ROCK SPRINGS — This year’s performances presented by the Community Fine Arts Center opens with the folk musicians the Otter Creek Duo. Co-sponsored by Downtown Rock Springs, the concert begins at 7 p.m. at the Broadway Theater on Friday, September 8th. Tickets are available at the CFAC and the door.
Peter and Mary Danzig combines folk music with traditional old time, with attributes of Celtic and Western roots, and produces a unique sound all their own. Their voices harmonize in the original song writing and fine arrangements that have attracted several awards.
With ten instruments between them and 53 strings to tune, the Otter Creek Duo burst onto the national folk music scene in 2012 with back-to-back hit albums on the Folk Charts. Otter Creek has won multiple awards for their virtuosic instrumentals, adept songwriting, and visionary arrangements of traditional and original tunes.
Often compared to Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Pete, and Anne Sibley, or Tim O’Brien, Otter Creek’s classical training, combined with Peter’s deep roots in the folk tradition enable them to cross boundaries among musical genres. They have performed with the Salt Lake Choral Artists and the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society in the Utah and Nevada premieres of Carol Barnard’s Bluegrass Mass and performed with the Utopia Early Music Ensemble in programs that blend classical and folk traditions. They are also sought after session musicians and in addition to frequent studio work have performed on stage with well-known singer songwriters Peter Mayer, Kate MacLeod, and Alicia McGovern and have opened for acts such as Claire Lynch and Mitch Barrett.
In addition to their polished sound as a duo, Peter and Mary’s daughters, (The Three Muses) often appear on stage with them. Drawing frequent comparisons to the Peasall Sisters their three part harmony and infectious charm never fail to put a smile on every face in the room.
The couple has drawn praise from around the country leading one critic, Gene Bach, to describe them as “a duo that is both a technical marvel and tastefully perfect.” Their second album “Shiver Into Spark” (September 2012) has garnered attention as a collection of songs that appeal to the heart and mind as well as the ear.
The CFAC is a department of the Sweetwater County Library System and programming is supported by the City of Rock Springs. A large art collection owned by Sweetwater County School District #1 is on display at the center as well as rotating exhibits by local and regional artists. An extensive library on the arts is maintained by the CFAC for the public for research and checkout.
For more information about either the performance or other activities at the Community Fine Arts Center, call or visit the center at 400 C Street in Rock Springs, or visit www.cfac4art.com and find us on Facebook. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.
