Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 24, 1986
You can get anything you want

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By Joseph Kraus
and Peter Ephross
T HEY'LL BE standing in the
aisles and filling up both the up-
per and lower balconies of Hill
Auditorium on Saturday, when the
Ninth Annual Ann Arbor Folk
Festival gets underway in front of the
largestcrowd in festival history.
Beating last year's best-setting
crowd, this year's festival sold out
almost a week ago, and has even sold
over 100 standing-room-only tickets.
Asked to explain the festival's in-
creased sales, Dave Siglin, director of

do it."
Moving into its ninth year, the
festival seems finally to have
established itself as an important an-
nual event in the folk world. With the
addition of Arlo Guthrie to the list of
past festival headliners which in-
cludes John Prine, Steve Goodman,
Dave Bromberg, Bonnie Raitt, and
Leon Redbone, most of the country's
biggest folk performers have appear-
ed.
The festival began in 1978 as a fun-
draiser for the perpetually im-
poverished Ark. At the time, accor-
ding to Siglin, there were no plans to
make it into an annual event. "We

'It's (this year's lineup) like the
American League East. . . all of these
performers are capable of blowing the
audience away.'
-Folk Festival organizer
Dave Siglin

Guthrie, this year's headliner, is
easily one of the two biggest names in
American folk music. With a
reputation equalled only by Pete
Seeger's, he may be the finest per-
former in the country.
The son of Woody Guthrie, the
famous balladeer and author of such
classics as "This Land Is Your Land,
This Land Is My Land," Arlo's
musical roots lie in the Oklahoma
dust-bowl.
Picking up almost where his father
left off, Arlo became a leading voice
for student disenchantment in the
1960s. In the past, Guthrie has honed
his performing and writing skills to
the point that there is no aspect of
music, lyrics writing, or performing
that he cannot do with ease.
Doc Watson, another veritable
legend of folk music, is hardly used to
being thought of as a second stringer.
As one of the world's finest flat-
picking guitarists, he won fame as the
chief exponent of the Blue Ridge
sound in the '50s.
Since then, in concert with his son
Merle, who died in a freak accident
this past year, he has remained in the
forefront of the genre, and his recent
recorded work indicates he hasn't
slipped a notch.
Dave Bromberg is practically
synonymous with the Ann Arbor Folk
Festival. Having appeared at all but
two festivals, and at every one of the
past five, Bormberg just plain
belongs here.
Although he has headlined several
festivals in the past, he has spent less
time performing in the past few years
and says he no longer wants the
pressure of being the final act.
But relaxed or under pressure,
Bromberg is one of the best guitarists
going. Having mastered folk, blues,
and jazz guitar in succession, he's
moved on the the fiddle, both as a per-
former and as a manufacturer.

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Dave Bromberg will perform at the 9th Ann Arbor Folk Festival at Hill Auditorium Saturday night.
The sold-out show will also feature such folk legends as Doc Watson and Arlo Guthrie.

the Ark for which the festival is a
major fund-raiser, seemed at a loss.
"Who am I to explain success? It
could be the headliner (Arlo Guthrie),
it could be a combination of acts, it
could be last year's acts, it's probably
a combination of these'things."
In spite of the great demand for
tickets, Siglin and the Ark are trying
an experiment that is actually
denying them a few seats. In accord
with the current fundraising drive at
the Ark to build an elevator for
wheelchair bound patrons, they are
removing a dozen seats to make room
for four wheelchair seats.
Siglin said, "It's an experiment. I
don't know if other shows can do it,
because it might not be financially
feasible. But it's (the festival) a fun-
draiser. . . it would be wrong not to

just wanted to raise $8000 to keep the
Ark alive," he said.
Fortunately, that first festival was
so successful, that the tradition has
prospered, and is now the undeniable
highlight of the Ann Arbor folk calen-
dar each year.
Until two years ago, the festival
was an all day event, with both an af-
ternoon and an evening show. Last
year, however, was the first one-show
affair, and the first to be held in Hill
Auditorium. Previous shows had been
held in the smaller Power Center and
Michigan Theater.
This year's lineup is as strong as
any in the past, so strong that Siglin
chuckled, "It's like the American
League East . . . all of these perfor-
mers are capable of blowing the
audience away.''

Claudia Schmidt, a native
Michigander, has established herself
as one of the most promising young
folk singers in the country without
leaving the midwest. Currently a
native of Milwaukee, she appears
regularly on Garrison Keillor's
Prairie Home Companion radio show.
Although her primary instrument is
the guitar, she frequently plays more
obscure instruments like dulcimer
and pianolin. With a reputation as a
strong songwriter, she has been
known to supplement her music with
long poetic introductions borrowed
from Wallace Stevens and D. H.
Lawrence.
When asked who might be the sur-
prise performers at this year's show,


