Long Time Courting at WHFMS

The Woods Hole Folk Music Society's 41st season will begin on Sunday, October 7 with a performance by the Irish band Long Time Courting.  The concert takes place at 7:30 PM in Community Hall, 68 Water Street in Woods Hole.  

Long Time Courting is a Boston-based Irish music group featuring four young women: Sarah Blair, fiddle; Liz Simmons, guitar; Shannon Heaton, flute; and Valerie Thompson, cello. Together since 2008, they share a deep affinity for both traditional and contemporary Irish, Scottish and American music. All four players also sing, creating harmonies and vocal accompaniments for ballads of love and longing, adventure and mystery. The songs complement the high-energy instrumentals which first vaulted Long Time Courting to prominence in the Irish music world. Their debut album "Alternate Routes" is described by reviewer Kerry Dexter as "a well-woven tapestry ... which reveals more color and depth with each listening." 

Sarah Blair has been praised by Fiddler magazine for her "combination of grit ... with lift, drive and a compelling earthiness." She began in Providence, Rhode Island, playing at sessions and dances a touring the with her band, the Sevens, from Alaska to Quebec to Florida. She is included in "Handy with the Stick," a forthcoming book by Brendan Taffe profiling top Irish fiddlers. 

Liz Simmons is described by Dirty Linen magazine as "a honey-voiced singer ... with winsome ease and genuine feeling." She grew up listening to her mother's traditional singing and her father's New Orleans Dixieland brass, incorporating both into a unique and complex vocal and guitar style. She is the lead singer for Annalivia, a string-based Celtic-Americana fusion band, and has played with the Sevens and the John Whelan band. Her singing will be featured in Grammy and Emmy winner Ernest Thompson's upcoming film "Time and Charges."

Shannon Heaton is the veteran performer of the band, having toured as a flute and guitar duo with husband Matt Heaton for over a decade. She discovered traditional while traveling and living in Nigeria and Thailand, and later immersed herself in the Chicago Irish music scene, learning flute at Comhaltas and pub sessions. Since then her discerning melodic style and talent for arranging has been featured in numerous Boston-area ensembles. Reviewer Molly Snyder says "Shannon Heaton's voice is the sun: remarkably light yet powerful ... [her] flawless flute playing adds another layer of lightness." 

Kansas City native Valerie Thompson grew up playing cello in a household filled with baroque, classical, rock, blues, and Irish music, whose influences become apparent when she shifts effortlessly from melody to drone, countermelody and percussive effects. She graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music and is pursuing a masters in contemporary improvisation at New England Conservatory. She has toured internationally with Irish fusion fiddler Laura Cortese as well as Fluttr Effect progressive rock and world music band, and Goli, a vocally based chamber duo. She is an active teacher and songwriter, scoring original music for independent films and plays. 

Doors open at 7 PM for the 7:30 concert. Admission is $15 with discounts for members, seniors, youth and children. Community Hall is handicapped accessible, and there is no charge for street parking after 6 PM. 

Upcoming WHFMS performances include: October 21, AquAria Sicilian duo; November 4, The Reunion Bluegrass Band; November 18, Blues troubadour Roy Book Binder; January 13, singers Claudia Schmidt and Sally Rogers; January 27, singer & songwriter Bill Staines; March 10, fiddler Dennis Stroughmatt and l'Esprit Creole; and several more concerts to be announced. 

The Woods Hole Folk Music Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering enjoyment of folk music in all its forms. Concerts are generally held on the first and third Sunday of each month from October to May. They are made possible by support from its members, season subscribers, volunteers, and performers. More information is available at www.arts-cape.com/whfolkmusic or by calling 508-540-0320.