• George Holly Jr. performs 7 p.m. Friday at Homer Council on the Arts

Photo Provided - George Holly Jr. (Center) is a contemporary Deg Xit’an Athabascan singer/songwriter who performs Friday at Homer Council on the Arts.

When the devastating earthquake and subsequent nuclear power plant eruption hit earlier this year in Japan, a Kenai Peninsula musician decided to write a song. Called a world-wide “Healing Meditation and Prayer for the Japanese Nuclear Power-Plant Workers,” George Holly Jr., dedicated the song to those who were consciously giving their lives for the sake of all.
“This is an inter-faith effort to send them healing energy and God’s love,” Holly wrote beneath his YouTube posting.
The contemporary Deg Xit’an Athabascan singer/songwriter comes to Homer on Friday for a performance at the Homer Council on the Arts, a rare treat on the music circuit. Holly began creating his own adaptations of standards for the bluegrass sound 16 years ago. He writes verses in Deg Xinag and Dena’ina Athabascan with the help of elders and other language learners. His compositions have been sung by Native dance groups in Southeast Alaska, the Yukon and on the Peninsula.
He also has written music that has been featured at the National Museum of the American Indian in D.C., the Field Museum and Newberry Library in Chicago and children’s programming in the Juneau School District and Perseverance Theater in Juneau.
The band features Holly on the banjo and Paul Gray on mandocello and djimbe.

By Randi Somers
Homer Tribune

Leading up to major concerts, free music performances at restaurants begin August 1 under the auspices of the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra. Fresh Sourdough Express is the site of Monday’s performance. On Tuesday Rudy Multz performs at the Mermaid Cafe. Wednesday brings Victim with Crime to the Harbor Grill, Don Jose’s is the fun spot Thursday and Two Sister’s Bakery is the music scene Friday.
Sunday, August 7, features Champagne, Chocolate and Chopin a la Tutka at the Tutka Bay Lodge on the far side of Kachemak Bay. That soiree is held from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. and is $120 per person.
Noon tunes continue Monday August 8 with Michael and Jessica Schallock performing at Fat Olives, Mark Wolbers at the Bunnell Street Gallery Tuesday, Jack Will and Sue Biggs at the Duncan House Wednesday, Madison String Quartet at Land’s End Resort Thursday and Amy and Todd Schendel, Gerrall Heiser and Tony Cecere at Latitude 59 Friday.
The Madison String Quart with Maria Allison and Mark Wolbers performs Monday, August 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Faith Lutheran Church.
The Kenai Peninsula Orchestra Gala Concert with Tammy Vollom-Matturro and Mark Robinson conducting, performs Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture and Beethoven’s Symphony number nine at the Mariner Theatre Saturday August 13 at 3:00 and 7:30 p.m. There is a lecture 45 minutes before show time. Tickets are $18 general admission, $15 senior or parent, and $12 for youth or member.
The Brass Chamber Concert with Amy and Todd Schendel, Anthony Cecere, Mary and Eric Simondsen and Harvey Ambrose will be presented at the Faith Luthern Church Sunday August 14 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 general, $12 senior/youth/member.

• Quiet Place Lodge hosts jazz concert Saturday, leaving Homer Harbor 5:30 p.m.
By Randi SomersHomer Tribune

