Lansdowne Folk Club presents Walter Parks, longtime guitarist sideman to Woodstock legend Richie Havens and accordionist Rob Curto on Thursday, May 19, 2022.
Held at the Twentieth Century Club, 84 S. Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, PA, doors open at 7:00 PM and show begins at 7:30 PM. Tickets are $20 when purchased in advance online or with an advanced phone reservation and $25 without an advance reservation.
For reservations, advance ticket sales and more information visit website www.folkclub.org /ticket-sales, email Lfolkclub@gmail.com or call (484) 466-6213. Cash only accepted at the door.
The Lansdowne Folk Club is adhering to all CDC recommended practices for preventing the spread of Covid-19 within the venue. We are seating at our full indoor capacity, require full Covid-19 vaccinations (honor system) and masks are encouraged but not mandatory.
Writer, guitarist, and vocalist Walter Parks joins accordionist Rob Curto to present “Swampalachian Trail”. The show is the soundtrack to the building of America encompassing historic songs of European and African origin – hollers, reels, spirituals, work songs and hymns, all manifested in a contemporary way.
Photo credit to Jennifer Rajotte.
With music and actual stories, The Swampalachian Trail is a tribute to the many unheralded folks who did the heavy lifting to create the infrastructure for the country as we know it today. In this non-religious, non-political, but historical show, we present slave spirituals, work songs and the blues and jazz to which both gave birth, alongside hymns and the Appalachian reels and hollers that poor European-American homesteaders contributed. We tie all these forms together with contemporary music inspired by the aforementioned. Walter also includes some originals and a few Richie Havens classics to mark his 10 years with the Woodstock legend.
In 2020 The American Folklife Collection of The Library of Congress featured and archived Parks’ research work on the music of Southeast Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp. For this new project with Curto, Parks has modernized the hollers, shaped-note hymns and banjo porch songs performed by the swamp homesteaders. Parks was a founding member of the popular cello/guitar folk duo called The Nudes.
Since relocating to Philadelphia from New York, Curto has been passionately pursuing the Irish button box which has become a defining aspect of Parks and Curto’s swampalachian sound. Curto was a founding member of the “Brazilian Bluegrass” band Matuto, which gained a following across the US, Canada and Europe and more recently he led the accordion-centric American-roots band Fish Harmonics. Curto also currently studies under the tutelage of Irish button accordionist Billy McComiskey.
In their live show Parks and Curto frequently use back-stories to preface songs – be they historic or original compositions or the occasional tributes to Richie Havens. Watch The Teetotaler’s Reel video at https://youtu.be/WYCGAf84Qzo and check them out at www.walterparks.com and www.robcurto.com.
Due to recent changes in the traffic patterns on Lansdowne Ave., parking in front of the 20th Century Club is no longer available. We suggest that our patrons park on the side streets near the Club or at the Septa train station lot two blocks away. Street parking is available on Lansdowne Court (adjacent to the 20th Century Club) or on Dudley Ave, (across Lansdowne Ave. from the 20th Century Club). Handicap parking* is behind the building.
*There is one ADA designated parking spot in the area behind the building, but we can set aside additional handicapped parking if you notify us in advance by email. Also, there is a wheelchair lift available near that parking area; please let us know in the email if you require the lift as well. Lfolkclub@gmail.com
Other upcoming concerts include Shanna in a Dress on June 9, The Black Feathers on September 22, Marc Berger on October 27, The Kennedys on November 17 and The Rough and Tumble on December 1.
Founded in 1993, the Lansdowne Folk Club is a 501(c) (3) all volunteer non-profit corporation dedicated to presenting folk, acoustic and blues music.