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Musical Performance: Charles Pettee & FolkPsalm

The Psalms: Songs of Tragedy, Hope, and Resistance

Fri 11 AM | Café

For devotees of the sacred texts, as well as folks who have never cracked open a Bible, FolkPsalm offers their music to highlight works from the Book of Psalms that speak to the oppression of the poor, the hubris of the Empire, the despoiling of the Earth, and unrestrained pursuit of wealth – issues thoroughly addressed over 3,000 years ago in this expansive collection of the poems and prayers. Often, the messages from our underdog, agrarian, Hebrew spiritual ancestors are lost on us today, either because we have become numb to the language, or because, all too often, we restrict these texts to merely “spiritual” lessons. Charles Pettee & FolkPsalm are renowned for helping us hear these poems all over again with urgency and wonder, through their memorable original acoustic folk/bluegrass settings of these texts, their sweet harmonies, their instrumental prowess, and their enthusiasm for every aspect of it! Dancing is encouraged!
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Charles Pettee & FolkPsalm

FolkPsalm formed in 2002 to perform Charles Pettee’s original music settings from the Book of Psalms. The group is known for featuring the talents of renowned professional musicians from NC, performing beautifully arranged instrumentals, with sweet harmony vocals. The group now boasts four full length albums of “folkpsalms.”

Five FolkPsalm members will perform at this year’s festival: Charles Pettee, guitar and mandolin wielding songwriter from Asheville, who is a teaching artist/music educator now residing in Chapel Hill, NC with his wife and two sons. Elizabeth Bahnson has been fiddling and singing since she was 5 years old. She is a nursing student and lives in Brevard, NC with her husband Fred Bahnson and three wild boys. Percussionist David Gerard is an internationally recognized electronic musician, who, in addition to his work with Folkpsalm, is a member of the acoustic trio Forever Young, as well as playing drums for the HRCH Jazz Quintet, both based in Albany, NY, where he currently resides. Brittany Whitmire is the fifth generation in her family to live and work on their farm in western North Carolina where they raise beef cattle. She works with dairy farmers throughout North Carolina as a NC State University Extension Associate. Brittany grew up singing with her Mama. Terry Allebaugh, harmonica master from the hills of Virginia, is a servant leader now living in Durham, NC and working to end homelessness across the Tarheel state.

“With strong conviction and sometimes wry humor, [FolkPsalm] delivers a message about the incomparable value of healthy land, a message that faith communities urgently need to hear and communicate to others.” (Prof. Ellen F. Davis, Duke Divinity School) “Something very old, very true is at work here.” (H.M. Simpson, Senior Pastor, University Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, NC)

www.folkpsalm.com

Sessions:
203 Musical Performance: Charles Pettee & FolkPsalm

Session #203

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