by Jonah Barrett for OLY ARTS The Oly Old Time festivities on Saturday will include a square dance with Portland-based band Uncle Wiggily. Originally formed by the late Bill Martin and friends, Uncle Wiggily’s sounds encapsulate the music of old-fashioned square dances of the 1920s and ’30s. Today Uncle Wiggily consists of Amy Hofer and …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Music history is lined with family bands, with qualities spanning the good (the Everly Brothers), the bad (the Jonas Brothers) and the indescribably weird (the Shaggs). Those examples are all sibling acts, and that avoids the potential sleaziness of parents promoting their children as music acts. It’s easier to …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS When they perform at The Oly Old Time Festival, Anna Roberts-Gevalt and Elizabeth LaPrelle won’t simply play and sing. They show as much as they tell, accompanying their songs with “crankies,” rolls of fabric or paper with illustrations that move with the turn of a crank. The duo’s music—and …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Seattle-based Cajun band Touloulou will play for late-night dancers in the South Bay Grange on Feb. 18. The four-piece band is made up of Elena DeLisle on guitar, John Hurd on accordion, and Karen England and Steve Perry on fiddle. The festival website promises, “They’ll have you joyfully two-stepping …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS There’s nothing quite as Pacific Northwestern as Olympia’s teen fiddle-and-folk band The REDS. Comprised of Eros and Dante Faulk and River and Sage Scheuerell, The REDS have been playing bluegrass and old-time music together for five years. This year, they’ll open the festival at the “Thursday Night Kick-Off Dance,” …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS (Featured ART: Maybelle Carter by Paula McHugh) As an art form, one of music’s most admirable traits is its ability to adapt: Trends come and go, and styles emerge in a sort of call-and-response pattern. New sounds blaze trails in response to old ones, lending us revelations like the …