Dan Mac Sextet

With many people volunteering their services, this year’s Jazz in the Cove is expected to funnel most of the money raised into the Horn Section, a music education fund established in memory of beloved music teacher Renda Horn.
Three charter operators, Bay Excursions, Red Mountain Marine and Homer Ocean Charters are providing transportation to and from Halibut Cove, departing Homer promptly at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, June 25 from Ramp One below the Salty Dawg Saloon and returning around 10 p.m.
Quiet Place Lodge is hosting the event for the third year in a row. Owner Pauli Hall said that 60 guests will dine and enjoy the music from two of the lodge’s decks, sheltered by table umbrellas while the band performs from a floating amphitheater tied up in front of the lodge.
The jazz will be performed by Anchorage pianist Dan McElrath and the Dan Mac sextet.
A graduate of Furman University School of Music, McElrath has performed piano jazz for 30 years in venues across the United States, covering a wide range of musical styles from gospel to contemporary jazz. Recently the DanMac Sextet recorded with vocalists Cat Coward, Katie Strock and Voni K. He performed with saxophonist Rick Zelinski and the quintet is currently touring to promote their newly released CD Ajazzka which is music he composed. He has garnered praise throughout his tours. “Dan’s fingers danced across the keyboard like a master,” one reviewer wrote. “His presence, stories and joyful heart created a delightful show.”
“Technically outstanding, musically fascinating, beautifully mesmerizing,” enthused another. “In a nutshell, one of the finest concerts in the series.”
Chef Sean Marriot will preside at the seafood cookout which, in addition to fresh seafood, will feature pork, salads and desserts. He too is volunteering his services in order to maximize money flowing into the fund.
Renda Horn lived in Homer for just 10 years, but in that short time she made an enormous impact, teaching elementary music and band in Homer area schools, giving private music lessons and reviving Inlet Winds, a community band. Renda inspired many with her musical expertise, boundless energy, devotion to family, friends, and community and her passion for living life to the fullest. Her community service extended to participation on several boards including the Bunnell Street Arts Center and the Homer Foundation.
Community members who knew and loved Renda have established “The Horn Section: A Music Education Fund in Memory of Renda Horn” at the Homer Foundation as a lasting legacy to preserve her memory and extend her impact on the community, particularly with regard to music and music education, to future generations. Grant awards from the fund will be used to provide musical opportunities for school-age students, support musical events and programs, enhance school music programs, and/or support the creation of a community performing arts center, should a credible campaign for that purpose be launched. Jazz in the Cove at Quiet Place Lodge is an annual fundraiser to support this fund.
Tickets are $125 per person or $250 per couple available at The Book Store  or the Homer Foundation office. Phone 235 0541 for more information. The ticket includes transportation to Halibut Cove.

• Milo’s new album considered his most professional yet
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

Milo Matthews

“Miles of Eva” is Milo Matthews’ sixth solo album, yet the well-known musician considers it his debut.
How can that be, given the definition of debut is to “formally introduce one to the public?”
“I’ve spent the past 20 years on these songs, and some go back to 1989,” Milo said. “It’s a compilation of everything I’ve done, everything I am. This is the first recording I’ve done in this way – no holds barred. I worked on it every day for a year.”
The local musician whose name surfaces in conjunction with many musical events and venues in town is becoming an essential standard, giving a versatile cross section of art, youth and adult concerts. Along the way, he also makes big contributions to the lives of musicians through his production company Lovelifemusic, with his wife, Shawn Zuke.
The new album, called “Miles of Eva” in reference to his son, Miles, and daughter, Eva, ranges in musical genre from funk to reggae to softer jazz-like vocals. After mixing the music at his local studio, Milo embellished the final mix in a collaboration with Peter Ratner in Anchorage and the Philosopher’s Barn Eric James of London for a professional finish. All this was done by Internet, which allowed Milo to stay home in Homer and continue his musical life uninterrupted by the travel that used to drain artists in the past.
“I like to be in the same room with people I’m working with in production. It’s good energy. But this way, working from a distance, we got a lot done and because I was able to stay in my own space, I worked from my own creative energy,” he said.
Milo was raised in Boston, and began playing the bass at the age of 12. Through his teens and early 20s, he “busked” the subways, making a living playing for eight hours underground in the subways. He credits the experience with teaching him a lot about music and also performing.
“When I started, it was always, ‘why aren’t people giving money?’ and when I was more aware of that, no one would pay much attention, so I started focusing on the music and different styles and experimenting. I would close my eyes and just feel the music, and then I would open my eyes and my case would be full of money and people around me were really getting into what I was playing. I learned about that connection,” Milo recalled in a recent Homer Tribune interview with Katie Emerick.

