FINE COMPANY

Fine Company is a talented trio of Pacific Northwest folksingers. 

Bill Murlin, Ron Dalton, and Jim Portillo combine a full range of vocal talent, as well as skilled picking on guitar, banjo, mandolin, and bass.  They trade off on lead vocals, work wonders in three-part harmony, and back their singing with tasteful and energetic instrumentals. Although Fine Company is a new group, the individual members bring together decades of experience performing acoustic music throughout the Northwest.

Bill Murlin can probably claim “seniority” in the group, with over fifty years of performing on stage.  He studied at Washington State University during the height of the “Folk Era”.  Heavily influenced by the likes of The Kingston Trio, Brothers Four, and Chad Mitchell Trio, he formed a duo known as The Wanderers.  He has also performed with two other noteworthy groups, Blue Northern and The Unpaid Bills. Murlin’s warm baritone voice and smooth picking on guitar and banjo made him an in-demand performer at festivals throughout the Northwest. While working for the Bonneville Power Administration, Bill researched the story of Woody Guthrie’s employment in 1941 as a songwriter for the agency.  That research led to Bill’s publishing a historical songbook of Guthrie’s Columbia River ballads.

Ron Dalton is a Seattle songwriter, folklorist, and guitar-picker. He sings tenor in the trio, but has a wide vocal range.  His music tastes are also wide-ranging, from folk to jazz to rock.  He has performed for many years at the major folk festivals in the Northwest, and served for a time as president of Victory Music, the region’s non-profit folk society.  Ron has performed and recorded as a soloist, and also with his wife Peggy Sullivan as the duo Burgundy Pearl.  Ron plays bass as well as guitar.

The youngster of Fine Company is Jim Portillo.  A Texas native, he migrated to the Northwest by way of Nebraska, to become a rehabilitation teacher for Washington state government.  He was influenced at an early age by Doc Watson, Gordon Lightfoot, and classic country music. In Seattle he bought a guitar, took some lessons, and began performing at Victory Music open mikes.  Before long Jim went into “full immersion” in the folk world.  He joined the concert production committees for Seattle Folklore Society and Victory Music; began performing with The Unpaid Bills, The Wanderers, Hank & Claire, and formed his own group, The Cruzers. He now lends to Fine Company his rich voice and able picking on guitar, mandolin, and bass.

For more information, please see: http://www.finecompanymusic.com

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 6:00 – 7:00pm. If attending, please bring enough food and drink to share with at least 4 people. We put the “luck” in potluck and do not assign dishes.

CONCERT: 7:00pm

*SUGGESTED* DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musicians. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call:

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net (preffered, since I send confirmations via email)

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends up sitting in your lap** 

GRAMMY-nominated lutenist, Ronn McFarlane brings the lute – the most popular instrument of the Renaissance – into today’s musical mainstream making it accessible to a wider audience. 

Since taking up the lute in 1978, Ronn has made his mark in music as the founder of Ayreheart, a founding member of the Baltimore Consort, touring 49 of the 50 United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany and Austria, and as a guest artist with Apollo’s Fire, The Bach Sinfonia, The Catacoustic Consort, The Folger Consort, Houston Grand Opera, The Oregon Symphony, The Portland Baroque Orchestra, and The Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.

Born in West Virginia, Ronn grew up in Maryland.  At thirteen, upon hearing “Wipeout” by the Surfaris, he fell madly in love with music and taught himself to play on a “cranky sixteen-dollar steel string guitar.”  Ronn kept at it, playing blues and rock music on the electric guitar while studying classical guitar.  He graduated with honors from Shenandoah Conservatory and continued guitar studies at Peabody Conservatory before turning his full attention and energy to the lute in 1978. 

McFarlane was a faculty member of the Peabody Conservatory from 1984 to 1995, teaching lute and lute-related subjects.  In 1996, Mr. McFarlane was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music from Shenandoah Conservatory for his achievements in bringing the lute and its music to the world.  He has over 40 recordings on the Dorian/Sono Luminus label, including solo albums, lute duets, flute & lute duets, lute songs, the complete lute music of Vivaldi, a collection of Elizabethan lute music and poetry, and recordings with the Baltimore Consort. 

Ronn has composed new music for the lute, building on the tradition of the lutenist/composers of past centuries.  His original compositions are the focus of his solo CD, Indigo Road, which received a GRAMMY Award Nomination for Best Classical Crossover Album of 2009. 

In 2010 Ronn founded Ayreheart, an ensemble brought together to perform new compositions as well as early music.  Ayreheart’s first CD release, One Morning, consists of all-original music by Ronn McFarlane. Ayreheart’s 2016 release, Barley Moon, blends folk music and art music from Renaissance and Medieval England, Scotland and Wales.

Ronn’s newest solo album, The Celtic Lute, features his arrangements of traditional Scottish and Irish music from the 17th and 18th centuries.

