Presenting established and emerging acoustic musicians in a family friendly, listener-oriented environment.


Open Ears Concerts is a monthly concert series at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas. We strive to present both established and emerging artists, mainly in acoustic genres such as folk, bluegrass, world, and jazz. We are a family-friendly, peaceful, listener-oriented environment. We are located on Wells Branch Parkway, just west of IH-35, at the corner of Wells Port Drive.

If you have other questions, including booking inquiries, or would like to subscribe to the monthly Open Ears Newsletter, you can use email or click Contact Us, select the Music Director, and enter your request in the Comments section.

Read our newsletter.

Upcoming Concerts:


St. Andrew's Variety Show and Silent Auction
August 21, 2010

Preparations are underway for the Fifth Annual St. Andrew’s Variety Show. David Rackley has agreed to be our emcee and we have several exciting performers already signed up. If you would like to perform, just send an email and let us know what you would like to do. Music, poetry, comedy, drama, dance and most other types of performance are welcome and encouraged. We also need volunteers to take photos/video, bring snacks to share, and help with setup and cleanup

We will also have a silent auction, the proceeds of which will help to pay performers, promote the shows, and sustain and improve the concert series. Paula Ellis is coordinating the silent auction. If you would like to help collect silent auction donations, or if you have something to donate, please click here for instructions and/or contact Paula.

You can also use our online donation form.

The Variety Show and Silent Auction will start at 6:00 PM on Saturday August 21 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. This event is always a lot of fun and is FREE to attend.


Austin Lounge Lizards
September 24, 2010

Based in Austin, Texas, the Austin Lounge Lizards have honed their music into a wicked-funny art form. They’ve delighted audiences from Texas to Trafalgar Square with their inventive style of satirical folk, country and bluegrass. Trademarks of a Lizards song are highly literate, sharply pointed lyrics that poke fun at politics, love, religion and the culture in general. Combined with superb musicianship that features precise four- and five-part vocal harmonies and instrumental mastery, the band’s songs are as melodically infectious as they are lyrically prescient. Marilyn Rucker (www.marilynrucker.com), aka the Wicked Wit of the West, opens what promises to be an evening full of belly laughs. Doors open at 6 PM and the show starts at 7. $15 suggested donation.


Sara Hickman
October 15, 2010

She is the 2010-11 State Musician of Texas, and whether she is performing for 5 year olds or fifty year olds, for fifty people or fifty thousand, Sara Hickman is incredible. While we are a family friendly venue, this show will be for her adult music audience. The Flyin’ A’s will open. Doors open at 6 PM and the show starts at 7. $15 suggested donation.


Corinne West and Kelly Joe Phelps
November 12, 2010

Corinne West and Kelly Joe Phelps are each outstanding artists on their own. Their new collaboration promises to be something very special indeed. Doors open at 6 PM and the show starts at 7. $15 suggested donation.


Past Concerts:

Leonard Cohen Hoot Night!
May 1, 2010, 7pm

For four decades, Leonard Cohen has been one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time, a figure whose body of work achieves greater depths of mystery and meaning as time goes on. His songs have set a virtually unmatched standard in their seriousness and range. Sex, spirituality, religion, power – he has relentlessly examined the largest issues in human lives, always with a full appreciation of how elusive answers can be to the vexing questions he raises. But those questions, and the journey he has traveled in seeking to address them, are the ever-shifting substance of his work, as well as the reasons why his songs never lose their overwhelming emotional force.

Songwriters the world over list Cohen at the top of their influences and inspirations. Several of these gathered, including Marilyn Rucker (our host for the evening), Jean Synodinos, Gary Feist, and Dennis Jones. It was a fun night of song and poetry. A collection was taken to benefit the St. Andrew’s Food Pantry, which provides food, showers, and comfort to over 200 families each month.


