Tickets: $20

RJ Cowdery (Ohio), Katie Dahl (Wisconsin), and Hope Dunbar (New Jersey) may be from three different states, but they all share a knack for razor sharp lyrics, wicked humor, compelling vocals, and unflinching truth telling.

All alumni of the prestigious Kerrville New Folk competition, Cowdery, Dahl, and Dunbar each tour the country individually, but are teaming up for this powerhouse triple bill. Don't miss this chance to see three of the country's most respected songwriters, swapping songs with one another in an in-the-round format.

RJ Cowdery writes the kind of songs that sneak up on you-quiet, honest, and armed with just enough wit to keep you on your toes. A late bloomer in the music world (she didn't dive in until most people are taking up pickleball), Rj has been making up for lost time with award-winning albums like "In This Light", produced by Billy Crockett and If This Is All There Is, produced by Amy Speace. Hailing from southeastern Ohio, with Appalachian roots, she balances heart-tugging ballads with a sly grin and the occasional perfectly timed zinger. Along the way, she's earned top honors at Mountain Stage NewSong, Kerrville New Folk, Sisters Folk Festival, to name a few. Fellow musicians call her "the real deal," audiences call her music "a warm blanket," and she just calls it "medicine."

Clear-eyed and tough-minded, songwriter/playwright Katie Dahl is known for her smart songs, wry wit, and wise spirit. A small-town celebrity on the Wisconsin peninsula where her family has lived for 175 years, Katie is also an internationally touring, radio-charting artist who "delivers razor-sharp lyrics with a hearty, soulful voice" (American Songwriter). In live shows that are both courageously honest and devilishly funny, Katie dives deep into questions of land and love, family and body image, grief and joy. "In unsettled times", says Peter Mulvey, "Katie Dahl brings us a grounded spirit."

Hope Dunbar is a singer-songwriter known for her blend of Americana and country-folk sounds. Hailing from Utica, Nebraska, she has been a pioneer of what she calls "New American Prairie style," crafting semi-autobiographical songs that transform everyday life into art. Her work has garnered recognition, including being a three-time finalist at the Kerrville New Folk Song Contest.

After residing in a small town in Nebraska, Dunbar relocated to New Jersey, bringing her unique "Big Sky sound" to the East Coast. She has opened for national artists and has been a part of shows with Asbury Park musicians. She also co-hosts a weekly podcast, "Prompt Queens," where she and her sister-in-law write a new song each week based on a specific prompt.

Dunbar's latest album, "Happily Ever Elsewhere," was released on August 1, 2025. The album, which was supported by a Kickstarter campaign, features collaborations with artists such as Darrell Scott, Eliza Gilkyson, and Cory Branan.

Tickets: $20

The portion of this show from 8pm to 9pm will be broadcast live by our friends at WFMT 98.7, or listen worldwide on http://www.WFMT.com

Called Canada's finest singer-songwriter by one of the most respected and lauded music journalists of the last 50 years, James Keelaghan is an artist who has proven to be a man for all seasons. As the calendar pages have turned, for almost a quarter of a century now, this poet laureate of the folk and roots music world has gone about his work with a combination of passion, intent and intensity, and curiosity.

Fusing his insatiable appetite for finding the next unique storyline Keelaghan also forges his pieces with brilliantly defined craftsmanship and a monogrammed artistic vision, making him one of the most distinctive and readily identifiable voices of not only the Canadian scene, but as a member of the international singer-songwriter community.

"I've always had the urge to write. Some things weren't being said in the way I wanted to say them. Then there are the different sides of what I write about. The narrative writing, the historical material, as well as the personal, where you have to take responsibility for what you are saying," says the Calgary native who has been calling Winnipeg home for the past few years.

A disciplined visionary, Keelaghan's aces have long been a love of language, and history, as he earned a history degree years ago, his skills as a thespian that he acquired at an early age, that explain his ability to make an immediate connection with audiences in a live setting, and an ear for a memorable melody, and harmonies that make those melodies glisten.

"I'm good for 80 or so books a year, mostly history, non-fiction, but inspiration can come in many forms, I'm always on the lookout for a good story or idea. My sister told me the story that became Kiri's Piano. It was such an image," says Keelaghan that visits a dark chapter in Canadian history, Japanese interment camps in the Second World War.