Miles of Eva

Writing and composing music occupies one side of Milo’s artistry; helping other musicians through producing their CDs takes up another set of his honing skills. With his wife Zuke, the couple is recording CDs for Cindy McKenna, Ruben Cash, the Alaska Women Songwriters for Peace Album, Sally Wills and others. Zuke, whose Alaska Women album has successfully raised about $3,000 for Haven House so far, has a solo CD coming out tentatively called “Still Free and Clear.”
“We want to take (Lovelifemusic) as far as we can, not just for Homer musicians but to reach out to whoever comes here,” Milo said. Since album sales are dwindling, due to iTune and other Internet transitions, marketing CDs require availing of a whole other set of “opportunities,” Milo said. One is an aggressive local marketing approach where albums are sold where ever musicians play and especially on home turf. A new movement called “Concerts in Your Home,” hosted by patrons in locations that require tours, also give new venue opportunities as a chance for audiences to experience greater personal interactions with up and coming artists.
Milo and Zuke, in a holistic approach to their performance and production careers, are concerned about a spiritual plane of living in service to others. Meditation and yoga, for example, would be offered to artists who come to stay with Zuke and Milo while recording their CDs.
“The biggest thing that we’re about,” Milo said, “is being self aware, being aware of your choices, and being aware that you’re here. Being aware of the person next to you, that we are one, that we do love each other. It doesn’t mean that you have to change the world, but you do have to be aware of your choices.”
The path to spirituality has been a journey for Milo, who grew up as a Baptist born-again Christian, and Zuke who grew up Catholic. They find a home among members of the Center for Spiritual Living which meets on certain Sundays of the month at Land’s End.
Yet, perhaps their outlook is spelled out best in the chosen title of their production company: Lovelifemusic.
As they say by way of explanation: “LoveLifeMusic honors the divine in all of us, manifesting positive, peaceful messages that resonate and awaken the spirit … and grooves that make you want to shake it on the dance floor.”
Catch Milo tonight at the Down East.

By James Hutchinson

Acoustic Africa

The soulful intimations weaving between the performers Habib Koité, Oliver Mtukudzi, and Afel Bocoum have conspired to form an unlikely testament to the recognition of traditional African custom: Acoustic Africa.
The acclaimed troupe has marked a constellation of dots across North America from Maine, California, Canada, and New York to setting their sights on the Mariner Theater for a show on April 3.
Any with a mind for Acoustic Africa’s dot-to-dot will doubtless mark the occasion a welcome intrusion. But what of the rest? Surely the worst fate stuck in art is to be ignored, so it is hoped that Acoustic Africa’s amalgamated talent is—if not loved—then recognized. For that, the necessity of shared experience becomes manifest.
The group, Habib Koité, Oliver Mtukudzi, and Afel Bocoum present a theatric gamut, the mixed coterie of soulful African traditionalism and western style brewed for the live sensibility. For Acoustic Africa, the word “live” receives a special intimation, as evinced by their appeal to the collected throng: Lucas Easton, a 2010 Homer High graduate, was able to see them recently at the Maine Lobster Festival. Half the crowd surged to the front to dance. Soon, a communal clap to the band’s rhythm called throughout the venue.
“They were smiling and laughing; it looked like they were having a blast,” Easton says. “They seemed to be enjoying it as much as the audience was enjoying it.”
That this act wasn’t merely accepted, but embraced in the home of the coveted “Maine Lobster Festival,” is telling. It highlights the group’s ability to transcend societal schisms and achieve communicability: inclusivity.
A live show is tantamount to an invitation, a broaching attempt at conversation between two seemingly disparate cultures. As Easton summarizes: “It was just an unbelievable experience.”
On April 3, there will be an intrusion into another seaside hamlet.
Tickets on sale at Homer Council on the Arts, The Homer Bookstore or on line at www.homerart.org.

James Hutchinson is a Homer High School senior

• Homer Big Brothers Big Sisters coordinator shares her own music in a concert Friday
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

Photo provided by Christina Whiting - Jenny Martin performs with the band, “Work in Process.” Martin is doing a special concert Friday at Homer Council on the Arts featuring 16 of her original songs.

