Music at the Martin

Saul Kaye
2009-11-13 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
Our friend Saul Kaye, from over in the “Bay Area”, is coming back to Winnemucca. Saul is a guy we really admire. He is a very gifted musician, a great songwriter, has a wonderfully warm stage presence, and each time he has come to the Martin he’s brought a strong band and a wonderful groove. It is very easy to tell that Saul Kaye loves what he is doing.
Now, the interesting thing is, Saul is coming this time to play a solo show. He has been moved to create a whole new suitcase full of blues tunes around his Jewish Heritage, and he’s coming to Winnemucca to try them out on you.
We hope you will join us.
$10 Tickets are on sale now at The Martin Hotel, Nature’s Corner and Global Coffee.
Here is a post about Saul’s new music, written by an Actual Journalist:
From the Bohemian.Com:
Jews and the Abstract Truth
Saul Kaye funnels his communions into ‘Jewish Blues’
By Gabe Meline
At age two, Saul Kaye glued his head to the stereo speakers in his family living room, and one could make the argument that he’s never really unglued himself. In fact, as a teenager, his only weekly ritual was tuning into a radio show called The Blues Train , which played Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Son House and other greats from 8pm to 6am while Kaye played along.
Saul Kaye’s new album, Jewish Blues , is the product of two life-altering communions, the first being playing along every week to the radio. His second came at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where after a period of falling away from his Jewish upbringing, Kaye says, “I went to Israel in my 20s and had a classic ‘wall’ experience. I was at the wall, with my family, and felt a strong reconnection.” <more>

Blame Sally
2009-11-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
San Francisco Band Finds Unconventional Success
“…the band has the songs, the chops and the pipes to back up their tough-talking, clear-minded folk rock.” Santa Cruz Sentinel
In these strange times of job layoffs and uncertain futures, the San Francisco band BLAME SALLY is characteristically bucking the trend. Pam Delgado, Jeri Jones, Renee Harcourt and Monica Pasqual hit their stride well after the first blush of youth, watching their audiences grow and their independently-released record sales balloon as they set their own career pace and direction. In the fall of 2008, the mid-life women of BLAME SALLY signed a one-of-a-kind, five-year, three -album recording contract in the mid-six figures with Bay Area Opus Music Ventures, backed up by generous creative and tour support that enabled them to finally become full-time musicians. The ink was barely dry on the contract before BLAME SALLY found themselves in a brand new, state-of-the-art recording studio and in the very capable hands of Grammy-nominated producer, Lee Townsend, (Bill Frisell, Louden Wainwright, Noe Venable, Crooked Still).
Give a Listen
The resulting album, Night of 1000 Stars, was released in May 2009. As they have always done, BLAME SALLY uses personal and topical issues to fuel their powerful songwriting and jubilant ensemble musicianship. Whether through the anguished voice of an Afghan war veteran, the cancer survivor finding some humor in new age bromides or the woman who’s passion comes on like a summer thunderstorm, each track on Night of 1000 Stars is rich with authenticity and emotion.
A unique collective of four distinct voices and musical backgrounds, BLAME SALLY has forged a compelling and original sound that has earned the band the well-deserved reputation as “Bay Area phenomenon”. The San Francisco Chronicle raved that BLAME SALLY’s music “…recall(s) the artful romanticism of Jane Siberry, the rich folk harmonies of the Indigo Girls, and the percolating soulfulness of Joy of Cooking.” Poised for greater national attention, they’ve performed for audiences across the US, sharing festival stages with the likes of Los Lobos, Ani DiFranco, Richard Thompson, Roseanne Cash and Greg Brown.
In 2007 BLAME SALLY launched a national radio campaign covering both AAA and Non-Com stations and reached an audience of millions through XM Satellite Radio’s Starbuck’s XM Café where the band’s previous album Severland charted at number one.
BLAME SALLY is already out on the road, touring non-stop, with US and European dates booked through the end of the year.

