The Folk Music Society of New York Presents Bill Staines in Concert, 4/16

The Folk Music Society of New York, Inc./New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club will present singer/songwriter Bill Staines for a concert at OSA on Friday, April 16th. Staines will offer a host of folk tunes from his vast repertoire of songs.

Bill Staines is one of the top songwriters in folk music today, penning lyrics that evoke a sense of place and a generous spirit to go along with his pretty melodies. Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular and durable singers on the folk music scene today, performing nearly 200 concerts a year. He weaves a blend of gentle wit and humor into his performances and one reviewer wrote, "He has a sense of timing to match the best standup comic." His gentle lilting voice, spacious melodies and common-chord lyrics give his songs a homespun grace that often belies his mastery of the folk form. He is such a pure pleasure too, people forget to notice how damn good at the job of singer-songwritering he really is.

For more than forty years, Bill has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. Bill's music is a slice of Americana, reflecting with the same ease his feelings about the prairie people of the Midwest or the adventurers of the Yukon, the on-the-road truckers, or the everyday workers that make up this land. A number of Bill's songs have been recorded by other artists including, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Makem and Clancy, Nanci Griffith, Mason Williams, The Highwaymen, Glen Yarborough, Jerry Jeff Walker, Grandpa Jones, and others. Bill has recorded twenty-two of his own albums, fifteen of which are still in print. Composer David Amram recently described Bill as "a modern day Stephen Foster...his songs will be around 100 years from now."

Staines' concert will take place Friday, April 16, at 8:00 pm at OSA, 220 E. 23rd Street, suite 707, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. General Admission is $20. Members of the Folk Music Society, $10, children, and full-time students under 22 are free. Tickets are available at the door or online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

The Folk Music Society of New York, Inc. hosts concerts for music lovers who can relax and listen, sing along on the chorus, or dance in the aisles to the best of traditional music.

The Folk Music Society of New York, Inc. / New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation, and an affiliate of the Country Dance and Song Society of America. It is run by a volunteer Board of Directors, elected by the membership. For "do-it-yourself singers" we host informal participatory singing four times a month: sea chanteys, sacred harp, a community open sing, and gospel/sacred harp. We also run concerts, weekends, classes, and singing parties, all with an emphasis on traditional folk music of all flavors. Office: 444 West 54th St, #7, New York NY 10019.

For more information, visit the Folk Music Society of New York's website at www.folkmusicny.org.

Photo Credit: Larry Marcus