2021 Wrap Up Report

This year's theme: "Silver Linings"

When planning for this year’s 25th annual Tumbleweed Music Festival began, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full force.  Because we could not know how events would unfold over the course of the year, it was planned to again be a virtual, online festival, as with the 24th annual rendition in 2020 (see the TMF2020 and the 2020 Wrap Up pages for more about that).

The 2021 virtual festival opened on Friday, September 3rd at tumbleweedmusicfestival.org, and features nearly 100 prerecorded performances from five countries, 14 live workshops, a live Zoom Shanty Sing, and a live Zoom Contra Dance.

However, due to the tremendous progress towards reopening through efforts to beat back the pandemic, were very happy to be able to present a free concert in Richland’s Howard Amon Park, on Saturday, August 21st.  The concert  was recorded live to become the traditional Saturday Night concert in this year’s virtual festival.  We estimate about 300 people turned out for a lovely night in the park with wonderful music!

Our headline performers were:

  • Badger Mountain Dry Band our outstanding, local, Progressive Bluegrass band
  • Cecilia Eng, a Portland, Oregon-based singer who specializes in “Filk” music, folk music which takes its inspiration from imaginative works of film and literature (Cecilia was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in 2013)
  • Hank Cramer and Friends, featuring the long-time folksinger and Tumbleweed regular Hank Cramer III, with additional friends Michelle Cameron and Jim Honeyman.
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​Jane Titland Memorial Songwriting Contest

The Top 10 Finalists for this year’s contest have been chosen, from 39 total entries.

All songs are based around this year’s Festival theme “Silver Linings.”

In alphabetical order, the finalists are:

Olivia BrownleeThe Yard Sale

William A. HobbsRace to the Bottom Line

Loolwa KhazzoomCancer is My Engine

Joe PetersLame Jones

James Tristan ReddingThe Silver Lining

David RothSilver Linings

Loretta SimonetReal True Gold

Thaddeus SpaeLook For That Silver Lining

Patrice WebbLight a Candle Angelina

Laura ZuckerSea Glass

And the winner is:  Laura Zucker, for “Sea Glass!”

The winner was announced between the first and second acts of the live concert on August 21st.  Laura’s recorded song performance is presented as part of the “Saturday Night Concert” in the Virtual Festival.

Performer Stage Assignments

North Stage

Cosmo’s Dream – Three-Part Americana
Dan Maher – Participatory Folk
David Roth – Singer/Songwriter of Concience
Fine Company – Harmonious American Folk Trio
Hank Cramer III – A Traveling Folksinger from Winthrop
Mare Wakefield and Nomad – American Folk from Nashville
Pennies on the Track – Acoustic Folk Trio
Rick Dougherty – Former Tenor for Limeliters and Kingston Trio
SeaStar – ​Dusty Dreams, Salty Seas, and Sunbeams of Hope
The Whateverly Brothers – Broad Spectrum Folkies
Uncle Bonsai – Contemporary Folk Trio

South Stage – Traditional Folk and Nautical

Alex Sturbaum – Trad songs old and new
An clò airgid – Transatlantic Zoom Waulking Song
Otter’s Holt (Barbara and David Denz) – Eclectic Celtic
David Ingerson – Irish songs, Current Importance
Iontach – Irish Music Unlimited
Shanghaied on the Willamette – Songs Plundered from Land & Sea
Skweez the Weezle – High Energy Celtic Music
Tania Opland and Mike Freeman – Multi-instrumental eclecticana
The Sillertides – Folksongs in Conversational Style
The Silver Darlings – Sea Shanty Crew from Essex
William Pint and Felicia Dale – Music of the Sea

Friday Night Concert – Local and Young Bands

Loolwa Khazzoom – Shout Your Prayers:  Healing Through Conscious Rock Music
Farrah Nuff – Emotionally Unavailable Singer/Songwriter
Mary Loffelbein – Solo Artist
Nathaniel Chapman – Upbeat Folk
Rylei Franks – Acoustic Alternative Rock

River Stage – No Age Music, for Children of All Ages

Bellows and Squawk – Upbeat Vaudevillian Swing
Infilktion – Original Filksongs
Jim Honeyman – Free Ranging Folk
Kathy Jonas – Acoustic Folk Diva
Micki Perry – Storysongs and Dancealongs
The Eyer Family Band – Folk, Kids and American Classics
Tom Rawson – User-friendly Songs

West Stage – Singer-Songwriters

Arielle Silver – Acoustic Singer/Songwriter
Betsy Wellings – Smooth and Poignant Originals
Bob Island – Guitar/Vocal Original Songs
Carl Solomon – Weaver of Americana FolkTales
Chico Schwall – Folk Songs:  Vintage and New
Chris DeVito – New York Acoustic
Deb Seymour – Whimsical Original Folk
Dharmika Henshel – Heart and soul Songwriter
Megan Cronin – Heart-felt Northwest Songwriter

Saturday Night Concert

Badger Mountain Dry Band – Local Progressive Bluegrass Band
Jane Titland Memorial Songwriting Contest Winner and Prize announcements
Cecilia Eng – Science Fiction Fantasy Folk Music (Filk)
Hank Cramer and Friends – A Travelling Folksinger from Winthrop, and friends!

