The video is here! See our 39th Annual Woodstock Folk Festival (2024) Sampler.
If you missed last year’s Festival, this is your opportunity to see some of what you missed. If you did attend, you can now re-live special moments from that day.
For your convenience, we are including the performers’ profiles and websites below. We hope you’ll support them by purchasing their CDs, joining their Patreon accounts, and/or attending their future concerts.
The video is about an hour and a half. You can watch it in the post on our website or in the right column — or find it anytime in our Video Gallery on this site. You can also visit our YouTube Channel.
The 39th Annual Woodstock Folk Festival 2024| Performer Profiles
Canadian singer-songwriter Connie Kaldor, now celebrating 45 years in show business, will receive the Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the recipient of three Juno Awards, as well as the Order of Canada, a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal recipient, an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Regina, and is the first songwriter to receive a Western Literature Association Award of Merit.
Connie is also a TV personality and a women’s music pioneer. Her enormous stage presence, her unforgettable melodies, and her emotional depth as a songwriter made her a headline act on the festival circuit and earned her a loyal fan-base. The Boston Globe describes her as “a masterful performer, wildly funny one moment, deeply personal the next.” Mitch Potter in The Toronto Star said, “Big sky. Big impact. Big laughs, too. That’s Connie Kaldor in a nutshell.”
Connie’s first album of children’s songs, Lullaby Berceuse, received Juno and Parent’s Choice Awards. She has also written a cookbook. She has toured China, India, and Europe as a goodwill musical ambassador from Canada, and starred in a Christmas special broadcast by Canada’s Global Television Newark. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, she now makes her home in Montreal with her husband and two sons, who are performers in their own right as well as often appearing with her. For more info, go to conniekaldor.com.
Annie Capps
In addition to her 35+-year career as a performing artist, Michigan-based Annie Capps has made a name for herself as a community organizer and instigator behind a number of songwriting groups and collaboratives in SE Michigan as well as a leading force behind the Folk Alliance Region Midwest where she served on the board and as President from 2009 – 2012 and more recently as Conference Director (2018 – 2022). She was a driving force behind the FARM Peer Sessions and Tech Talks that began during the pandemic and continue to the present. She also runs a concert series called “On the Tracks Songwriter Showcase” now in its 11th season.
In addition to receiving the Festival’s “Woody” Award, Annie will also perform with her husband Rod Capps and mandolin player Jason Dennie. They’ve performed at house concerts, in coffeehouses, and at festivals in Michigan and beyond. She and Rod have done it all – from hard rock to musical theater. Tim Piazza of Concerts at the Cabin in Evansville, Indiana said, “When I look around the room at an Annie and Rod Capps performance, I see a lot of smiling faces with eyes riveted to the stage . . . there is a magic that energizes an audience. I can’t wait to bring them back to our concert series!” Since 2006, Jason Dennie has played an essential role in the Annie & Rod Capps band. He’s been praised for “his wildly creative mandolin and instinctive harmony.” For more info, go to annieandrodcapps.com.
Brittany Jean
Brittany Jean is a folk singer-songwriter, originally from West Chicago, and now based in the Pacific Northwest, currently living in a little, apple town on the Columbia River. Her style is rooted in the folk and Americana music she has loved all her life.
Brittany traveled the country and opened for Three Dog Night as well as playing the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and at the Kerrville Folk Festival. Her song “Golden Hour” was a finalist for the International Acoustic Music Awards’ Song of the Year, and Brittany was also a finalist for Best Female Artist for 2023. For more info, go to BJeanMusic.com.
Brittany will perform in a hybrid (in-person and online) show at Two Way Street Coffee House in Downers Grove on the Friday night of Festival weekend at 8 p.m.; there is more info at twowaystreet.org. She will also be on “Folk Festival” on WDCB/90.9FM/wdcb.org on Tuesday night, July 16, between 8 and 11 p.m./CDT.
Lynne Hanson
Ottawa, Canada-based Lynne Hanson, whom Jan Hall of Folk Roots Radio called “Canada’s own Queen of Americana,” is a singer-songwriter known for her high energy roots guitar-driven live performances. She can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full-on thunderstorm of gritty Americana swamp.
Lynne’s deep, bluesy coon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, but the poetry of her lyrics sets her apart. She has received two Canadian Folk Music Awards. She’s released nine studio albums as well as two books of poetry. She’s toured extensively across North America, Europe, and the UK and appeared at leading international festivals including the Kerrville Folk Festival in the U.S., the Winnipeg Folk Festival in Canada, and Take Root in the Netherlands. Amplify Music Magazine said, “A glorious mash-up of Americana, folk, and the occasional indie production and song structure and sounds, made even better by Hanson’s trademark lyrical depth.” For more info, go to lynnehanson.com.
Los Gallos
Chicago-based Los Gallos are a Chicano, Americana, roots band. Transcending musical orders, Los Gallos are known for their unsegregated sound. They seamlessly fuse an eclectic mix of Cumbia, Norteno, Tex-Mex, and Bolero with country, rock, and blues to create their innovative signature sound.
Band members include Rick Salazar on guitars, button accordion, and vocals; Enrique Fajardo on vihuela, jarana, guitar, and vocals; Josh Rosenstein on lead guitar and vocals; Jose Galarza on bass; and Raul Fernandez on drums. Their new digital album Los Gallos is now streaming on numerous services. For more info, go to losgallosband.com.
Paper Birds
The Festival welcomes back Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan from California; this year they’ll be joined by the husband-wife duo of Katie Dahl and Rich Higdon from Wisconsin. Together they are known as Paper Birds.
