Mary Flower & Doug Cox | Mark Stuart

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Mary Flower’s immense fingerpicking guitar and lap-slide prowess is soulful and meter-perfect, a deft blend of the inventive, the dexterous and the mesmerizing. Her supple honey-and-whiskey voice provides the perfect melodic accompaniment to each song’s story.

An internationally known and award-winning picker, singer/songwriter and teacher, the Midwest native relocated from Denver to the vibrant Portland, Oregon music scene in in 2004. She continues to please crowds and critics at folk festivals and concert stages domestically and abroad, ones that include Merlefest, Kerrville, King Biscuit, Prairie Home Companion and the Calgary Folk Festival, among many.

A finalist in 2000 and 2002 at the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship (Top 3 both years, and the only woman), a nominee in 2008 and 2012 for a Blues Foundation Blues Music Award, and a 2011 Portland Muddy Award winner, Flower embodies a luscious and lusty mix of rootsy, acoustic-blues guitar and vocal styles that span a number of idioms – from Piedmont to the Mississippi Delta, with stops in ragtime, swing, folk and hot jazz.

This show also features the incomparable Doug Cox! As Fame Magazine puts it, "Doug Cox has a voice not unlike those born in the Delta, slightly rough and wavering, yet in tune with the music". As a young bluesman, this devotee of bottleneck slide guitar had a life-transforming moment nearly 30 years ago when he first picked up the Dobro. That eerie, slightly plangent music resonated deep in his soul and changed everything. Always a gifted slide guitarist, Doug immediately displayed a special affinity for this most expressive of instruments. His talent and passion proved nearly boundless, and before long he was playing and recording with masters such as Ellen McIlwaine and David Essig.

Eventually Doug's musical world expanded to include such diverse virtuosos as Indian slide guitarists Vishwa Mohan and Salil Bhatt, folksinger / actor Ronny Cox, dearly departed bluesman Long John Baldry, guitar slinger Amos Garrett, songwriter Chuck Brodsky and expat Rwandan The Mighty Popo. His own bands and solo recordings display a similarly expansive arc, as the folk-blues of Bone Bottle Brass or Steel eventually led to old-timey supergroup Strung (Band of Gypsies – with Tony McManus and April Verch), New Orleans funk (Make A Better World – featuring John Boutte on vocals), or countrified Austin Americana (Across The Borderline - with BettySoo).

Doug has earned innumerable raves, from the BBC’s Bob Harris to magazines such as Guitar Player, he has long been an in-demand player on the Dobro, mandolin, Weissenborn, and the National Steel. His music has been featured on many film and TV soundtracks, including Terry Gilliam's Tideland, A&E's Biography, Coyote Ugly, Steven Seagal's Lawman, Auction Kings, Breaking Amish, Call of the Wildman, Chasing Classic Cars, Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations and Duck Dynasty.

Doug was the first featured Dobro player ever booked by the Montreal Jazz Festival, and the first Canadian invited to play Dobrofest in Trnava in Slovakia, a unique festival set in the birthplace of the Dopyera brothers, the men who invented the Dobro nearly a century ago.  

MARK STUART

Mark Stuart will spend 2018 doing what he has always done. He will tour full-time as a musical artist, bringing his years of experience to the stage. Onstage, his focus is on the songs he has penned and recorded, delivered with a soulful singing voice and highly memorable guitar playing.

After many years on the Americana/Folk circuit, Stuart has cultivated a very rounded performance. His show consists of storytelling, flashy guitar chops, and songs that draw from his rock, blues, country, and folk music roots. Mostly, this artist from Tennessee has toured solo or in a notable duo with his wife Stacey Earle. There were stints along the way as a sideman, though (Steve Forbert, Freddy Fender, Steve Earle, Joan Baez). If placed on the bill with a contemporary artist he is usually asked to play guitar on their portion of the show. Just ask Jason Ringenberg, Ray Wylie Hubbard, or Jimmy LaFave.

One can find Mark Stuart on any given night in a small theater, coffeehouse, house concert, festival stage, club, church auditorium, etc. giving it his all. Aside from that, he could be instructing at a guitar clinic, songwriting workshop, or playing on someone's recording session. As co-owner of Gearle Records he has produced or co-produced many albums. Stuart's career has repeatedly taken him to all of the USA, Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom, and has spanned several decades.

The Rogue Folk Club is pleased to provide great Sponsorship Opportunities for all our shows. For a nominal cost, individuals or businesses can sponsor any of our shows and reap a number of benefits - free tickets, reserved table, recognition on literature, our web site and at the concerts. For more information simply contact our Sponsorship Director Morris Biddle at mobiddley@me.com

Please note that the admission price for this concert includes a $1 Venue Improvement Fee that we are required by the St. James Square to collect from every patron. Starting in September 2016, the proceeds from this temporary fee will be used for construction projects such as air conditioning that will make the hall a nicer place for you to visit in the future. If you wish, you can make a secure donation of any amount over $5 (NOT $100 as it says) by clicking on the big blue button at the bottom of the page at www.sjcommunitysquare.org. For information on donating by phone or post, please contact the St. James Square office at 604-739-9373.