In Concert June 2: John Gorka with Special Guest Lynn Miles

May 14, 2019

Sleder’s Family Tavern is pleased to announce a very special evening of music as the 2018-19 On the Porch Concert Series concludes with a dual concert featuring Red House Recording artist, John Gorka. with his special guest, Lynn Miles.
 
John Gorka is a gifted singer/songwriter whose shows combine songs and stories that touch your heart with whimsical observations about life.  He enchants an audience.  Joining John for this performance will be Canadian songstress, Lynn Miles.  Her music often draws on her love of literature and poetry, but her magic as a songwriter is also in her ability to take life experiences and interpret them in a way that people relate to.  

This enchanted evening of music is set for Sunday June 2nd, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door.  Doors open at 5:30 for pre-show dinner service. Pre-show dining encouraged! 

 

More about John Gorka

From New Jersey, John Gorka is a world-renowned singer-songwriter who got his start at a neighborhood coffeehouse in eastern Pennsylvania.  Though small, Godfrey Daniels was and is one of the oldest and most venerable music institutions and has long been a hangout for music lovers and aspiring musicians.  In the late 1970’s, John was was one of these aspiring musicians.  Although his academic coursework at Moravian College lay in Philosophy and History, music began to offer paramount enticements. 

Soon he found himself living in the club’s basement and acting as resident MC and sound man, encountering legendary folk troubadours like Canadian singer-songwriter Stan Rogers, Eric Andersen, Tom Paxton and Claudia Schmidt.  Their brand of folk-inspired acoustic music inspired him, and before long he was performing his own songs – mostly as an opener for visiting acts.  Soon he started traveling to New York City where Jack Hardy’s legendary Fast Folk circle (a breeding ground for many a major singer-songwriter) became a powerful source of education and encouragement.  Folk meccas like Texas’ Kerrville Folk Festival (where he won the New Folk Award in 1984) and Boston followed, and his stunningly soulful baritone voice and original songwriting began turning heads.  Those who had at one time inspired him – Suzanne Vega, Bill Morrissey, Nanci Griffith, Christine Lavin, Shawn Colvin – had become his peers.

In 1987, the young Minnesota-based Red House Records caught wind of John’s talents and released his first album, I Know, to popular and critical acclaim.  With unusual drive and focus, John hit the ground running and, when an offer came from Windham Hill’s Will Ackerman in 1989, he signed with that label’s imprint, High Street Records.  He proceeded to record five albums with High Street over the next seven years: Land of the Bottom Line, Jack’s Crows, Temporary Road, and Out of the Valley and Between Five and Seven.  His albums and his touring (over 150 nights a year at times) brought new accolades for his craft.  His rich multifaceted songs full of depth, beauty and emotion gained increasing attention from critics and audiences across the country, as well as in Europe where his tours led him through Italy, Belgium, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Switzerland and Germany.  He also started sharing tours with many notable friends—Nanci Griffith and Mary Chapin Carpenter among them.  All this brought his music to an ever-widening audience.  His video for the single “When She Kisses Me” found a long-term rotation on VH-1’s “Current Country,” as well as on CMT and the Nashville Network.

In 1998, after five successful recordings and seven years at Windham Hill/High Street, John felt the need for a change and decided to return to his musical roots at Red House Records.  The choice was driven, in part, by the artistic integrity that the label represents in an industry where the business of music too often takes precedence.  The 1998 release After Yesterday marked a decidedly different attitude towards making music for John, and his next release, The Company You Keep, held fast to his tradition of fine songwriting, yet moved forward down new avenues.  Its fourteen songs displays John’s creative use of lyrics and attention to detail.  Andy Stochansky played drums and shared production credits with John and Rob Genadek.  Ani DiFranco, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Lucy Kaplansky and Patty Larkin contributed stellar guitar work and vocals to this fan favorite.  Old Futures Gone was informed by his life as husband and father of two young children and also contained the colorful experience of many hard years on the road.  Writing in the Margins followed in 2006 and was an engaging collection of sweet and serious songs that spanned many musical genres—folk, pop, country and soul—and featured guest vocalists Nanci Griffith, Lucy Kaplansky and Alice Peacock.  Now with this, his 11th studio album, he returns to his roots with So Dark You See, his most compelling and traditional album to date.

