[Classifieds] [classifieds]: Woods Hole Folk Music Society present the Press Gang

[MBL Classifieds]

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From: "msulanowska" <msulanowska at whoi.edu> 


Exuberant American-Irish band in Woods Hole 


The Woods Hole Folk Music Society’s 45th season will finish on Sunday, April 9, 2017, with a performance of lively traditional Irish music featuring the Press Gang. Doors open at 7pm for the 7:30 concert at Community Hall, 68 Water Street, Woods Hole. 

Based in Portland Maine, The Press Gang brings a bold new sound to the New England traditional music scene, fusing the talents of squeezebox player Christian “Junior” Stevens, fiddler Alden Robinson, flutist and vocalist Hanz Araki, and guitarist Owen Marshall. The quartet blends a skill and fluency in traditional Irish music with curiosity and aptitude for other styles, its members demonstrating infectious enjoyment in experimentation. The resulting sound is energetic, innovative, yet reverent. They bring a local perspective to the music, interspersing Irish melodies with tunes from Quebec, Scotland, Appalachia, and New England. Their creative arrangements are tempered with a musical sense of adventure, making each appearance spontaneous and fresh. 

Squeezebox player Christian “Junior” Stevens is an influential member of the Irish traditional music community in southern Maine, where his youthful proficiency on both concertina and accordion set the stage for his career. Largely self-taught, he has also studied with legendary player Noel Hill. While earning a degree in classical and jazz piano from U. Mass Lowell, he regularly snuck off with his squeezebox to immerse himself in Boston's thriving Irish session scene. Though his expertise is in Irish music, Mr. Stevens draws his influences from a wide variety of sources, notably the rich accordion traditions of Québec and Cajun Louisiana. 

Alden Robinson learned fiddle as a child in coastal Maine, studying with Tamara Goltz, Katie Newell and at Maine Fiddle Camp. He furthered his education at University College, County Cork in Ireland, as well as in the local pubs, quickly becoming recognized as a bold new voice in Irish-American fiddle music. An anchor for the traditional music scene in New England, he also travels throughout the U.S. and Ireland. He is a member of the dance band Riptide and freelances in and around Portland. Mr. Robinson also plays old-time Appalachian and Québécois music as well as historic tunes from Maine. 

Award-winning singer and flute player Hanz Araki has been a prominent figure in the Irish music community in North America and beyond for more than two decades. Years of musical exploration into Irish, Scottish, Japanese, and American traditions yielded a distinctive style described by Fatea Magazine as “achingly beautiful.” 

As the sixth generation of his family to bear the Japanese title Araki Kodo, Mr. Araki spent his formative years mastering the shakuhachi, or Japanese end-blown bamboo flute. Intrigued with melodic and mechanical similarities between shakuhachi and Irish whistle, he applied his talents and curiosity to both, and soon became as well known for his intricate instrumental work as for his haunting singing style. 

Mr. Araki has released 11 albums, including 2014’s critically acclaimed Foreign Shore. A regular at the Northwest Folklife Festival, he has also guested with the Seattle Symphony, and performed for the Japanese Consul General. 

Multi-instrumentalist Owen Marshall is a sought-after accompanist who has traveled and performed worldwide with artists such as Aoife Clancy, Liz Carroll, Darol Anger, John Doyle, Andrea Beaton and Jerry Holland. 

Mr. Marshall spent his youth playing guitar with his sister at small dances and local concerts in Vermont. After hearing more traditional music, he expanded his skills to include tenor banjo, bouzouki and harmonium. Immersing himself in the traditions of Québec and Nova Scotia, he was also exposed to a wide variety of music including Jazz, Western Swing, Bluegrass, Classical, Scandinavian fiddle music, Eastern European Gypsy music and traditional Tuvan music. 

Comfortable moving between genres, Mr. Marshall blends his own sound and approach with respect for each tradition. His music has appeared on NPR’s “Thistle and Shamrock" and BBC television. 

Members of the Press Gang are noted for their skillful playing and deep understanding of the music, and for their humorous stage banter. 

Folkwords praises the band for "outstanding musical expertise, blending of contrasting influences, and finely-balanced, integrated style ... pure exhilaration for the ears." And Irish Music Magazine says, “each instrument, aware of its role, [is] played with a gentleness that contrasts with the high-paced reels but still retains the sparkle.” 


This will be the final concert of the Woods Hole Folk Music Society’s 45 th season. The 46 th season will open Oct. 1 with English singer and songwriter Jez Lowe. 
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