Sat 3/22 @ 7:30PM
Canadian vocalist/fiddler/step dancer April Verch, now 46, has been steeped in traditional folk music since she was little when she took up both fiddle and step dancing while attending local dances her musician father’s band played in their native Ontario. She began winning major competitions as a teenager. Later she attended the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, combining the simplicity and earthiness of the Franco-Celtic Canadian folk music of the Ottawa Valley with well-schooled chops. She’s now got 18 albums to her credit, the most recent being the 16-track Passages and Partings with her husband Cody Walters, released in 2023.
Like Verch, Joe Newberry comes from a musical family in his case in the Missouri Ozarks, where he absorbed fiddle tunes and bluegrass music all around him and took up banjo and guitar. He’s a frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, and tours extensively, playing with fellow musicians such as mandolin player Mike Compton — and April Verch, whom he’s currently on tour. They’re returning to Riverdog Retreat, this time to play the gallery since it’s a tad too early for the barn. So grab your tickets quickly if you want to see them — it’s a smaller space.
Tickets include free parking, a chair and free snacks.