News Release

Annapolis Maritime Museum / 723 Second St / Annapolis, MD 21403
Contacts: Jeff Holland / 410 295-0104 / director@amaritime.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - June 19, 2008

Tom & Chris Kastle perform at Annapolis Maritime Museum’s Summertime Maritime Concert Series

Tom and Chris Kastle will perform their traditional maritime music from the Great Lakes at the Annapolis Maritime Museum’s free Summertime Maritime Concert series on Wednesday, June 25, at the museum campus in Eastport, and again at noon on Thursday, June 26, at Annapolis City Dock.

Musicians and storytellers Tom and Chris Kastle have spent a lifetime touring the U.S., Canada, the British Isles and Europe, offering songs and stories of the Great Lakes region they call home. No strangers to water or the seafaring life, they have worked as a team aboard the Hudson River sloop Clearwater, while Tom has captained various tall ships on the Great Lakes, including the schooners Windy and Inland Seas and the square topsail sloop Friends Good Will for the Michigan Maritime Museum. They have released a dozen albums chronicling the Great Lakes and the world around them. Their performances offer a glimpse into a world not so far from our own -- a world at once ravaged by stormy seas and confounded by the vagaries of development -- all underscored by strong vocals and instrumentation.

The Wednesday concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is located at 723 Second Street on the banks of Back Creek. Beer and wine are available for a nominal donation.

The music starts up again on Thursday at noon at the Annapolis City Dock, with the musicians performing during the lunch hour from the deck of the Lydia D, a small skipjack owned by the Museum. Again admission is free; the audience is welcome to bring seating.

The museum’s summer concert series has won an award for Best Heritage Event by Four Rivers, the Heritage Area of Annapolis, London Town and South County, and one concert has been featured on the NBC Today Show.

The series is made possible by generous support of the members of the Annapolis Maritime Museum, the City of Annapolis, City of Annapolis Department of Economic Development, Four Rivers Heritage Area, the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, the Maryland State Arts Council, Weems & Plath, Davis’ Pub, Anston House Press, and other supporters.

For a complete schedule of performers, additional information and directions, see the Museum web site at www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org.

Upcoming concerts:

July 2 - OCEAN Quartette

With their soaring Celtic vocals and high-energy instrumentals (button accordion, fiddle, guitar and keyboard), the four-woman OCEAN Quartette offers their audience “the softer side of sea music.” Jennifer Cutting, Grace Griffith, Lisa Moscatiello, and Cheryl Hurwitz are internationally known, collectively and solo, for their goosebump-raising performances and surprise-filled repertoire. For her most recent album (OCEAN: Songs for the Night Sea Journey, released in 2005) composer and ethnomusicologist Jennifer Cutting culled through the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress to find a body of nautically inspired ballads and tunes, and transformed them into an ethereal banquet unlike anything in the “tradtitional” sea music canon. Think sirens. Think mermaids. Think maidens awaiting their sea-borne sailors. Woven into the mix is some of Cutting’s original material, which celebrates the rich symbolism, mythology, and mystery of the sea. The Washington Post called OCEAN “Nothing short of spellbinding…” Come and be mesmerized by their magic!

July 3 - Caryl Weiss

Lifelong musician and veteran of the international “folk scene,” Caryl Weiss burst on the Annapolis stage six years ago, brimming with enthusiasm about the Chesapeake Bay, its traditions and its people.

Adding to a repertoire already teeming with ballads meticulously collected from both sides of the Atlantic, she began penning songs about the Annapolis waterfront and the Bay beyond (her songs about the Schooner Woodwind and the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race play on the Woodwind website: www.schoonerwoodwind.com). An avid chantey ma’am, as she calls herself, she has shared her Sea Shanties 101 program at maritime museums throughout the Chesapeake watershed. Her deep and abiding love for the water and maritime traditions shines as clear as her voice; she backs herself up with banjo, guitar and concertina (but not all at once).

July 9/10 - Tom Wisner

Tom Wisner, the “guru” of Chesapeake Bay folk music, is a singer, songwriter, and educator from the Patuxent River watershed. Since the 1960s, Wisner has pioneered the use of original songs and stories to heighten awareness of the national treasure known as the Chesapeake Bay.

His masterpiece, “Chesapeake Born,” inspired a National Geographic Special documentary. His first three albums are part of the National Smithsonian Folkways collection. He was a featured entertainer at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in 2004 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

July 16/17 - Bob Zentz

Bob Zentz, a singer, songwriter, and storyteller from Norfolk, Virginia, has five recordings of traditional and original songs. His Chesapeake Bay songs like “This Old Bay” and “The Last Skipjack” have become true classics that have been included in a number of anthologies. He was featured in the 2004 Smithsonian Folklife Festival and performs concerts and educational programs throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Bob takes time to tell the stories behind the songs, and he accompanies his rich baritone voice with dozens of ‘unplugged’ folk instruments. One minute he’ll be singing an original ditty about his experiences on the Bay, the next he’ll throw in a traditional Celtic tune, a ballad or a sea chantey, and then he’ll recite poetry set to his own special brand of music.

July 23 - Them Eastport Oyster Boys and Scurvy Crew

For the past decade, Them Eastport Oyster Boys, the duo of Jefferson Holland and Kevin Brooks has been delighting audiences throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed with their irrepressible brand of humorous tunes inspired by living in a community where the best things in life are a “good hat, a good dog and a good boat.” Their original songs, all inspired by the Bay, swing from island rhythms to “Country/Western Shore,” some poking fun at stinkpotters, others paying homage to the plight of the waterman. In his “day job,” Jeff works as the director of the Annapolis Maritime Museum. Kevin Brooks volunteers on the Museum’s Board of Directors. They contribute their time and talents to the Museum for this concert series. Scurvy Crew is made up of young people from Southern Maryland who might tell you they were kidnapped by pirates at a tender age and learned their singing from the folks in the fo’castle.

True or not, the Scurvy Crew has been singing sea songs for several years now, entertaining audiences with their lively performances and colorful costumes. Ranging from traditional work songs to hilarious “chantey nouveaux”, the group’s material can be saucy or somber, but is always spirited.

July 24 - Scurvy Crew

A delightful bunch of young people from Southern Maryland, the Scurvy Crew has been singing sea songs for several years now, entertaining audiences with their lively performances and colorful costumes. Ranging from traditional work songs to hilarious “chantey nouveaux”, the group’s material can be saucy or somber, but is always spirited.

July 30/31 - Calico Jack

Calico Jack is actually the dynamic folk duo of Janie Meneely and Paul DiBlasi, whose new album “You Don’t Know Jack” was released this spring.

Singer/songwriter Janie Meneely delves deep into the well of Chesapeake lore to produce songs evocative of the waterman’s way of life, featuring Bay characters, places and history. Her nautically inspired tunes have been recorded by artists throughout the country. Paul DiBlasi adds a vast repertoire of classic work songs to the group along with a flair for the guitar. “Sometimes sober, sometimes saucy, they slide easily between old and new,” says Annapolis Maritime Museum Director Jeff Holland. Janie's strong regional roots have led her to develop a hefty list of Bay-inspired songs, but her ditties are just as apt to poke fun at time-honored traditions. Paul's mastery of classic sea chanteys will have an audience singing along in no time. Their voices blend together beautifully.” Calico Jack released its first CD of Bay music, “The Oyster Wife,” in 2006.

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Note to editors: photos are available, please contact Jeff Holland.

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