Tom Pacheco

We were honored to host Tom Pacheco in a rare visit to the south from a legend of the folk underground. He has written songs with and performed with the likes of The Band, Doug Kershaw, Flaco Jimenez, Pete Seeger, Stephen Bruton, and many others. Matt Harlan, whose new CD "Tips and Compliments" debuted at #1 on the Euro Americana Charts, opened.

Tom Yeager, of Songbird Sanctuary, did a lot of research and wrote a couple of excellent articles about Mr. Pacheco. The following paragraphs are his work. Many thanks to Mr. Yeager for introducing me and many others to this amazing songwriter, for helping kick-start arrangements for this show, for his excellent writing, and for letting us borrow his work.

Tom Pacheco began studying Flamenco and classical guitar at age 10 from his father, Tony Pacheco, a jazz guitarist who played with Django Reinhardt and performed solo throughout the clubs of Europe. At 19, Tom released his first album of original folk songs and began playing in the Greenwich Village basket house clubs in New York City. That was in 1965 and well before the arrival of Jack Hardy or David Massengill, other heroes of the post folk revival era in the Village.

That dangerous folk scare of the late fifties had died down or rather had morphed into folk rock. Tom rode that wave then and still does, but he has always kept one foot firmly cemented in the early part of that period embracing the influences of Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, and early Bob Dylan. Tom's compassion for our world and for what it should be and his condemnation for those who prevent that while pocketing the proceeds guides a strong current of Tom's work. Two of Tom's best lines in this style come from "Rebel Spring" and speak well to this: "Somewhere we've lost the reigns of our destinies/to the sweet songs of shepherds we don't see". We must think of Tom as one of the great protest singers, but he is much more than that in the same way that Woody Guthrie was much more.

"A Master craftsman... In many ways [Tom's] is a voice crying in the wilderness, just as Guthrie's was back in the time of the great depression, and Seeger's was in the fifties - and Dylan's was, when he gave voice to those unable to express their own fears and frustrations in the early sixties. In many ways, Tom Pacheco is continuing that great tradition of putting into words those thoughts and emotions which many of us feel but are unable to express with the eloquence and conviction that he does." - Maverick Magazine, United Kingdom

Tom's populist approach and his condemnations of the clueless also contribute to the comparisons with Woody Guthrie and with Bruce Springsteen. Note these words from "Nobodies": "I'm nobody. Who are you? Maybe you're nobody, too. The world was made for the fortunate few. Nobodies just struggle on through. I'm nobody. Who are you?" And from "South Beach": "Everybody's beautiful on South Beach. Tan bodies that will knock you out, / Everyone is going to have their teeth bleached or get silicone tits that shout. / The bartenders pose like Greek gods. The waitresses are all sublime. / Everyone lives to be looked at. They've got only one enemy, TIME."

Tom excels in several styles and musical forms but some of his most compelling songs are his story songs and folk ballads. Some are well-researched histories. Others are speculative. Pete Cronquist says Tom can write a song about anything and the canon of Tom's stories proves it. The Journal of Graeme Livingston is about the man who killed Jack the Ripper, and Jessica Brown is about the woman who killed the grassy knoll gunman. The friendship of Woody Guthrie and Jack Elliot is chronicled in Woody and Jack, and there are fun tributes to Jerry Garcia and the "Last Rolling Stone." Tom takes a mind expanding ride with Hunter Thompson in Riding with Mr. Thompson. There is a dramatic 10 minute epic about Che Gueverra, a heart tugger about the bus boy who served Robert Kennedy's last meal, and an exposé on the expansionist campaigns of Teddy Roosevelt.

