Villa Hispana Stage

Antonia Apodaca and Bayou Seco

Antonia Apodaca was born in 1923 in Rociada, New Mexico in the house in which she lived until it burned down on December 20, 2010. She learned to play accordion and guitar from her parents and uncles, and she married a fiddler named Max Apodaca. Together they spent about 35 years in Riverton, Wyoming, where they raised their five children, he worked as a miner, and played music on the weekends for the nearby communities. In 1979 they returned to Rociada. They started playing locally and ended up becoming known all over New Mexico for playing the old music. In December 1987, Max died. Antonia quit playing for a year until Jeanie and Cleofes Ortiz visited her and convinced her to continue to play. She composes many songs about her life in New Mexico which she has added to her repertoire of older traditional songs. She was awarded the Governor's award for Excellence in the Arts in 1992. She has continued to play, often with Ken and Jeanie, and has performed with them at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1992, as well as three times for the series, Lo Madura de la Cultura, in Albuquerque, and at many other venues in the western USA. She has several recordings, one which is out of print. She is currently working on a new one.

Ken Keppeler and Jeanie McLerie, also known as Bayou Seco, have been playing with Antonia since 1988. Together they bring a vibrant collaboration of the old and the new. always remaining true to the roots of the music. Bayou Seco celebrates the energetic music of the Southwestern part of the USA. They have learned first hand from elder musicians in the communities where they have lived, concentrating on Cajun/Creole, Tohono O'odham double fiddle tunes, pre-Hollywood cowboy songs & tunes, and northern New Mexican Spanish Colonial dance music. Ken plays 1 and 3 row diatonic accordeons, mandolin, and fiddle, and Jeanie plays guitar and five string fiddle. They currently live in Silver City, New Mexico. The duo has seven CD's, has been featured on several PBS television programs, and on many radio shows. They are currently working on a new CD.

For more info: www.bayouseco.com

Kim & Reggie Harris

“Kim and Reggie inspire a sense of joy and exhilaration that lifts the soul…makes you want to sing and celebrate your neighbor!! Music that makes you come alive!” - Philadelphia Daily News

Kim and Reggie Harris are dynamic and superbly talented traditional folk performers whose captivating stage presence and unique harmonies have earned the respect and love of audiences throughout the US, Canada and Europe for over 30 years.

Consummate musicians and storytellers, Kim and Reggie combine a strong folk and gospel legacy with a solid background in classical, rock, jazz and pop music. Creative curiosity, years of road and stage experience, and interactions with performers such as Pete Seeger, Jay Leno, Tom Paxton, Harry Belafonte and others have led them to produce music that entertains and inspires.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, a city rich in cultural and musical heritage, Kim and Reggie's early exposure to the diversity of musical styles and genres was nurtured in the schools and churches of their youth.

Audiences at venues such as The Kennedy Center, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Smithsonian Institute, Reunion Arena in TX, the Psalm Festival in Graz, Austria, as well as a myriad of theater arts centers, festivals, universities and schools have given this inspiring duo standing ovations for their vibrant performances.

As a result of their CDs “Steal Away” and “Get On Board” (Appleseed Recordings) and materials developed in their work with the Kennedy Center, Kim and Reggie have earned wide acclaim for their contributions to the resources and knowledge base - in historical and educational circles - on the Underground Railroad and the modern civil rights movement.

In addition to numerous recordings on the Appleseed and Folk Era labels they are also featured on a number of compilations, films and educational projects worldwide.

Kim is presently pursuing a Ph.D. at Union Theological Seminary in NYC and both continue to write, record and produce music as a means to promote creativity, education, social responsibility and understanding in the world community.

For more info: kimandreggie.com

Dixie Bee-Liners

The Dixie Bee-Liners is a Virginia-based sextet that features soaring vocal harmonies, dynamic instrumental styles and performances filled with jaw-dropping grit, humor and emotion.

Husband and wife team Brandi Hart and Buddy Woodward have fronted The Dixie Bee-Liners since they formed the band in 2002. Lead vocalist Brandi Hart's originals cover a broad range, from hard-driving bluesy scorchers to ancient-toned instrumentals. She plays rhythm guitar, Nashville guitar, fiddle and mountain dulcimer.

Bluegrass veteran Buddy Woodward has played with John Starling, Steve Earle, Rosie Flores, Jim Lauderdale, and many others. A gifted songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Buddy plays the mandolin, guitar, banjo and bass.

The Bee-Liners' line-up includes four other award-winning musicians: Sav Sankaran on vocals and bass, Sara Needham on vocals and fiddle, Zach Mongan on banjo, and Leah Needham on dobro.

In 2008, The Dixie Bee-Liners' ground-breaking album "RIPE" dazzled critics and fans alike and earned the band four #1's on the bluegrass charts. Later that year The Bee-Liners were named Roots Music Association's Bluegrass Artist of the Year, plucked from among such luminaries as Alison Krauss and Merle Haggard, who also shared the nomination.

The band's newest CD, "Susanville," is a collection of tales that takes listeners on a musical road trip along America's highways and byways.

“The Dixie Bee-Liners is a collection worthy of praise... Brandi Hart has a voice that could give Alison Krauss a run for the money and could Buddy Woodward be the next Dan Tyminski...?” -- Jennifer Webb, NY Times' About.com Country Music Guide

For more info: dixiebeeliners.com

Carolyn Martin Trio

Singer Carolyn Martin has been described as “… a winning throwback to the days where emotion was measured and artful rather than loud and histrionic.” From European concert halls to intimate venues at home in Nashville, fans have come to know Carolyn as a a vocalist with a unique sense of musical style, a charismatic stage presence and a voice that exudes passion and experience – the soulful elegance that is the very essence of music.