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 2:00-3:00pm. Please bring a DRINK to share – lemonade, tea, wine (is always a hit!), beer – whatever you fancy. And please bring enough finger foods/appetizers to share with at least 4 people. We put the “luck” in potluck and do not assign dishes.

CONCERT: 3:00pm

*SUGGESTED* DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musicians. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call:

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net (email is preferred, as I do send confirmations via email).

Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends sitting in your lap! 

It will be Leap Year Day and I will be hosting by myself. C’mon out to hear some fab music and have a glass of wine – or more – with your hostess 🙂

Barrie Dempsey is an award winning musician whose genre wears many different hats. He is a songwriter who spins stories about morality and love, yet can carry a Folk Americana/Roots feel, akin to writers like John Prine, J.J. Cale and Lyle Lovett,to name a few. Barrie is originally from New Jersey & went a long time without pursuing his music, doing mostly fine art. He started writing again in 2008 and has released 2 CD’s, “Barrie Dempsey” and “Line In The Sand”. He is working on his next release for Spring of 2020. To see more information about Barrie go to his website at www.barriedempsey.com

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 6:00 – 7:00pm. If attending, please bring enough food and drink to share with at least 4 people. We put the “luck” in potluck and do not assign dishes.

CONCERT: 7:00pm

*SUGGESTED* DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musician. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call: (It’s best to email since I send all confirmations via email. Thank you)

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends up sitting in your lap** 

You won’t want to miss this chance to take a private lesson and/or workshop with the incomparable Christina Tourin.

Lessons – 1 hour, $50. First lesson begins at 10am. Final lesson slot is 1:00-2:00pm. More time may be added if there are enough sign-ups. Pay at the door.

Workshop – 3:30-5:00pm, $25. Please see the description in the flyer above. Pay at the door.

(Potluck Social 5:30-6:30. Concert at 6:30pm. Click the link embedded under “Concert”)

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call: (It’s best to email since I send all confirmations via email. Thank you)

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation.** 

Evening House Concert with Christina Tourin. Open to the public. However, harp students who have attended the day’s lessons and/or workshop, have guaranteed seating. Reserve early, y’all!

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 5:30 – 6:30pm. If attending, please bring enough food and drink to share with at least 4 people. We put the “luck” in potluck and do not assign dishes.

CONCERT: 6:30pm

*SUGGESTED* DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musician. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call: (It’s best to email since I send all confirmations via email. Thank you)

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends up sitting in your lap** 

Meander is:

Ama Bentley: vocals, acoustic guitar, nylon string guitar, banjitar

Erin Moreland: vocals, banjo, dojo, acoustic guitar, melodica, banjitar

Genre labels: Introvert Pop; Singer/Songwriter; Contemporary Folk

Like Nick Drake and Suzanne Vega interpreting Morrissey in the style of Simon and Garfunkel if they were from the 80s instead of the 60s and Garfunkel played banjo.

Meander is a songcrafting acoustic duo based in Portland, OR.  They make sweet, melancholy, original music; filled with lush harmonies and unconventional arrangements.  The sound is at once closely intimate and larger than one might expect from just two musicians.

Ama and Erin have played together for about 20 years, and have the kind of completing-each-other’s-sentences musical connection that can’t be conjured overnight.

soundcloud.com/meander-duo

facebook.com/introvert.pop/

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 6:00 – 7:00pm. If attending, please bring enough food and drink to share with at least 4 people. We put the “luck” in potluck and do not assign dishes.

CONCERT: 7:00pm

*SUGGESTED* DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musicians. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call:

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends up sitting in your lap** 

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020:

Private lesson slots, a workshop and an evening concert, open to the public, with Christina Tourin.

Private, one hour lessons, at $50 per lesson, available with Christina from 10:00am until 1:00pm (Final lesson slot from 1-2pm).

Harp Workshop – please see details in flyer above, from 3:30-5:00pm. Cost of workshop: $25

HARP CONCERT, OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, IN THE EVENING. Harp workshop participants will have guaranteed seating at the concert. We will max out at 35 audience members so please make reservations early.

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 5:30 – 6:30pm. If attending, please bring enough food and drink to share with at least 4 people. We put the “luck” in potluck and do not assign dishes.

CONCERT: 6:30pm

*SUGGESTED* DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musician. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call: (It’s best to email since I send all confirmations via email. Thank you)

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends up sitting in your lap** 

Happy New Year Everyone!

We’re going to start this New Year with an upgraded site and NO MORE ADS – alleluia! (Supposedly. Stay tuned) I never knew what car insurance and sweaty feet (ads) had to do with house concerts 🙂

A huge thank you to our daughter Teresa for spending HOURS on building a new website. I had to scrap that big of an upgrade and just deal with an upgraded WordPress site. Baby boomer, here, glazes over with too much technology.

