West Side Folk is thrilled to announce that it will present two very special concerts to benefit Kansas Public Radio, which recently received a $100,000 budget cut that represents about 20 percent of the annual funding KPR receives from the University of Kansas. Brother Sun and John Gorka are playing for reduced fees to do their part to help KPR, and all profits from these concerts will go to KPR.
National Touring Artists Greg Greenway, Pat Wictor, and Joe Jencks have made their mark as veteran touring singer-songwriters, but Brother Sun is no songwriter's round. The trio's harmonies, as much as their lyrics, tell what they are about: warm as a campfire, stirring as a gospel church, rousing as a call to arms. Fusing folk, Americana, blues, pop, jazz, rock and a cappella singing, Brother Sun is an explosion of musical diversity and harmony, in the finest of male singing traditions.
Appearances at festivals like Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Old Songs, Vancouver Island, and a summer 2016 appearance at Mariposa attest that Brother Sun is regarded as a must-see live act. Brother Sun’s music and message appeal to mainstream listeners and dedicated folkies alike, to people of widely divergent spiritual and political leanings, and fans of both contemporary and traditional music. They offer the hope of people uniting to create beauty in uncertain and unsettled times.
Brother Sun I March 1 I Lied Center Pavillion I 7:30 p.m.
We are thrilled to bring John Gorka back to Lawrence for the first time in nine years!
Hailing from New Jersey, but forged in the Greenwich Village Fast Folk scene, he honed his craft and persona into an unmistakable image. The shy, wry, insightful, and yes, sensitive singer-songwriter has been copied and parodied. But the old coat he wove still fits and still suits him well. The old songs ring as true as they ever did, and the new ones are just as good.
Rolling Stone called him “the leading singer/songwriter of the New Folk movement” while the Boston Globe said “Gorka is widely heralded for the sophisticated intelligence and provocative originality of his songs.” The New York Times said: “Listening to John Gorka, one can get goosebumps all over. There are many reasons: fresh lyrics, a stunning emotional baritone and his twisted humor.”