This month, we have the pleasure of presenting a duo called Acoustic Eidolon for our May 17th coffeehouse.

Hannah and Joe met when they were living in Colorado - Hannah had received directions to a studio session with a guy named Joe, and realized that the address was across the street and three doors down from her. Hannah is a classically trained cellist, always looking to get unique sounds and try new styles on her instrument.

Joe, on the other hand, is the best double-neck guitjo player in the world. That's because he's the only double-neck guitjo player in the world - he designed and had his guitjo made exclusively for him.

The double-neck guitjo has a total of 14 strings, and is designed so that Joe can play both necks simultaneously. He does this using a variety of guitar techniques, such as hammer-ons, pull-offs, and mirrors. The guitjo neck has only high-pitched, treble strings, and sounds much like a harp or hammer dulcimer. The guitar neck is strung like a traditional 6-string guitar, but has an additional bass string.

Joe and Hannah's repertoire is varied, and includes classics like "Eleanor Rigby" and "Over the Rainbow", airy New Age offerings, covers of songs by Peter, Paul and Mary and 70's Rock band Bread, and a variety of world influences like Flamenco, gypsy, Australian and of course Celtic. While they have very pleasing voices, they sing on fewer than half of their songs, which allows us to really explore the depths of their two instruments intertwined.

If I had to compare them to another artist that is known to the Delaware Friends of Folk community, I would say that fans of Al Petteway and Amy White would not be disappointed by this show. If you'd like to listen to some of their music, explore their backgrounds and instruments further, or see some video of their performances, check out their web site at http://www.acousticeidolon.com.

To open the show, we welcome Mary Kay Mann back to the Delaware Friends of Folk stage. Mary Kay has performed for us in the past, as part of the duo Urban Celtic, which included multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Stephen DiJoseph. Mary Kay performs on Celtic Harp, flute and whistle, with very Celtic influenced offerings.

It all starts at 7:30 pm, May 17, in the Wesley College Chapel, corner of Division and N. Bradford, in Dover. Admission will be $12 for members and $15 for non-members. Students are half-price, and ages 12 and under are free. We’ll have plenty of hot coffee, cool drinks, and sweet snacks. Come out, bring a friend, and see it happen.

-- Beth Fizell, DEFF Board Chair

Are you looking forward to the Festival yet?

Warm weather means festival preparations. Last month you heard about the work to be done by our Building and Facilities committee. This month I’d like to introduce you to the Parking and Security Committee. This committee has several jobs. They keep the incoming and outgoing traffic from meeting in the middle of the road that leads to the Festival site. They marshal cars to ensure everyone gets parked quickly and orderly. They also monitor camping and RV areas to make sure the peace is maintained during the Festival weekend.

This group starts their work on 3:00 p.m. Friday afternoon and don’t stop until the wee hours of Sunday morning. This is hard work but necessary for a successful Delmarva Folk Festival. This committee typically needs the most volunteers and always has a dedicated group of workers. Can you help?

Delmarva Folk Festival meetings take place on the first Wednesday of each month at Sheridan’s in downtown Smyrna beginning at 6:30 p.m. Anyone with an interest in the Festival is invited to attend. We now have a new volunteer coordinator and we may have a chairperson for the Security/Parking committee.

If you are interested in helping in any way, come to a meeting or contact Kae Mason at (302) 736-5585 after 5:00 p.m. By helping the Delaware Friends of Folk, you will ensure the tradition stays alive. Remember, anyone who volunteers to work for five or more hours during the festival is admitted free. Additionally, those who help the facilities committee during the summer will be admitted to the Festival free.

If you have questions or what more information, call Kae Mason at (302) 736-5585 or e-mail her at kaejohnson1@comcast.net.

Where to begin???

Our full calendar can be seen at http://www.delfolk.org/calendar.html. But here are a few highlights we've picked out for you:

• May 9 to 11: Delaware Jazz & Blues Festival will start with a free event featuring Sonny Rhodes at Dover Downs on Friday night. Then on Saturday starting at 11:30, you should really get yourself to Killens Pond for some of the best music Central Delaware has ever heard. Then on Sunday there will be a special Mother's Day brunch at the Sheraton, keeping the weekend festivities going. For more information see www.dejazzbluesfest.com
• May 9 to 11: Susquehanna Music & Arts Festival, in Darlington, MD, near Havre de Grace. A huge variety of singer-songwriters including Tom Kimmel, The Dreamsicles, Spirit Wing, SONiA & disappear fear, Angie Miller, Wishing Chair, We're About 9, Christine Havrilla, and many, many more. Tent and Cabin camping are available on-site. If it rains, they have a great way to move everything indoors. See http://www.smaf.info for more information.
• May 17: As mentioned earlier, you need to check out this month's coffeehouse featuring Acoustic Eidolon.
• May 23: Duke Robillard Band at Arden Club. Roomful of Blues Founder Duke Robillard and his 5 piece band is bringing his infectious brand of Blues to Arden. Come see this W.C. Handy Award winning Guitarist who B.B King called "one of the great players" for a Hot night of the Blues.
• May 25: John Flynn will perform at Cooldog Concert Series near Dover. John's been getting great airplay for his song "Dover" on the Delaware Clearchannel stations (WRDX The River and WDSD), but he has a whole lot more than just that song.
  

We're currently looking for artwork for the cover of the Delmarva Folk Festival Program. If you've got some artistic creativity and would like to submit artwork for consideration, please contact Jan Crumpley at (302) 465-0805 for further details.

The selected artist will receive free admission to the Festival, a Festival T-shirt, will be credited with a bio in the festival program, and will get our eternal gratitude for sharing their talents.

The guidelines for submissions are:

• Autumn Theme
• Music Theme
• Black & White
• Must be received by August 1, electronically or via mail to P.O. Box 1006, Dover DE 19903-1006
• Must not be offensive or political
• Should capture the spirit of the event

Optional elements:

• Delmarva Folk Festival Logo (can be obtained from our web site)
• Preference given to Friends of Folk Members (why not join today?)
• If "Delaware Friends of Folk" text appears, it should be in Arnold Bocklin font