Shakespeare’s Troupe
2009-10-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
At one o’clock in the the morning, all kinds of strange things are going on. This army is about to enjoy some well deserved rations to celebrate their victory, and recover from their defeats earlier this evening, as they often met in pitched battle on stage in Winnemucca for their production of Macbeth. The director and the cast of the traveling Nevada Shakespeare Company stopped briefly for a photo during what seemed to be a re-creation of a scene from the play during their late night dinner at the Winnemucca Inn.
And yes, and the sword fights lived up to their billing, the witches were stunning, the whole performance ran like a watch, and they ALL delivered a terrific performance. They still have four shows on their schedule, and they truly deserve to play to a packed house each night.
Their next show is Friday, October 23 at Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City; and then three performances in Reno at the Laxalt Auditorium, October 29, 30, and 31. ADMISSION: All Reno shows are free. Admission to the Piper’s Opera House show is $15 general and $10 for students and seniors. Tickets will be available at the door. ON THE WEB: www.Nevada-Shakespeare.org
If you are member of the troupe, or were in the audience last night, we would love to hear from you. Leave a comment below, and share your thoughts.
From the Reno Gazette Journal’s Sunday edition, later today:
Shakespeare returns with a vengeance
Joe Atack as Macbeth
By Forrest Hartman • forrest@rgj.com • October 18, 2009
Since 2002, Nevada Shakespeare Company has been a scaled-down model of its former self, concentrating on educational outreach programs and small productions requiring only a handful of actors. That changed Friday when the company trotted out its first full-blown stage show in seven years, a touring production of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” more….

“Something Wicked This Way Comes”
2009-10-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Lowry High, 5375 Kluncy Canyon Rd, Winnemucca, NV, 89445, United States
Great Basin Arts and Entertainment is bringing the Nevada Shakespeare Company’s new production of Macbeth to the Lowry High Theater on Saturday, October 17. Doors will open at 6:00 and the curtain will go up at 7:00 PM for a performance held as a benefit for the BackPack Kids program. All ticket proceeds are going to this worthwhile program of the Winnemucca Food Bank which discretely places weekend food supplies in the back packs of needy elementary school children each Friday.
In celebration of their 10th season, Nevada Shakespeare Company offers an edgy new production of Macbeth, Shakespeare’s popular tale of horror, drawn from Scottish history, with great warriors, witches and ghostly apparitions.
The production is directed by the talented David Weinberg.
“Having Dave as our director is a godsend,” says Cameron Crain, Nevada Shakes’ President and Managing Artistic Director, “his training, experience and insights into the play, as well as our company, make him the perfect fit for this production.”
Mr. Weinberg was born and raised in Reno, and has spent over a decade working and studying theatre in Los Angeles, New York and London. The play also boasts stage combat choreography by Mr. JR Beardsley, an international fight director, and includes several violent fights with a range of authentic-looking broad swords, shields and battle axes.
“This is one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest, spookiest plays, and it’s a perfect thing to present this time of year,” says Beardsley regarding the staging of Macbeth during the Halloween season, “My job is to help recreate the violence of the time period and make it look real and interesting.”
This bloody production promises to be a fresh, dynamic and entertaining event for the Halloween season: after all, Macbeth is filled with sword fights, witches, blood lust, betrayal and justice. Before there was Harry Potter there was Shakespeare! Macbeth will be touring throughout the month of October: 10.16 at the Dayton Valley Country Club, 10.17 at Lowry High School in Winnemucca, 10.23 at Piper’s Opera House, 10.24, 10.29, 10.30 and 10.31 at the Nelson Building in downtown Reno.
This bloody production promises to be a fresh, dynamic and entertaining event for the Halloween season: after all, Macbeth is filled with sword fights, witches, blood lust, betrayal and justice. Before there was Harry Potter there was Shakespeare!
Thanks to the Nevada Arts Council’s Stimulus Grant, the Nevada Humanities, the Carol Franc Buck Foundation and the City of Reno’s Arts and Culture program, we have a Reno-born and British-trained director: Dave Weinberg, a British-born Reno-resident playing the lead: Joe Atack, and an international stage and film combat artist conducting the choreography: JR Beardsley. The cast is compromised of local artists from Caron Valley, Carson, Lake Tahoe, Reno, including the amazing Stephanie Richardson as Lady Macbeth.
For details and information contact Cameron Crain, 775.232.4974, cameroncrain@gmail.com or visit www.nevada-shakespeare.org or www.gbae.org.
Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for others, and are available at Nature’s Corner, The Martin Hotel, and Global Coffee. Proceeds from all ticket sales will go to the local Backpack Kids program.
About the BackPack Program
There are children in our local communities that rely on resources such as free or reduced-priced school lunch, during the school year.
The BackPack Program is designed to meet the needs of these hungry children at times when other resources are not available, such as weekends and school vacations.
How the Backpack Program works

