Voices On Grand
Carol Montag
Sunday September 27 4:30-6PM
Carol Montag is a performing singer, songwriter, recording artist, and educator. She began singing and performing at an early age in her home church in Ames, Iowa. She studied piano and flute while growing up and later taught herself to play guitar by ear. She drew inspiration from folk legends such as Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, John Denver, Carole King, and many others. These early influences helped shape her distinctive voice as a singer/songwriter rooted in folk and Americana traditions.
Following the birth of her first son, she stepped away from her graphic design role to become a stay-athome mom and to focus more fully on her music. Before long, she was performing at coffeehouses, conferences, colleges, churches, and music festivals across the Midwest and into Canada.
PERFORMANCES
Carol has opened for or shared the stage with Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, Jim Post, Michael Johnson, John Stewart, Three Dog Night, David Wilcox, Greg Brown, John Gorka, Cliff Eberhardt, Larry Groce, Kenny Rankin, and others.
Jordan Messerole
Bio:
Short form:
From the depths of his midwestern roots, multi-award winning songwriter Jordan Messerole writes songs that vary as greatly as the wild flowers in the native tall grass. Messerole does frequently write about that flora, as well as the fauna of the region. Not to mention all of its wild life. Not one to shy away from subject matter, the songs can frequently meander across the lines between love and loss, success and failure, or life and death. Messerole masterfully blends the sounds of his guitars with thoughtful lyrics, an engaging stage presence, and often rack harmonica to tell gritty American tales that are bound to evoke emotion from all of his listeners.
Awards and Distinctions:
2016 – Rural Roots Music Commission “Contemporary Folk Album of the Year” Kingsnake’s Bite
2017 – Rural Roots Music Commission “Traditional Folk/Americana Album of the Year” Halfway Home
2018 – No. 6 on the “Americana Highways Reader’s Poll” Greetings From Rock Bottom
2022 – Iowa Public Radio’s Artist of the Month (May)
Eric Koskinen
ABOUT ERIK KOSKINEN
Erik Koskinen is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, whose music is not categorized by sub-genres. Stylistically he is on his own while heavily influenced by American roots music. The rhythmic integrity and musical tone is as important as the lyrical content and the artistic intent. Koskinen has reverently entered the anthology of uniquely crafted wry songs with the likes of Woody Guthrie and Ry Cooder while speaking as plainly as your neighbor. The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls Koskinen “the real deal” and “The best country songwriter in Minnesota”
FULL DISCOGRAPHY
Down Street / Love Avenue (2024)
Burning the Deal (2019)
Cruising Paradise (2018)
Erik Koskinen Live at the Real-Phonic Radio Hour 2011/2015 (2015)
American Theatre (2014)
Keep It To Yourself (2010)
Sam Lewis
Sam Lewis has collaborated with everyone from Leon Russell to The Wood Brothers. Chris Stapleton dubbed him “a modern Townes Van Zandt”. He’s often labeled with some form of the word ‘soulful’ (some have even compared his voice to molasses), Lewis’ style meets at a juncture of many different genres however he’s discovered what most musicians spend lifetimes working for; the place where feel-good music meets vital social commentary. After spending a nomadic youth throughout the Southeast (USA), he began calling Nashville home in 2009. Since then, he’s been joined on his journey by some of music’s most righteous and luminary figures. He has pressed the first few chapters in his career’s studio anthology with the release of his self-titled debut (2012). His sophomore release WAITING ON YOU(2015) features an impressive list of Nashville notables all placing their stamp on this enduring expression of un-compromised song writing. Billboard announced the highly anticipated third studio release third studio release LOVERSITY(2018)and landed Lewis a spot on Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists to Watch” list, with writer Marissa Moss describing the album as, “…seventies psychedelic soul, with a storyteller’s eye, a swampy Southern groove and an emotional, political punch.
Ryne Doughty
BIO
Music from the Heartland, Songs from the Heart
Ryne Doughty is a Folk/Americana singer-songwriter out of Des Moines, IA, whose music is deeply rooted in the inspiration of real life stories of love, loss, work, and play. His stripped down, earthy sound is directly influenced by the small, rural town where he was born and raised. The hard-working, simple living, and friendly way of life of the Midwest shines through his music that is understated yet complex and rich with simplicity.
Playing behind his fifth studio album with solid finger-style guitar picking and a rich baritone voice, he brings a dynamic of warmth and richness to the stage. Doughty’s performances are always passionate and full of energy with songs that touch on the common, shared moments that bring us all together in this earthly life.
Andrew Hoyt
About
Andrew Hoyt is a full-time touring singer/songwriter blending folk, pop, and acoustic vibes into a sound that’s both warm and unique. He’s performed at major venues like Wells Fargo Arena and shared the stage with artists such as AJR, Jesse McCartney, David Archuleta and Eric Hutchinson. His latest EP, Kind of Paradise, produced by Nashville’s Lucas Morton and mixed by Micah Tawlks, marks a new chapter in his artistry. The project features songs co-written with acclaimed artists Matt Wertz and Andy Davis, weaving heartfelt lyrics with melodies that feel like sunshine and nostalgia. Andrew celebrated the release with a full-band show at The Basement in Nashville.
Patresa Hartman
Des Moines-based singer/songwriter, Patresa Hartman, didn’t begin sharing her music with others until an open mic in 2011, attributing the late start to a long-standing bout with stage fright. Now: several years, hundreds of audiences, 2 full-length albums (1 more on the way), and you can find her playing venues across the midwest.
Hartman calls her style soul-folk. A rich, blues voice, serves as the vehicle for thoughtful, poetic lyrics. A percussive guitar player, Hartman’s signature finger picking style is rhythmic foundation for soulful melodies that hint at contemporary country and folk. But Hartman’s roots in gospel and soul become apparent in her turns behind the piano.
Hartman released her first album, the only way down, in 2014, receiving praise:
“Hartman’s a clever writer, an honest story teller and a beautiful singer. This is an album that begs to be played.” — Chad Taylor, Cityview Magazine, September 3, 2014
Krista Richards
Chad Elliott
“In 1996, I was a young artist. I graduated college, got married and moved from Iowa to remote Northwest Montana. Finding work was difficult. To make ends meet, I took a job painting signs. When I wasn’t holding a brush, I began teaching myself how to write songs and play guitar beside the clear, rolling rivers in the Rocky Mountain shadows. Thus began my lifelong endeavor to be a folksinger.” – Chad Elliott
Nearly 30 years have passed since those first songs sprang to life. Now, Midwest singer-songwriter Chad Elliott blends folk roots, swampy blues and soulful writing to deliver music that is unmistakably original. His live performances have been honed over 25 years on the road performing more than 200 shows each year.
Elliott is lauded as “Iowa’s Renaissance man” by Culture Buzz Magazine. He has penned more than 2,000 songs in his career while also cultivating his skills as a painter, sculptor and illustrator at Elliott Art Studio in Jefferson, IA. Elliott is also an author (Wilderman’s Treetop Tales; Rumble & Flash).
“That man’s music is as honest as was Woody Guthrie’s.” – Atesh Sonneborn, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Elliott has worked with many of the best folk-blues songwriters and shared the stage with artists of the highest caliber, including Odetta, Tom Paxton, Loudon Wainwright III, R.L. Burnside, Greg Brown, Ruthie Foster, Verlon Thompson, Jimmie Vaughan, Bo Ramsey and Mary Gauthier.
