Join us April 18, 2026, for a special celebration honoring the legendary John Hartford!
John Hartford was a trailblazer in American music, known for his virtuoso fiddle and banjo playing, innovative songwriting, and boundless creativity. Best known as the composer of “Gentle on My Mind”, Hartford’s music seamlessly blended bluegrass, folk, and country, earning him a lasting legacy in the music world. Beyond his recordings, he was a masterful performer and a passionate advocate for traditional music, inspiring countless musicians with his unique style and infectious energy.
This unforgettable event will feature a stellar lineup of artists, including the Darrell Scott Band feat. Rob Ickes, Caleb & Reeb, and Compton & Newberry.
The Lineup
Darrell Scott Band
Featuring Rob Ickes
Multi-Instrumentalist and Singer-Songwriter Darrell Scott mines and cultivates the
everyday moment, taking the rote, menial, mundane, and allowing it to be surreal, ever
poignant, and candidly honest, lilting, blooming, and resonating. The words he fosters
allow us to make sense of the world, what is at stake here, and our place in it. And
ultimately, Darrell knows the sole truth of life is that love is all that matters, that we
don’t always get it right, but that’s the instinctive and requisite circuitous allure of
things, why we forever chase it, and why it is held sacred.
Darrell Scott comes from a musical family with a father who had him smitten with
guitars by the age of 4, alongside a brother who played Jerry Reed style as well. From
there, things only ramped up with literature and poetry endeavors while a student at
Tufts University, along with playing his way through life. This would never change.
After recently touring with Robert Plant and Zac Brown Band (2 years with each), and
producing albums for Malcolm Holcombe and Guy Clark and being named “songwriter of
the year” for both ASCAP and NSAI, these days find him roaming his Tennessee
wilderness acreage hiking along the small river, creating delicious meals with food
raised on his property, and playing music. He often leads songwriting workshops to help
people tell their own truths with their stories, and is as busy as always writing,
producing, performing, and just plain fully immersing himself in life.
Caleb & Reeb
Dust off your boots and gather around for some true and original modern honky tonk music. An all-star cast of master musicians backs these two soul singers of country music, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms. These two are known to roots music fans across the globe for their soulful harmonies, driving dance tunes, classic original songs, and commitment to the raw truth of rural American music. They live in the San Juan Islands of Washington, though until recently, home was Portland, OR. They are foundational to the exceptional old-time and country music scene in the Pacific NW with the Caleb Klauder Reeb Willms Country Band and their membership in the Foghorn Stringband, of which Caleb was a founding member. Charismatic performers, they bring their unique set of talents to the stage with an eye towards good times and an ear towards the deepest songs and tunes.
Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms both originally hail from Washington State: Caleb from the coastal islands, and Reeb from the high desert plateau. The two have come together in music and are hailed as some of the most compelling musicians making country roots music in America today. When these two sing together, their honest incantations leave us spell-bound and smiling.
Their repertoire is made up of original songs and tunes as well as gems from American roots repertoires, and the music they make is Americana in the truest sense of the word. Music is clearly in their blood. Caleb and Reeb’s originals and interpretations of songs have been covered and recorded by many performers and their musical presence reaches into a diverse and loyal fanbase, giving creedance to the impact that this duo has on their listeners. Pillars of the Northwest music scene, they carry the torch of their music around the world, and can be found touring as a duo, as well as with the Foghorn Stringband, and the Caleb Klauder Country Band. Their fans exude admiration for the timeless sound that these two produce, capturing the essence of American roots music.
Sometimes we get so unnecessarily swept up in who’s rising and falling in music these days that the sheer joy of music is overlooked. One of the great things about Caleb and Reeb is that they are a world apart from all of that nonsense and let you immerse yourself in the melody and story of classic sounding country music until all other cares of life fade away. Country music is the music of working people who use it to pass the time and forget about the ever-present hardships in their lives. After years of touring together, Reeb and Caleb work intuitively.
Caleb’s study and understanding of roots music is so dedicated and rich, that he can hauntingly immerse himself in the same perspective of those old primitive country composers and write as if he was right beside them. Their album Innocent Road includes a clutch of lovingly arranged Klauder originals, along with well-placed and rare covers. The pair bring the spirit of legendary country duos into their contemporary takes on country music. Trading vocals back and forth, they complement each other strikingly well in an attractive meld of honky-tonk that brushes shoulders with trad bluegrass. Caleb has penned over 50 songs many of which are standards across America in honky tonk and bluegrass jams and festivals, both on and off stage. There is a long list of bands and singers who have recorded Caleb's songs over the years.
The blend of true harmonies, the sharply-written country songs, and the un-showy authenticity strike a rich vein that makes them seem like they are born and raised in Music City. They quietly pursue a musical vision without much of a care for what’s expected or in vogue at the time. There’s a lot to admire in this singular perseverance and honesty.
Compton & Newberry
Mike Compton and Joe Newberry mine one of the more neglected segments of country music history: the period during the ‘30s and '40s when brother duet music was transitioning into, what is now known today as, bluegrass. Both masters of the bedrock instruments of traditional music, they collaborate with a vision that is both modern and ageless.
Mike Compton, a Grammy-winning mandolinist, is widely recognized for his mastery of the Monroe-style mandolin playing. With a career spanning over four decades, Compton has collaborated with legendary artists such as John Hartford, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Elvis Costello, Ralph Stanley as well as a featured performer on the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack as well as a mainstay in the two highly successful tours that followed. Mike has done two consecutive years Artist in Residence at East Tennessee State University's "Appalachian Studies/Bluegrass and Old Time" Program. His unique blend of bluegrass, old-time, and traditional music has captivated audiences across the globe.
Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. The Gibson Brothers’ version of his song “Singing As We Rise,” won the IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” Award. With Eric Gibson, he shared the IBMA “Song of the Year” Award for “They Called It Music.” A longtime and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he was also a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions tour of the U.K., and at the Transatlantic Session's debut at Merlefest. Growing up in a Missouri family full of singers and dancers, he took up the guitar and banjo as a teenager and learned tunes and songs from mentors from coast to coast.