Join us tonight for a special evening of music with an all-star lineup of fine banjoists celebrating the release of the third annual, limited edition Banjo Babes Calendar & Album! The calendar project is a lighthearted tribute to some seriously talented professional women banjo players from around the world, and the show will feature gorgeous singing and masterful banjo playing from Erin English and the Stringtown Ambassadors, Evie Ladin and the Evie Ladin Band, Sharon Martinson of the Littlest Birds, and Cara Luft, formerly of the Wailin’ Jennys, with her new Canadian duo, the Small Glories.

Curated by California banjo chanteuse Erin Inglish, this show promises luminous musicianship, soaring harmonies, and expressive style and technique on the five-string banjo! If you’re a fan of Americana music, don’t miss this bounty of banjo brilliance!

Erin Inglish w/ the Stringtown Ambassadors: Erin Inglish is a tour-de-force banjo chanteuse, a thoughtful wanderer steeped in the thick of California’s music scene. Inglish’s performances proffer passionate lyricism, toe-tapping grooves, and striking reflections about the state of the modern world. Her voice is both lush and raw, and her picking style on the five-string banjo is uniquely her own…expressive, sassy, dynamic. Erin has spent several years living abroad (in India, Madagascar, Bulgaria and Serbia) – and her songwriting reflects her elation for life, creative and exploratory nature, and passion for creating positive change through community and art. "Her melodic optimism is a lighthouse calling the rest of us to pay attention to our highest pursuits." - Fan, North Carolina. Her music is galvanized by the soaring harmonies, tenacious solos and gritty rhythmic drive of the Stringtown Ambassadors - a rotating collective of passionate and unabashed modern-day minstrels hosted by fiddler and singer Rosalind Parducci. Luminous musicianship and rhythmic groove, Erin Inglish w/the Stringtown Ambassadors present a high-energy, entertaining, positively-charged act - steeped with harmonies and instrumental prowess on the banjo, fiddle, percussion, guitar, mandolin or bass.

Evie Laden Band w/ Keith Terry & Erik Pearson: Tenacious, innovative string musicians/dancers with a quirky neo-trad soul, the ELB throws down original folk songs and deep interpretations of old songs, with the kinetic thrill of percussive dance. Pop Matters says "Ladin's voice is sultry, wistful and defiant all at once. She possesses a keen songwriting sense and a stable of strong musicians to back her up." The polyrhythmic heat of Evie's clawhammer banjo has been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Celtic Connections, Lincoln Center to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. The band's 2012 eponymous release won Americana Album of the Year from the Independent Music Awards. In 2016 the Evie Ladin Band celebrates the release of a new CD, Cozy, as they've evolved into a tight trio.The Evie Ladin band features Keith Terry, a renowned percussionist/rhythm dancer, and the founder of the International Body Music Festival, on bass, body music, and vocals, and Erik Pearson, a musician's musician with the Crooked Jades and storyteller Diane Ferlatte, on guitar, banjo, and vocals. 

The music of Sharon Martinson evokes the dusty backroads and wide open spaces of the American West while remaining deeply rooted on a backporch somewhere in Appalachia. Since 2010 she has traveled across 35 U.S. States, playing 100s of shows, including visits to Canada and England. She has performed at such renown festivals as the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Oregon Country Fair as well as numerous regional festivals and venues such as the CBA's Father's Day Bluegrass Festival. “Think instrumental virtuosity balanced by a breezy, backwoods soul, music that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally soothing.” (Seven Days Weekly, Burlington, VT) "...a lovely sound that embraces listeners simultaneously with the familiar and the new." (Folk Alley) (www.thelittlestbirds.net)

The Small Glories: Folk powerhouse pair The Small Glories are Cara Luft & JD Edwards, a dynamic new duo planted on the Canadian Prairies. They are a study in contrasts. Cara, all earth mother on her 21-speed bike, helmet and backpack, environmentally friendly and wholesome, ebullient and engaging; and burly JD, looking like a cross between a biker and long-haul trucker in scruffy beard, ball cap, t-shirt and jean jacket, slightly intimidating (until you meet him). At first glance few would peg them for a highly creative musical partnership. Yet these two veteran singer/songwriters have teamed up and are already building a buzz around their tight harmonies, authenticity and visceral performances. Luft is a Juno award winner, co-founder of folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys, and a touring road warrior. She has earned a solid reputation as an exciting live performer, accomplished guitarist, clawhammer banjo player and insightfully honest songwriter. Cara’s the real deal, there’s nothing pretentious about her. Edwards has a voice that defies categorization, one that easily ranges from gentle and melodic to fierce and powerful, leaving listeners begging for more. He is truly one of the finest singers of his time. Mix that with honest, passionate songwriting and it’s easy to see why he’s an enchanting musical powerhouse. Together as The Small Glories, Luft and Edwards are a tour de force, a case of 1 + 1 = 3.

visit the Banjo Babes Calendar website

visit the Erin Inglish website

visit the Stringtown Ambassadors website

visit the Evie Ladin website

visit the Small Glories website

For more information about the Banjo Babes Showcase or the Banjo Babes Calendar & Album, please contact Erin Inglish (www.erininglish.com) at erin.inglish@gmail.com or (805) 748-2998.