10:30 am
The Capitol Hillbillies
The Capitol Hillbillies present New Orleans jazz, blues, and more by a master session of some of the DC area's finest musicians. Leader Joel Bailes is a well-known musical presence on the Hill - rolling his piano on 10-inch pneumatic wheels to play on the Riverby Books patio on Sundays whenever the weather is good. In an interview with the Washington Post about street musicians, Joel explains: "Performers really want to play. Kurt Vonnegut had this idea that before electronic media, every town had musicians to entertain everyone. And then records, radio, TV came in, and those people became worthless. They had no avenue. In the present day there's tons of us who play music, and we don't have a place to play it." Joel's wife Pearl Bailes, a teacher at Capitol Hill Day School, plays a mean harmonica. The Capitol Hillbillies includes piano, harmonica, horns, bass, fiddle, and vocals. Infectious and lively, the Capitol Hillbillies have performed at many community events, folk festivals, and private parties.
Contact: jbai@loc.gov

1:00 pm
Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen
Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen play a wide variety of new acoustic American roots music focusing on bluegrass and acoustic country, yet blues, folk, swing, and jazz also shine through as influences. Frank Solivan is a singer of power and passion and a multi-instrumentalist who combines the pure, hard drive of classic bluegrass with twenty-first century sophistication. A California native, Frank moved to Alaska in 1995, where he taught fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, and took first prize in the Alaska State Fair fiddle contest four years in a row. Frank's award-winning skills on mandolin, fiddle, guitar, and vocals earned him a place in Country Current, the United States Navy's elite country and bluegrass band. Now living in the Washington area, Frank was nominated for a 2008 Wammie as best bluegrass musician by the Washington Area Music Associatoin. Megan McCormick's past delivers her from the most remote reaches of Alaska to Nashville. As a recipient of East Tennessee State's Public Performance scholarship, Megan echoed the heartache of Appalachian ballads at the historic Carter Fold as a member of the school's Senior Ensemble. In 2007, she made the move to Nashville to embark on her solo career and signed an artist/writer deal with Universal Music Group's Rondor Music International. Mike Munford was born in St. Louis, Missouri and started playing the banjo when he was 15 years old. He has toured the world with a number of top notch bluegrass artist including the one and only Tony Rice, the famed Peter Rowan, the Rice Brothers, and Lynn Morris. Stefan Custodi started playing acoustic guitar at an early age, always engrossed with the ancient tones of bluegrass and acoustic music. When he enrolled at the University of South Carolina as a jazz studies major, he moved to the upright and electric bass. When he moved to Washington DC, he began playing and recording with a number of local and national acts including Richard Green, Frank Wakefield, Fred Wesley, Big Hillbilly Bluegrass, The Patuxtent Partners, and Meta. Stefan is a "first call" studio musician in the DC metro area. He has played on albums with the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Bill Keith, Mike Auldrige, Mark Shatz, Gordon Titcomb, and Nate Leath, and lately, with Frank Solivan and Dirty Kitchen.
Website: www.franksolivanii.com