This page is a listing of musicians who have played at/with Acoustic Charlottesville.

Plumboy -- Plumboy is Jay Glick on guitar and vocals, Archer Manness on flute, and Kevin Munro on Jembe (an African hand drum). Their music has a nice upbeat feel to it, lyrically and musically, which always leaves you feeling good. They have a world-beat flavor melodically, though Jay would deny this. It does. And Archer's improvisational accompaniment makes each of their shows unique.

Mary Gordon Hall -- We all owe a debt of gratitude to Mary Gordon for all the work she's done organizing The Prism's Songwriter's Stage. Not only is it a great opportunity for songwriters in the area to share their work, but it's also the event that got all of us Acoustic Charlottesville organizers together and inspired to make more music out in public in Charlottesville. Unfortunately, Mary Gordon doesn't get enough opportunity to share her own music in public. She writes beautiful songs in the Appalachian folk tradition, and has a beautiful pristine voice, often creating rich harmonies with various folks who accompany her (when she's not accompanying them).

Danny Schmidt -- Danny's music is obviously influenced by early country-blues fingerpicking stylists -- but it's also clearly influenced by the more contemporary styles of folks like Richard Thompson and Dan Bern. So what does that make -- a quarky unique style which rambles from intricate fingerpicking to simple chord progressions, and from traditional imagery and themes to colloquial depictions of daily contemporary life.

Helen Counts -- Helen just plain writes beautiful songs. I'm not sure how to describe her style -- it falls pretty smack-dab in the middle between traditional folk styling and "new" folk. I don't know -- she's just really nice to listen to.

Toy O'Ferrall -- Unfortunately, Toy just graduated from school and is headed away from Charlottesville. She hasn't been songwriting for very long, but got damn good at it really fast. If she decides to keep playing out, it shouldn't be too long before you hear from her, regardless of where she settles. She writes songs you that your ears really latch onto, and sings them with a beautiful raspy voice.

Andre' Hakes -- Andre's got a big ol' voice that always astounds me, and writes very engaging songs that make you listen all the way through to hear how they end. Her songwriting style is very eclectic, too -- ranging from bluesy to rockin to folky ballads to comic. She's recently been collaborating more and more with Rick Goodling -- they're becoming a bit of a duo.

Brady Earnhart -- Brady is doing about as well for himself as a songwriter as it seems like you can do in Charlottesville. He writes extremely well-crafted songs with sweet melodies, intricate guitar interlacing, and clever catchy lyrics. His songs have been covered by Nickeltown and other Charlottesville music staples, and he just recently celebrated the release of his debut CD, "After You".

Devon Sproule -- Devon is just starting out as a musician and songwriter-- but she's off to a great start. She's a 16 year old native of Central Virginia who's only been playing guitar for about 3 years, and only songwriting for the last few months. Her music is in the tradition of strong "girl-folkrock". She has a strong expressive voice and a great presence in front of a crowd. You'll be hearing Devon a lot more in the near future, as she's just starting to play around Charlottesville more frequently.

Stephen Barling (with B.C.) -- Stephen has been playing every Wednesday at The Buddhist Biker Bar and Grill with cellist Brandon Collins, calling themselves B.C. They play off of each other really well. I would describe their music as being more avant garde than your typical acoustic folk, especially in that the music itself is pretty jammin and expressive (with lots of room for improvisation) -- as opposed to the music being primarily accompaniment for the song's lyrics. Stephen describes his music as "kinda folkified bluesadelia crap" -- but who ya gonna believe? Their ragtimey tunes really rock.

Blue O'Connell -- Blue, like Mary Gordon, is a founder (and inspiritor) of The Prism's Songwriter's Stage, for which we're all grateful. She's also the host of a folk show on WTJU radio -- so Blue's been an intregal part of the Charlottesville folk scene for quite awhile. And, like Mary Gordon, we don't get to hear her own music near often enough. She writes beautiful songs and sings them beautifully, with heart.

Ursula Goadhouse -- Ursula writes haunting melodies into her very personal and intimate songs, and she uses her voice, often, as almost an extra instrument -- very expressively. She often surrounds herself with a full arrangement of additional musicians -- lead guitar, cello, conga, and mandolin -- making her performances texturally rich.

Jeremy Knott -- Jeremy's a young songwriter with a powerful voice, whose songs are very melodic, walking a line between progressive folk and country. His guitar playing is very rhythmically strong and adds intricate texture behind his voice. He also writes very interesting harmony accompaniment to his songs. You'll surely hear more from Jeremy now that he's moving to Charlottesville from Harrisonburg.

Sue Chase -- We first heard and met Sue at The Prism's Songwriter's Stage and she charmed us all in a big way. I know that when I sing a very personal song for a bunch of people who didn't necessarily ask for it, that I feel embarrassed for myself -- well, when Sue plays her's, you feel happy and privileged to have been included in her life. She writes straight-forward, honest, personal songs with absolutely no pretentiousness (pretense?). I really like her music.

Loli Oates -- Loli gives an exciting emotionally charged performance, singing personal songs with a very expressive voice. She plays relatively frequently at the Jewish Mother.

