PREVIEW: Live! Folklife Concerts’ Spring 2025 Series Presents Musicians from Near and Far
Photo provided by Crandall Library
The Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, NY is an award-winning program created in 1993. Its mission is to research and present the cultural traditions of the upper Hudson Valley and southern Adirondacks of upstate New York. Each year, the center welcomes talented musicians from all over the world to their Live! Folklife Concerts series. The series presents six different acts with each performing on Thursday evenings at Crandall Public Library and on Friday evenings at the Historic Salem Courthouse in Salem, NY.
On April 17th & 18th, the series welcomes Windborne. Windborne shifts effortlessly between different styles of music, drawing their audience along on a journey that spans continents and centuries. Bandmates Lauren Breunig, Jeremy Carter-Gordon, Lynn Rowan, and Will Rowan share a vibrant energy onstage with a blending of voices that can only come from decades of friendship and dedicated practice. Their harmonies are bold and anything but predictable. The singers educate as they entertain, sharing stories about their songs and explaining the context and characteristics of the styles in which they sing.
April 24th & 25th brings Bon Débarras to the concert series. Bon Débarras unites the worlds of music, dance and poetry through a collaboration between Montreal artists Dominic Desrochers, Jean-François Dumas and Veronique Plasse. The group brings together a fusion of Quebecois folk music, traditional step-dancing and global influences, for a show that is full of fun and inventive energy.
Kicking off the month of May is Irish/Austin Texas singer-songwriter, Pat Byrne. He will be performing on May 1st & 2nd. In 2012, Byrne was crowned the winner of the first series of The Voice of Ireland, which led to the release of his debut album, All or Nothing. His 2021 album, Into The Light, was called “one of the best-sounding singer-songwriter albums to come out of Austin in years” by Austin American Statesman.
Coming all the way from the United Kingdom, folk singer-songwriter Johnny Campbell will appear on May 8th & 9th. Campbell emerged onto the UK folk scene writing self-penned material and delving deep into Northern English folk song and story. Called “a modern-day Billy Bragg” (Tradfolk), Campbell’s passion and determination shines through his music and writing.
Rounding out the Spring 2025 Live! Folklife Concert series is the Kathleen Parks Band. They will be performing on May 15th & 16th. Parks is a fiddler, singer, and songwriter who brings joyful and creative energy to any stage she appears on. For the last 10 years, she has been heavily involved in touring and recording with her Americana/Jamgrass band, Twisted Pine, where she sings, writes, and fiddles. On her upcoming solo album, her captivating songs lean more toward pop, folk, and classic jazz, while her virtuosic fiddle blends and re-imagines traditional and modern musical styles with boundless groove and playful improvisation.
All concerts in the Live! Folklife Concerts series begin at 7 pm with doors opening at 6:30 pm. Events are offered free of charge with partial funding from the New York State Council of Arts with support from the Governor’s Office and the New York State Legislature.