Folk College Saturday Concert

As part of Folk College, a live folk music concert is open to the public. Saturday’s concert features Scott Ainslie (photo), High Horse, and Midnight on the Water.

The Saturday evening program highlights groups that are familiar to Folk College audiences. Scott Ainslie has graced the Folk College stage several times in years past, but it’s been a few years since Central PA has had a chance to hear Scott live. He is a brilliant guitarist and storyteller who drinks from the well of American blues, a modern blues legend. The foursome of High Horsebrings youthful energy, close harmonies, and a bluegrass-inspired sensibility to their music. They are NOT your traditional string quartet, though they have those virtuosic chops as well. Playing fiddle, guitar, upright bass, cello, and banjo, they offer the listener a rollicking good time with imaginative arrangements, upbeat rhythms, and both American and Celtic-inspired tunes. By way of contrast, the string trio (violin/viola/cello) of Midnight on the Water takes the listener on a mind-bending journey through melodies sourced from the folk-classical-big band-jazz-musical theater traditions and merged in barely imaginable ways. Don’t expect their amalgams to fit neatly into the traditional 3-4 minute time slot, but do expect to be transported and surprised by their creativity and virtuosity.