Backpacks filled with food that children take home on weekends
Food is child-friendly, nonperishable, easily consumed and vitamin fortified
Backpacks are discreetly distributed to children on the last day before the weekend or holiday vacation

Bluegrass Great James King
2009-10-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
The James King Bluegrass Band returns to Winnemucca for a show at the Martin Hotel, at 7:00 PM Tuesday, October 13. Tickets are on sale now at Nature’s Corner and the Martin Hotel.
From the moment you first hear his voice, you know you are hearing bluegrass the way it was meant to be sung. James King sings bluegrass as only a handful of others before him – Carter Stanley, Red Allen, Del McCoury – ever have. Bluegrass Unlimited has called him “the most impressive lead vocalist to emerge in traditional bluegrass this decade”.
Bluegrass lead singing is a delicate balance a singer must have the forcefulness and intensity to cut through the multiple instrumental layers of a bluegrass band, while still maintaining a tender enough lilt to convey emotion and mesh with the instruments and supportive vocalists. Even the most driving numbers require a certain finesse while, conversely, the most eloquent songs demand a firm push. When you consider his mastery of this balance, the high quality of the songs he sings, his top-notch backing band, and his sheer soulfulness, it becomes clear that James King is simply the best lead singer in bluegrass today.
Our old friend Mr. James King is on his way to Winnemucca for another fall visit. I dug my CD’s out this weekend, and once again, James and his band had me grinning and laughing, crying and sobbing, and sitting simply carried away with delight and wonder. If you are a fan of traditional bluegrass music, or a fan of great emotional singing, or a fan of watching a group of musicians locked-in together to take you on a journey, this is a show you won’t want to miss.

The Earl Brothers
2009-10-05 19:30 - 21:30 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
The Earl Brothers, a 4-piece, all-original string band from Northern California, stands at the cutting-edge of a movement so new, it has yet to be definitively named. Whether one chooses to describe them as “Honky-Tonk Bluegrass,” “Hillbilly Gothic,” or “Neo-Traditional,” there is one thing on which everyone seems to agree. There is something about this band’s “less is more” approach to songwriting, singing, and musicianship that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and take notice.
For those who remember the goose-bumps they felt the first time they heard the high-lonesome sound of Bill Monroe or the otherworldly harmonies of the Stanley Brothers, that same thrill of discovery is being created all over again by the Earl Brothers. Unlike other traditional bluegrass bands that seek to re-create the music of the original bluegrass masters, the Earl Brothers are blazing their own trail, extending the genre, while simultaneously staying solidly within the gritty tradition that started in the 1940s and 50s. Listeners are left with a mix of exhilaration and bewilderment upon their first exposure to this new-yet-old form of music. As one listener remarked, “There is something mysterious that happens when the Earl Brothers take the stage. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t have to. I just know that something important is going on.”
In the short time since the release of their second album, Troubles To Blame (the eagerly anticipated follow-up to Whiskey, Women & Death), The Earl Brothers have received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from music-lovers, festival promoters, radio DJs, and music journalists across the country and abroad. The album rose to the top spot on the WDVX play list in Knoxville, TN, just a few short weeks after its debut on that station. CD orders and radio requests have been tumbling in from such far-flung locales as Australia, Belgium, France, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and even New York City!
The band is built around the unique vocal and songwriting attributes of the creative duo of Bobby Earl Davis (banjo) and Danny Morris (guitar). There is an indescribable “something” that happens when these guys sing together that makes the listener feel as if he or she has taken a step outside of the current time and place and somehow ended up in a different dimension that is unmistakably old-time but is simultaneously avant-garde. The subject matter is mostly limited to “dreadful” subjects—death, drinking, chasing and losing women—and an occasional honky-tonk gospel to atone for all of these transgressions. Rounding out the sound is the tasteful fiddle playing of Tom Lucas and the driving bass of James Touzel.
Give them a listen on their MySpace page:

Spring Creek~Rural and Cosmic Bluegrass
2009-10-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
Spring Creek from Lyons, Colorado, are quickly gaining a reputation as the hottest young band in the Rocky Mountains. The quartet play a mix of bluegrass standards and compelling originals, and all four musicians are also accomplished vocalists. Spring Creek is built on the fundamentals of bluegrass, yet they create their own classic contemporary style.
The young band, whose members met in music school in Texas, have studied and performed together for several years, creating a tight, polished sound. Counting such bands as Country Gazette and Hot Rize among their influences, Spring Creek’s members have a deep respect for tradition, as well as an innate sense of musical innovation.
“We choose songs that suit our style,” says guitarist Taylor Sims. “I enjoy the pilgrimage–learning songs the way they’ve been played for years and years, staying close to tradition. But a lot of different kinds of songs can fit into the traditional bluegrass style if they are done really well. We try hard to do each song justice, with real bluegrass-style harmonies and arrangements.”
Judges at two recent band competitions agree that Spring Creek have what it takes to deliver the high, lonesome sounds in the Appalachian tradition. The band won the Telluride Bluegrass Festival band contest in June 2007, and won their second Planet Bluegrass title later that summer at the 35th annual Rocky Mountain Bluegrass Festival (RockyGrass) held in Lyons.
“We won Telluride pretty exclusively based on the strength of our original material,” explains Alex Johnstone, who plays both mandolin and fiddle in Spring Creek. “People are learning our tunes now and that’s so exciting.”
Though they clearly appeal to traditional bluegrass fans, the Spring Creek musicians mix in a little something for everyone at their live shows. Expect to hear an Elton John or Gillian Welch cover squeezed in between a blazing fast Carter Stanley instrumental and a rip roarin’ Bill Monroe tune. Band mates agree that they want to have a hand in initiating younger audiences into the bluegrass fold.
“I’m into the idea of playing for general audiences where people might be exposed to traditional bluegrass for the first time,” says Chris Elliott, who in addition to his band’s win at RockyGrass, also celebrated earning top honors in the festival’s banjo instrument contest.
“When I first saw younger people playing bluegrass, I thought, ‘Wow, this could be really cool,’” says Elliott. “If more young people are exposed to bluegrass at the right time, they’ll like it too.”
“We really want all generations to appreciate bluegrass,” agrees bassist Jessica Smith. “Some kids think it’s just sleepy music for older people. We show them that we have real energy and passion; we show them that it’s something special.”
Following up on 2006’s Rural & Cosmic Bluegrass, Spring Creek released Lonesome Way to Go in March 2008 and their third disc,Way Up on a Mountain on Rebel Records in May 2009. This 12-track album of kickin’ Colorado bluegrass has charmed fans, critics, DJs and festival producers alike with its expert vocals, instrumental work and impressive writing.
“Spring Creek has redefined what can be accomplished on acoustic instruments,” says Chris Kelly of the Crested Butte Weekly. “They are an act not to be missed, as their constant live performances have allowed them to become a tight-knit musical ensemble.”
“On stage, the band has real chemistry,” says Kelly. “Through mutual stimulation and stage-fed adrenaline and energy, the band can thrust itself into an acoustic frenzy!”

Paul Geremia – Acclaimed Country Blues Fingerpicker
2009-10-05 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
Blues Legend Springs Surprise Martin Show
by Henry Kingman
One of the world’s greatest living bluesmen will appear at The Martin Hotel this Saturday. Tickets for the 7 PM show, which was confirmed mere days ago, cost only $10, with all proceeds
going to the musician.
Paul Geremia has been a working musician for forty-three years. He plays finger-style country blues on 6- and 12-string guitars, accompanied at times by mouth harp and verse sung like he means it.
Something of a purist, Geremia plays with high fidelity to the masters – Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, Howlin’ Wolf, Charlie Patton, and scores of others. In a life on the road, he has managed to dodge mainstream fame and fortune, while racking up more miles, friends, and musical accomplices than anyone but perhaps Ramblin’ Jack Elliot or Woodie Guthrie. Geremia is definitely in it for the music.
Besides playing the masters, Geremia writes original material, and has recorded about a dozen solo albums. His idiosyncratic style celebrates crooked beats, and musical quotes, asides, and humor. Some of the lyrics are pretty funny, too.
Between songs, Geremia likes to share his views on life, the times, and particularly the history of the blues. Things never get too dry or academic, though, because the stories are all so personal. Geremia has at some point played or recorded with every country blues picker from Piedmont to the Delta, it seems.
Geremia is himself a third-generation Italian American hailing from Providence, Rhode Island – the Providence Delta,” he likes to joke. Unusually for a “blues legend” of his stature, Geremia books his own shows, tours alone, and stays mostly with friends. He learned about the Martin from Roy Book Binder, who apparently described it as the best venue in the entire West.
We couldn’t agree more, and hope a good crowd will turn out, despite the last-minute notice, to appreciate one of the all-time greats in a rare West Coast appearance. The show is Saturday, May 30, 7 PM at the Martin Hotel on Railroad Street. Tickets are $10, and available now at the Martin, or at Nature’s Corner on Winnemucca Blvd.

