Coyote Run; The Runaway String Band; and the Itinerant Band

The second Friday of every month, the Unitarian Church in Williamsburg, is the venue for a night of music, fun and goodies. The Williamsburg-based band, Coyote Run, is hosting the event the second Friday of the month, alongside a different guest band to be featured at each performance.

Coyote Run is a band of the robust, manly-man genre. The four men, David Doersch, Gabriel Stone, Steve Holliday and Les Kayanan offer original tunes, as well as songs of the maritime, military and folk/celtic origins. The strong vocals from David, Ken and Steve, and an incredible myriad of instruments played by Gabriel including guitar, bagpipes, dijirido, tin whistle and drums provide a flavorful array of songs from thoughtful to silly.

In January, the featured guest band was the Runaway String Band, consisting of husband and wife team Barry and Lynn Trott, on the guitar and viola de gamba (a wonderfully ornate cello like instrument); Dave Paddock, on the banjo; and Doug Austin on the mandolin. Runaway String Band played a tight, brightly arranged set of American standards such as "Blue Skies", and old gospel and bluegrass favorites. The old timey harmonies and intuitive performances transported the audience into a truly joyous state.

In February, the featured guest artists were The Itinerant Band, featuring TFFM's (Tidewater Friends of Folk Music) own Marsha Wallace, Susan Lawler, George Bame, Dave McNew, Paul Brockman, Mary Normand and Bob Clark. The Itinerant Band, so named for carrying on the tradition of itinerant bands of colonial times, have appeared at such places as Mt. Vernon, playing jigs, reels and songs popular in George Washington's time. The Itinerant Band presented a lively set of complex tunes played on flute, fiddle, harp, dulcimer, and guitar. Although many of the pieces were instrumental, they have several fine vocalists who performed songs from beautiful to humorous., including a bawdy sea song or two and an unusual version of "Oh My Darlin' Clementine," in which the audience joined in.

For more information on future concerts call The Unitarian Church of Williamsburg, on Ironbound Rd. (for directions go to www.wuu.org)