Not only does his deep catalogue include timeless originals like Fires of Calais, Cold Missouri Waters, Jenny Bryce, Hillcrest Mine, and Kiri's Piano. Keelaghan is also a possessive interpreter of outside material, a fine example being his gripping take on Gordon Lightfoot's epic Canadian Railroad Trilogy on the Lighfoot Tribute disc Beautiful. There are a number of illustrations of his interpretive skills on his 2006 recording A Few Simple Verses. The closing tune on that spellbinding set, My Blood written with Jez Lowe, is one of many examples in Keelaghan's career, where he has invited collaboration into his creative process.

"I was at the Celtic Colors Festival in 2008 and the producers locked six of us in a house for a week, and the company included Dave Gunning, David Francey, and Rose Cousins, it was an amazing experience. We had to come up with enough material for a show at the end of it.

Tickets: $20

The portion of this show from 8pm to 9pm will be broadcast live by our friends at WFMT 98.7, or listen worldwide on http://www.WFMT.com

Emma's Revolution Bios & "Pete Seeger & Pat Humphries: A Friendship from First Song to Last"

"Pat's songs will be sung well into the 22nd century"-- Pete Seeger on NPR's All Things Considered

"Fervent and heartfelt" ~ The New York Times

Known for fearless, truth-telling lyrics and melodies you can't resist singing, Emma's Revolution is the award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O. Performances feature the duo's signature soaring harmonies and lush acoustic instruments, in songs that span folk to jazz and funk to rock. For more than 20 years, Emma's Revolution has written about critical issues happening in the world, lending their voices to the movements those issues inspire and delivering moving, uplifting performances. Their songs have been praised by Pete Seeger, covered by Holly Near, featured on NPR's All Things Considered and Pacifica's Democracy Now!, and sung around the world.

Emma's Revolution carries on in the spirit of their mentor, Pete Seeger. "Activist musicians inherit a legacy of the indivisibility of truth-telling and soul-stirring," Pat explains, "We sing stories wrapped in the taste of freedom, the triumph of overcoming, the grief of injustice, weaving stories, melodies and harmonies in a rich alchemy of vintage genres and emerging sounds to create an experience full of humor, heart and hope." Sandy continues, "Especially in these times--with threats to our democracy, climate chaos, wars, and the continuing effects of the pandemic--we are buoyed and inspired by the activists and communities we work with. Singing is part of what keeps us grounded and connected to one another."

With an expected release date of 2026, a feature documentary, KEEP ON MOVING FORWARD, is being made about Emma's Revolution and their work on the frontlines of peace and social justice movements by award-winning independent filmmaker, Tom Weidlinger. The duo's film fundraiser at famed The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley CA in 2024 sold out, with almost 500 people joining online, as well. The duo's latest recordings are: Evolution, a celebration of the duo's 20th anniversary, with best loved songs including "Swimming to the Other Side", Pat's signature song which was featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" and Rooted, a musical reflection on joy and justice which includes "Our House is on Fire", the duo's electrifying call-to-action for the climate which was featured by a national nonprofit co-founded by Noel (Paul) Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary. A number of songs from Rooted, released as video singles, have collectively garnered more than 500,000 views on social media and charted in Top 10 and Top 25 Songs on folk radio.

As independent artists and queer and non-conforming women, Emma's Revolution has a national presence among communities, organizations and venues that share the duo's vision of valuing people over profit, choosing compassion over violence, demanding accountability and building a more just and sustainable world.

Tickets: $30

The portion of this show from 8pm to 9pm will be broadcast live by our friends at WFMT 98.7, or listen worldwide on http://www.WFMT.com

Over the course of her twenty five year career, Susan Werner has earned a reputation as "one of the most innovative songwriters working today" (Chicago Tribune). With formidable chops on guitar (she began playing at age 5) and piano (she was a guest on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz), along with a graduate degree in voice performance, her shows are a one-woman master class in musicianship. Although best known as an acoustic songwriter that came up through coffeehouses and folk festivals, the Chicago-based artist has written songs in the style of Gershwin and Cole Porter (I Can't Be New, 2004), gospel music (The Gospel Truth, 2007), traditional Cuban "son" (An American In Havana, 2016), and New Orleans junk piano (NOLA, 2019). In 2014 she composed the music and lyrics to the musical theater score Bull Durham, The Musical (MGM). Her songs have been recorded by Tom Jones, Michael Feinstein, and Shemekia Copeland, and her latest recording of originals, The Birds of Florida, took flight in 2022.

"(Werner is) a songwriter and musician who is in such complete command of her gifts that it's almost scary." - All Music Guide