KALA FARNHAM / THE IRISH BROTHERS
KALA FARNHAM
Kala Farnham crafts contemporary folk songs with roots and wings, weaving age-old truths into modern grooves. The 18th Connecticut State Troubadour and award-winning artist has earned national recognition as a 2020 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist, 2019 Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Contest winner, two-time Great American Song Contest finalist, and an Official Showcase Artist at both the Northeastern and Southeastern Regional Folk Alliance Conferences, among other accolades. She has shared the stage with legends such as Don McLean and Tower of Power, folk troubadours such as Lucy Kaplansky and David Wilcox, and more.
Drawing on a background in classical piano, musical theater, and therapeutic sound, she offers a signature reinvention of the folk tradition— infusing fairytales, historical fiction, and narrative medicine into vivid portraits of the human experience. Her intimate, interactive performances—featuring soul-stirring vocals and mystical folk harp, piano, and guitar—invite listeners on a transcendent journey that lingers long after the final note fades.
CHASING THE LIGHT
“Captain” George Hergen and Sandyman Flynn make a unique team. Sandyman comes from the mountains of Western North Carolina, while the Captain hails from the canyons of New York City. The two started performing together more than 35 years ago when they worked “suit” jobs at IBM. Both draw from their Irish heritage for material. Their music practically maps the Irish cultural integration into the “new country” – from traditional Irish ballads to original songs of love, drinking, revolution and redemption.
Sandy is a former songwriter on Music Row (Tree-Sony/ATV) in Nashville. He was a founding member of the band Cullowhee, which toured nationally and internationally for ten years in the 70s and 80s. George started singing and playing after his first visit to New York’s Greenwich Village in the mid-1960s. He honed his craft by traveling throughout Ireland with the great Tommy Makem. The pair received the name “Irish Brothers” following a performance at The Folk Alliance several years ago in Memphis, Tennessee.
Sandyman Flynn sandymanflynn.com
George Hergen: https://youtu.be/SBYxax1nhs8