Our last (planned) concert of 2017 will be our first visit from Nathan Rivera & Jessie Andra Smith, two of our favorite "local" performers. We put "local" in quotes because Nathan & Jessie have traveled the world, playing streets and stages from New Orleans to Paris. Their music is an acoustic roots fusion of gypsy jazz and swinging folk, played on resonator guitars, accordion and clarinet, topped with tight, engaging vocal duets featuring multilingual lyrics.

We last saw Nathan & Jessie at the fall 2016 Folk Alliance Region West conference, where they thrilled a large audience with their official showcase performance. We later caught them in one of the intimate small, hotel room performances the conference is known for. As Jessie and their bassist launched into their first song, Nathan came strolling in from the hotel hallway, playing a beguiling clarinet line. Smiles broke out all around -- these guys just make us happy!

We've created a YouTube playlist to introduce you to Nathan & Jessie.

Eve Selis is one of our favorite performers, giving her all to each performance. And Eve is one of our favorite people as well, always ready to lend her support to a worthy cause. We count ourselves fortunate to be welcoming her back to frogstop this year.

"Eve is a deeply creative, caring artist who gives everything to her craft. As a live performer she is awesomely powerful, as a recording artist she is both sensitive and strong. I love her spirit and I love her music. She deserves to shine."
BBC Radio Legend Sir “Whispering Bob” Harris

"The most requested local artist in the history of our station."
Robert Hughes, Station Manager, KPRI, 102.1FM San Diego

“The Eve Selis Band erupted in an acute explosion of Americana, wailing and twanging and thundering and throbbing, conjuring demons and angels alike. Damn, that woman can sing!”
Buddy Blue - Blue Notes

“Eve Selis isn’t just a “singer” — she’s an emotion transducer who converts country, R&B, blues, folk, and rock ‘n’ roll signals into a megawatt zap that galvanizes everyone in its path. The power of Selis’s voice can arc-weld material from almost any genre into a personal manifesto.”
John D'Agostino - Taylor Guitars On Review.

Lisa Sanders has been a mainstay of the San Diego singer-songwriter music scene since the early 90's at Java Joe's. How have we not managed to have her here at frogstop yet?!? Well, it's 2017, and we're fixing that on July 15, when Lisa will appear at frogstop with her band, including Jeff Berkley; Marcia Claire; and Lisa's singing and songwriting partner, Karen "Brown Sugar" Hayes. (Nobody's promising Larry Grano, but we are keeping our fingers crossed.)

Lisa's most recent release, 2014's "Shiver" was nominated for The San Diego Music Awards "Best Pop Album". Come join us for a great evening of music, and hear for yourself why!

Did you know that Berkley Hart is doing a special concert series this year? They're calling it their "Albums Front-to-Back" Series. Each concert focuses on one of their albums. How cool is that?

We didn't manage to land one of those concerts, but here's the good news: Doing this series means they're going to be walking on stage here at frogstop with so much repertoire under their fingertips. And if you know their repertoire, you know what great news this is.

Fun fact: Since we started hosting concerts in 2008, Berkley Hart drew one of the two biggest crowds we've ever seen here. So please come join us. We know this will be one of our best evenings this year!

Cathy and I met documentary film maker and musician Rain Perry at the Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City earlier this year, and we're pleased to be able to present her film, The Shopkeeper, here at frogstop.

When we first thought about it, we asked you, our community, if you would be interested in seeing the film. We've known for a long time how supportive our Frogstop community is of local and touring musicians. Still, it was a thrill to see how positively you responded to the idea of showing The Shopkeeper here. We see this as a great opportunity to help wonderful music fans become even better, more knowledgeable supporters, and to strengthen the community to everyone's benefit.

The Shopkeeper is a feature-length documentary that addresses a question many of us care deeply about: "How do artists, producers and studios that aren’t part of the '1 percent of the music industry like Adele or a Taylor Swift' make a living in the current climate of streaming music, which for all intents and purposes has become free music?" (Or as the director puts it, "Everybody can make a record. Nobody can make a living. Now what?")

The Shopkeeper shines a light on this big issue by telling a small story - of the longest continuously operating recording studio in Austin, Texas, and the music producer (the shopkeeper) who runs it, Mark Hallman. After recording Carole King, Ani DiFranco and many great Austin artists, Mark is struggling to keep the studio open in the era of streaming. From indie musicians fighting to earn a living to music lovers sorting through a dozen streaming services, the acts of creating and listening to music have undergone a fundamental change. With humor, heart and a killer soundtrack, and featuring Ani DiFranco, Iain Matthews, Tom Russell, Eliza Gilkyson and many more, The Shopkeeper determines to find solutions that will actually work for artists and fans.

​Acclaimed as "one of the great contemporary folk voices of Ireland," and "a stellar guitarist," Tommy O'Sullivan has remained one of the hidden treasures of traditional Irish music for many years. He has toured throughout North America and Europe, appearing at many major venues and festivals. Tommy has always kept an active recording schedule having recorded three albums as a member of Sliabh Notes and a duet album with Bothy Band piper Paddy Keenan, as well as two solo albums.