Jenny Martin oversees about 35 Big Brothers Big Sisters along with their matching “littles,” a job that touches many Homer lives. For the past two decades she’s been a familiar face: She conducted outdoor camping trips for young people, oversaw a job training program at the Kachemak Bay Campus and helped local businesses while working for the Homer Chamber of Commerce.
Yet, Martin’s life contains a lengthy back story about her love for music that has been a defining force since she picked up a saxophone in the sixth grade.
“Music as a hobby is different from my job. It’s a wonderful part of my life, a kind of therapy,” Martin said. She plays guitar and bass with “Work in Progress,” a local band, each Tuesday night. They also do concerts, often performing for “food and beer” at fundraisers for nonprofit groups as a way to give back to organizations like Alaska Center for Coastal Studies and Cook InletKeeper.
But a new stage in Martin’s development, is agreeing to do a special concert at 7 p.m. Friday at the Homer Council on the Arts features 16 songs written by her – “Sad Songs, Slow Songs and Silly Songs,” as it is billed. A few of the members of “Work in Progress” will play or sing back-up.
“I never thought of myself as a singer before. I get shy about solos, and feel much braver with my friends around,” Martin said. “I’ve been writing songs for a number of years, and it’s a wonderful creative outlet. Prior to moving to Homer, I never sang in public at all.”
She will be singing songs written about the challenges of building her own house, her experience with animals, life in Kachemak Bay. The event is a fundraiser for the Arts Council.
Martin grew in New London, Wis., with a family who loved all kinds of music. She began with a saxophone in the sixth grade, continuing it through high school jazz and marching bands. She joined a rock band, Bachus Lotus, at 17 and played in Wisconsin music festivals, even in bars, then set off for college the following year thinking she would major in music.
Making music her career didn’t quite feel like the right fit.
“Maybe music isn’t what I want to do for a living, I thought after the first semester of practicing eight hours a day,” she said. Instead, she went for an associate’s degree in hospitality-business management, which brought her to Alaska’s Denali National Park for summer work at the lodge. Four years later, she still hadn’t left. Many of the friends she made that summer in 1989, year of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, remain her friends.
While working for the McBride’s Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge with children in the outdoors across Kachemak Bay in 1993, Martin discovered something she loved – working in a social service setting with kids.
“Working with those kids at the lodge, I saw all the wonderful opportunities that just naturally occur for people in the outdoors,” she said.
Martin next went for a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a degree she completed at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
That lead her to the Mental Health Center, conducting therapeutic camps for children, and then back to school again. This time she earned a master’s degree from the University of Arizona Prescott in outdoor education with a business major to learn how to set up a program.
It turned out that is a perfect background for her work with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. She combs through the calendars of each newspaper on a weekly basis, and e-mails suggestions to her Bigs for family-friendly outings. Homer, as a community, helps support the program as well.
“There are beautiful places all over the world, but it’s more about people and the community that’s kept me here,” she said.
On Friday night, she will be able to share something more with that community in the debut of songs never before played in public.

• Play runs Feb. 18-19 at Bunnell Street Arts Center
By Alida Dunning
Homer Tribune