Caleb Klauder and his All Star County Band
2009-09-26 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
Caleb is coming back to Winnemucca, this time bringing his all-star band. One our our favorite people, a great musician, wonderful singer, and a song writer with an old beautiful soul, Caleb’s newest record “Dangerous Mes and Poisonous Yous” is spinkled with old standards, and mixed with his new songs, and it is impossible to know the difference. If you haven’t heard it, have a listen.
Caleb Klauder is bringing along a great band, made up of friends from Portland, and interestingly enough, nearly all of them have played the Martin before, but with other bands. Jesse Emerson of Amelia will be here on bass, Paul Brainard the great petal steel player that performs often with Richmond Fontaine, Sophie Vitells of the Crooked Jades will be on fiddle, Sammy Lind of Foghorn will be on guitar. The only stranger (to us) in the group is drummer Ned Folkerth who drums for Caleb as well as with the Lewi Longmire Band, Spigot, the Pinetop Seven, and few others.
Caleb Klauder’s warm sound, authentic and familiar, feels all at once contemporary and vintage, as though it’s coming from the porch next-door. Raised between Orcas Island, Washington and Little Cumberland, Georgia, Klauder took his first steps in Knoxville. If his music could invent a genre, it would be New-school Americana, infusing old standards with Northwestern attitude and spinning out modern classics made elegant with Southern charm.
Klauder writes his rough-hewn lyrics among the chickens scratching in his garden in Portland, Oregon, where he works as a musician and carpenter and is raising his 13-year-old son, Elijah. Winner of the Best Country Album of 2007 at the Portland Music Awards, Caleb Klauder has been on tour for the last fifteen years performing with Calobo, Pig Iron, The Caleb Klauder Band, The Foghorn Stringband, and with Dirk Powell. He’s opened for acts such as JJ Cale, Iris Dement, David Bromberg, and the Del McCoury Band and has shared the stage with Tim O’Brien, Kevin Burke, The Wilders, Uncle Earl, and Justin Townes Earle. Klauder regularly collaborates with Dirk Powell, Riley Baugus, Betse Ellis, Reyna Gellert, and Justin Townes Earle.
Klauder has toured extensively with both the Foghorn Stringband and the Caleb Klauder Country Band throughout the US, the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Malaysia playing a variety of stages including the Tonder Music Festival, the Newport Folk Festival, the Rainforest World Music Festival, the Chicago Folk and Roots Festival, Pick-a-thon Roots Music Festival, The Seattle Folk Life Festival, The Bristol Rhythm and Roots Festival, Bumbershoot and the ROMP Festival.

Victoria Matlock ~ Broadway in Winnemucca
2009-09-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
On her way from California to New York where she will appear in the new upcoming Broadway play “The First Wives Club,” Victoria Matlock has agreed to present a concert in Winnemucca. The concert is scheduled for 7pm on the evening of September 8th and will be at the Martin Hotel. Tickets are available at the Martin and Nature’s Corner at a cost of $10.
Some reviewers of The First Wives Club have had this to say:
TheatreMania — “an impressive Victoria Matlock”
Talkin’ Bway — “Matlock has a terrific voice”
The music in the Winnemucca concert will primarily come from The Marvelous ‘Wonderettes,’ Ms Matlock’s last play. Wonderettes features popular music songs from the fifties and sixties including such old favorites as: “Mr. Sandman,” “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar.” Ms. Matlock was a member of the original cast of ‘Wonderettes’ and appears in the original cast recording (available from Amazon).