In addition to his 11 critically acclaimed albums, John released a collector’s edition box featuring a hi-definition DVD and companion CD called The Gypsy Life.  Windham Hill also released a collection of John’s greatest hits from the label called Pure John Gorka.  In 2010, he also released an album with his friends and Red House label-mates Lucy Kaplansky and Eliza Gilkyson under the name Red Horse.  Getting high praise from critics and fans alike, it landed on the Billboard Folk Charts and was one of the most played albums on folk radio.

Many well known artists have recorded and/or performed John Gorka songs, including Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nanci Griffith, Mary Black and Maura O’Connell.  John has graced the stage of Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, eTown and has appeared on CNN.  His new song “Where No Monuments Stand” is featured in the upcoming documentary Every War Has Two Losers, about activist and Oregon Poet Laureate William Stafford (1914-1993).

John Gorka lives in Minnesota and when not on the road, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children.  He continues to tour, playing festivals, theaters and clubs all over North America and Europe.            

Visit http://johngorka.com/ for more about John.

 

More About Lynn Miles

Lynn Miles is one of Canada’s most accomplished singer/songwriters with ten albums to her credit including the stark Unravel, winning Miles a 2003 Juno Award for Roots & Traditional solo album of the year and Love Sweet Love earning her multiple Canadian Folk Music awards (best English songwriter, best contemporary singer).

Her album Slightly Haunted, was a Billboard magazine Top 10 pick for the year, while Unravel was praised by All Music Guide as “sounding as if it’s been produced by Daniel Lanois in an Appalichian town” and “a diamond in the rough.”  Find her album titles and featured tracks here: http://www.lynnmilesmusic.com/albums.html. 

 

What People Are Saying about Lynn Miles

“As director of The Ark acoustic music club in Ann Arbor for forty years from 1968 to 2008, I presented literally thousands of performers, including many wonderful singer-songwriters whose music I now cherish. Of all of these, I find myself listening to the music of Lynn Miles more than that of any other performer who played the club. Her melodies are stunning and I think many of her lyrics are absolute poetry capable of standing alone. If you love good music and you’re never really listened to her, you owe it to yourself to do so soon. The point of my writing this is that I can easily say Lynn Miles ranks as my favorite singer-songwriter to have ever played The Ark during my tenure over the last forty years. Flat out my favorite. (This obviously does not include Iggy Pop who played there before I arrived.)”
– Dave Siglin

“If it is possible to be addicted in one single hearing, that’s how hard I fell for Miles music and voice.” –Arthur Wood, Maverick Magazine 

“Lynn Miles is one of the most acclaimed songwriters to cross the border since Joni Mitchell.” -Dallas Morning News

“Lynn’s music often draws on her love of literature and poetry, but her magic as a songwriter is also in her ability to take life experiences and interpret them in a way that people relate to.” –The Tennessean

“Canadian songbird Lynn Miles sings lusciously on her fifth country-tinged, folk-pop album (Love Sweet Love). Smart lyrics abound as she expounds on love lost and gained, sketched with dark hues and rising tempos.” –Billboard Magazine

“Lynn Miles is one of the most acclaimed songwriters to cross the border since Joni Mitchell.” –Dallas Morning News

“Lynn’s music often draws on her love of literature and poetry, but her magic as a songwriter is also in her ability to take life experiences and interpret them in a way that people relate to.” – The Tennessean

Visit http://www.lynnmilesmusic.com/index.html for more about Lynn.

 

Tickets for John Gorka with special guest Lynn Miles – On Sale Now

$25 in advance  | $30 at the door

  • Sleder’s Tavern,  717 Randolph St., Traverse City, MI 49684
  • Oryana Food Coop, 260 E Tenth St, Traverse City, MI 49684
  • Brilliant Books, 118 E Front St, Traverse City, MI 49684
  • For more info or to reserve tickets by phone with a credit card ($1 surcharge), call Sleder’s at 231-947-9213. 
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Showtime: Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 7:00 pm ET

  • Doors open at 5:30 for pre-show dinner service. Pre-show dining encouraged! 
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Venue: The Porch at Sleder’s Family Tavern, 717 Randolph, TC, MI.

  • Sleder’s indoor porch is an ideal, acoustic listening room and intimate concert setting.
  • The On the Porch Concert Series is a monthly showcase featuring performers singing their original work in a concert in a club atmosphere.  It is a commitment to allow artists to perform their music in a concert setting and the series focuses on performers who write/sing/perform their own material.  

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