Song of the Soul

Michael Johnson  journeys between folk, rock, & country charts, reaching the tops of the respect charts over the decades, with probing lyrics and excellent guitar. Recently returned from Nashville to the Twin Cities, Michael is making music with Red House Records & exploring connections with his newly-discovered daughter.

Ann Mayo Muir  has a long pedigree as a folk singer/songwriter, including many years as part of the near-legendary trio, Bok,Trickett, & Muir. Talented on a number of instruments and with a beautiful, evocative, voice, there is power and depth in all of her music. With a deep connection to the sea, she lives in France on a peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean.

James Mudcat Grant is the Mudcat in Mudcat & the Bottomfeeders , an appropriate name for someone who has lived his life on the banks of the Mississippi. With 50 years of music making of rock, folk,country and other varieties, Mudcat has the chops and and heart for powerful music. Find him on Facebook , at the Great River Folk Festival , painting houses, or wandering the great outdoors.

Christina Muir is a singer/songwriter/musician/artist, and one-third of the trio known as Hot Soup . Daughter of folk luminary Ann Mayo Muir , Christina has music in her genes & in her heart. With her wonderful vocals, talented instrumentals, fertile creativity, and a winsome laugh, she'll win your ear and your heart.

Chris Van Cleave  has a long and many-textured career with music - as part of the folk-rock band Meadow, writing & performing a lot of his own music, but also performing in several musicals, including a couple national tours in the title role of Jesus Christ Superstar. He's also co-written a rock/gospel musical called  The Davidson Affair

Damh the Bard is the stage name of Dave Smith , singer, songwriter, and Pendragon in the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids. Taking inspiration from those connected deeply with the Earth & the wild, Dave guides listeners in the footsteps of a closer knowledge and life with our home.

You can get a good idea of what kind of music singer/songwriter  Don D. Harvey  makes by the list of groups he's been part of (in addition to his solo work): Shakin Loose, Tennessee,  The Acoustic Conspiracy ,  The Earthbound Band , and currently,  The Ultrasonic Duo . Featured at the  Great River Folk Festival  this year, Don lives and plays in the LaCrosse, Wis...

Sarah McQuaid  carries a world of music with her, born in Spain, raised in the USA, and having lived 18 years in Ireland & England. A singer/songwriter who started in the folk world, Sarah will win your heart with her beautiful voice, lively and lovely guitar, and deep spirit.

Tracy Grammer is, via her website, a poetry-loving, type A ex-head cheerleader, graphic designer, classically trained violinist and karaoke queen with Florida roots and California cool. And for a handful of years she was in a folk duo with the incredible Dave Carter, which makes this a story for the ages. One of their songs, Gentle Arms of Eden, was rated 75 in the top 100 folk songs of all times...

Pat Lamanna is part of the People's Music Network for Songs of Freedom & Struggle , has performed for 15 years as part of the folk trio, The Raggedy Crew, and run a coffee house music venue starting in the 1970's. Find Pat on Facebook , get her music at CDBaby , or visit her very occasional blog .

Annie Lanzillotto rocks it! Soulful, quirky, sweet, brash, indomitable, she produces a variety of art - 3 rock/blues/spoken word CDs (Blue Pill, Carry My Coffee, and Eleven Recitations), a memoir, L is for Lion: An Italian Bronx Butch Freedom Memoir, a book of poetry, Schistsong, and much more performance art, some available on her site.

Ellen Whyte  mostly hangs out in Portland, but recently toured Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley with Sue Orfield. She combines her beautiful voice & great musicians with a powerful personal understanding - of the blues, of rhythm, and of turning her life around. She's someone you want to know, both as a musician & as a person.

Ken Lonnquist  is change-making, environmental activist, humorous & serious type of singer/songwriter. Ken produces a wide array of musical styles, though folkish is sort of home base for him. You'll find a spirit of deep connection with the Earth and a musical talent to add riches to your musical experience in Madison, Wisconsin, with Ken.

Phil Circle , now in Wisconsin's Chippewa Valley, spent most of 2 decades in Chicago. Trained in classical, influenced in jazz directions by a visit to New Orleans when he was 7, and walking in Eric Clapton's guitar-steps, Phil combines rich and diverse influences as a singer/songwriter.

Kim Harris and her husband, Reggie, have been conveying passion, history, and spirit through great music for decades. In addition to the folk venues and schools where they've performed and taught, Kim has added learning & teaching as part of the degree she's poised to receive from Union Theological Seminary in NYC .

While traditional Quaker worship, based on silence, has no scheduled singing as part of worship, Quakers are among the singing-est and dancing-est of folks around. Don Pardee did a simple recording of 6 folks from Milwaukee Friends Meeting singing a sampling of songs they share Sunday mornings before worship. Jim Schacht, Don Pardee, & Andrea Jehly share about the music they made, along with S...

Kiya Heartwood has an amazing assemblage of musical influences, from folk to hard rock and punk rock, plus her degree in composing. She was with Radio Cafe, then on Arista records with Stealin Horses, and settled into a long spell with Miriam Davidson as Wishing Chair , and CDs & books by Kiya and Meg Barnhouse are available at OutlawHillArts.com .

Richard Bruxvoort Colligan  is a passionate singer/songwriter with a difference - his degree from United Theological Seminary in the Twin Cities. Whether making  acoustic music on his own , singing with his wife as  River's Voice , creating  liturgical music , or writing on  his blog called 'World Stretching' , you'll find a kind, deep heart & mind poured out through b...

Meg Barnhouse  is a singer/songwriter/storyteller, plus she is minister of  Austin UU Church . Raised in southern evangelical Christian circles, ordained Presbyterian, Meg's faith was lost and reborn transformed as a UU when she was 40. She sings and passion and deep heart.

David Massengill mixes singing, songwriting, storytelling, mountain dulcimer, guitar, and the taste of home-grown Tennessee, painting auditory pictures that pluck heart strings and induce smiles. He's engagingly just himself. Find info also on his website .

Gordon Bok  is one of the greats of folk music, with many songs coming from the sea, or the edge of the sea, where he lives. He delivers them with a depth and a resonance that echos deep in the soul. With 22 of his own recordings, plus collaborations with Ann Muir, Ed Trickett, Cindy Kallet, among others, Gordon Bok has created and passed on an immense wealth of balladry and inspiration.

Dave Para & Cathy Barton are passionate about folk music and folk history, living that out by performing folk music, old and new, by creating historical albums, like about Lewis & Clark, anchoring the Big Muddy Festival and by jamming with the folks of Carp Camp at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.

David Huckfelt is co-founder of  The Pines , a Twin Cities band making Midwest music which is sometimes haunted, eloquent, gripping, starkly poetic, and which is always very, very, good. With all kinds of musical influences, the final product is unique to them. David grew up in Iowa and now is in awe of Lake Superior.

Cheryl Wheeler does music and life her own way - openly, honestly, and comfortably - and the result is a lot of stunning music and messages. Her songs have been covered by folks like Peter, Paul & Mary, Garth Brooks, and even Bette Midler, a testament to real quality, appealing across the musical spectrum.

Denise Jordan Finley performs in a duo with Daniel Pagdon as Finley and Pagdon . Denise has decades of experience with other duos and configuration, but the real suprise is that she's only really got her stride as a songwriter in the 12 years or so. With music rooted in folk or Americana, she ranges to bluegrass, jazz and much more. As a non-conforming believer, directing music in the Presbyterian...