Tickets: $20

The O'DARBY Irish Pub Band began as a lark when four songwriter-performers gathered 'round a kitchen table to play some traditional songs. That was in 1983... and the "lark" continues to this day! Ken Lonnquist, Pete Burns, Doug Brown and Chris Wagoner are each better-known for their individual musical pursuits, but collectively maintain space in their schedules for O'DARBY, creating new twists on traditional songs and writing fresh tunes in the spirit of the old... adding playful banter and comedy in every show.

Tickets: $20

The portion of this show from 8pm to 9pm will be broadcast live by our friends at WFMT 98.7, or listen worldwide on http://www.WFMT.com

In 2007, Albertan songwriter Scott Cook quit his job teaching kindergarten in Taiwan and moved into a minivan. He's made his living as a troubadour ever since, touring almost incessantly across Canada, the US, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere, averaging 150 shows and a dozen summer festivals a year, and releasing seven albums of plainspoken, keenly observant verse along the way.

His latest collection Tangle of Souls comes packaged in a cloth-bound, 240-page hardcover book of road stories and ruminations, equal parts introspection and insurrection. The album spent two weeks at #1 on Alberta's province-wide community radio network CKUA, and earned Scott his third Canadian Folk Music Award nomination, for English Songwriter of the Year. Its second single "Say Can You See" was the second most-played song of 2020 on Folk Alliance International's folk radio charts, and took top honours for the folk category in both the 2020 UK Songwriting Competition and the 2020 Great American Song Contest.

He's been back on the road full-time since January of 2022, living in a campervan named Roadetta with his sweetheart Pamela Mae on upright bass and vocals, visiting 43 states and 8 Canadian provinces, and broadcasting solar-powered livestreams from the back of the van. In 2024 they're touring Australia and North America, and recording an eighth album for release in the fall.

Heather Styka writes intricate stories into her songs and sings them with a voice that might make you think of Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday, but she describes herself as a cross between Leonard Cohen and Patsy Cline. Her songs and stories belong squarely in the folk and Americana traditions, but they're also gritty country and catchy pop, a nice mix. Onstage, she's energetic and intimate, quirky and funny.

After growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Styka moved to the city to study creative writing, meanwhile honing her song craft among Chicago's long-standing folk community. "Chicago has such a rich musical history, especially with places like the Old Town School of Folk Music," Styka explains. "I was definitely steeped in that tradition." Her 2011 release "Lifeboats for Atlantis" brought her to national attention, hitting #3 on the FOLK-DJ charts. Styka's honest, image-heavy songs have garnered her a number of awards, including being a New Folk Finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival (2015, 2017) and official showcases at Folk Alliance International, NERFA, SWRFA, and FARM.

Armed with a guileless, unvarnished delivery, she's equal parts wordsmith and entertainer. Styka's energetic shows feel as intimate and candid as late night conversation, peppered with a quirky sense of humor and confessional storytelling.

Heather Styka was the first place winner in the Big Top Chautauqua Songwriting Competition, and then second place in the Great Lakes Songwriting Contest. A two-time finalist at the Kerrville Folk Festival, she continues to earn accolades...and most recently, an advanced degree! She wins admirers by rendering the beauty and hardship in life into song, somehow making us all feel like we're in it together.