Contemporary folk

Canadian folk rockers Great Lake Swimmers return to The Cedar on tour in support of their fifth full length album New Wild Everywhere, the followup to 2009's breakout Lost Channels. They are joined by rising star Cold Specks, whose eerily penetrating 'doom soul' music is steeped in the musical traditions of the Deep South.

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“Lost in the Trees is orchestral folk where the ‘orchestral’ part isn't an afterthought. This is mighty potent stuff.”—NPR

The Chapel Hill, North Carolina music collective Lost in the Trees, fronted by composer and songwriter Ari Picker, drew widespread acclaim for their debut album All Alone in an Empty House (ANTI- Records). Yet in the midst of releasing the album, tragedy struck when Ari's mother, an artist in her own right, took her own life. Picker took the loss of his mother and set about transforming the events into a tribute, composing, writing lyrics, his mother's picture above his writing desk: the same picture that now graces the album's cover. "I wanted to give her a space, in the music, to be, and to become all the things she didn't get a chance to be when she was alive."

The result is A Church That Fits Our Needs, a testament to the power of music to heal and transcend. The new album will be released by ANTI- Records on March 20.

A bountiful booking featuring burgeoning talent of Bethany Larson and the Bees Knees, the bouncy indie folk of Bella Ruse, and the boisterous bluegrass of The Boys n' the Barrels. Be there!

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• On sale date: noon Fri Jan 6
• Phone: 612-338-2674 ext 2 ($1 fee per ticket)
• In person: From a Cedar volunteer in the front lobby during events (no fee; cash, check, credit card), Depth of Field (no fee; cash or check only), or Electric Fetus (small fee)
• Online: Ticketweb (fees apply) (click on red Buy Tickets button at top of this page)
• All Cedar shows are all ages.
• Students with ID may purchase tickets at a discount at the door.

Sue McLean and Associates are proud to present Dar Williams live in concert at The Cedar. Dar Williams makes music that is both easy on the ears and gentle for the soul. Her 20 year career has been full of understated goodness. Without much fanfare-albeit eleven studio albums, a critically acclaimed collaboration with Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky (Cry Cry Cry), two books of young adult fiction, and countless tour dates-she has crept her way into the hearts and souls of a rather large audience. She has been described as a synthesis of the Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez; in fact, Joan Baez has performed with Dar Williams, as has Mary Chapin Carpenter, Shawn Colvin and Pete Seeger.

First Avenue presents the North Carolinan experimental indie folk/Americana group Bowerbirds live at The Cedar, touring in support of their brand new album The Clearing. Recorded in a cabin after various life altering circumstances (members Beth Tacular and Phil Moore ending their romantic relationship only to get back together; Tacular almost dying of a strange illness) the record is slated to hit store shelves on March 6.

Opening will be British indie folk-rock band Dry The River, who will also be releasing their debut album Shallow Bed on March 6.

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Otherworldly Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg, aka First Aid Kit, roar back into town in support of their sophomore album The Lion's Roar (due Jan 24, 2012). Gorgeous harmonies, and a dark-tinged, alternative folk vibe permeate their timeless songs, which somehow feel particularly at home at The Cedar in the heart of the former Snus Boulevard.

The Cedar is now fully air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

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British indie folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling in a solo show! An artist definitely worth getting to know, Laura is touring behind her brilliant third album A Creature I Don't Know.

Opening tonight will be former Spaghetti Western String Company bandmates and composers Michael Rossetto (banjo) and Ethan Sutton (cello) performing as The Bello Duo. They concoct a melodic yet dark brew steeped in classical and West African sounds.

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The searingly honest and at times downright raw songwriting and delivery of William Fitzsimmons demands a listening space such as the Cedar provides to be heard at its best.

The Cedar is now fully air-conditioned for your year-round comfort!

Ticket options and info

• On sale date: noon Fri Nov 4
• Phone: 612-338-2674 ext 2 ($1 fee per ticket)
• In person: From a Cedar volunteer in the front lobby during events (no fee; cash, check, credit card), Depth of Field (no fee; cash or check only), or Electric Fetus (small fee)
• Online: Ticketweb (fees apply) (click on red Buy Tickets button at top of this page)
• All Cedar shows are all ages.
• Students with ID may purchase tickets at a discount at the door.

A warming double-bill with two regional Americana bands unified in their romantically-tinged view of life. Farewell Milwaukee have had a busy 2011, with the release of their widely-praised second album When It Sinks In, and the selection of one of their tracks for the Cities 97 Sampler Volume 23. Romantica have been digging in, putting in the work on the eagerly-awaited new album…

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Journey with The Pines further into darkness, and closer to the light with their new album Dark So Gold. Sounding both rooted in the past and yet with a fresh, contemporary vision, the band is indeed poised to go gold.

Opening will be simpatico singer-songwriter Jeffrey Foucault. As the New Yorker states, "“Foucault’s voice, and his themes, are gruff, sombre, and deep, and his accompanying musicians [on the album], including the Pretenders’ Eric Heywood, on pedal steel, create a sparse, dramatic soundscape.”

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