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Special Guests
Saturday, May 19, 2001
SPENCER BOHREN was raised in Wyoming as a devout Baptist, singing harmonies in church by the age of eight. He started playing the guitar in the mid-’60s, and left Wyoming for the burgeoning folk scene at the Denver Folklore Center in 1968. He learned from performers like Reverend Gary Davis before moving to Seattle, where he played with a series of bands and wrote his first songs. After moving back to Colorado in 1973, a backstage conversation with Dr. John inspired Bohren to head to New Orleans. There he played in the French Quarter at the Absinthe Bar, and uptown at Tipitina’s. As his reputation grew, he began to travel farther from home. In 1983, he and his wife decided to move into an Airstream trailer, towed by their classic ’55 Chevy Bel Air, so they could take their three children along to his performances. During their seven years on the road Bohren recorded four albums. In 1990, Bohren and his family settled in Wyoming, where he released two albums on his own Zephyr Records label, Present Tense and Dirt Roads. After moving back to New Orleans in 1997, he immersed himself again in its rich musical culture. His latest CD, Carry the Word (Zephyr), was named Best CD of 2000 by a Louisiana Artist by The Times-Picayune, and he recently earned a Big Easy Award as Best Country/Folk artist. Performing with Bohren this evening are his mother Norinne Bohren and his brother Dale Bohren. ( www.spencerbohren.com)
STEPHANIE DAVIS grew up in the small town of Bridger, Montana. In the mid-’80s, she made her way to Nashville, where she spent nine years honing her craft. Her songs were recorded by such artists as Roger Whittaker, Shelby Lynne, Martina McBride, Laurie Lewis, Don Edwards, wand Garth Brooks, with whom she also toured. In 1996, after deciding that she wasn’t cut out to be a staff songwriter, churning out music on a deadline, she made her way back to Montana to write and sing her own songs. She has since released two CDs on her own label, Recluse Records, the western-styled River of No Return, and I’m Pullin’ Through, a collection of original and vintage ’40s swing music. She plans to release a new record of originals later this year, as well as an illustrated story-poem book called “The Icy Blue Norther.” Davis is featured in Hal Cannon’s upcoming documentary film called Why The Cowboy Sings, which premieres at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and will later air on PBS stations nationwide. In addition, she keeps busy singing at festivals, cowboy poetry gatherings, and concerts throughout the west and will be touring in Chile and Ireland later this year. Joining Davis tonight are: Bobby Koefer (steel guitar) and Brent Rowan (guitar). For more information, see www.stephaniedavis.net
MIKE DOWLING taught himself to play guitar at an early age in his native Wisconsin. While still in high school, he launched a professional career that took him through the ranks of bluegrass, blues, jazz, and Dixieland music. He worked with some of the best musicians in those genres, including Jethro Burns, jazz violin legend Joe Venuti, and master fiddler Vassar Clements. Dowling spent ten years living in Nashville, where he had a string of songwriting successes, with tunes recorded by artists like the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, and Del McCoury. He and his wife Jan wrote a #1 hit for Canadian country artist George Fox and have four tunes listed in “The Decade’s Top 200 Bluegrass Songs” (Jan. 2000). In 1996, Dowling and his wife moved to a little cowboy town in northwestern Wyoming and started a guitar school in their log cabin. Dowling has since focused on teaching and writing instrumental music for the guitar. His compositions have been featured in Fingerstyle Guitar and Acoustic Guitar magazines, and his arrangement of a Civil War era melody is included on the Acoustic Guitar compilation CD, Habits of the Heart. Last year, he formed the independent record label Wind River Guitar and released his fourth album String Crazy. ( www.mikedowling.com)
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