How things work at Concerts in the Woods: Our concerts are open to all with no admission charge, but there is an opportunity to make a donation at the door. 100% of the donations collected go directly to the artists who are performing for you. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. We offer open seating on a first-come, first-served basis, with no tickets or advanced reservations. Complimentary coffee and cookies are served at intermission.
2024 Concert Schedule
Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Curtis & Loretta
Curtis & Loretta are a folk singer-songwriter duo, guided by their love of good songs and inspired by the stories of people they have met in their over 40 years of touring. Weaving together soaring harmonies with a wild menagerie of instruments that includes guitars, harp, mandocello, banjo, ukulele, kazoo, harmonica, and percussion, the duo perform traditionally-inspired originals with humor and heart. Curtis’ down-home sense of humor and Loretta’s theater background engage the audience in an experience that runs the gamut of rolling with laughter to holding back tears, with plenty of side-trips in between. They rack up countless miles each year, crisscrossing the country to deliver their own unique brand of folk singer/songwriter music.
Featuring Texas-born troubadour Curtis Teague and Minnesota-raised theater graduate Loretta Simonet, the pair first met on the beach in Santa Cruz, California in the spring of 1977.
Seven minivans and countless miles later, Curtis & Loretta have been named “Best Acoustic Performers of the Twin Cities” (City Pages), landed on Folk Radio Chart’s “Top Albums of the Year” and performed with such folk luminaries as Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Vassar Clements, Claudia Schmidt and Holly Near.
Their new album Lift the World – their 10th recording – is already being called “a generous cornucopia of beautifully crafted songs that speak from the heart of the struggles and joys of life, performed with honesty, grace, and uncommon musicianship” (Chris Vallillo, Gin Ridge Music). Featuring songs that were written during the pandemic, the album celebrates what is really important in this life from the heartwarming to the heart breaking.
Curtis & Loretta married in Santiago, Mexico in 1987, and moved to Minneapolis, where they are still based.
Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Terry Robb
We hosted Terry Robb at Concerts in the Woods in 2023. At the end of his show, more than a few members of his audience made enthusiastic requests to have him back again as soon as we could book him! So here we are.
Terry Robb is hailed as a blues guitar virtuoso and one of the finest acoustic guitarists on the international scene. His signature fingerpicking style has earned him international acclaim from worldwide audiences, esteemed music critics and his distinguished peers. Incorporating elements from Delta blues, ragtime, country, swing and jazz, Robb has built a unique blues sound that has made him a legend in his prolific music career spanning four decades.
The multitude of awards Terry Robb has received speak to his seminal talent as a blues guitarist. Robb has been inducted into both the Oregon Music Hall of Fame and the Cascade Blues Association Hall of Fame. His albums have soared to #1 on the Living Blues Radio Report and charted in the Billboard Blues Album Chart, IBBA Blues Album Chart (UK) and Roots Music Report Blues Chart.
Terry has performed as a solo artist at festivals, theaters and clubs across the United States, Canada and Europe, and has shared the stage with luminaries like B.B. King, Albert Lee, Joe Cocker, Bo Diddley, John Hiatt, David Crosby, George Thorogood, Leo Kottke, Johnny Winter and countless more all-stars. Come see him again at Concert in the Woods this May!
Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Ben Gage
Ben Gage is a songwriter from Akron, OH. Ben Gage grew up in the rust belt of Northeast Ohio, spread out in the countryside along the great Lake Erie. His roots run deep beside the hard working blue collars that Ohio has to boast. That tenacity, love of family, and respect for a long day can be seen in his music. He doesn’t shy away from life’s ups and downs and sews human experience within all his songs, artfully, without the need to bash you over the head with ideas. In Fall of 2021 Ben quit his job in the tech-sector to pursue music full time. Now he travels the US sharing stories and songs and always collecting more.
Folk and Blues music gives us a way to hand along a story, and it’s what fuels Ben’s songwriting and the reason he includes the listener. The best story sets aside the complexities and focuses on honesty. He infuses his shows with a great deal of humor, too. You will find yourself feeling as though you’ve heard his songs before even if it’s your first time.
Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Lisa Lynne and Aryeh Frankfurter
Lisa Lynne & Aryeh Frankfurter are a multi-instrumentalist duo with Celtic Harps, Swedish Nyckelharpa, Ukrainian Bandura, Bouzouki, Cittern and more. They hail from Oregon and tour extensively, both having successful recording and performing careers built from years of street performing and a background as rock musicians. They have performed with some of the biggest names in folk and acoustic music and have sold well over a million albums combined. Audiences are spellbound and enchanted with their unique show of breathtaking music both Traditional and original, with wondrous stories and humor entwined.
Lisa and Aryeh last played Concerts in the Woods in October, 2022 – we are truly excited to welcome them back to Coyle for this concert!
Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. The Go Janes
Sidelined by that nasty Covid bug just before we had them scheduled to play Concerts in the Woods last summer, we are excited to finally welcome The Go Janes back to Coyle for a June matinee show.
