Events at this location

Old Time Jam tonight at Folk School of Fayetteville 6-9pm. Hosted by Brett Ratliff & Pete Howard. Come to play or come to listen!

Hosted by Lee Haight & Larry Long of Soldier Songs & Voices NWA

FREE COMMUNITY EVENT

The jams will offer a safe space for all veterans to get together for playing, learning, and camaraderie.

The mission of Soldier Songs & Voices NWA is to foster a creative and supportive community of veterans through music instruction, performance, and outreach.

Hosted by The Misdemeanors & Milcah Hulen Posnak

FREE COMMUNITY EVENT

21 & Under writing and jam session at Folk School of Fayetteville. It is free and open to all aspiring musicians (and fans of music) 21 & under.

Hosted by Bob Holland

FREE COMMUNITY EVENT

TONY FURTADO with special guest LUKE PRICE

TICKETS: $30
DOORS: 7PM
CONCERT 7:30PM

All tickets for this concert are general admission, but seated unless otherwise noted. Concerts at the Folk School are an intimate and listening environment.

ABOUT THE TONY FURTADO
“Tony Furtado, banjo player, is back…in a big way,” writes banjo master Tony Trischka in his liner notes to Decembering, the brand-new album from Tony Furtado. “He’s planted his flag in the midst of the fertile ground that is modern banjo. Texturally fresh, confidently audacious, rich and giving, this recording is a masterpiece.”

It’s been over thirty years since Tony Furtado first made his mark on Planet Banjo with the release of his debut album on Rounder Records, Swamped. He was—and still is—traditionally rooted, progressively oriented, and a composer of rare skill. Decembering is a welcome return to the banjo and a much-needed ray of sunshine and light in these troubled times.

Because of the pandemic, Decembering was recorded in
isolation, with no face-to-face contact between musicians. “I started
this in my basement (affectionately called Squirrelville Studio) just as
the pandemic began,” explains Tony. “The process was simple but really challenging. I would record my parts first, send them out to each player to put down their parts one at a time, sometimes doubling back to re-record each part to fit better as the tune grew and evolved. It was like a game of audio ping-pong.”

Recording an album with this process was quite a feat, but Decembering is well worth the extra effort thatwasrequired. ThealbumcontainseighttunesTonywroteonforthebanjoandcellobanjo,plusaBeatles cover (“Here Comes the Sun”) and a new take on a traditional fiddle tune, “Nimrod Hornpipe,” reimagined as a Brazilian folk song. Tony’s original tunes and inventive arrangements make this an album that rewards careful, repeated listening. Tony’s banjo is front and center, both the regular five-string and the lower-tuned cello banjo. He’s also a brilliant slide guitarist, though in this case, it’s here to support the banjo.

Tony is joined on Decembering by a stellar cast of musicians who rose to the challenges presented by recording an album in isolation. The roster included some folks Tony has played with over the years and some he’s admired but never worked with, including John Doyle on guitar & bouzouki (Solas), Todd Sickafoose on bass (Ani DiFranco/Anais Mitchell), Rob Burger on keyboards & accordion (Iron & Wine/Tin Hat Trio), fiddler Luke Price (Love, Dean), cellist Tristan Clarridge (Bee Eaters), mandolinists Mike Marshall & Matt Flinner, and drummers Scott Amendola, Aaron Johnston, & Carter McClean.

Feeling that we all needed some light and some hope, Tony wanted Decembering to be a heartfelt and vivid statement. There’s a real sense of joy that comes through on every cut on this recording from a veteran and truly original musician. In the words of Tony Trischka, “Considering that this album was created as the pandemic was revving up, this is one mighty silver lining.”

“A banjo album recorded during a pandemic” sounds like the punchline to a bad banjo joke, but Decembering is one of the deepest, most satisfying albums in Tony’s catalog, a soulful, tuneful meditation on the craziness and chaos of the past year and a half.

Old Time Jam tonight at Folk School of Fayetteville 6-9pm. Hosted by Brett Ratliff & Pete Howard. Come to play or come to listen!