Tanglefoot in Concert

tanglefootmusic.com/

For 25 years, the Ontario-based powerhouse folk band Tanglefoot has held a steady, rollicking course through eight-month winters, long tours, numerous recordings, and occasional changes in line-up.

Steve Ritchie (guitar, vocals), Al Parrish (double bass, vocals), Terry Young (mandolin, guitar, banjo, harmonica, whistle, tenor vocals), Sandra Swannell (violin, viola, vocals), and Rob Ritchie (keyboard, vocals) perform traditional and original Canadian songs with sweeping gusto and agility.

Tanglefoot is known for its, "full-throated abandon" (Dirty Linen). The five-part vocal harmonies alone would be impressive (they're acappella pros), but their ensemble instrumental work creates a full-dimensional sound. One fan dubbed them "Stan Rogers meets Van Halen" and that label took; others imagine them as good-natured latter-day pirates. Their passion for both history and invention shows in their rich lyrics and in their tunes that have clearly sprung from deep-rooted tradition.

SingOut! finds Tanglefoot songs as satisfying as, "an engrossing novel." These fine storytellers, dubbed "Canada's most accomplished musical mythologizers" (Robert Reid, Kitchener-Waterloo Record), won Best Vocal Group at the 2007 Canadian Folk Music Awards as well as the coveted "Best of Bound for Glory." One of their CDs, The Music in the Wood, entertained astronauts aboard the space shuttle, and the NASA engineers and rocket scientists on the ground demanded equal time with a live performance. Top that!

Despite the high-energy swagger, these musicians are true Canadians, as their self-deprecating, individual, and unconventional humor reveals. They connect with their audiences through personality as well as their music. Band member Al Parrish, who abandoned Canada for Ithaca for a few years, has local ties. Sadly, for their many enthusiastic fans, 2009 is Tanglefoot's Farewell Tour. Don't miss their last appearance in Ithaca!

Tickets are available at Ludgate Farm Market, Ithaca Guitar Works, Greenstar Co-op, Small World Music, Bound for Glory, and, if any are left, at the door. You may also order tickets online and by mail: SASE to CFSC, PO Box 481, Ithaca, NY 14851.

(Margaret Shepard)

For information about the concert, contact

• Sophia at 607.351.4763
• or the Cornell Folk Song Society.

Author:	Ted Crane
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