Singer-Songwriter Joe Crookston

SongSpace at First Unitarian presents New York singer-songwriter Joe Crookston with special guests the Squirrel Hillbillies on Saturday,
September 29 at 7:30 p.m.  SongSpace is
located at the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, 605 Morewood Avenue in
Shadyside.  Tickets are $15 general
admission/$10 students, available at the door.

Joe Crookston’s first Pittsburgh performance took place in front of a
packed house at SongSpace in 2010, where he advanced his reputation as an
energetic and engaging live performer.  Crookston’s
folk music is rooted in the grand celebration of life.  His keen musicianship as guitarist,
clawhammer banjo player, fiddler, singer and songwriter fuse contemporary and
traditional styles; his writing simply and beautifully paints pictures with
words. 

Born and raised in northeast Ohio, Crookston now makes his home in
Ithaca, New York.  Recognized as a master
storyteller through song, he received a songwriting grant from The Rockefeller
Foundation to travel throughout New York, interviewing local residents,
gathering stories and writing songs based on his experiences.  Many of these songs made their way onto “Able
Baker Charlie & Dog,” which was awarded “Album of the Year” in 2009 by
International Folk Alliance.  Crookston’s
latest release, “Darkling & the BlueBird Jubilee,” held fourth place in
2011 on radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L (an electronic discussion group
for folk-based radio DJs), following Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch and the
Wailin’ Jennys.  Crookston sings superb
songs about ruby red dresses, drunk roosters, ex-slaves, window washers, Polish
immigrants, Tinian Island, rutabagas and the cycles of life and death.  His audience rapport and playful stage
presence is intense, mesmerizing and refreshingly dynamic.  (www.joecrookston.com)

From deep within the urban forest of Pittsburgh’s East End, the Squirrel
Hillbillies will emerge to open the show, sharing their eclectic repertoire of
acoustic folk, country and blues featuring guitar, ukulele, mandolin,
percussion and vocal harmonies. Duo partners Jenny Wolsk Bain and Gary Crouth
draw from personal experiences, third-hand stories and vivid imaginations to
craft songs that are unpredictable, quirky and widely accessible.  Their self-titled debut CD, featuring all
original songs, is scheduled for a September 2012 release. (www.squirrelhillbillies.com)

“I've watched audiences
glued to their seats at the end of Joe Crookston’s shows, simply not wanting
the evening to end. There is a spirit in his music that is simultaneously
sacred, celebratory, artful and solidly grounded in tradition."--Seattle Folklore Society