In her ten years as a professional actress Victoria Matlock has played in numerous other productions including:
Wicked (she played Elphaba, the lead in the national tour),
Evita (National Tour),
The Full Monty (National Tour),
Cats (Grizabella, who sings ‘Memories’),
Godspell,
The Sound of Music,
Baby Case, and more.
In 2007 she sang the National Anthem at a nationally televised game of the Boston Red Sox.
Ms Matlock is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado where she majored in musical theater and computer science. Like other actresses she primarily lives ‘on the road,’ but she is officially a resident of Winnemucca where she owns a home. More information about her is available on her web site: www.victoriamatlock.com.
For this performance Ms. Matlock will be accompanied on the piano by long term Winnemucca resident Jeannette Jones.
There will be time between songs for the audience to ask questions. Here is an opportunity for young people (or the young at heart) interested in the stage to learn from a professional about the New York scene, auditioning, finding an agent, education, etc.
This concert is being presented under the joint sponsorship of Great Basin Arts and Entertainment and the White Sage Theater. The text of this press release was created by Victoria’s very proud father, John Matlock of Winnemucca. John is the primary producer of the plays staged and performed by the White Sage Theater.

Ray Abshire ~ Authentic Cajun Music
2009-08-29 19:30 - 21:30 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
Ray Abshire is one of Cajun music’s purest accordionists and vocalists and a living link to it’s very roots. A member of one of Louisiana’s legendary musical families, Ray grew up surrounded by Cajun music’s pioneer artists. He has performed with most all of the old masters whose recordings now form the texts for students of today. In 1975, while at the pinnacle of Cajun music as accordionist with the legendary “Balfa Brothers Band” and helping to open windows for Cajun music in the nation’s musical consciousness, Ray left the bandstand. Abshire’s return to the stage has been hailed by both critics and fans alike. He is once again at the forefront and sharing his knowledge and skills with a new generation.
Recognized as a master musician and one of the resurgence leaders of Cajun music, Ray now enjoys conducting workshops, teaching at music camps and performing at major festivals both nationally and abroad. Ray’s music is unfiltered and has it’s own wholesome electricity. He plays it the way it was handed down to him and understands the importance of preserving one of this nation’s great “folk” musics. Each and every time you attend a Ray Abshire performance you are guaranteed the “real deal”!

Literary Nevada: Writings from the Silver State
2009-08-10 19:00 - 2009-10-05 21:00 | NV
Cheryll Glotfelty, CASE-Carnegie Professor of the Year for Nevada and Associate Professor of English, University of Nevada, Reno, will be holding a series of public humanities talks and conversations in Northern Nevada based on Literary Nevada: Writings from the Silver State. Literary Nevada is the first comprehensive anthology of Nevada literature. The events are co-sponsored by Nevada Humanities and the University of Nevada Press.
Talks will discuss Nevada through the lens of its literary heritage and include a conversation with the audience about Nevada’s stories. A focal point of the conversation will be about living in Nevada and its rural communities, and the stories that help us “re-see” our place.
Cheryll Glotfelty has published widely on western American literature in periodicals, essay collections, and reference works. Twelve years of literary sleuth-work went into the making of Literary Nevada: Writings from the Silver State, recently published by the University of Nevada Press.
“This book is a wonderful gift to Nevada’s people, to westerners in general, and to a confused nation seeking to understand its roots. It’s full of vivid, compelling storytelling that can lead readers to an imaginative understanding of Nevada and western life and literature as they have evolved. This is a very special defining book. We inhabit our own nation, and its literature is beginning to get due recognition. This book will be an important part of that movement.”
–William Kittredge, editor of The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology

