Ken not only performs his original music solo, but also has performed with numerous other groups.
Revels
Revels brings together people of all ages and backgrounds through musical and theatrical celebrations of our world’s cultural and seasonal traditions. While they organize events throughout the year, the main event is the Midwinter Revels performances in December at Sanders Theatre at Harvard University. I am performing in the Ensemble for the 3rd time, and we will have 14 performances from December 12-28. Approximately 17,000 people will attend a performance, in addition to many who view it virtually. The theme is Scandinavian, which is in my wheelhouse, and I have a vocal solo and am dancing in four numbers. Get your tickets now!
Power Harmonies
Lynn Noel and I have been performing as a vocal duo for over 20 years, and our duo sound can be described as “couple dancing for voices.” We perform striking and soul-stirring duo harmonies in the Anglo, Nordic, and Celtic traditions. We are noted for inspiring harmonies and making the rafters ring. Lynn and Ken offer a teaching workshop on Vocal Couple Dancing, as well as Power Harmonies in concert or as a song circle. Our New England Folk Festival sessions are typically standing room only.
Roaring Jelly
Roaring Jelly is a community contra dance band that has been playing in the Boston, MA area since 1970. We play for a monthly dance in Lexington and appear occasionally at other dances in the area. I am the lead (and only) hammered dulcimer player in the band.
Brigadoon Trio
Lynn Noel, Jean Monroe and I have been performing as an Irish trio for the St. Patrick’s Day season for a number of years. Between Irish jigs and reels on various instruments (piano, dulcimer, whistles, and ukuleles), and Irish sing-a-longs (as a tenor in Boston, there’s no way I can get away with not singing Danny Boy and When Irish Eyes Are Smiling in the month of March), we supply the background to many a corned beef and cabbage dinner.
Recently Traditional Fictional Morris (RTFM)
Every year, morris dancers gather at sunrise on the 1st of May to dance up the Sun and welcome in Summer, as is the tradition in England. Some of us, to balance out the year, dance down the sun six months later at sundown on Halloween, the 31st of October at the Somerville Growing Center outside of Union Square in Somerville, Massachusetts. This is also sometimes called “Anti-Morris”, “The Other Morris” or “The Dark Morris”. Join early for the Pumpkin Carols before the dance, and then afterwards join us for….
The Paper Bag Mummers
After RTFM performs, the Paper Bag Mummers gather for the Oxford Street Souling Tour. In England on Twelfth Night (usually January 6th), it has been tradition to go door to door and perform plays, and hopefully get a little something to eat or drink. Here, people are only used to having strangers in strange costumes coming to their door on Halloween, so we do it then instead. Our costumes (or “kit”) are paper bags, and we usually switch roles in the numerous versions of the play as we get more improvisational as the night goes on. Our motto is “We never rehearse, we only perform!”