More info will be added as we approach the following concerts, but here is an overview of what’s coming up:

***Reservations: https://houseconcertslo.com/f-a-q/ ***

Saturday, January 25: RICHARD COLOMBO AND LAURIE LINN

Potluck Social: 6-7pm. Concert: 7pm

Richard and Laurie’s music is heartfelt, honest, courageous and bold. Richard’s original compositions give a glimpse of a world that is not often visible.  Their repertoire spans across varying genres including folk, blues, jazz and The Great American Songbook.  Their beautiful voices and lush harmonies combined with their artistic and masterful guitar and ukulele arrangements are spot on.

Complete info here: Richard Colombo and Laurie Linn

February: Pending/Soloist

Saturday, March 28: MEANDER

Potluck Social: 6-7pm. Concert: 7pm

Meander is:

Ama Bentley: vocals, acoustic guitar, nylon string guitar, banjitar

Erin Moreland: vocals, banjo, dojo, acoustic guitar, melodica, banjitar

Genre labels: Introvert Pop; Singer/Songwriter; Contemporary Folk

Like Nick Drake and Suzanne Vega interpreting Morrissey in the style of Simon and Garfunkel if they were from the 80s instead of the 60s and Garfunkel played banjo.

Saturday, April 25: FINE COMPANY

MORE INFO COMING SOON!

Sunday, May 3: RONN MCFARLANE

Finger food potluck social: 2-3pm Concert: 3pm

GRAMMY-nominated lutenist, Ronn McFarlane strives to bring the lute – the most popular instrument of the Renaissance – into today’s musical mainstream and make it accessible to a wider audience. 

This post will be updated with more info SOON.

Reservations:

Marianne Decher

mariannedecher@comcast.net (preferred)

503-348-2668

When you make a reservation (which can always be changed), I will send a confirmation email with ALL the info. We don’t publish that on the website so that we can keep an accurate headcount. You are not “in” until you (and the folks in your party via your email) receive a confirmation email.

We sound so strict. We’re really not that strict.

Richard Colombo & Laurie Linn

After successfully building a thriving non-profit music community, Richard bid farewell to Artichoke Community Music in 2014 to pursue songwriting, performing and building a new space closer to home, where he could continue to teach, inspire and be inspired by the community he loves.  He built Bella Musica Song House, a beautiful performance and teaching space on his North East Portland property where he currently hosts house concerts, classes and workshops.  During this time he founded the Portland Ukulele Choir where he met Laurie Linn, a gifted singer, visual artist and teacher, a student of life, a lover of dragonflies…but most of all a believer in possibility. 

Richard and Laurie felt an immediate connection and were brought together through their lifelong love of music.  Since 2015 they have been entertaining their audiences with their engaging style of performance.  In 2017 they released “Once In A Lifetime Friend” a CD of twelve original songs penned by Richard.   

Together they elevate their music to new heights and invite their audience along for the journey.  Their music is heartfelt, honest, courageous and bold and Richard’s original compositions give a glimpse of a world that is not often visible.  Their repertoire spans across varying genres including folk, blues, jazz and The Great American Songbook.  Their beautiful voices and lush harmonies combined with their artistic and masterful guitar and ukulele arrangements are spot on.  A night with Richard and Laurie will leave you with the feeling of hope and wanting more.

For more information and music samples: www.richardcolombo.com. 

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 6:00 – 7:00pm. If attending, please bring enough food and drink to share with at least 4 people. We put the “luck” in potluck and do not assign dishes.

CONCERT: 7:00pm

SUGGESTED DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musicians. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call:

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends up sitting in your lap** 

Heart, Hammer, and Stone

Hey everyone! We’re back and ready to do a real live house concert after an elongated vacation. Julianna Waters has since graduated with her MFA in Creative Writing and managed to slip in some songwriting – because she can. I (Barry Crannell) have been working on my guitar and banjo technique/repertoire for the past couple years, and we’ve added some banjo friendly covers to change up our repertoire a little. We are lucky enough to have Greg Stone in our midst singing songs, playing guitar, and adding general frivolity and mayhem to the show.

Greg Stone has been a guitarist and singer in the Portland area for the last 20 years. A local staple in the bluegrass community, he teaches privately, and is the founder of a bluegrass class every Saturday in SE Portland called Taborgrass  http://www.taborgrass.com/p/music.html.  He and Barry have been playing together for many years and produce a variety of acoustic music. From old-time, to bluegrass, to Celtic fiddle tunes, their partnership has produced some wonderful music, and lots of “only found in rehearsal” laughs.

Somehow, I think we’ll manage to have a great time. Between the beautifully executed songs, oddly named fiddle tunes, and unexpected train wrecks, I think we’ll all come out unscathed.

OPTIONAL POTLUCK: 6:30 – 7:30pm. If attending, please bring enough food and drink to share with at least 4 people.

CONCERT: 7:30pm

SUGGESTED DONATION: – $15-$20 per person. ALL proceeds go to the musicians. Thank you for supporting LIVE music.

RESERVATIONS: – Please email, text or call:

Marianne Decher

503-348-2668

mariannedecher@comcast.net

**Location info in Lake Oswego will be given when you make a reservation. We like to keep a head count so no one ends sitting in your lap**