Takoma Park-Silver Spring Co-Op Earth Day Celebration | 201 Ethan Allen Ave, Takoma Park, MD 20912 | 11am – 3pm
11am w Karen Collins and the Backroads Band: Karen, a coal miner’s daughter, grew up listening to country music in SW Virginia. After moving to the Washington, DC, area she founded the award-winning Cajun band Squeeze Bayou, the Blue Moon Cowgirls (an acoustic country quartet), and the honky tonk Backroads Band. Karen’s early influences are evident in her original songs, which echo Loretta Lynn’s no-nonsense sass, Hank Williams’ down-to-earth lyricism, Ernest Tubb’s wry humor, and more. As a singer and bandleader, Karen has received many “Wammie” awards from the Washington Area Music Association, and her originals have earned her awards from a half-dozen songwriting competitions.
12.30pm w Orchester Praževica: High energy dance music drawing on the tradition of Eastern European Czardas and Gypsy Swing, but widely influenced by jazz and blues. Under the direction of Slovak born and raised guitarist and singer Tomáš Drgoň this band delivers honest, authentic and entertaining mix of folklore, jazz and dance music suitable for everything from upscale clubs to dives, jazz festivals to mosh pits, arts receptions to underground galleries. Orchester Praževica has performed at several prestigious stages including the Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington DC, Patterson Theater in Baltimore, The Drom in NYC, and shared stage with the Hungarian Gypsy folk supergroup Parno Graszt, the Romanian Gypsy brass legends Fanfare Ciocarlia, Boban and Marko Markovic Orchestra, and other greats on the “not so mainstream” music scene.
And 2pm w Fold Up Your Chairs: Three performers from the Institute of Musical Traditions’ weekly open mic night, the Takoma SPARK, Rebecca Berlin, Juels Bland and rob Hinkal (ilyAIMY) are brought together through the joy of Live music. Insightful (and sometime inciteful) lyrics, vamping piano, aggressive acoustic guitar and bluesy electric tones – these three award-winning singer/songwriters bring three disparate voices to one message : Fold Up Your Chairs! If you know, you know.