Up Next:
Mr. Sun | Darol Anger, Joe K Walsh, Grant Gordy, Aidan O’Donnell
Thursday, June 26, 7:30pm at The Clifford Arts + Student Center, 42 Depot Street, Unity, Maine
Friday, June 27, 7:30pm at Bagaduce Music | 49 South Street, Blue Hill, Maine
Student/Youth $15 | Adults Early Bird (till May 15) $24 | Keeper of the Arts: Front Row $50 | General Admission/Door $30
Renowned fiddler Darol Anger, Professor Emeritus at Berklee College of Music, who has released dozens of influential solo albums over a 50-year career in addition to his work with David Grisman and Mike Marshall, and founded the Turtle Island Quartet, Psychograss, and Republic of Strings; Joe K. Walsh, mandolin virtuoso and vocalist who spent four years with the award-winning bluegrass act the Gibson Brothers before becoming a solo artist, songwriter, and Strings Department Professor at Berklee; all-around guitar genius Grant Gordy, a former member of David Grisman’s band and respected solo artist and educator; and the phenomenal Scots bassist Aidan O’Donnell, who has backed harpist Maeve Gilchrist and countless modern jazz heroes.
Their appearances in the last few years at Wintergrass, Rockygrass, Grey Fox, Freshgrass, Redwing Roots, and at IBMA conventions have created a reverberant clang throughout the Acoustic Americana music world.
Members of A FAR CRY: BENEFIT EVENT at TINDER HEARTH, Brooksville, Maine
Thursday July 24th
Join us for a special evening in support of Bagaduce Music’s community music education and artistic programs. This event features two performances with members of the Grammy-nominated A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra at Tinder Hearth.
For the early show (3p- SOLD OUT), enjoy an intimate musical experience with a guided wine and cheese pairing by The Blue Hill Wine Shop and a special menu featuring Tinder Hearth’s wood-fired pizza.
Or join us for the 8p late show, pizza and drinks will be available for purchase before the show.
ABOUT A FAR CRY:
Described as offering “a refreshing corrective to classical music’s rigid hierarchies” by WBUR, A Far Cry is known for its innovative and compelling programs, stellar communication, and a democratic process that is the group’s north star. A Far Cry was founded in 2007 on the belief that every voice deserves to be heard; so instead of one artistic director, the collective of musicians (“Criers”) curate and submit program ideas inspired by individual curiosities, and what is happening in the world at large. The result is ensemble playing at its most intimate, representing a diverse mix of music and collaborators.
This inherent sense of curiosity led the Boston Globe to say that “even though A Far Cry has decisively established itself as a mainstay of the Boston musical community, something about it feels perpetually fresh with every performance.” A Far Cry has risen to the top of Billboard’s Traditional Classical Chart, and garnered two Grammy nominations. In 2023, in a testament to the group’s strength as a collaborator, all three albums the A Far Cry released were nominated for a Grammy Award. This includes The Blue Hour (New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records), Stillpoint (New Amsterdam Records), and A Gentleman of Istanbul (Crier Records).
AFC’s 2024-25 season continues the group’s tradition of musical storytelling. In each of the nine programs – curated by a different Crier (and voted on by all 17) – A Far Cry seeks to do its part in reinforcing the idea of a “world that listens.” Composers range from Bartók, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, to Jessie Montgomery, Caroline Shaw, Anna borvaldsdottir, plus a newly commissioned arrangement by Tyshawn Sorey.
A Far Cry’s omnivorous approach has led to collaborations with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Simone Dinnerstein, Dinuk Wijeratne, Davóne Tines, Roomful of Teeth, the Silk Road Ensemble, Vijay Iyer, and David Krakauer, to name a few. Highlights include new commissioning projects: Philip Glass’ third piano concerto with soloist Simone Dinnerstein, and The Blue Hour, “a gorgeous and remarkably unified work” (Washington Post) written by a collaborative of five leading female composers – Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider. The Blue Hour was released in partnership with New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records, and was named a Top 10 Album of the year by NPR. In 2023, the group recorded and toured pianist Awadagin Pratt’s STILLPOINT project, which features music by Alvin Singleton, Jessie Montgomery, Judd Greenstein, Paola Prestini, Pēteris Vasks, and Tyshawn Sorey. The album, out on New Amsterdam, was called “perhaps the finest of his [Pratt’s] career” by NPR.
A Far Cry’s Crier Records launched auspiciously in 2014 with the Grammy-nominated album Dreams and Prayers. The label’s second release, Law of Mosaics, was included on many top 10 lists, notably from the New Yorker’s Alex Ross and WQXR, which named A Far Cry as one of the “Imagination-Grabbing, Trailblazing Artists of 2014.” The 2018 release, Visions and Variations, received two Grammy nominations, including one for Best Chamber Music Performance. In 2023, Crier Records released Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol’s A Gentleman of Istanbul, which the group commissioned in 2017. San Francisco Classical Voice called the work a “dazzling multicultural symphony.” The album received a 2023 Grammy Nomination for Best Engineered Album (Classical).