Art Gallery Stage – Mixed Media

Cathy Britell – Songs and Tunes with Autoharp
Craig Gurney – Motorcycle Poetry
Electric Bonsai Band – Not Electric, Not a Band!
Hilary Field – Internationally-Famed Classical Guitarist
International Folk Dancers of Richland — International Dance Medley
Jacquelin and the Clones – Traditional Acappella Ballads
Les Strompettes – Hurdy-Gurdy Divas and Their Beaux
Noah Boys – Acoustic Duo

Delightful Duos – Delicious Duets

Burgundy Pearl – Rich Vocals in Songs Old and New
Curtis and Loretta – Multi-instrumental Folksingers
Hank and Claire – Tight-harmony Duo with Heart
Kathy Jonas and Craig Gurney – Newlywed Synergy
Released from Quiet – Singer / Songwriter Blues Rock
Silver Lining Duo – Neo-Retro Original Songs
Steve & Kristi Nebel – Original American Duo
The Blow-Ins – Modern Traditional Irish from Dingle
Watch the Sky! – Folk and Beyond

Community Center Stage – Blues and Bluegrass

Alan Kausal – From Folk to Swing and In Between
Badger Mountain Dry Band – Progressive Bluegrass
Jerry Callahan – ​Singer / Songwriter / Guitarist
JW McClure – Singer/Songwriter, Blues and Folk
Lyle Morse – Traditional and Original Blues & Roots
Michael “Hawkeye” Herman – Venerable Bluesman
PB&J –  A Blues Sandwich
Thaddeus Spae – Vaudeville Folk
The Shed Players – Folk and Old-Time Music Band
Woodlander – Full Throttle Folk

More Singer/Songwriters

Michael Henchman – Progressive Northwest Folk
Mike Murray – Acoustic Fiction
Michael Notticello – Versatile Singer and Multi-Instrumentalist
Mo Mack – Folksinger / Songwriter
Patrice Webb – Singer / Songwriter from Sandpoint, Idaho
Ron Dalton – Veteran Solo Singer / Songwriter
Steff Kayser – Songwriter on the Loose
Wes Weddell –  Ambitious Songs with Local Roots
Woman Alive (Lauren Wanamaker) – Acoustic Singer / Songwriter

A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll

Appaloosa – High Desert Americana
Chainsaw! and the Fine Particulates – Local Eclectic Songwriters
Claudia Nygaard – Award-winning Nashville Songwriter
David Prince – Singer / Songwriter / Storyteller
JoJo Mac – Soft Acoustic Rock / Folk
Kay Miracle – Benton City’s Prodigal Songwriter
Kerry Grombacher and Aspen Black Duo – ​Contemporary Western Songs
Hank Cramer IV – Colorado Contemporary Acoustic Rock
Lanterns of Hope (Joshua Hope) – Neo-Folk
Rocky Ford Band – Bluegrass / Country Rock
Sun Shakers – An Irish Psychedelic Soul Band

The Songs of Alice Winship – A Tribute

Tania Opland and Mike Freeman – Bar Pilots
Alex Sturbaum – Bridge of the Gods
The Northshore Ramblers (Lynn Applegate and Bob Jackson) with
Alex Sturbaum – Coming Home
William Pint and Felicia Dale – Ghost Squid
Helen Gilbert and The Northshore Ramblers – Great Missoula Floods
The Northshore Ramblers with Alex Sturbaum – Pulling All Together
The Northshore Ramblers with Alex Sturbaum – Run Behind the Plow
Mary Wilson and The Northshore Ramblers – Ships of Light
Laura Bassett and Alex Sturbaum – Steamboat Comin’
David Kessler and The Whateverly Brothers – The Pacific Waits
Wendy Joseph and Dan Roberts  – We’re Headed Out For Home
Chris Roe – Years Plowed Under

Sunday Night Concert – Theme Is “Silver Lining”

Micki Perry – And the People Stayed Home
Vanessa Wang –  Silver Line
Michael “Hawkeye” Herman – Hard Times Come Again No More
Siver Lining Duo – Remember the Silver Lining
Ron Dalton – Silver Lining
Hank and Claire – And We Danced
Cathy Brittell – Dance to St Anne’s Reel
Mike Murray – Down at the Barber Pole
Kay Miracle – Happy Accident
Kathy Jonas & Craig Gurney – Quiet Faith of Man
Dan Maher – Down the Road
 
Jane Titland Memorial Songwriting Contest Finalists
(Wes Weddell is Emcee)

Olivia Brownlee – The Yard Sale
William A. Hobbs – Race to the Bottom Line
Loolwa Khazzoom – Cancer is My Engine
Joe Peters – Lame Jones
James Tristan Redding – The Silver Lining
David Roth – Silver Linings
Loretta Simonet – Real True Gold
Thaddeus Spae – Look For That Silver Lining
Patrice Webb – Light a Candle Angelina
Laura Zucker – Sea Glass 

Workshops

1.           An clò airgid   (The Silver Cloth)                                         Lin Phipps
2.          Sing Your Song and Play Along                                          Cathy Britell
3.          Shared Singing Over Zoom                                                 Lin Phipps
4.          Parlor Ballads of the Old West                                           Hank Cramer
5.           It’s a Hurdy Gurdy                                                                 Les Strompettes (Tania Opland & Felicia Dale)
6.          Sea Shanty Song Circle                                                        Shanghaied on the Willamette
7.          Yoga for Musicians                                                                 Arielle Silver
8.          Fingerstyle Blues Guitar                                                       Patrice Webb
9.          Country Gospel Song Circle                                                Morris “Mo Mack” McClellan
10.         Beginning Ukulele                                                                Hawkeye Herman
11.         Livestreaming and Live Performance Past Covid           Chris Glanister
12.         Remembering Those Who are Gone                                Micki Perry
13.         Beginning Blues Ukulele                                                     Hawkeye Herman
14.        The CAGED System                                                               Steve Peterson

Special Events
1.          Closing Sea Song Singalong                                                 Jim Honeyman
2.          TMF Contra Dance                                                                 Terri Widergren / Contraversatile / Susan Dankovich