a II NC-

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June 15 -July 26
Classes taught in English and Spanish
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Siglin replied, "I always pick the
wrong people. So I don't want to
pick." But when pushed further,
Siglin relented slightly and pointed to
two possible surprises: John McCut-
cheon and Rory Block.
McCutcheon plays fiddle, hammer
dulcimer, and banjo, and is known for
his up-tempo performances. The first
time McCutcheon came to the Ann
Arbor area last July, he drew two
hundred and sixty people. According to
Siglin, McCutcheon "is to the eighties
what Michael Cooney was to the six-
ties."
Rory Black, the second female solo
performer in this year's show, is an
acoustic guitar player and singer who
specializes in the country blues.
Block's performances have earned
her description as an "early Bonnie
Raitt, but better."
Each year the festival makes room
for local acts, and one of the two this
year is the Chenille sisters. Made up
of three local women: Grace Moran,
Cheryl Pawdy, and Connie Huber, the
women sing a capella harmonies a ia
the Roches, although they are intent
on "singing a wide variety of songs,"
and transforming any particular
genre. The women sing every Thur-
sday ateHappydHour at the Old Town
on Liberty and were discovered by
Siglin last year at the Art Fair. The
group is hoping that their 15 minute
act on Saturday night will lead them
on to bigger things, perhaps even a

recording contract.
Mark Braun, better known as Mr
B., has built up a large local following
without any gimmicks. He's attracted
massive crowds at each of the last
two Ann Arbor Art Fairs, as well as at
the Ark and Rick's.
A student of the styles of such
boogie-woogie and stride piano greats
as Professor Longhair, Dr. John, and,
Fats Waller, he brings panache and-
energy to an art too many have con-
signed to history.
The MC of this year's show will be
Art Thieme. Thieme, a club perfor-
mer, combines musical ability, hum-
or and wraps it into a folk package.
He promises to keep the show flowing
smoothly and add a lighthearted
element to Saturday night's show.
The big question left to be answered
is whether there will be a surprise
guest performer. Last year Arlo
Guthrie gave the audience a surprise
when he showed up with David Brom-
berg. When asked about the
possibilities of such a surprise guest
this year, Siglin evaded the question.
"I never expect anybody to drop in. If
they do they do. I didn't know Arlo
would drop in last year until he
walked in the door."
Only the lucky 4,177 ticket-holders
will find out if there will be even
greater surprises on Saturday night.

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SNOW BOWL SATURDAY
SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
Saturday Jan. 25 and 26, 1986
What an incredible weekend!!
Registration forms available
at the front desk of the Residence Halls.
PEPSI
MSA

OFFICIAL POSTER OFFER: For a 17" x 21" Daytona Beach poster
send $1.00 with your name and address to: Daytona Beach Poster
Offer, 500 Third Ave. West, Seattle, WA 98119.
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A little
dancin'
E VERYONE likes to dance,
whether it's once aweek, for fun
at the Nectarine Ballroom or daily at
a dance school. For those who would
like to improve, continue with lessons,
or start from the beginning, there is a
dance school on campus for you.
The main places on campus for
dance are Dance Theatre School, CAS
Ballet Theatre, Sylvia Studio of Dan-
ce, Community School of Ballet and
the University of Michigan Dance
School.
The University offers daily classes
in modern, jazz and ballet. But if you
don't have time to take classes during
the day or were wait-listed for every
dance class, private schools are more
accomodating.
The Dance Theatre School, located
on N. University, offers many dif-
ferent types of dance including: jazz,
modern, ballet, tap and ballroom,.
beginner through intermediate and
advanced levels. The school is direc-
ted by John Durbin and Judith Kahn,
who require that all students are
adults, no children, so beginners need
not feel embarrassed. Classes are
given in the evenings, from 4-10 p.m.,
on the weekends, ata10:30 a.m.-5:30
p.m. Registration is at the beginning
of each term and runs in sync with the
University's term schedules.
CAS Ballet Theatre School, on
Church Street, gives classes in0
Russian Ballet. The Ann Arbor Ballet
Theatre makes its home here, direc-
ted by Carol A. Sharp. Classes are of-
fered every day, including weekends,
and are given only in ballet at all
levels including Pointe. Registration
is by two-month time periods,
January-February, March-April, etc.,
enabling you to try it out without
committing yourself for an entire
term.
Next, the Sylvia Studio of Dance,
located on E. Liberty, offers adult
ballet and jazz classes. Classical
Ballet, taught in the Ceccheti method,
costs =85 per four month term. The
Ann Arbor Civic Ballet is connected
with this school, and is open for
audition to University students. Their
next performance is in May with the
Ann Arbor String Orchestra.
Finally, the Community Ballet
Scool. directedi hv Camilla

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FREE UNIVERSITY COURSES
BEGIN NEXT WEEK
No sign-up - Just Come to the First Meeting Below
MONDAYS - beginning Jan. 27
Culture, Empowerment, and the Politics of Social Change
Michigan Union, Anderson Room A 7:30 p.m.
Strategies and Tactics of the Peace Movement
East Quadrangle, 122 South Corridor 7:30 p.m.
TUESDAYS - beginning Jan.28
How to Evict Your Landlord
Michigan Union, Tenants Union Office Fourth Floor 7:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY - beginning Jan. 29
A Guide For the Perplexed
Michigan League, Room C Third Floor
Environmental Issues
School of Natural Resources, Room 1046
Anarchism
East Quadrangle Basement, 24-26 Tyler
THURSDAYS - beginning Jan. 30
h- 462 - - A- -I- -r .0 --

.IN it..

willn

Graduated Savings
on gold rings from
JO STENS
Stop by and see a Jostens
representative this week to save on the

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gold ring of your choice.'