The band is fronted by two successful songwriters in their own right, Claudia Russell and Katie Dahl. Claudia has won songwriting honors from Boston to Austin. She is known for her nimble, expressive voice and tightly knit songs. One of the Midwest’s best young songwriters, Katie Dahl writes keenly literate songs planted deep in the ground of her Wisconsin home. Katie’s husband Rich Higdon adds bass and percussion, while Russell’s husband Bruce Kaplan adds mandolin and guitar.
WFMT’s Rich Warren said of this “pop-up band,” “Paper Birds performed a delightful variety of original material, sang some great harmonies, and showed how much friends enjoy making music together. Lovely voices and great instrumental chops. Really a delight!”
For more info, go to claudiarussell.com. They will be on “Folkstage” on WFMT/98.7FM/ wfmt.com on Saturday night, July 20 from 8-9 p.m./CDT.
SongSisters
SongSistersAmy Dixon-Kolar, Sue Fink, and Patti Shaffner are all accomplished performers in their own right but with their soaring harmonies, engaging lyrics, and wit, their distinctive styles come together to create something new.
Lilli Kuzma of WDCB Radio said, “. . . Top shelf talent times three and a pure delight! Sue Fink, Amy Dixon-Kolar, Patti Shaffner are outstanding solo artists who shine alone but together become a solar force to be reckoned with, as they exchange their superb songs along with exceptional harmonies, friendly bantering and spot-on humor – great music and great entertainment from these lovely ladies!”
Sue’s whimsical songs, Patti’s forays into folk and jazz, and Amy’s impressive finger-picking with folk, Celtic, and blues influences add up to a richer sound when played together. They will open the Festival and lead the All-Sing Finale. For more info, go to songsisters.net. They will be on “Folk Festival” on WDCB/90.9FM/wdcb.org on Tuesday night, July 16, between 8 and 11 p.m./CDT.
Jeff Talmadge
Austin, Texas-based singer-songwriter Jeff Talmadge is known for his storytelling and his finger-picking style. Before turning to music full-time, Jeff was a successful Board Certified Civil Trial Attorney in Austin, Texas.
Jeff has received numerous awards and acknowledgments for his songwriting, including his selection as a finalist or showcase artist at places such as the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. He’s toured in Europe as well as this country and has performed at the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, as well as Club Passim in Boston and Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta.
At Duke University, Jeff won the Academy of American Poets Award, and his poems have appeared in numerous literary journals and magazines. His most recent CD was on the Folk DJ Top 10 List for several weeks this spring. Several of his albums have reached the Top 40 on the Americana charts. The Hill Country Sun called his album Secret Anniversaries “a nearly perfect recording.” Another writer described his music as “true and deep and surpasses the test of time.”
For more info, go to jefftalmadge.com. Jeff will be a special guest on “Folkstage,” along with Paper Birds, on Saturday night, July 20 from 8-9 p.m./CDT on WFMT/98.7FM/wfmt.com.
David P. Callan
David P. Callan is a singer, songwriter, and cancer survivor from the Chicago area. While songwriting is a second career for David, he has been performing since he was small. Originally from Maryland, David attended college on a performing arts and voice scholarship eventually deciding on engineering as his vocation.
As an engineer, David designed notable buildings worldwide, including the redevelopment of the Old Chicago Post Office. As a songwriter, David explores familiar topics in the folk tradition. As a cancer survivor, David’s journey is woven into his songs reflecting on his life’s experiences.
David is the Featured Performer at the Open Mic Stage. The Festival will celebrate his CD release.
Robinlee Garber
Robinlee Garber was born and bred in Philadelphia but is now a proud Chicagoan. She brings a crystalline alto voice with gently burnished edges and an outsider’s point-of-view to the original and time-treasured songs she sings, focusing on a repertoire that harkens to the past without being a novelty act.
Robinlee’s repertoire includes folk, jazz standards, rock, and contemporary music where the voice is front and center. As someone with chronic health issues that often left her feeling isolated, music was also an especially potent antidote to loneliness. She was music director of Culture Cafe for the Chicago VeganMania Festival, has run an open mic, and has performed across the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland.
A multi-disciplinary artist herself, Robinlee’s “day job” is helping seniors navigating the aging process as a Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, helping people to plug into creative expression, a through-line that has brought so much joy and healing into her own life.
Robinlee will share “The Healing Power of Music” at her Workshop at the Open Mic Stage. She believes that music is a powerful way to build bonds in our increasingly disconnected lives. For more info, go to robinleegarbermusic.com.
We’re Already Planning for the 40th Annual Woodstock Folk Festival 2025 – Watch for More Information on this Site
Mark your calendars now for Sunday, July 20, 2025 and consider coming for the weekend. If you have questions about the Festival or are interested in performing at the Festival, please contact Carol Obertubbesing at carolober73@gmail.com.
Please support the Festival by making donations through our website, woodstockfolkfestival.org, and click on the “Donate” button on the right side of each page.
Here’s a downloadable flyer with a hint of what’s to come in 2025:
The Festival is a 501(c)(3) Illinois non-profit organization, made possible in part by Radio Partners WDCB, WFMT, and WNUR, the City of Woodstock, and Real Woodstock (realwoodstock.com), but the Festival’s main support comes from individual donors.
The purpose of the Festival is to bring quality folk music – local, national, and international – to Northern Illinois. We build community through music. The Woodstock Folk Festival began as a one-time event in 1986 and quickly became an annual event held on the third Sunday of July on Woodstock Square.
For more information about future Woodstock Folk Festival events, visit us here on our website, woodstockfolkfestival.org. For more information about Woodstock and events throughout the year, go to realwoodstock.com.