Bunnell Street Arts Center hosts the first staging of the newly rewritten play, “Time Immemorial,” which tells the story of two souls as they relate to each other through many lifetimes. Co-written by Jack Dalton and Allison Warden, who are also the only two cast members, the show was originally commissioned by Cyrano’s Playhouse as one of five plays celebrating Alaska’s 50th anniversary of statehood. 
Jack Dalton, a Yup’ik Inuit, and professional storyteller, actor, writer and teacher, was first to receive the Expressive Arts Grant from the National Museum of the American Indian. Alison Warden is an Iñupiat performance artist, rapper, comedian, and slam poet. Homer audiences may remember her previous appearances at Bunnell: In 2009 with Guillermo Gomez-Pena and James Luna in “Outtakes for an Imaginary Bar”, and in 2008 she performed her one-woman show, “Ode to the Polar Bear.” “I named my polar bear mask ‘Homer’,” she said. “Homer is going to be the first place ever to see this newly worked script.”
After its single showing at Cyrano’s, the show was chosen by Native Voices at the Autry Center in L. A. for development. “We went through … an intensive week of rewriting in San Diego, and we had a dramaturge and director and actors, so we got to be just the playwrights. We got to really work on the scenes and this is the result.” In a highly competitive process, the show was selected among dozens of plays for full production at the Autry next year. “It’s going to have a developmental production and another intensive two-week rewrite. We’re very blessed. It’s like a mini-miracle. Within the top plays that made it, we’re the actual one that gets to be produced,” said Warden.
The show is about the many manifestations of two souls, Tulu (Raven-like), and Miti (Eagle-like) through all time, in an Inupiat context. “Statehood is just a tiny, tiny blip in our huge span of our history of being on this land, so that was the perspective we used to frame the play. We came up with this story of two characters that interact through many lifetimes and they weave their way through Alaska Native history. We do cover issues that aren’t normally explored.” Warden said while some of the jokes and subtleties may be unfamiliar to non-natives, anyone who has spent time in Alaska will grasp the deeper meanings. 
“The theme of stealing the light is one that runs through the entire play. It’s kind of a game that an audience member can play. They can follow this light that is being stolen by Raven from Eagle and given back to Eagle in each and every scene. Jack wrote the first scene. He did a brilliant job with it, because we kind of tell our own modified creation story where Raven steals the light and creates the sun and the moon and stars and then we jump right in to our first lifetime, where Tulu and Miti are born as brothers.” Warden said throughout the play, the two souls are reborn over and over again as brothers, sisters, spouses, a parent and child, a grandmother and grandson, a wife and husband. “Jack and I play over nine characters each,” she said.
The hopeful idea is that, through many lifetimes, two souls will find a way to deal with each other in a healthy way.
“It’s a very interesting look into what’s happening in many villages all over the world, about what happens when villages are faced with resource extraction,” said Warden. “We get to … realize that all we have is each other.”
Asia Freeman, executive/artistic director at Bunnell, said “Time Immemorial” is being staged in conjunction with the Global 350 installation, a call to artists to submit 6” by 6” works addressing climate change. The Bunnell is also sponsoring the actors for a week as Artists in Schools at Fireweed Academy.
“I saw the play in Anchorage at Cyrano’s,” said Freeman. “It blew me away, and I was just thrilled that Allison and Jack were interested in touring it. It speaks to the impact of climate change on the traditional way of life.”
To see the play in the context of 350 Earth, now on exhibit at Bunnell, “is replete with hope,” Freeman said.
“I mean there’s literally hundreds of children making these images that are just all very loving, very hopeful ideas of the planet, what it offers, what we love about it, is really what we need to move forward.”
Showtime is 7:30 pm on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 18 and 19.
Tickets are available at Bunnell Street Arts Center
$15 General; $12 members; $8 youth (to age 18). 
Adult themes.