Saundra O'Sullivan is from Houston, Texas, with Native American roots. Saundra and Tommy’s paths crossed when she attended an annual Irish music retreat in Midlothian, Texas in 2007. Saundra rekindled her love for singing once she moved to Dingle, Ireland and was submerged into the well of the traditional Irish music scene that is so much a part of the Dingle landscape. As they explored singing together they discovered her alto harmonies to be a perfect match for his tenor lead vocals, adding a fertile texture to the overall sound. She has now become a very welcomed addition to the vibrant local music scene in Dingle, Ireland, where Saundra and Tommy now live since their wedding in Houston in March 2010.

They are also the proud owners of O'Sullivan's Courthouse Pub. In the short time since opening O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub, its reputation for world class traditional Irish music has gone through the roof.  And, in 2015 “National Geographic” cited O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub as the ‘go to’ pub on Ireland’s “Wild Atlantic Way”.  Also, Sky Scanner listed the pub as number 8 in the top 10 music pubs of Ireland and TripAdvisor lists O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub as number one nightlife attraction in Dingle with a 5-star rating.

Check out a recent house concert performance by Tommy & Saundra.

And we've put together an O'Sullivan YouTube playlist for you.

What if you met a guy with great music sensibilities -- who has also written some of your favorite songs -- who tells you he fell in love with Ireland and invited you to come along on his next trip there? What if your good friend with a wry sense of humor and sweet guitar skills came to your house to sing songs, tell stories, and recite a poem or two?​ True story.  It has happened to your frogstop hosts.

Singer, songwriter, entertainer, poet and teacher -- Tom Kimmel is all of these things and more.

Since 1980 dozens of Tom's compositions have been recorded by a host of major artists, including Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Art Garfunkel and Randy Travis. They've been featured in films from Twins to Serendipity and Runaway Bride, and in television shows from Captain Kangaroo and Touched By An Angel to Dawson's Creek.

An award-winning artist in his own right, he has released seven solo albums, published a book of poems and led songwriting workshops and classes around the country and in Europe.

Once an eclectic rock and roller, Tom found his voice as a singer-songwriter while touring with Nanci Griffith in the early 90's. A New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in '93, he began performing solo, stressing a lean, acoustic approach to his music and bringing a humorous spirit to his poetry and storytelling.

After releasing two critically praised major label albums (in '87 and '90), Tom released Bones in 1994, his first independent album. It was followed by Short Stories in 1999, which featured guest performances by Emmylou Harris, the Fairfield Four, Jerry Douglas and other Nashville luminaries. Shallow Water (2002) is a collection of spirit-centered songs and hymns, and Light of Day (2004) features bare vocal-guitar tracks recorded in Tom's home studio.

A volume of poems, The Sweetest & the Meanest, was published in 2006, and Never Saw Blue, an anthology of Tom's songs featured in film and TV, arrived in the fall of 2008.

 "…not only one of the finest songwriters alive, but an incredible performer—mixing his songs, humor and story-telling to create an experience that is pure theater."
—Pierce Pettis

 "…his songs have enough personality to fill the concert hall single-handed."
—The Herald, Glasgow Scotland
​
We've put together a Tom Kimmel YouTube playlist for you.

More on Tom Kimmel at http://www.tomkimmel.com/

Concert: 8:00pm
Doors open: 7:15pm
Donation $20 per person (all proceeds go to the artists)
​
Listen

The concert will be held outdoors.

Frogstop concertgoers (not to mention your frogstop hosts) had such a great time when the T Sisters were here last year that we’re thrilled to bring them back this June 11.

The T Sisters, born and raised in California and now based in the creative hub of Oakland, embody harmony. It’s in their blood, bones, and history. Erika, Rachel and Chloe have been singing and writing music together since childhood. The three sisters’ inventive songwriting is supported by their own acoustic instrumentation as well as upright bass (Steve Height), mandolin/guitar (Andrew Allen Fahlander), and drums. Their sound represents a continuum of music, from traditional to pop influences, moments of breathtaking a cappella to swells of energetic indie Americana.

In the last two years, they’ve been honored to support such acts as Amos Lee, Todd Rundgren, The Waybacks, Laurie Lewis, ALO, Elephant Revival, The California Honeydrops, and more. Notable performances include Merlefest, Kate Wolf Music Festival, High Sierra Music Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (support role), Sisters Folk Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, Americana Music Association Festival, Music City Roots, and Garrison Keillor’s "A Prairie Home Companion".
​
In 2014, the T Sisters released their debut full-length album Kindred Lines under the production of folk/bluegrass legend Laurie Lewis, and they look forward to the release of their new full-length album recorded at the legendary Barefoot Studios in LA in 2016

We've put together a T Sisters YouTube playlist for you. Don't miss them at frogstop on June 11!

More on T Sisters at http://tsisters.com/.

