Song of the Soul

Susan Marie Gallion's song, The Woman In Me has won many a heart, and was even nominated for a Grammy Award. Though Susan wrote it, most folks got to know it through the voice of Crystal Gayle.

Ruth Wyand, of Kill Devil Hills, NC, is a wonderful songwriter and performer, with magic in her tunes and lyrics, though it was really her guitar work that first riveted our attention, complete with soul-captivating finger-picking and bottleneck slide flourishes. Though of a genre all her own, she channels elements of blues, jazz, & Americana - and much more. In addition to her own musical creations, she breathes new life and identity into the tunes of other musicians, making them all her own.

Starting in high school, Doug Alan Wilcox has been in a variety of bands, including names like Black Jack, Logix, So What Band, and Friends, transitioning from pop/rock/dance (and much more) music to a solo performing singer/songwriter career around 2000. Doug's influences are far and wide, including Bob Dylan, Robert Frost, and Buddha's Minivan. He hails from Haggarstown, MD.

Past/present religious/spiritual influences: Lutheran, Unity, Non-affiliated

Claudia Schmidt & Sally Rogers are a soul-deep musical combination. Sally is perhaps more closely associated with the folk music genre, and while Claudia has done a lot of folk, she's also well-known and loved for her expeditions into the jazz world. Whenever they combine their voices & music, there is an alchemy that transmutes music into magic. Both tell stories & capture images to rivet the heart & guide us on a better, more fulfilling, path.

Aaron Steinberg is Captain Danger, flanked by Keith “E-Day” Eaddy & Roger “Joose” Benford. Aaron has done so much with music, starting very young with bands like The Studmuffins, Wabbit, Uncle Dad, and was he and is part of The Televisionairies whose role in life is to make music out of television theme songs that is part Dr Demento meets Gilligan's Island.

Deborah Silverstein is a gem and a beacon. She started out musically in the heady early days of women's music, in the 1970s, as part of the Red Basement Singers, and the New Harmony Sisterhood Band.

Sofia Talvik self-describes as “Americana/Folk with Swedish Roots”, and it's so much better and wonderful than that can conjure. With the voice of an angel, she can play the strings of our hearts. Sofia has toured extensively in the US, though she lives mostly in Germany these days, where she makes music as part of the German/Swedish folk duo Hansan, combining Sofia and David Floer.

Joe Troop introduced a new form of music called Latingrass, a combination of music from Joe's homeland, in the lower Appalachian mountains, with the tones and tunes of the Andes in South America. He also refers to himself by another new word, artivist, a combination of his musical art and his activist passions. Joe Troop was born with bones that resonated with music, grew into a banjophile, and found delicious riches of culture and humanity while living in Spain, Japan, and most recently, Argentina.

Abigail Dowd's songs are rich deeply connected to both folk/Americana music, and to spirit-tinged lyrics, making her the perfect Song of the Soul guest. You'll also immediately hear Abigail Dowd's North Carolina accent, and you'll hear the voice of an angel poet in the same moment.

A rich mid-winter concert of songs of faith & hope by Annie Patterson & Peter Blood, the creators of the world-renowned group-singing songbooks Rise Up Singing, and Rise Again.