In his 40+ years as a professional songwriter, Tom has issued 23 LPs and CDs. His songs have been recorded by Richie Havens, Jefferson Starship, The Band, Rick Danko, Norwegian superstar Steiner Albrigtson, and others. Last November, to commemorate his 3000th(!) copyrighted song, Scotland's Loudon Castle hosted Tom in a splendid celebration concert. Tom wrote many of his songs in the years he lived in Europe, and he is far better known there than in our country. Tom's long association with The Band include them indeed being his band on one of his records, and it brought forth some co-writes and production credits by several members on Tom's recordings

"Tom Pacheco deserves to be mentioned in the same tones of reverence as John Prine, Townes Van Zant, Guy Clark and Steve Earl...Tom Pacheco is one of the most impressive singer/songwriters of our times." - Hugh Gregory, Folk Roots

For a year I have been collecting stories about Tom from various sources. Most are from early in his career, but I'll share one with you I've pieced together from the Spring of last year. It's quite a tale. It seems the worker bees in a bull-pen office of a southside Chicago organization were playing what's on your I-Pod one day and got a bingo when it was discovered that everyone had a copy of Tom's 2005 song Rebel Spring marked as a favorite. They thought this beautiful song about our devolved culture but which includes a hopeful and encouraging ending explained exactly why that organization existed. Apparently the boss's wife walked through and was so impressed upon hearing the song that the idea came up to use the song in their work. So someone called Tom and told him that they wanted to use the song. He agreed. Then they told him that they needed him to come play the song. Not hesitating a moment, he agreed, again. Easing into it like that, they then dropped the kicker and told him to start packing. They needed him tomorrow. In the middle of the night a black Suburban picked Tom up and whisked him to a New York airport. Tom is not certain where they landed, but he thinks it was in Pennsylvania. Tom was led into a busy hotel room so he could play the song for the boss's wife. Being a very polite group, introductions were made before hand: "Mr. Pacheco, may I present to you, Michele Obama?" Tom played Rebel Spring and the room was stunned. "Will you wait here a moment, Tom?" Michele asked, they all being on first name basis by that time. She returned in a minute with a calm but very busy Barack Obama. Instead of repeating "Rebel Spring," Tom played "The Man from Illinois" a song he had just completed on the plane. The jaws dropped. The song is a classic hero ballad and captures the whole mood of Barack's life and campaign including the minutiae from his books and the overall hopeful message that the Obama campaign represented. Barack and David Axelrod decided right then that Tom would accompany the campaign through a few states to warm up the crowds with his songs and to finish off with "The Man for Illinois" before Tom introduced Barack to the cheering crowds.


John Spillane
March 7, 2010

John Spillane is an Irish musician, songwriter, performer, recording artist, storyteller, poet, dreamer - a canvas filled with color and brilliance. Place him in the genre of folk, acoustic, traditional, world or pop - that’s fine with John. Whether performing solo with guitar, with gentle accompaniment, or with full band before 10, 10,000 or 100,000, John entertains, charms, and mesmerizes. John is a native of Cork, the County he lovingly describes as “the centre of the universe”, and it has been a huge creative influence on him. Vocally, he is quite unique with an almost sean nós-like element in his singing and he is said to have a voice “full of honesty, commitment and sensitivity.” John’s performances shimmer with the magic realism that permeates many of his songs as he effortlessly flits between beautiful poetry tinged with melancholy to roguish, irreverent Cork humour.

John’s awards and honors include: • Twice winner of the Meteor Award (think Irish Grammy) for Best Traditional Folk category 203 and 2006 • Irish Music Award winner • Twice winner of the prestigious Realta Song Contest 2001 and 2002 • Winner of the Top Solo Performer for 2009 by the Irish Music Association

Some quotes from the press: • "...some of the most skillfully crafted, vividly realized songs anyone has written in Ireland over the past dozen years." Earle Hitchner, premier writer/reviewer for Irish Echo and The Wall Street Journal. • "funny, quirky, massively entertaining. John is a story teller, a shanachie." Dan Regan, Founder, Kansas City Irish Festival. • "[John] writes catchy, heartfelt folk-pop songs with the bonus of actually meaning something." The Sunday Business Post (My Dark Rosaleen & The Island of Dreams). • "He's carved a niche writing melodic, compelling, simple songs. Spillane is at his best when his delivery is unforced and lyrical." Oliver P. Sweeney, The Ticket, Irish Times (My Dark Rosaleen & The Island of Dreams). • "glorious technicolour hues that transcend linguistic boundaries; world music for a new world." Siobhan Long, Irish Times (The Gaelic Hit Factory). • "these tracks exhibit Spillane’s remarkably prolific output of gorgeous, peaceful tunes." Lisa Coen, Hot Press (Hey Dreamer).

