Thursday, September 26 - 6:30 - 7:30 PM
Join us for an intimate concert with Brendan Taaffe, a powerful singer from Brattleboro, Vermont who plays banjo, fiddle, and guitar. Deeply rooted in the music of the" old, weird America", Brendan mixes songs of hope and broken hearts with stories about the musicians who have handed down this music. Bringing together travels and research in both Appalachia and Africa, Brendan also blends Zimbabwean mbira with traditional ballads to create something very unique. You can listen to his two albums, Fly Down You Little Bird and Can’t Hold The Wheel, at http://brendantaaffe.bandcamp.com
Brendan will also bring his crankie machine to captivate everyone with the magic of that old art form. Scrolling illustrations in a small wooden theater, crankies accompany songs and stories with an intimacy that evokes the magic of shadow puppetry. Here are some samples of Brendan's crankies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLB5JnyIGgM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoYj-DfIoDk&t=21s
“A savvy composer who, like Abigail Washburn with the Sparrow Quartet or, more famously, Paul Simon, brings together disparate traditions into a seamless whole. The result is stark, stirring, and surprisingly accessible”
