Friday, April 21, 2023 at 7:30pm
Logan Center Performance Penthouse
9th Floor, 915 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL
Saturday, April 29, 2023 at 3pm
Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro
2nd Floor, 3905 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL
Fourth Coast Ensemble collaborates with some of the most beloved interpreters of American folk repertoire on an innovative program that blurs the line between recital and hootenanny. The Fine Folk concert on April 21 and 29 will feature pianist Kuang-Hao Huang and the Jonas Friddle Band, featuring Anna Jacobson and Andrew Wilkins. This project is guided by superstar composer Shawn Okpebholo and Chicago folk favorite Peggy Browning.

Single tickets for this event are $15-$35 and go on sale on October 17, 2022.
Performance at Logan Center for the Arts made possible by generous support of Carolyn and Peter Pereira.
Performance at Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro made possible by generous support of Anonymous.
Shawn Okpebholo and Peggy Browning Collaborations made possible by generous support of Kent Dymak and Theodore Foss.

HD LIVESTREAM

This event will be asynchronously livestreamed on Friday, May 26, 2023 at 7pm Central.  The concert will remain available for replay access during a 7-day viewing window.  

ABOUT OUR VENUES

Designed as a home for the creative life of the University of Chicago campus and the city of Chicago, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts is a partner, resource, and catalyst for developing deeper cultural networks and richer creative projects citywide and beyond.  More than just a building, it is an innovative hub for arts education for UChicago students and Chicago-land students and families, a platform to showcase today’s most innovative creators across all media, and a locus for impactful and collaborative artistic Innovations with partners in nearby South Side communities and across Chicago.

Opening it’s doors in the heart of Chicago’s North Center neighborhood in September 2005, Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro has been serving up scratch made Irish pub favorites, complemented by a thoughtful assortment of craft beers, a friendly wine list, and a deep list of Irish whiskeys for more than 17 years.  As important as great food, music and drink, Mrs. Murphy’s offers the warm family welcome that makes a great Irish pub.  Decorated in warm, summery tones, the beautiful second floor Elizabeth Room is enhanced by a variety of textures from exposed brick to warm cherry wood floors, and a view overlooking Lincoln Avenue.

Metered and unmetered street parking are available for both venues. Logan Center and Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro are both handicap accessible and are equipped with elevators to provide access to the performance space.

Artists

Peggy Browning began as a student at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the mid ’90s. There she found a place amidst music with friends and history that would come to be an integral part of her life. Ten years later she was hired to teach, She models her teaching styles after her mentors, Mark Dvorak, Frank Hamilton, and Bess Lomax Hawes. While keeping fresh the history of the Old Town School of Folk Music and America’s aural traditions, she also remembers to keep an ear to the greats of today. Peggy plays guitar and the 5-string banjo.
Described as “lyrical, complex, singular” (The Guardian), the music of award-winning composer Shawn E. Okpebholo has also garnered critically-acclaim from the New York Times, New Yorker, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, BBC Music Magazine, PBS, and his art song, The Rain, was ranked as one of the 100 Best Songs of 2021 by NPR. Currently, Okpebholo is in residence at the Chicago Opera Theater, and is Jonathan Blanchard Professor of Composition at Wheaton College-Conservatory of Music. For his complete bio, visit shawnokpebholo.com
Jonas Friddle is a singer, songwriter and Old-Time banjo player whose songs have received The John Lennon Songwriting Award, First Place in the Great American Song Contest and a nomination for Album of the Year in the Independent Music Awards. His tunes bear the marks of a musician who has done his time in pub sessions and square dance halls, and his writing is full of imagery, honesty and humor.
Commended for his “perceptive pianism” (Audiophile) and “playing that is sensitive and wonderfully warm” (American Record Guide), Chicagoan Kuang-Hao Huang is a highly sought-after collaborative pianist whose performances have taken him throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He has performed in New York City’s Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Hall; in Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center; and at every major venue in the Chicago area. Mr. Huang has recorded for Aucourant, Cedille, Centaur, Innova and Naxos.
Anna Jacobson is a fiddler and orchestral horn player who is at home in a wide range of styles, ranging from folk bands to classical chamber music.  She has performed and recorded with a variety of notable Chicago artists and ensembles, including Jonas Friddle, Grammy nominees Robbie Fulks and Justin Roberts, Little Miss Ann, V3NTO Brass Trio, Alloy Horn Quartet, and Mucca Pazza.  A dedicated educator, Anna teaches fiddle and brass at the Old Town School and at area high schools.
Bassist Andrew Wilkins has spent roughly equal parts of his life in St Louis, Dallas, and Chicago, where he currently resides.  Throughout his musical journey, studying jazz and classical music at the University of North Texas and playing in a variety of jazz, rock, blues and Americana bands, Andrew has always stayed close to improvised music.  Noteworthy collaborations include Jonas Friddle, Frank Catalano, Bill Longhorse, and Laura Doherty.  Andrew is a faculty member at Chicago’s beloved Old Town School Of Folk Music.