Geoff MuldaurCharlie ParrLike two mighty rivers crossing half a continent to come together as one, The Cedar welcomes two giants from the blues world to share their tales and songs. From the East, Geoff Muldaur is one of the great voices and musical forces to emerge from the folk, blues and folk-rock scenes centered in Cambridge, MA and Woodstock, NY. During the 1960's and '70's, Geoff made a series of highly influential recordings as a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and the Paul Butterfield's Better Days group, as well as collaborations with then-wife Maria and other notables (Bonnie Raitt, Eric Von Schmidt, Jerry Garcia, etc.). He left the stage and recording world in the mid-1980's for a working sabbatical but continued, however, to hone his craft, albeit 'flying beneath radar'. He composed scores for film and television, garnering an Emmy in the process, and his definitive recording of "Brazil" provided the seed for - and was featured in - Terry Gilliam's film of the same title. And from the Midwest, no-nonsense Charlie Parr gets back to basics with a plaid shirt, a ton of hard work playing all over the region, and a tremendous repertoire of original and classic folk-blues cover songs that he delivers in the traditional piedmont style.

Asylum Street SpankersThe magnificently indefinable Asylum Street Spankers began in 1994 at a booze and hallucinogen-fueled party at the Dabbs Hotel in Llano, Texas. There Christina Marrs and Guy Forsyth met Wammo. During a night spent singing and playing along the banks of the Llano River they made a pact to keep the all-night-sing-along-anything-goes spirit of that party alive. Upon returning to Austin they gathered a few like-minded pals and began playing free shows at clubs and busking on the Guadalupe Street Drag. (Guadalupe was known as Asylum Street because it led to the state, um, hospital. A Spanker is someone who can play their instrument vigorously and proficiently.)

Yoshida Brothers

Cross-cultural pioneers and young Tsugaru-shamisen
virtuosos Ryoichiro and Kenichi Yoshida-The Yoshida Brothers - have
re-interpreted a traditional music style for the new generation.
Superstars in their native Japan, the brothers are masters of the
traditional Japanese Tsugaru-shamisen,
an ancient three-stringed banjo/lute-like instrument that is plucked
with a triangular pick resulting in a percussive twang. Their energetic
and muscular interpretation of the shamisen has revealed the wide expressive potential of the instrument and attracted an international audience.