Joia Wood -- "Damn, Joia sure can sing." That's the first thing I think everytime I get to see her perform. She's got a voice that'll blow you away. Her songs crossover a little bit between the imaginary boundries between "folk" and "pop" -- whatever you want to call them, they are both catchy and powerful. She is accompanied by Paul's (I forgot his last name, I'm afraid) hand-drumming and vocal harmony arrangements which compliment and offset Joia's vocals beautifully. Joia has just begun to play out around town recently -- please go check her out and see what I'm talking about.

Rick Goodling -- Rick has been making music in this area for a long time. He took a several year hiatus -- but he's back strong. He has a snazzy bluesy finger-picking guitar style and writes witty tunes. It seems, as of late, that Rick and Andre' Hakes are joining forces and are now a bit of a duo.

Jim Sprinkle -- Jim's music is rooted in the 60's folk revival -- which doesn't really tell you anything, seeing as how the 60's folk revival itself drew its nourishment from varying widespread musical roots -- but it's fun to say 60's folk revival. His songs are simple and sincere -- often poetic -- and he delivers them with a nice deep rich voice.

David Kleiner -- David is a song craftsman. He writes with an obvious awareness of how songs go together, what makes them work, and how to bring words and music together in a way that they can express a more a complete picture than the parts could alone. His songs cover a lot of territory, from old friendships to classified ad personals to slice-of-life vignettes of the modern world -- and are often written with a bitter-sweet sense of humor. David has recently released his first album onto CD -- a project co-produced by Greg Howard, with many great Charlottesville musicians joining in.

Jeff Vogelgesang -- Jeff is well known around these parts for his hot bluegrass guitar and mandolin picking, and for his voice as the DJ for WTJU's bluegrass show. He also happens to write some tunes of his own which sound like they could've come off the pen of Bill Monroe or Ralph Stanley. Jeff plays with a variety of groups in the area, and joined Acoustic Charlottesville with his own group The Rileys.

Lane Nelson -- Lane's music is in the progressive folk style -- combining Joni Mitchellesque soaring vocals and a fingerstyle guitar accompaniment of unusual chord progressions.

Jeff Romano -- Jeff, one half of Nickeltown, joined us in June for a rare solo performance. Known primarily for his very unique guitar work with Nickeltown, Jeff showed us he's got hidden talents as a singer and a songwriter also. Still, his guitar style is what first jumps out at you -- higly intricate and unlike anything I've heard -- it's obviously well studied as he plays up and down the neck, incorporating unusual harmonics and alternate tunings.

Awake & Dreaming -- Awake & Dreaming is Ruth Trice and Jennifer Deal. Ruth writes the songs, plays guitar and sings, and Jennifer plays violin and adds perfect harmonies. I don't know how else to describe their music except to say that it is beautiful and soothing -- it just feels good to listen to -- sweet melodies, sweet harmonies, and spiritually warm and loving lyrics.

Jon Nafziger -- Jon's been writing and performing music for over 20 years -- the last 11 of those years here in Virginia. His style ranges from somewhat bluegrassish to folk to "as close to rock as you can get on a piano or acoustic guitar." For those of y'all wondering if you might already know Jon -- "I'm the Dad of the two little blonde boys who like to wrestle on the carpet while people sing!" -- Jon's the man who looks tired.

Cathy Tyler -- Cathy's songs cover a lot of ground -- from deep, pschological topics, to love songs, to "just fun stuff" with a rockin' beat. Her music also tends to be written with a definite religious (though ecumenical) orientation and has been performed in various churches. She sings simple melodies and "sing-along-able" refrains, with a sweet and clear voice. And here's what gets me -- she writes about a song a day!

Shelley Blevins --Shelley accompanies herself with a beautifully fingerpicked twelve-string guitar. Her songs range in style from traditional folk to light jazz -- influenced and inspired by the many countries she grew up in, and by subsequent experiences traveling around the U.S. performing her music. She has now settled in Charlottesville, and we're delighted she could join us.

Michael McConkey -- Celebrating the release of his debut recording, "Just What Would I Do Without You?" -- Michael will be joined us for the first time in October. He finds music to be both nurturing and motivating on deep levels, and his own music is soft, melodic, and heartful. The listener can hear traces of the influence of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell in Michael's playing.

Noelle Wainwright-Warner -- Noelle kicks butt -- but in kind of a sweet way. According to her, her November show with us at Acoustic Charlottesville was one of her first ever performances. I don't believe her anymore. She blew everybody away with an increbibly touching set with a style reminiscent of Nanci Griffith's, back when she was still inspired. Noelle's a self-described "folkhead" and "loves any music which comes from the heart."

If you've taken the time to read all this, by now you're either thinking that I'm talking everybody up ridiculously, or you're thinking, "damn, there's a lot of really good original music being made right here in Charlottesville." I invite you to come out and enjoy one of our shows, or any number of shows going on around town, and settle the question for yourself.

To contact us, please e-mail: atlatl@mindspring.com