I had the good fortune to catch John’s February 21 show in Jackson, MS. It was everything I had been promised and more. He was humorous, witty, endearing, touching, and entertaining. The capacity crowd at Fenian’s Pub was laughing, crying, and singing along and really didn’t want to let him leave.

Thanks to Vicki at Onion Creek House Concerts for helping set this up.


Michael Fracasso
February 20, 2010

Thanks to Michael for a thrilling show, and thanks to everyone who came out to listen. We heard lots of old favorites and were treated to some new, not-yet-recorded songs. If you haven’t done so yet, you can listen to some of Michael’s music online at www.myspace.com/michaelfracasso.


Carrie Elkin
January 28, 2010

With the vocal fire of Patti Griffin and the lyrical rawness of Rickie Lee Jones, Carrie Elkin's songs are, at once, intimate yet universal, naked yet richly adorned. Arthur Wood of Folkwax says it best….."I have never seen a performer so in love with the act of singing. That's the gospel truth, and from what I've subsequently learned I'm not the only one to believe or state that. Onstage Elkin was simply a force of nature.” Carrie was recently chosen as a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist, a finalist for the prestigious NPR show Mountain Stage, and a showcasing artist for the SXSW Music Festival.

Carrie Elkin is one of those people you just can’t help but like. Her warmth, generosity, and kindness are endearing and comforting and those qualities spill over into her music. Though based in Austin, she has been touring extensively in North America and Europe behind her latest CD “The Jeopardy of Circumstance” and our January show will be one of her first after returning from the UK. You can read some of the great press she’s received on her website, and you can listen online at her MySpace site.

Thank you to everyone who came out to share the evening with us. Carrie played and sang beautifully, entertained us with some of the stories behind the songs, led us in some heartfelt sing-alongs, and even previewed some new songs planned for her upcoming CD. It was a joyous and warm evening despite the cold and rainy weather.


Danny Schmidt
November 20, 2009

On Friday November 20 we welcomed the esteemed Danny Schmidt (www.dannyschmidt.com). He played a split bill with Carrie Elkin back in January 2009, and everyone liked them both so much, we invited each back for a full show. Click here to view a video clip from that show.

His songs are deep and poetic - at once personal and universal. They cover wide-ranging topics with a wisdom far greater than the number of his years. Add his adept finger-picking guitar style and easy but sincere delivery, and he truly is one of the greats of the singer-songwriter crowd. Rich Warren of Sing Out! magazine says "He is perhaps the best new songwriter I’ve heard in the last 15 years."


Bobbie James Celebration
November 14, 2009

Local Cancer Survivor Bobbie James hosted a benefit concert at St. Andrew’s on Saturday November 14. All proceeds went to the Lance Armstrong Foundation in support of its mission to inspire and empower people affected by cancer. Performers included Lee Edwards, Vanessa Lively, Texas songwriting legend Tim Henderson, and Marilyn Rucker.


Beaver Nelson
October 17, 2009

Beaver Nelson treated us to a plethora of songs, from philosophical to spiritual to nostalgic to narrative to comical, and also enlightened us with many of the stories behind the songs. It was a wonderfully entertaining evening, and it was a pleasure hearing and talking with Mr. Nelson. We even got to hear one of his new songs from his un-named record, which will be out “sometime.” One Red Leaf was a definite winner and fills us with anticipation for the rest of this record. Thank you to everyone who attended and to everyone who helped make it such a special night.