The Crooked Jades Familiar Old-Time Embraced by the Strange
2009-08-07 19:30 - 21:30 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
“Grounded in tradition, old-time string band music and mountain blues but with open horizons that take them, subtly, to other parts of the planet, they have a haunting spookiness, an organic pulse, and most importantly a clear vision…Instrumentally they’re truly inspiring, getting original textures out of conventional stringband instruments and mixing them with (in this context) oddities like bass ukulele, harmonium, mbira, cello and Vietnamese jaw harp and bau zither. Vocally, they have that lonesome white blues sound which has its ancestry in Dock Boggs and the Carters but again they take it somewhere else…a consistently startling and addictive album.”
– The Crooked Jades “Shining Darkness” Reviewed by Ian Anderson
in UK magazine f ROOTS
Performing driving dance tunes and haunting ballads with an amazing array of vintage and eclectic instruments, The Crooked Jades are modern innovators in the old-time Americana world, creating a cinematic sound based on Americana roots infused with the diverse musical influences of Europe and Africa.
On a mission to reinvent old world music, they bring their soulful performances (brilliantly suprising arrangements of obscure old tunes mixed with beautiful original compositions) to clubs, concert halls and festivals around the united States and Europe.
Based in San Francisco, founded by leader Jeff Kazor and nurtured by the vibrant West coast, California and Ba Area bluegrass and old-time music scenes, the Crooked Jades play with a thrilling and hyponotic energy which has inspired director Sean Penn to include a turn from World’s on Fire ih his most recent film Into the Wild, fans on their feet dancing and critics comparing them to everyone from the New Lost City Ramblers and The Pouges to Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and Gillian Welch.
Appealing as much to the pierced generation as to their great-grandparents, this is sepia tones, bent angles, unexpected accents, unanticipated sounds. It’s banjo ukeuleles, minstrel banjos, plucked fiddles, bowed basses, Hawaiian slide guitars, harmoniums and Vietnamese jaw harps together in fiery, artful, harmony.

Jackstraw ~ Bluegrass
2009-05-04 19:00 - 2009-05-16 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
When Jackstraw last performed to a sold out house at the Martin Hotel in December 2005, the audience, along with Jesse, Dave, Jon, and Darrin, were all left breathless, and grinning from ear to ear. We’ve had dozen’s of astonishing shows and hundreds of talented artists perform on our stage and these guys are right at the top. We can’t think of anything more joyous than spending another evening with Jackstraw.
A stand-up bass, mandolin, and two guitars, this is a bluegrass band with a unique approach to traditional bluegrass and traditional county music along with a suitcase full of great original tunes.
Intensity, dexterity, and pure joy
It’s what they call: High Energy Acoustic Bluegrass from the Pacific Northwest.
Give them a listen at Jackstraw’s MySpace page.
SEATS FOR THIS SHOW ARE BOUND TO SELL-OUT SO GET YOURS TODAY!
About Jackstraw
After ten years on the road and five albums, Jackstraw is a Northwest institution. This coal-fired Portland quartet plays the kind of music as deep and old as the silt washing out of a defunct Appalachian strip mine. Most of the time it’s bluegrass, but not always. As often as the boys rip through a Stanley Brothers chestnut, they tap into their own deep collection of originals, swerve into honky-tonk or barn-burn a rock ‘n roll classic.
Throughout the band’s history, critics have been quick to praise their energy and speed, often drawing comparisons to punk music. It’s true, Jackstraw does play fast. But the band never replaces musical depth and feeling with showmanship. Jackstraw is not afraid to explore new territory, but they won’t turn on their musical forbears and the hallmarks of bluegrass –great songs, great picking, and great singing. It is this steadfast adherence to their principles that has kept Jackstraw fans coming back for a decade and consistently wins the band new hearts.
A Jackstraw show is truly an inclusive, multi-generational experience. The band’s devoted following includes bluegrass purists, alt-country fans, kids who want to dance, and people who know a good tune when they hear one. Jackstraw was born when rhythm guitarist Darrin Craig and lead player Jon Neufeld met mandolin picker David Pugh and bassist Jesse Withers in 1997 at Artichoke Music, a Portland guitar store and acoustic music institution. Not long after their formation, Jackstraw recorded their first album and hit the road.
Five records later, the band has toured throughout the United States, playing roadhouses, listening rooms and clubs as well as festival stages. Along the way, they have shared bills with many bluegrass greats such as Del McCoury and Tim O’Brien and included legends like Danny Barnes (Bill Frissell, Robert Earl Keen, Bad Livers) and Tony Furtado (Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss) as temporary band mates.