The Go Janes feature ukulele, guitar, and generous doses of delicious harmony vocals on songs from the long view of life. Their writing ranges from tender and sweet tributes to our shared humanity, to songs exploring how weird it is that magicians used to (pretend to) saw women in half for entertainment. From monkey-infested golf courses in India, and what that teaches us about how to greet life’s challenges, to letting go of our independent children, and losing those we love in more lasting ways. Along the way they pay homage to their ancestors and to their own and others’ most idiosyncratic selves. And there are knife-throwers, and howling dogs, and how the pandemic made them fight with each other and themselves. Folk life for sure. Going to be a fun afternoon with this trio!
Sunday, July 7, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Me and the Boys – OUTDOOR SHOW
We’re excited to welcome back Me & the Boys, featuring Roger Ferguson, Terry Enyeart, Rick Meade, and Mick Nicholson to Concerts in the Woods. Me & the Boys is a bluegrass super-group from the Pacific Northwest rocking the acoustic stages around Puget Sound. With lots of humorous between-song banter, this fun four-piece delivers the bluegrass goods from trad-grass to assorted genres e.g. classic rock and jazz – all with total ease – and on traditional acoustic instruments! Each member, with more than 30 yrs professional experience, is deserving of the “Me” status… Yet, as the name implies, nobody needs top billing. They just want to continue to make great music. Welcome back, Boys! https://www.facebook.com/Me-and-the-Boys-45131198563/
Saturday, September 7, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Cuchulain Kelly
Cuchulain (pronounced Ka-HOO-lin) is a low-voiced songwriter with a wry wit. The NPR Music-featured folk singer released an album of long distance pandemic collaborations called FEAT on Nov 5, 2021 that was called “an as-yet-unpublished portion of the Great American Songbook.” Cuchulain’s deep baritone and clever lyrics have drawn comparisons to Randy Newman, Leonard Cohen, and Johnny Cash. From rooms as big as the Kennedy Center or as small as a friend’s living room, Cuchulain’s lyrics have brought laughs and tears to audiences across the US and beyond as he shared the stage with renowned folk acts including Ira Wolf, Jeffrey Lewis, Viv & Riley, Billy Keane, Upstate, and more. His new album “Minute To Win It” – a visual album of 20 songs in 20 minutes – is out now and taking the world by storm.
https://www.cuchulainkelly.com/
Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Minor Gold
Minor Gold are ARIA nominated artists Tracy McNeil & Dan Parsons. Canadian and Australian respectively, this Trans-Pacific duo echo 70’s cosmic Americana with an easy charm and potent honesty. The strength of the songwriting and the indeterminate perfection of how these two artists’ voices lock in together hit right where the emotions live inside us. With dynamics ranging from the intense restraint of campfire intimacy through to open throttle abandon, Minor Gold delight and enthrall as they weave masterful harmonies and deft guitar playing around unforgettable, stripped back performances. Since releasing their critically acclaimed self-titled debut album in August 2023, the duo have been on the road -recently returning from a 30 date North American album tour with supports for The Teskey Brothers and an official showcase at AmericanaFEST in Nashville, TNand the 2024 Folk Alliance International in Kansas City.
https://www.minorgoldmusic.com/
Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Joel Chadd
Joel Chadd writes and plays songs that are brutally honest and open hearted. His themes are universal, but the songs feel as if they were written just for you. His melodies dance between soulful vocals and passionate guitar playing, drawing the listener ever-so-close.
Born into a music-filled household in the great pacific northwest of Oregon, he has been creating & performing as a singer songwriter for the last decade. Joel’s songwriting is a pursuit to understand & process the innermost feelings of joy & sorrow. It is an opportunity to bridge gaps, to bring others together and to connect with his own community & the world around him. His commitment to songwriting & music is ultimately a commitment to himself to slow down, pay attention to what matters in his life and to weave those lessons into songs that allow both him & the listener to heal & grow. These are songs that explore the full range of human emotions we all navigate.
https://www.joelchaddmusic.com/
Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. Brittany Jean
Brittany Jean is a folk singer/songwriter currently living in a little apple town in North Central Washington, and her style is rooted in the folk and Americana music she has loved all her life.
With performances ranging from cozy house concerts and beautiful wineries to full concerts in grand auditoriums and theaters, her music has taken her across the country many times (including playing the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee, opening for Three Dog Night’s sold out concert in New York City, performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas… to name a few adventures!). While she performs her own songs, she peppers her live sets with cover songs by her favorite artists—such as John Denver, Joni Mitchell, Gordon Lightfoot, Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks, and Judy Collins, and her shows are always family friendly! Her poise on stage will put you at ease, and her stories will draw you in.
Brittany has released six studio albums and one EP— all recorded in Nashville, TN. Her Lightfoot EP was released Summer 2023, and this project is her “thank you” to an all-time favorite songwriter. Brittany’s sixth album (Colors & Covers) was released Winter 2023, a collection of songs reflecting a handful of the different shades and seasons in this colorful life.
We’re excited to welcome Brittany Jean back to Concerts in the Woods after her memorably beautiful show here in 2022.
https://bjeanmusic.com/