You can listen to some of Beaver's music online here.

Telegraph Canyon
September 19, 2009

Out of over 30 new bands I heard at SXSW, Telegraph Canyon stood out as one that brings a unique sound and vision to the Americana/Roots genre. This 7-piece band from Fort Worth is well on the way to building a large following. They have been touring larger venues this summer, such as the Bass Hall in Fort Worth, the Jewel Box Theater in Seattle, and the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles. I loved their first CD and their second CD “The Tide and the Current” is also getting great reviews. The Dallas Observer said it probably better than I can: “The new disc, produced by Centro-matic's Will Johnson in Austin, is a soul-bearing, deliberately paced, at-once epic and restrained force, beautifully arranged both in its instrumentation and in its vocal harmonies. A surefire contender for best area release of 2009, the disc more than solidifies the band's rightful place among the region's best.”

I am particularly impressed with their ability to include a wide variety of instruments to achieve very specific emotionally-charged sounds. From the bowed electric guitar to the pedal steel to the B-3 organ to the toy dog xylophone, each is used to its best effect, when and only when it is needed. While complex and varied, the songs are never overwrought and nothing sounds out of place. Rather, they make their point efficiently and then leave space for the music to breathe and for the listener to contemplate.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram agrees:

"It's hard to get your fill of Telegraph Canyon, a rustic eight-piece band from Fort Worth, currently working on the follow-up to 2006's All the Good News. Guitarist/vocalist Chris Johnson spins dark-hued tales of love, loss and life that spring to life on pedal steel runs and angelic organ fills. Timeless yet immediate, it's the sound of America, torn from the depths of an observant soul."

Telegraph Canyon played a great set that included nearly all of both of their CDs. The crowd enthusiastically enjoyed the show, and the band made some new loyal fans.


The Fourth Annual St. Andrew's Variety Show and Silent Auction
Saturday August 22, 2009

A great time was had by all, and we raised over $800 to benefit improvements to the sound system. Big thanks to everyone who helped put on the show, attended, and donated!


School's Out For Summer! with The Authors
Friday June 12, 2009, 7:00 PM

In honor of their completing another year of school, and in thanks for their assistance with Peace Camp, Open Ears Concerts presented the Schools Out for Summer party for the youth in our community. Local indie rockers The Authors headlined the show for an enthusiastic and appreciative crowd. The Authors have a new self-titled EP available at Waterloo Records and on CD Baby.


Jennings and Keller
June 6, 2009

Based out of Miami, Florida, Jennings and Keller bring a wealth of experience to their collaboration, from the Broadway musicals of New York to the honky tonks of West Texas. Their music is called "Fusion Folk Americana” - a blend of many different elements that comes from their vast and wide-ranging musical backgrounds. With the release of their debut CD, Susan's House, Jennings and Keller are quickly gaining recognition throughout the country. In 2007 they were finalists in five songwriting contests. Jennings & Keller have completed their new CD As the Universe Unfolds, available for purchase in May 2009. (www.jenningsandkeller.com) Suggested donation: $10:00


David Roth
March 6, 2009

A powerful new singer-songwriter has reached our hearts. With voices like David’s still singing, there’s a certainty that the candle will remain lit, the hope reasserted, and the dream still sung — Peter Yarrow (Peter, Paul & Mary)

For over two decades, David Roth has been writing, singing, and teaching music, reaching and inspiring a multitude of people.

Landslide top vote-getter at the Falcon Ridge (New York) Folk Festival’s Most-Wanted competition (1996) and NAIRD Indie nominee (singer-songwriter album of the year; 1994) for Digging Through My Closet, David Roth has gained national attention for his unique songs, moving stories, and powerful singing and subject matter.


The Therapy Sisters and Las Gabachachas
February 21, 2009

A portion of this concert's proceeds were donated to Latinitas, a nonprofit organization focused on informing, entertaining, and inspiring young Latinas to grow into healthy, confident, and successful adults.

