Ember's simple yet moving music centers around the miraculous blending of two very different voices: that of Welsh songstress Emily Williams, who also sails through the mix with her violin and sets up chunky rhythms with her nylon-strung guitar, and that of Rebecca Sullivan of Utah, who fingerpicks a sparkling steel-string, and breaks out the harmonica for a song or two. Since a chance meeting in a hostel in Barcelona, the unique acoustic magic of Ember has delighted audiences all over the world. They are now based in Wales. http://www.myspace.com/embersong

8:00 pm at
Contradiction Dance Studio
7014 Westmoreland Ave.
Takoma Park, MD.

As America’s premier bodhrán maker, Albert Alfonso leads the way in innovation, taking his drums to even greater heights. They are unmatched for sound, playability and ease of tuning. His distinctive drums can be found on the concert stage and in sessions around the world. In addition to his renown as a drum maker, Albert also has a distinctive career as a musician, recording with many of Irish musics most well-known artists. http://www.albertalfonso.com

For over thirty years, Skip Healy has been a renowned, Grammy-nominated performer of Irish flute and American fife music. He is widely regarded as one of the finest American fife and Traditional Irish wooden flute players, makers and educators that the country has ever produced. His playing style, heralded as "at once traditional and contemporary", breathes new life into his enormous repertoire of tunes. http://www.skiphealy.com

After the show, Albert & Skip will lead an open session at Roscoe’s restuarant (7040 Carroll Ave.) at 7 pm. On Saturday, they’ll be giving workshops at the House of Musical Traditions (see http://www.hmtrad.com for details).

4:00 pm at
Contradiction Dance Studio
7014 Westmoreland Ave.
Takoma Park, MD.

Her voice is often described as haunting and ethereal, but it's the writing that really separates Amilia from the rest of the new generation of literary songwriters. Likened by one critic to a French chanteuse in a candle-lit cafe, her songs set a mood. They are intimate and visual, like walking into a movie. It's some kind of strange potion, but one that's perfect for that midnight ride with the windows down. There is an edge, a turbulence, in many of the places Amilia writes about, but not all of them. Her songwriting fuses together the different places she calls home- the languid textures of rural Pennsylvania, the swing and melody of Texas Americana, with the back alley bite of LA. Though Amilia might be best known for her more poetic works, her live shows are really where she shines - you get to see all the layers coexisting there on the stage. http://www.amiliaspicer.com/

8:00 pm at
Contradiction Dance Studio
7014 Westmoreland Ave.
Takoma Park, MD.

Combining fourteenth century poetry with the talents and sensibilities of twenty-first century women these six talented, attractive singers breathe renewed life into the rich texts of medieval songs and poetry. Their hauntingly beautiful music captures the imagination and devotion of modern audiences. They are the Mediaeval Baebes, and in ten years they have placed three studio albums into the top of the UK classical charts and performed before enthusiastic audiences in the UK, United States, Canada and Europe.
www.mediaevalbaebes.com/
7:30 pm at the
ROBERT E. PARILLA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Montgomery College
51 Mannakee Street
Rockville, MD

Since the early 1990's, Old Blind Dogs has stood on the cutting edge of Scotland's roots revival. The band has developed its own trademark style with an energetic mix of songs and tunes. Dynamic percussion, polished vocals, soaring fiddle and stirring pipes fuel the delicately-phrased melodies and traditional songs. The current foursome of Jonny Hardie (fiddle, guitar and vocals, Aaron Jones (bouzouki, guitar, vocals), Ali Hutton (Border pipes, whistles, vocals) and Fraser Stone (drums, percussion) are carrying on the tradition of the band that the Montreal Gazette called "...a Scots neo-traditional supergroup with a bracingly modern musical attack".
www.oldblinddogs.co.uk/

Perhaps the best known Swedish folk band, Väsen, has been touring for 20 years. So it is surprising that this will be their IMT debut. Olov Johansson (the first world champion of the nyckelharpa), Roger Tallroth (guitar, Swedish bouzouki) and Mikael Marin (viola) are celebrating the release of their 11th recording, Väsen Street. It's a mixed repertoire with new composed material, old Väsen favorites not recorded earlier and some traditional Uppland tunes.
www.vasen.se/

Soul Beat Africa is the new voice of Ugandan music, the inspired synthesis of African roots and world music, of traditional and modern instrumentation. These musicians represent the new vanguard of Ugandan performers, gifted instrumentalists steeped in the music of their homeland, but with ears opened to the sounds of the world at large. Driving poly-rhythms underlay transcendent melodies. Traditional African instruments – koras, kalimbas, adungus, endongos, ngonis, drums – blend with guitars and keyboards, drawing on influences from around the globe. This is a new groove for a new world
www.kinobemusic.com