sing a song. I came to the blues later in life, probably because it seems to me that one has to experience the passage of time and circumstance in it’s many forms before you can convincingly interpret that style of music. Experience does teach volumes. I feel the performance of music suspends the passage of time. When I perform and feel “in the zone”, hours feel like minutes, and with the endorphins flowing, I experience no pain, no worries, no regrets. In that somewhat transcendental space I hope to make a connection to the spirits of the individuals in my audience.

I hope we can all walk away from such an experience feeling transformed. I owe never-ending gratitude to those early bluesmen, and other musicians who came before me and set the stage for what I do. All music is derivative, yet I always strive to make it my own, or give it a different interpretation. A wise bluesman once said to me, “Don’t do it like I do it, make it your own!” I also owe much love to those in my life that support my music, and allow me the time and space to prepare and perform.

In Les Strompettes, two hurdy-gurdy divas join forces to weave an eclectic musical tapestry on the looms of long lost civilizations, shrouded in ancient folkloric mystery.

Lira Korbowa and Tiesse di Dj’va play hurdy-gurdies and a stack of other instruments, and have way too much fun. They are, at times, ably supported by “The Drones”: Mickeleen O’Rarity and “Fastfinger” Billy Two Pints, accomplished and fearless musicians with many years of foolhardy adventure behind them and many more, it seems, ahead.

Their not-so-secret alter egos, Felicia Dale & Tania Opland, spend their lives on the road with their respective husbands and music partners (William Pint and Mike Freeman).  After performing in overlapping band line-ups for many years, Felicia and Tania debuted their hurdy-gurdy-based expandable duo in 2018.

Eastern Washington’s Joshua Hope (performing as Lanterns of Hope) is recognized for his eclectic style. Having a multifaceted style ranging from Alt-folk, rock, and entrancing instrumental pieces that he has delivered over the course of more than a decade.

Joshua started out in college in the Midwest in early 2000’s after an indie signing and touring with the rock n roll band, “Hope Breaks Through.”

After his travels with “Hope Breaks Through” ended, Joshua began composing the instrumental acoustic guitar project, “Lessons in the Wind.”

By 2012, Joshua began writing a prolific amount of Americana, while playing in duos, trios, and as a solo act performing around the Northwest for over 300 shows.

Currently, Lanterns of Hope has been releasing critically recognized and radio landing neo-folk and indie as well as looking forward to some exciting future projects.

Kerry Grombacher and Aspen Black, both successful solo artists, have worked together as a duo since 2014. Influenced by the English ballad tradition, the string-band music of Aspen’s Appalachian home, and the corridos of the desert Southwest, where Kerry has lived and worked, their songs tell stories of the people and events that shaped the West.

Kerry Grombacher plays guitar and mandolin. His songs have been featured on the ABC-TV adventure travel show, “Born to Explore,” and on the internationally-released Putumayo World Records CD “Cowboy Playground.” He has released six albums of original songs, and his songs have been recorded by a list of artists that includes Jim Jones, Belinda Gail, The Texas Trailhands, Gary Prescott, and Trails & Rails. There is a room named for him at the Sands Motel in Grants NM, on Historic Route 66.

Aspen Black plays guitar and bass. She received a Will Rogers Medallion for her 2018 CD of Cowboy Poetry, “Tales From the Road,” and her “Lovin’ the West” won the Rural Roots Music Commission’s 2017 Classic Western CD of the Year award. Her “Eastern-Western Cowgirl” was the RRMC’s 2015 Female Country-Western CD of the Year. She is a multi-year Top Five finalist for the International Western Music Association’s Female Poet of the Year, and both her 2018 “Tales From the Road,” and her 2016 “Invisibility,” were Top Five finalists for the IWMA’s Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year.

Kathy Jonas started out as a 60’s folk singer in the coffeehouses of Berkeley. These days she performs songs as old as the 12th century and as new as yesterday. Her style is calm and thoughtprovoking; some songs being up-beat and some, gentle and hushed. She currently has two CD’s:  Bound Away (2016) and Into the Mystery (2017), with a third CD in the works. In all her music, she has a wonderful way of taking songs from past and present and making them her own.

Kathy and Craig Gurney first met when they shared a table at an open mic. They didn’t realize it at the time, but that was the beginning of their musical partnership. Both are established artists with admirers in their solo fields of folk music and motorcycle poetry. Capitalizing on their mutual respect for each other’s talents, they have recently blended their voices and styles into music for all to enjoy.