Colin Ross ~ Evolution of the Blues
2009-04-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
Evolution of the Blues is a presentation sponsored in part by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius
From its earliest roots to contemporary musical fusion, the Blues is the common thread in American music. Drawing from a vast repertoire of music played on a variety of traditional instruments, Colin Ross puts on an unforgettable show.
The show traces the history of the blues through an astonishing variety of styles. Whether it is energetic old time stride and boogie, the harmonic complexity of Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, the gentle roll of Mississippi John Hurt, or the driving sting of Muddy Waters, the music is played with uncompromising technique, integrity, and soul.
Reno based composer and multi-instrumentalist Colin Ross plays a large and ever-shifting repertoire of original music, jazz standards and blues classics. Beginning with classical piano at the age of five, Colin has continued to study and grow throughout his career, playing a variety of instruments and styles. While maintaining a full time performance schedule, Colin has recorded and released five CDs on his own label, Oharaross Productions. Colin’s band features piano, electric, acoustic, 12-string and slide guitars, bass, drums, percussion, vocal harmonies, winds, and various folk and electronic instruments.
$10 Tickets are ON SALE NOW at The Martin Hotel and Nature’s Corner.
Here is a brief video of the “Evolution of the Blues Show” at the Brewery Arts Center in Carson City.

Chris Cain ~ Blues Guitar Master
2009-03-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Martin Hotel, 94 W Railroad St, Winnemucca, NV, 89445
$10 Tickets are ON SALE NOW
at Nature’s Corner and The Martin Hotel
Chris Cain’s jazz-tinged, blues soaked guitar and deep, warm vocals have the maturity and authenticity of bluesmen many years his senior. His expressive style is the result of a lifetime of study and the relentless pursuit of music mastery. His passion and intensity are a blend of his mother’s Greek ancestry and his father’s soulful black heritage.
Cain was raised on stories of his father’s childhood upbringing on Memphis’ Historic Beale Street and attended his first B.B. King concert at the tender age of three. Blues music played continuously on the home stereo and family outings were often trips to concerts. Cain recalls, “I remember when I was a kid, my Dad would be mowing the lawn with the stereo blasting Muddy Waters. When I look back, that was pretty cool! There was always music playing at our house, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Freddie King, Albert King, all the greats.”
At the age of eight, Cain taught himself to play guitar and began playing professionally before he was eighteen. Chris studied music at San Jose City College, and was soon teaching jazz improvisation on campus. Over the next twenty years, Cain would also master piano, bass guitar, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone. The combination of his blues upbringing and his jazz studies melded to form the searing guitar style that sets Chris Cain apart and has moved him to the top ranks of the blues music scene.
Cain’s debut recording, Late Night City Blues (Blue Rock’it Records-1987) garnered four W.C. Handy Blues Award nominations, including “Guitarist of the Year”. Dan Forte of Guitar Player wrote, “An impressive debut album by a top notch guitarist.” Cain’s next two releases; “Cuttin Loose” (Blind Pig Records-1990) and “Can’t Buy a Break” (Blind Pig Records-1992) collected a long list of awards and accolades. In August of 1995 Blind Pig released “Somewhere Along the Way” his 4th compilation of his unique brand of original music sophisticated blues, funk, jazz and gospel.
In 2003 Patrick Ford produced Chris’s latest CD, “Hall Of Shame” (Blue Rock’it Records-2003). “…this is now the sixth Chris Cain solo release I have produced, not to mention his work with me on projects like the Ford Blues Bands’ “In Memory Of Michael Bloomfield” CD, and I continue to be in awe of his incredible talent. As a guitarist/singer, Chris has been praised by mentors like Albert King and peers like Robben Ford.”
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Larry Nager (syndicated Scripts-Howard music critic) writes, “Nowadays most young blues players are Strat-wielding Stevie Ray Vaughan-a-bes. Not Chris Cain. With a voice that recalls B.B. King and a thick toned Gibson guitar sound reminiscent of Albert King, Cain is forging a unique style. With his own highly personalized songwriting, “Hall Of Shame” is a giant step in the development of one of the most compelling young bluesmen on today’s scene.”
Through his guitar mastery and remarkable songwriting ability, Chris Cain has established himself as a musical force to be reckoned with. And as San Jose Mercury News music reviewer John Orr writes, “more than anyone else, anywhere, Chris Cain represents the future of the blues.”
