The 2020 Schedule !!
Friday, January 17 at 7:30 pm
Gunter Voelker & Sky Smeed
I can think of no better way to start 2020 than with a showcase of two exceptional songwriters from Nebraska and Kansas. Sky Smeed ( from Lawrence, KS ) and Gunter Voelker ( from Lincoln, NE) have gained accolades for their songwriting and their live performances. Of course, they know each other, and when I approached them with this idea, they decided to collaborate on a few songs just for our Listening Room audience !!
Gunter Voelker:
Since their start in 2012, Jack Hotel has proven itself one of the best, and most original, folk/Americana acts in the midwest. A storyteller’s sensibility prevails in their songs. Bandleader Günter Voelker writes with a novelist’s powers of observation and a poet’s ear for language. Instrumentation meets the same standard. Each addition serves the song, advances the story, or drives home the emotion. Jack Hotel has earned respect on both regional and national stages, performing alongside such acts as Darrell Scott, J.D. McPherson, Cactus Blossoms, Frontier Ruckus, and Charlie Parr.
Sky Smeed: ( excerpted from a review by Jack Hofman )
“Rooted in the southeastern Kansas Folk, Blues, Country, and Rock traditions, Sky Smeed’s creations of Americana music are exceptional, delightful and passionate. Sky is patient with his music and songs. While some artists whiz through songs in a Dylanesque fashion leaving an array of near misses in their wake, Smeed takes the time and effort of learning the nuances of his own songs and interacts with them until they become, very simply, part of him and who he is and what he presents on stage and in recordings.
Friday, February 14th at 7:30 pm
Bonnie & Taylor Sims
Bonnie and Taylor are a musical couple from Texas who now make their home in the Rocky Mountains. The two met in 2005 while attending South Plains College in Levelland, TX where they began their life of love and music.
Over the last ten years they have made a name for themselves as a true Colorado treasure with a full touring schedule as well as many teaching and speaking commitments.
Bonnie Sims sings & plays mandolin and carries on the musical tradition of her father, a life long Texas banjo playing legend and songwriter.
Taylor Sims sings & plays flat-top guitar and is an award-winning songwriter and recording artist from wide open spaces of West Texas.
When they are not playing as the duo, they front a five piece country/rock band called Bonnie & The Clydes. With four critically acclaimed albums and multiple awards they continue to write, perform and produce real Americana music that is truly their own.
Past shows:
2019:
January 18- Martin Sexton
February 16- The Wildwoods
March 1- Freddy & Francine
April 12 – Jessica Paige
May 25 – Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal
June 21 – Max Hatt / Edda Glass
July 20 – FY5
September 27 – Mark Erelli
October 18 – The Crane Wives
November 8 & 9 – The Talbott Brothers
December 13 – Roger Landes & Chipper Thompson