• Static Cycle’s video features Bristol Palin
By Alida Dunning
Homer Tribune

Alaskan-grown rock band Static Cycle is back home after touring 14 states and sharing the stage with the likes of Daughtry, Drowning Pool, Puddle of Mudd, Eve6 and 36 Crazyfists.
They are set to play their first show in Homer, plus gigs in Fairbanks, and Anchorage, before heading back Outside to continue touring.
Jared Navarre, vocalist and lead guitar player, said the music is best described as a fusion sound.
“We’ve got some hard rock guitars, some hip-hop back beats, and then we’ve got some R & B and rock vocals,” he said.
In an unusual route, the band produced their first record before appearing on stage for the first time in 2007. 
Navarre met Josh Witham, Static Cycle’s lead guitarist, in 2005, and they started creating the first album shortly after. They had been recording in the studio for six months before they found drummer Dennis Smith. “Dennis came in 2007 and went into the studio and recorded the record with us, and about six months after that we jumped on stage,” he said.
The band played together for a year before performing live. “We were all in different projects before, and had played music enough that we wanted to approach the music scene a little different”, he said. “So we finished the record, we had a full line of merch and everything like that, and had a full stage show ready before we stepped on stage to play our first show in Alaska. We tried to take the scene here by storm.” Three months later they started touring in the Lower 48. “It was incredible because normally you have a greater ratio of shows to practice hours. It was so much work finally paying off, and getting to show the fans our music, which was amazing.”
All three members are lifelong Alaskans with a lifelong love of music. “We’re all true Alaskans,” Navarre said. “We all kind of grew up in music in different ways, and it’s been a part of our lives since we were kids. Dennis has played drums since he was like, five years old, I’ve sang my entire life, and Josh, I think he’s been playing guitar for about 12 years now. It’s embedded in us, this love for music.”
The band is looking forward to their upcoming Alaska tour. “There’s something special about it, being home. We haven’t found a better crowd than in Alaska and better fans. There’s something special about the music scene here, and about how people appreciate music in Alaska. We’re excited for these shows, really, really excited,” said Navarre. “We’ve never played Homer, so it’s gonna be great to come down there, play a new city, get to spend time with people we’ve never met before. We’re gonna have a blast on stage.” 
Touring with the band are keyboardist Johnny Nabors, from Anchorage, and bass player Danny Refcock from Michigan. Navarre and the other band-members are looking forward to sharing their love of Alaska with Refcock. “We’re really excited that he gets to come on this little Alaskan tour with us too, because he’s never seen any of the state, and it’s going to be great to go through Homer and Fairbanks and Soldotna, and have him see different sides of Alaska.” 
Their second record is being produced as two EPs. “Part 1: Hydrate,” came out a few weeks ago, along with their newest video, “Inside This World of Mine,” featuring Bristol Palin as Mother Nature. The video was filmed at Chena Ice Museum, and on a glacier. “I thought that was so awesome. They choppered me out in between Matanuska and Knik glaciers. They dropped me out on a mountain top. It was incredible. It was so much fun.”
Accomplished musician and veteran production technician, Van Horn Ely, worked on their video at Chena. He spoke very highly of the guys. His band, the Rebuttals, has competed against them at a battle of the bands. “They looked liked rock stars and acted like cool Alaskan folks. They were very supportive of our band.”
Navarre said they’ll be promoting the single and their new EP during their next tour. The second half of the record, “Part 2: Rehydrate” is already finished and is due to be released in about six months. “We’re hoping to get over to Europe sometime this year or next and play for overseas crowds. We’re going to try to play for military audiences this year and just keep touring and playing and writing new music and creating. That’s our immediate future, enjoying what we do, and bringing that joy to other people,” he said.
The two new EPs go deeper into the personal beliefs of the band-members.
“It talks about some hard stuff … and some things we see wrong with the world. ‘Paper chase’, the second track, talks a lot about greed, and the fourth track on the record, ‘Make It’ talks a lot about the industry and what fame can do to people. The inspiration really comes from us just wanting to spread good music to people and really wanting to be an alternative to just the no-nonsense pop fluff music that’s out there that just doesn’t resonate in anybody’s soul. Our music’s real, it’s honest, and it’s us,” he said.

• Foghorn Trio offers Yurt Village workshop, concert at Down East
By Marla McPherson
Special to the Homer Tribune

Photo provided - The Foghorn Trio will offer a workshop at Yurt Village on Monday, before performing live at the Down East Saloon on Tuesday at 7 p.m. There will be a $5 cover charge for the performance, while the workshop runs $20 for adults.