The Criers are proud to call Boston home, and maintain strong roots in the city, rehearsing at their storefront music center in Jamaica Plain. The group recently celebrated the conclusion of a 10-year residency at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Collaborating with local students through educational partnerships with the New England Conservatory and Project STEP, A Far Cry aims to pass on the spirit of collaboratively-empowered music to the next generation.
JUST ANNOUNCED! Caleb Kaluder + Reeb Willms. Master of that Classic Country, Old Time, Bluegrass sound with cajun intertwined. We’re cooking up a trio of events around Maine! Final details and tickets to be posted here very soon. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Announcing our 2025 Camps + Events!
Bagaduce Music’s 2025 schedule of events and camps showcases an explosion of creativity and energy. The 40-year-old Blue Hill-based organization will present genres ranging from Bluegrass to Jazz, Classical to Klezmer, and Quebecois to Scandinavian in locations stretching from Steuben to Freeport and many towns in between.
According to executive director Bennett Konesni, “When neighbors meet to enjoy live music – whether singing, dancing, or simply taking it all in – they build strong, resilient communities that work and play nice together.”
Camp registration and details are available now, while event tickets will be on sale as the year progresses.
Updates:
February 13, STEUBEN: Snowed Out
February 14, SEARSPORT: Sold Out!
February 15, BLUE HILL: Snowed Out.
Time Travel to Tin Pan Alley presents a fascinating docu-concert celebrating the Great American Songbook in Steuben, Searsport, and Blue Hill.
March 9, 10, and 11: FRIGG, the sensational Nordic String Quartet, returns for popular concerts and workshops at three venues!
FRIGG has been conquering the world with a fusion of western folk music styles leaning strongly towards Nordic folk music, for which the world music media has coined the term nordgrass, referring to the bluegrass influences of the group. The tight interplay of four violins, string instruments and contrabass, fine-tuned to perfection and spiced with sparkling, humorous live-energy has made an impact on listeners all over the world.
April 26 and 27: Weekend of jazz styles presented by Bagaduce Music in Blue Hill, Steuben, Portland. Saturday April 26+April 27 Creole Fusion workshop, Concerts with Minor Characters + Mark Tipton Jazz Quartet
Minor Characters
Minor Characters are highly regarded for their lively Roma and Django style jazz tunes and songs, playing rousing sets around DownEast, Maine.Minor Characters features Sheila Unvala, fiddle; Sepp Huber, Accordion; Robert Sanchez, guitar; Heron Weston, bass; Jenny Penny, drums. Minor Characters will make for a stimulating co-bill for Mark Tipton Jazz Quartet’s performance in Stueben at the new and fabulous TunkJoy Bakery Stage!
Mark Tipton Jazz Quartet
This Boston based quartet met during their studies at the New England Conservatory of Music. They are arranged with Mark Tipton on trumpet, Kai Lance on guitar, Danial Mayer on bass, and Paul July Joseph on drums. The quartet will be playing material ranging from jazz arrangements of folk music to original compositions to jazz standards drawing on many styles of music from New Orleans jazz to progressive jazz, and from folk music to experimental music.
NEIL PEARLMAN + GIOVANNI KIYINGI
Friday, May 2, 7pm at Bagaduce Music | 49 South Street, Blue Hill
Saturday, May 3, 7pm at Marsh River Theatre | 24 Monroe Highway, Brooks
Celtic meets Ugandan Folk Music in Concert in Blue Hill and Brooks, Maine
May 2 and 3, 2025 NEIL PEARLMAN and GIOVANI KIYINGI present Celtic and Ugandan electric and folk traditions in Blue Hill and Brooks.
A special concert bringing together two accomplished and innovative traditional musicians from different cultures in a unique duo collaboration. Ugandan folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Giovanni Kiyingi joins Celtic pianist, mandolinist and step-dancer Neil Pearlman in a wide ranging musical evening blending new and old music from Uganda to Scotland.
June 26 and 17: MR. SUN Bluegrass Weekend features jaw-dropping instrumental prowess in two concerts and a workshop in Blue Hill and Unity.
Highlight Event: A special fundraising dinner at Tinder Hearth in Brooksville on July 24, featuring members of the Boston-based chamber orchestra, A Far Cry.
CALEB KLAUDER + REEB WILLMS | AUGUST 15-17, 2025
Full details and tickets announced soon!
September 5, 6, and 7: GENTICORUM offers exuberant Quebecois song and dance music from foremost tradition-bearers. Concerts and workshops in Belfast, Unity, and Blue Hill, presented cooperatively with Belfast Flying Shoes.
September 20 and 21: EZEKIEL’S WHEELS returns by popular demand for a weekend of Klezmer workshops and a concert in Northeast Harbor and Belfast.
October *10, 11, and 12: PLANT + SING + DANCE WEEKEND with The Gawler Family Band, and the Worksong Chorus in Belfast and Blue Hill. (Date update, incorrect dates on postcard)
December 19 and 20: KONGERO + SCANDIMANIA WEEKEND offers stunning folk-apella, Spelmanslag, and more.