To learn more about, book, or schedule interviews with these artists, contact Maurine McLean at 512-HI-SISSY (512-447-4779).


Carrie Elkin and Danny Schmidt
January 10, 2009

Austin is chock-full of talented folk singer-songwriters, but this show brings two of the city’s finest to St. Andrew’s:

Listen to song samples of Carrie and Danny on MySpace.

A portion of the proceeds benefited the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.


Cady Finlayson and band (Celtic)
November 15, 2008

Spirited Irish fiddle with a global twist, Cady Finlayson and her band presented their high-energy show blending traditional Irish fiddle tunes with American folk melodies and world music percussion.

Cady’s international band includes Dublin-born singer Marina Meyler, French guitarist Vita Tanga, and Irish percussionist Shane O’Sullivan. Doc Grauzer, harper and storyteller of the Irish tradition, opened the show.

A portion of the proceeds benefited the Cancer Research Foundation.


Austin Civic Wind Ensemble
October 25, 2008

Now celebrating 33 years of performing free concerts in Austin, the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble includes both amateur and professional musicians. The mission of the ACWE is twofold:

In its “Best of Austin 2006” issue, the Austin Chronicle named the ACWE Austin’s “Best Excuse to Be a Band Geek Again.”


Bruce Jones & the Monotones
October 13, 2007

With Special Guest: Marilyn Rucker!

Bruce Jones is a Texas songwriter who spent 16 years playing bass with Austin icon and legend Omar Dykes (Omar and the Howlers).

During the time he was in Omar and the Howlers, the band had a CBS recording contract, produced a number of albums, and toured all over the United States, Canada, and Europe, appearing with such acts as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Winter, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and many more.

In 2004, Jones released Flashpoint Sessions, his first album of all original material, including his song “Fight Like a Girl,” which was a winner in the Austin Songwriter’s Group 2004 Songwriting Contest.



Instruments for Peace, International
February 24, 2007

Featuring and hosted by Richard Bowden, Barbara Kooyman with very special guests from Atash

A mix of Americana, Persian, and Arabic Music. Free and family-friendly show.


Ana Egge
September 9, 2006

Opened by Southpaw Jones.

Proceeds benefited Foundation for the Homeless IHN.


Nels Andrews
August 12, 2006

Jeffrey Richards (banjo).

Opened by Mo Pair, Texas songwriter.

Proceeds benefited Grace Coggins and Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy


Marilyn Rucker
June 24, 2006

CD release party for Everybody’s Somebody Else’s Weirdo — with loads of special guests.

Marilyn Rucker has played with The Therapy Sisters, Maryann Price, The Big Band Sound of Austin, Emily Kaitz and Mary Reynolds, and a score of other groups over the years.

She’s won regional, national, and international songwriting awards in several different genres, including jazz, singer-songwriter, and cabaret.

Marilyn’s masterful playing and singing reflect a playful mix of influences from Diana Krall, Tom Lehrer, Norah Jones, Blossom Dearie, Dave Frishberg, and Mose Allison.


AJ Roach and the Three Percent Mandate
February 11, 2006

Featuring AJ Roach with W. Alisa Rose on fiddle and Adam Roszkiewicz on mandolin and guitar.

Opened by Mo Pair, Texas songwriter, and the spirited Irish fiddle of Cady Finlayson.

Proceeds benefited the David Lewis Memorial Education Fund, a trust fund set up for David’s three young daughters. (David was a Sago miner and lost his life in the disaster in January 2006.)


Hurricane Katrina Benefit Concert
October 9, 2005

Featuring:

Proceeds benefited Foundation for the Homeless, Interfaith Hospitality Network, Katrina.


Links to
Coming Events:


Summer Films:
The Dorothy
Day Story
Aug. 20, 6:30pm
FREE!

Variety Show
and
Silent Auction
Sat., August 21st
6pm - FREE!