A Winter’s Trio – Songs of Love and Snow
Saturday, February 1, 2013 – 6:oo pm
Richard App Gallery
910 Cherry Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
Midwinter: on the surface cold, gray, some say bleak, but below the snow, the earth is still warm and things are germinating.
By now, you’re probably ready for some some social warmth, so come out and join Ralston Bowles, Susan Picking and J Oscar Bittinger for a Midwinter evening of singing and stories. There will be music for snow, hearts and flowers, a bit more snow, solitude, love, winter love, stolen love, abandoned love, and maybe a train ride. Songs touching and touched with humor. A break for art browsing and getting-to-know-you’s hosted by the convivial Richard App and Gallery staff.
- TICKETS – $10
– Only 60 seats available
– Advanced purchase encouraged @ Richard App Gallery - Doors open at 5:30 pm – show begins at 6:00 pm
- First come- first seated – arrive early for best
Go ahead, start the night early with a nosh and nip at a neighborhood pub. Come for the show from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and there’s still time to go out for dancing or for a nightcap.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
RALSTON BOWLES a singer/songwriter long heralded as a master of putting listeners in the moment, began by making up songs about the places he visited and people he met. His distinct brand of folk music is a contemporary gem that shares the social insights brought by ’60s and ’70s predecessors, but allows for an infusion of worldly influence and carries an undeniable personal and independent tone. His finely crafted debut “Carwreck Conversations” and the follow-up “Rally at the Texas Hotel,” inspired songwriter Peter Mulvey to describe them as “connected to another time, burnished like an heirloom”.
SUSAN PICKING is a Midwestern gal with Pacific Western cool. Susan’s songs are about life, with a wistful wit that comes through on a voice rich with lovely cadences, including a hint of an Irish lilt. She’s been praised for moving melodies and stirring lyrics which reflect a deep soul. The umbrella of “Americana” can cover influences and inflections of folk, pop, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and celtic in her music played on piano, uke music. Recent stylistic explorations include Kirtan Chant (part of her interest in Healing Music), having a song, “Namaste”, licensed for the “yogAttitude” DVD and playing with the Celtic band SKIRL (with J Oscar Bittinger and Karisa Wilson) who do “music from the Emerald Isle to the Americas”. Info on Susan’s three albums “Down in Your Soul”, “Take Three”, and “Wonder in the Wander” are at:
http://www.susanleighpicking.com/
J OSCAR BITTINGER: Performing songwriter, producer, event designer and bon vivant. Started and led 80’s rock band Pillar of Fire, drove the rhythm on guitar, sang and wrote for 90’s acoustic upstarts The Folk Bros, new millennium Irish drinking group Oxter-Mahone and Celtic duo Dublin Station. New recordings are in process – selections from out of print CDs and cassettes to to be available soon from website store at:
http://www.joscarbittinger.com/
NOTE : The original version of this concert (on December 22, 2013) was to be a celebration of the year end holidays and the Winter season. Perhaps the weather got into the act a bit too dramatically. From that cancelled show, this one has arrived and we hope you can join us!