Sara Grey (Special Event)

From Both Sides of the PondSara Grey is an old friend, even if you?ve never met her. She?s got a familiar sounding voice, and scours traditional sources on both sides of the Atlantic for obscure songs that will be familiar friends to you by the end of her concert. Her voice is powerful and sweet at the same time, with a distinctive and lovely tremolo. Her old-time banjo frailing brings out wonderfully hidden rhythms, while her foot stomps the strong beats. In between, she offers the well-researched history of her songs, or ably-told stories picked up from her youth in New England, some told to her by her father. Her song might be an unusual American or British version of a ballad, or a tale of harsh life on the frontier?whatever the subject, she?ll present it in a direct way that grabs your attention and weds you to the song like some old-world matchmaker.Sara grew up in New Hampshire but has lived in North Carolina, Ohio, Montana, New York, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wales, England, and Scotland. As a youngster in North Carolina she first heard a lot of mountain music and her love for the old time banjo music and songs developed from this experience. She has carried this interest into her adult life studying folklore and collecting and performing music from the various areas in which she has lived. She has been concentrating for the last several years on tracing the migration for songs from the British Isles to North America.Sara sings all over the world in folk clubs and at folk festivals, and teaches ballads and singing at several week-long camps every year. On May 1, you?ll have a chance to hear her in the friendly space of the Cooks? music room.