Friday Gator Stage Performers
The Little Mercies 5 pm
The Little Mercies is a folk trio of three singing and songwriting multi-instrumentalists, Bronwyn Chelette (bass, banjo), Rosalee Walsh (fiddle, banjo, dance) and Shanice Richards (fiddle, guitar, dance). The three friends found each other through the Tallahassee old time music and dance scene. Each of them stood out at the local jams for their respective instrumental skills, distinctive style, and voices that could cut through the onslaught of fiddle and banjos.
With a lifetime of singing and over a decade of experience playing, Bronwyn produces a sound that recalls the high, lonesome mountains of the Appalachians and the deep, still waters of the Florida swamps. Shanice’s experience in reggae, hip-hop, jazz and traditional gospel flavors her playing of old time tunes with soulful vocaling and a unique, genre-jumping improvisatory sound. Rosalee’s roots as an old time and bluegrass fiddler and training as a classical chamber musician have led her to create intentional and conscious arrangements that blend genres. Together, they present traditional music with authenticity and innovation alongside originals that draw from their musical upbringings and experiences.
Nora Bear 5:45 pm
Nora Bear,11, has been singing since she could talk, and she hasn’t stopped since. After her first performance at a summer camp at the Music Compound at age 8, she was hooked. Since then, she has written a handful of songs (mostly about her baby brother, and the challenges and adventures she faces growing up), and has jumped in in-between “step dude’s” local sets to sing a song or two whenever she gets the chance.
She is such a talented performer we just HAD to invite her when we saw her at the Will McLean Music Festival. You will NOT be disappointed!
Corey Hall 6:15 pm
“To hear Corey play the blues is to step back into history to the formative days of the genre, when field hollers mixed with African rhythms, jazz, folklore and even a touch of vaudeville to create something distinctly American. The Panama City musician has his eye on the future. Ry Cooder, Taj Mahal, Norman Blake and Doc Watson would be tapping their feet. “-Kerry CappsPhotographer/Music Connisseur. Panama City, FL
Unquiet Grave 6:45 pm
The Unquiet Grave began from a desire to set old English ballads and fantasy tales to new music and theatrics. Spurred by the rediscovery of a Child Ballad book in a family home that rekindled enthusiasm for these tales mixing with the artistry of Elise’s singing and theater along with Randall’s guitar and composition. This sparked the desire to break from traditional song forms in order to evolve and bring new life to these rich ballads, tales, folklore, and fantasy worlds of yore.
Founded by Elise and Randall Krieger in 2019 the two have performed as The Unquiet Grave as a duo and as a band with as many as 8 members performing in a variety of venues across the US including renaissance fairs, festivals, house concerts, pubs, wineries, theaters, and more. Their music combines the beautiful and alluring vocal stylings of operatic singing with other folk and traditional song stylings of Elise mixed with virtuosic lute accompaniment and rich contrapuntal lute melodies with contemporary harmonie and rhythmic changes pulling music influences from contemporary classical, and renaissance music, to metal, celtic, and world music. They perform a varied repertoire including old English ballads, renaissance music, celtic, traditional folk songs, originals, and occasionally parody covers of modern songs rewritten to be “old timey”.
The Kennedys
Songwriting duo Pete and Maura Kennedy make a strong return to the studio and stage after three years of weekly live-streamed lockdown-era concerts. They took the opportunity to explore classic songwriting in depth, performing over a thousand songs during the pandemic. That vast overview strengthened and refined their own writing and laid the foundation for this new collection of original, socially-conscious songs.
Mean Mary
Mean Mary produces music, produces videos (her YouTube videos have received close to 30 million visits), tours extensively in the US and overseas, is writing a novel trilogy about the music world, and is an endorsing artist for Deering Banjos. The Deerings have named her their Goodtime Ambassador. Mary plays 11 instruments and has recorded 18 albums, her newest being Portrait of a Woman. There is not room here to tell the whole life story of Mean Mary, but if you would like to hear more of it, listen to her music—it is all there.