Concert: 8:00pm
Doors open: 7:15pm
$20 (all proceeds go to the artists)

Listen

The concert will be held outdoors.

Born in Ennis, County Clare, along Ireland’s music-rich west coast, Gerry O’Beirne is a renowned singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. His compositions blend the passion found in traditional music with the freshness of contemporary song.

Gerry’s first solo album, Half Moon Bay, was cited as one of the 12 best releases of the year 2000 by Performing Songwriter magazine and was chosen as one of Folkworld’s Top Ten Albums of the year. His second album The Bog Bodies And Other Stories: Music For Guitar, was named CD of the Month, and one of the essential albums of the year, on the radio show Echoes. His latest album “Yesterday I Saw The Earth Beautiful” with fiddler Rosie Shipley was described as “"an extraordinary album with innovative arrangements and hauntingly beautiful songs" by Folkworld. Many of Gerry's songs have been recorded by a number of artists, including Maura O’Connell, Mary Black, Cathie Ryan, and Muireann Nic Amhloaibh. Gerry has also produced a large number of albums for various artists, including Kevin Burke and Michael O’Dhomhnaill, Patrick Street, Andy M. Stewart, and others.

Gerry has toured the globe as a solo artist and with the Sharon Shannon Band, Patrick Street, Midnight Well, Andy M. Stewart, Kevin Burke, Andy Irvine, and the Waterboys. He has performed at the White House and the Kennedy Center, opened for the Grateful Dead, and played electric guitar with Marianne Faithfull. His performance of Western Highway was chosen as an audio highlight on A Prairie Home Companion’s website.

"The instrumentals are out of this world. A self taught master of the 6 and 12 string guitar, the playing of O’Beirne is superlative and subtle beyond words."
- The Sunday Times

If you like poetry in music, and a soulful performance, ‘Half Moon Bay’ is for you. A virtuoso whose guitar is an extension of himself.
- The Music Matters Review

He should be compulsory listening for any aspiring ambitious guitarist. It’s not just his technical dexterity and brilliance that catches the imagination, it’s the inventive use of arrangements, lyrics and melody.
- The Word

While much of his material (Isle of Malachy, Shades of Gloria, Western Highway, The Holy Ground) is best known sung by others, Gerry reclaims his songs. He involves the listener with a gentle intensity that allows the beauty of his melodies to envelop and sweep them along: images abound of mountains and deserts, foreign lands, and County Clare, loves lost and loves won.
- Irish Edition

His works are simple, elegiac and exquisitely worded pen pictures of life’s experiences.
- Rock ‘N’ Reel

More press

More on Gerry O'Beirne at http://www.gerryobeirne.com/

Concert: 8:00pm
Doors open: 7:15pm
$20 (all proceeds go to the artists)

Listen

The concert may be held indoors or outdoors.

With nearly two million viewers on YouTube and features in Bluegrass Now, Flatpicking Guitar and Acoustic Guitar magazines, Molly Tuttle is making a name for herself in the acoustic music scene. A virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and award winning songwriter with a distinctive voice, Molly has turned the heads of even the most seasoned industry professionals.
Growing up in a musical family, Molly has always been steeped in the bluegrass tradition. Through writing songs she has crafted her own sound that is unique and contemporary, but draws from bluegrass and folk influences. In recent years she has been awarded the Hazel Dickens Memorial Scholarship award from the Foundation for Bluegrass Music in Nashville, Best Female Vocalist and Best Guitar Player by the Northern California Bluegrass Society, music and composition Merit Scholarships to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and 1st place in the prestigious Merlefest’s Chris Austin Songwriting Competition.
 
Molly has been performing on stage since she was 11 and recorded her first album, The Old Apple Tree, at age 13. She has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion, at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, Strawberry Music Festival, The Freight and Salvage, and countless other festivals and venues across the US, Canada, and Sweden. She is also a recent graduate of Berklee College of Music with an Artist Diploma in Guitar Performance.

John Mailander is an acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. As an accomplished performer, composer, teacher and recording artist, John has become known for his soulful voice on the fiddle, mandolin and various other stringed instruments.
 
John has shared the stage with renowned artists including the Alison Brown Quartet, Victor Wooten, Tim O'Brien and Christopher Guest. He was one of sixteen musicians selected to participate in the Savannah Music Festival's Acoustic Music Seminar in both 2012 and 13. John played fiddle in Steve Martin & Edie Brickell's musical, Bright Star, for it's premier run in New York.
 
John currently maintains a busy performance schedule with artists including Molly Tuttle, Tony Trischka & Territory, John Reischman, Laurie Lewis, Darol Anger and others.

We've put together a Molly Tuttle & John Mailander YouTube playlist for you. Enjoy, and then join us on August 29!

More on Molly Tuttle at http://mollytuttle.net/
More on John Mailander at http://johnmailander.com

Concert: 8:00pm
Doors open: 7:15pm
$20 (all proceeds go to the artists)

Listen

The concert will be held outdoors.