Past Performance

Cahalen Morrison solo–Saturday, December 14 Cahalen Morrison made a big impression when he visited Fifth Street with Eli West a couple years ago. An amazing songwriter and skilled on guitar, mandolin and banjo, Cahalen is a unique voice in traditional and modern American music. Crafting terrific songs with an ear for humor, storytelling, heartache and the work it takes to get by, Cahalen plays here solo, on a very short break from his work with the top-notch Pacific Northwest band Western Centuries. See ... Read more

Friction Quartet with bass clarinetist Bruce Belton Friday, October 18 We're excited to have Friction Quartet back at Fifth Street. This local quartet with an international reputation regularly commissions and plays new works and is equally adept at presenting masterworks from the standard string quartet repertoire. Violinists Otis Harriel and Kevin Rogers and cellist Doug Machiz return to Fifth Street with their new violist Lucia Kobza. For this concert, they'll be joined by bass clarinetist Bruce Belton to perform new quintets by composers ... Read more

High Country We can't say it any better than their website: "High Country has earned its place as one of America’s finest traditional bluegrass bands. Strongly influenced by the classic styles of Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers, the band's blend of banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, guitar and bass delivers the upbeat excitement of true bluegrass music. With driving rhythm, skillful picking and soulful singing, High Country brings the energy and experience of six seasoned professionals to this spirited American ... Read more

Gerry O'Connor & Richard Mandel–Saturday, May 4 Gerry O’Connor grew up in County Louth, in a family of musicians, dancers and singers. His mother, Rose, taught Gerry and his siblings at home, and she continued to teach from there for 40 years. Students travelling from Armagh and Dublin, as well as closer to home, came to learn from the doyenne of fiddle teachers. Gerry’s father Peter was a singer whose seven uncles all played music. Gerry won numerous All Ireland titles between ... Read more

Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands–Sunday, March 10 Grammy Award-winning musician Laurie Lewis is internationally renowned as a singer, songwriter, fiddler, bandleader, producer and educator. She was a founding member of The Good Ol’ Persons and The Grant Street String Band, and has performed and recorded since 1986 with her musical partner, mandolinist Tom Rozum. Laurie has twice been voted “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association and has won the respect and admiration of her peers. Website ... Read more

  Kathy Kallick Band–Friday, April 5 The Kathy Kallick band is based on the west coast, from the San Francisco Bay Area to Anchorage, and their powerful mixture of original and classic music has great appeal everywhere. Their latest release, “Horrible World,” has been out for a few months and is getting played throughout the world(s) of bluegrass/folk/acoustic music radio. The album contains a half-dozen new Kathy compositions, an original instrumental from KKB member Tom Bekeny, distinctive covers of numbers learned from Bill ... Read more

The Crooked Jades–Saturday, March 2 One of the most innovative, spirited, and creative groups playing in America, The Crooked Jades take a deep, fresh look at old-time and traditional American and English folk music. One festival says: "The Jades are the perfect combination of fresh energy and raw antiquity, staying so true to the old stuff you feel like you’re hearing ghosts of the past...their performance is vibrant enough that at one point I actually had an honest to goodness religious experience." ... Read more

Del Sol Quartet–Friday, February 8 "I could be wrong, but I’m guessing it’s been a while since you’ve rocked out to a string quartet recording"—those are the opening words from a New York Times review of a Del Sol Quartet recording. This San Francisco-based quartet has been exploring the boundaries of the string quartet genre since its founding in 1992. They've made a point of collaborating with artists from other media and have been responsible for commissioning and performing new works of ... Read more

New Esterhazy Quartet–Thursday, January 31 We're thrilled to be hosting the New Esterhazy Quartet for the first time. This Bay Area string quartet has been together and performing regularly since 2006, specializing in music from the Classical period on period instruments. As Haydn experts—the quartet has performed all 68 of Haydn's string quartets and created four recordings of them—who better to introduce us to works by composers who influenced him? This is a program they're calling "Haydn & His Teachers", with music ... Read more