Joe Jencks, Deidre McCalla
media release: No stranger to Mad Folk audiences, Joe Jencks is a 25-year veteran of the international folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter, and celebrated vocalist based in Chicago. Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, he delivers musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. Joe is noted for his unique merging of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. He blends well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, serving it up with a lyric baritone voice. Joe has penned #1 folk songs and is co-founder of the harmony trio Brother Sun. From festivals such as Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Mariposa, and Old Songs, to Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Joe has enthralled audiences with his approachable style. In 2022, he released his 17th recording, The Coming of the Years, an album that stands firmly in the modern Celtic traditions and is still quintessentially a Joe Jencks record.
Deidre McCalla’s songwriting reveals an unyieldingly honest perspective expressed with a lyric touch that relentlessly celebrates the power and diversity of the human spirit. A Black woman, mother, lesbian, and feminist, her songs embody hope and celebration, struggle, loss, and longing. Deidre has been in the forefront of Black musicians redefining the understanding of how Black folk do folk. Deidre has shared the stage with a long list of notables that includes Suzanne Vega, Tracy Chapman, Holly Near, Odetta, Cris Williamson, and Sweet Honey in the Rock. Her current release, Endless Grace, dominated the June 2022 Folk Radio Charts as the #1 Album with the #1 Song, “Shoulder To The Wheel,” which also won the 19th Annual International Acoustic Music Award for Best Folk/Americana/Roots Song. PopMatters, Rhythms Magazine, and the Folk Alley Listener Favorites Poll ranked Endless Grace among the Ten Best Folk albums in 2022.
More information at https://www.madfolk.org. As part of Madfolk standing tradition, we encourage audience members to bring non-perishable foods and/or personal care items to the concert as donations to a local food bank.
The concert is sponsored by the Madison Folk Music Society, which is celebrating its 50th year of bringing music to Madison.
Tickets: $20 advance, $25 day of show