Whenever humans come together, there is music. Only relatively recently in our culture, did a separation arise between music performers and music listeners. In early America, playing music was a natural part of everyday life and everyone participated.  
Portland’s Foghorn Stringband is part of a thriving revival that is keeping that old-timey music making alive and they are bringing this deeply rooted American tradition to Homer.
It’s a pre-copyright, post-bluegrass style mix of old-time, canjun and vintage honky-tonk, with the Foghorns own stamp on it.  Stephen “Sammy” Lind’s fiddle and Caleb Klauder’s mandolin play tight unison lead lines supported by and anchored by the bedrock rhythms of Nadine Landry’s rhythm guitar.  
It’s a sound that could be coming to you from a big console radio in a 1930’s living room, or an Appalachian front porch; instead it’s being delivered by a group of young players from the thriving old time music scene of Portland, Oregon.  Proof positive that folk music will remain vital as long as there are folks who want to play it.
The Foghorn Trio comes to Homer on the heels of their most recent tour that took them to the Austin Stringband Festival and Louisiana Blackpot Festival where they recorded Cajun-Honky Tonk extravaganza with cajun musicians Jesse Lége and Joel Savoy.  And band member Caleb Klauder’s original country album “Western Country” recently hit No. 2 on the Freeform American Roots Charts, along side other American greats like Bob Dylan and Robert Plant.  
Foghorn members will be offering old-time music workshops in Homer on Monday, Nov. 15 at Yurt Village. Band members will teach workshops in fiddle, mandolin, rhythm guitar and clawhammer banjo. Participants will learn traditional fiddle tunes from Appalachia and the Midwest, and have an opportunity to play tunes with the band in a relaxed, positive and inclusive environment. The workshops start at 6:30 p.m. and runs $20 for adults and $10 for students.  
The Foghorn Trio will also perform a no-smoking show at the Down East Saloon on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. with a $5 cover charge. The string band rocked Homer on their last visit with their mix of old-time, cajun and honky tonk and their fierce determination to keep traditional music alive.  For more information, call 299-6297.

• Winner of 13 Grammys to play DownEast Saloon
By Sean Pearson
Homer Tribune

Photo Provided - Dan Tyminski, winner of 13 Grammy Awards, will play the DownEast Saloon next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

While Dan Tyminski may be best known as the artist who remade and sang the title song “Man of Constant Sorrow” for “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” his 13 grammy awards are certainly nothing to dismiss.
Tyminski’s updated version of the song won the 2001 Country Music Award for best single, as well as a Grammy for best Country Collaboration with vocals.
Tyminski was born June 20, 1967 and plays a bluegrass style that blends traditional and pop. He is a bluegrass composer, vocalist, and instrumentalist and member of the band Alison Krauss and Union Station. He also released a solo album entitled “Carry Me Across the Mountain” in 2000.
Before becoming a member of Union Station in 1994, Tyminski played mandolin and sang in the Lonesome River Band. He credits his brother Stan with getting him hooked on the guitar and mandolin at the age of 6. While Stan was in the Navy and home on leave, he left his mandolin with his younger brother.
While in high school Tyminski and his brother formed a band called Green Mountain Bluegrass in which Dan played the banjo for nearly five years. In fact, Tyminski said he was primarily a banjo player from the time he was 12 until he was in his early twenties. Then, via word of mouth, he was asked to join the Lonesome River Band.
“We ended up playing some shows at the same venue and when the position came up for a musician, one of the guys in the band recommended that they give me a call,” Tyminski said of his signing on with the band.
Tyminski attributes his love for traditional bluegrass to such musicians and singers as Del McCoury, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Larry Sparks and Jimmy Martin.
In July 2009 the Martin Guitar Company issued — as part of their Custom Artist Series a D28 Dreadnought acoustic guitar in recognition of Dan’s life devoted to performing bluegrass and old-time music. The guitar named Martin D-28 Dan Tyminski Custom Edition, is issued with its own distinctive details to appeal to flatpickers.
Dan is married to Elise with three children, Kathryn, Chris, and John.
Dan Tyminski has now formed his own group, the Dan Tyminski Band. The ensemble features Tyminski on guitar, Ron Stewart on banjo, Adam Steffey on mandolin, Justin Moses on fiddle and Dobro, and Barry Bales on upright bass. An album, entitled “Wheels,” was released on Rounder Records in June of 2008.
With the release of “Wheels,” Tyminski delivers a superb project accentuated by the inimitable talent of his band – Barry Bales, bass; Justin Moses, fiddle and Dobro; Adam Steffey, mandolin; Ron Stewart, banjo and fiddle. Combining a sophisticated, modern sound with Tyminski’s hallmark, searing intensity, Wheels features a powerful set of songs dealing with conflict, transition, heartbreak, and the lessons of life – all delivered with timeless soul from one of the great voices of contemporary bluegrass.
Tyminski will hit the stage at the DownEast next Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Down East is also offering a special deal: with the purchase of four tickets, a designated driver gets free entrance.