Carolyn Martin is a native Texan who has lived in Nashville for many years. She began singing professionally while growing up in Abilene, and began traveling and performing throughout Texas and the rest of the US a few years later. Since settling in Nashville in 1985, she has had the pleasure of working with many of the most talented musicians and singers in the world.

Carolyn was a member of Nashville’s Time Jumpers, a western swing band comprised of Nashville’s finest session musicians and singers for 11 years. Their latest project, “Jumpin’ Time”, garnered two Grammy nominations. Carolyn was also featured as part of the Time Jumpers DVD “Jumping Time”, which has appeared on more than 140 Public Television stations and has won two Emmy awards.

A belief that “Swing is Swing” allows her group, Carolyn Martin’s Swing Band, to range far beyond the ‘tradtitional’ western swing repertoire; she will juxtapose western swing classics from Bob Wills, Cindy Walker and Spade Cooley with swing era song from Peggy Lee, Hoagy Carmichael and Louis Armstrong, show tunes from Broadway and Hollywood, traditional country tunes from Faron Young and Hank Williams along with new material written by Carolyn and her friends.

Carolyn was the 2008 recipient of the Academy of Western Artists’ Will Rogers Cowboy Award for Western Swing Female Vocalist of the Year. She was nominated for the award again this year, while her latest CD, “Swing” was nominated as Western Swing Album of the Year by the Western Music Association. In 2008, western swing DJ’s and reviewers around the world named “Swing” as one of the Top 10 albums of the year.

For more info: carolynmartinmusic.com

Los Martinez

Fronted by Lorenzo Martinez and his brother Roberto Jr., Los Martinez preserve, promote and treasure the sound of Northern New Mexico. Through the ages, the guitar and violin have become the instruments of choice for generations of New Mexicans living in the mountains, tools to express the emotions and experiences lived as Spaniards, Mexicans, and U.S. citizens for over four centuries.

The brothers Martinez grew up performing traditional music with their father, Roberto Sr. (Los Reyes de Albuquerque), and on their own. Lorenzo Martinez is a master folk violinist and a NEA National Heritage Fellow for preserving and promoting New Mexico's violin tradition. He has recorded two seminal albums-the first when he was 15!-of this rapidly fading repertoire. Roberto Martinez Jr. accompanies Lorenzo on guitar and vocals, performing inditas, polkas, redondos, and musical forms from New Mexico and the Western U.S. Creating a unique blend of music which draws from the diverse cultures of New Mexico past and present, Los Martinez are an authentic New Mexican musical experience.

Goddess of Arno

As pioneers of the world music scene in Albuquerque, Goddess of Arno’s band members have been performing, teaching and studying traditional Balkan and East European folk music together for over 30 years. This award-winning ensemble accompanies beautiful solo, 2- and 3-part vocals with traditional ethnic string and percussion instruments as well as violin, guitar, saxophone, and electric bass.

The band’s repertoire includes fiery instrumentals and traditional songs from Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria and Hungary –many in the Rom (Gypsy) style and language. The musicians of Goddess of Arno love the exotic rhythms and scales, which the southern Balkans absorbed from the Ottoman Empire, and the passion of the Rom music, which offers opportunities for instrumental improvisation.

Goddess of Arno was originally formed as accompaniment to the popular Svirka women's Balkan Chorus and later developed its own identity, known for exciting dance parties and concerts. Goddess of Arno has performed throughout the southwest and has produced and performed in concerts and workshops with internationally acclaimed Balkan and Rromani musicians and scholars such as Esma Redzhepova, Yuri Yunakov, Kabile Bulgarian Ensemble, and Professors Carol Silverman and Sonya Tamar Seeman. In 2002, Goddess of Arno released its award-winning CD: Balkan Dance Party!

For more info: http://members.tripod.com/arnoproductionsnm/GoddessofArno/index.htm

Jonathan Edwards Trio

Warm as summer sunshine, real as the truth … such is a Jonathan Edwards performance. Four decades into a stellar career of uncompromising musical integrity, the man simply delivers, show after show - songs of passion, songs of insight, songs of humor - all rendered in that pure and powerful tenor which, like fine wine, has only grown sweeter with age.

An artist who measures his success by his ability to attract and take good care of an audience, Jonathan maintains that it is the feedback he receives after his shows that keeps him going. “It is really gratifying to hear [someone say], ‘Your stuff has meant a lot to me over the years.’””

The “stuff” he's referring to is a highly respected repertoire that includes such classics as “Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy,” “Sometimes,” “Don't Cry Blue,” “Emma,” “Everybody Knows Her,” “Athens County,” and everyone's favorite ode to putting a good buzz on, “Shanty.”

And then, of course, there's “Sunshine (Go Away Today),” his 1971 fierce proclamation of protest and independence that sold a million copies and earned him a gold record. It's a highlight of every performance.

Since 1971, Jonathan has released 15 albums, including Blue Ridge, his standard-setting collaboration with bluegrass favorites the Seldom Scene, and Little Hands, his collection of children's songs, which was honored with a National Library Association award. A long overdue studio album is imminent.

Performing with Jonathan will be longtime accompanist Stuart Schulman on bass, piano, fiddle, and vocals, and Taylor Armerding, formerly of Northern Lights, on mandolin and high-tenor vocals.

"An Edwards performance is an unforgettable roller-coaster ride which combines his remarkable singing, storytelling, and wit"_ -- Martha's Vineyard Times

For more info: jonathanedwards.net

• Home
• Event Info
• Schedule
• Workshops
• Performers
• Volunteering
• Supporters
• Resources
• Contact Us

For questions or comments on this website, contact the webmaster

Last updated Friday, December 02, 2011