"To promote the enjoyment, preservation and continuation of the living art of folk music."
First Friday for Folk Music
"First Friday for Folk Music" is a production of the Savannah Folk Music Society and is held at the fellowship hall of Wesley Monumental United Methodist Church, 429 Abercorn Street in historic, downtown Savannah. It is smoke-free, alcohol-free and family-friendly. There is a recommended donation of $2 per person. Beverages and homemade fresh baked goods are available for purchase. Festivities start at 7:30PM and run until about 10:30. For further information, call Hank Weisman at 912-786-6953
Starting in July, First Fridays will move to First
Presbyterian Church at 520 E. Washington Avenue. This coincides with the
beginning of our 13th year of First Friday for Folk Music. Our run at
Wesley Monumental was for six years, not bad considering we originally
were going there for three months!
First Friday in July is July 11th to avoid conflict with the Fourth of
July activities.
"JUNE 6 “FIRST FRIDAY FOR FOLK MUSIC”
FEATURES: Joni Bishop, Richard Stooksbury, Chris Desa
The 144th “First Friday for Folk Music,” Savannah’s monthly showcase of local and touring folk musicians.
Joni's introduction to the
world of music began when she got her first guitar at age 9 and
discovered the folk/ roots music of singers like Mississippi John Hurt.
& Elizabeth Cotton. Not only did the music captivate her, but the faces
on the LP jackets as well. It was then that she began to develop a love
for both music & art and to discover her own gifts: for writing songs,
singing, playing finger-style guitar, and for sketching pencil portraits
of the musicians she loved to listen to.
Since those early days, Joni's career as a
singer-songwriter has become well established on the American folk music
scene. She has toured extensively throughout the US and in Europe. Her
distinctive songwriting-vocal-guitar style won her recognition in many
noted song festivals here and abroad and landed her a staff-writing deal
with Galleon Music Publishing Co. in Los Angeles before arriving in
Nashville in 1989. She was a New Folk winner in the prestigious
Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, has recorded for CBS Records, BWE
Records and released 5 CDs on her own independent label Polestar
Records. Joni's songs have been recorded by other artists as well, among
them country singer Crystal Gayle, pop group 3T, Australian country
artist Shanly Dell and numerous folk artists and bluegrass groups and
her music continues to receive airplay around the country on Americana,
college & public radio.
Born and raised
in the Appalachian foothills of eastern Tennessee, Richard Stooksbury
began exploring country music, rural themes, and guitar playing at a
very early age. From
those first strains of his parents' Hank Williams and Johnny Horton
records, he was
hooked to a music that spoke the language of the rural southern
landscape that
surrounded him. Listening to those old records lead to picking up the
guitar at seven
years old. The first two pieces that he remembers playing are "Mister
Bojangles" and a
finger-picked version of "Cripple Creek". The rest may well be history.
An untamable wanderlust lead him to South Carolina, Wyoming, and finally
to western
Oregon in the early nineties after leaving his native home. It was there
that he stumbled
upon song craft and began to develop a taste for putting words to the
music that he played
on guitar. It was in this artistic environment that he nurtured a love
for "modern" folk
music and the community radio that supports it. Drawing upon influences
as diverse as
early country (Hank and Horton) and modem folk (Bill Morrissey and Greg
Brown), as
well as the classic Texas turned Nashville songwriters (Townes, Guy
Clark, Jerry Jeff);
Richard had taken his own life experiences and turned them into his own
brand of songs.
Finally inspired, Richard made his way back to his native Tennessee in
1997. Since that
time he has continued to develop his own song craft and performing
skills. 2005 marks
the release of Richard's solo debut CD. Backed by John Crowder (bass),
Al Goll (dobro
and Hawaiian guitars), and Fats Kaplin (accordion, fiddle, and mandolin)
- Richard
breathes life into songs new and old. The live performances in studio
and the laid back,
sparse arrangements lead the listener directly into the heart of the
songs. Produced by
Nashville session bassist extraordinaire, Charlie Chadwick, this release
proves to
continue and expand upon the themes that Richard has learned since those
early days
listening to the greats.
Chris Desa
Our very own Chris Desa with his familiar folk guitar and vocals.
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Future Performance Schedules
July 11 - Bill & Eli Perras, Hanson & Amburgey, Jan Spillane
August 1 - Savannah Ceili Band, Bruce Piephoff, Doug Spears