Songs and Stories for the Longest Night, with Carla Sciaky, Danny Shafer, Martin Gilmore, and Ingrid Avison

TICKETS

As the nights grow longer and the days colder, we feel ourselves drawn together for community and meaningful shared experiences. Come to the Dairy for Solstice Eve to hear a unique collection of songwriters share their words and music, to move and uplift, to warm hearts and ignite imaginations.

Ingrid Avison is a Colorado based singer-songwriter who believes in music as a superpower and writes songs that leave a lasting impression. A superb vocalist with a subtle tremble in her voice that is pure and grounded while also delivering a full throated wail almost effortlessly, her songs blend catchy melodies, insightful and provocative lyrics and biting social commentary. In her other career, Ingrid dedicates her time as a grief and trauma therapist, exploring ways to help clients move through the ups and downs of life and loss. For Ingrid, songwriting and performing provide yet another vehicle for her to deepen into connection and healing with herself, others and the cosmos.

With a diverse and extensive repertoire, Martin Gilmore’s soulful voice navigates a wide range of sounds with traditional and original songs. His easy-going style, robust vocals, and impressive guitar work combine to bring color to new and old songs alike. Gilmore’s strong desire to let his authenticity blaze a trail leaves no doubt about his sincerity or artistry.
His debut self-titled record in 2009 featured members of FY5, Open Road, and Pete Wernick of Hot Rize. In 2017, Martin’s EP “East-West” was recorded in Cairo, Egypt where Martin lived from 2015-2017. Martin’s 2021 release “The Martin Gilmore Trio” featured the talents of mandolinist Nick Amodeo and bassist Ian Haegele. The record also features Tim O’Brien, Courtney Hartman, and Mollie O’Brien. The Martin Gilmore trio have played all over the United States and Ireland, and were one of the official showcase groups at the International Bluegrass Music Associations World of Bluegrass conference in 2021.

Since coming to Boulder in 1990, Danny Shafer has become an important fixture in the local music scene, as a performer and bandleader, but also booking live music for several venues. A prolific songwriter, his words are conversational yet poetic, with a vulnerability that moves easily between heavy and lighthearted tones. His authenticity comes through the obvious joy he takes in singing and playing, leaving audiences feeling like they just made a new friend.
His 2021 album, “Living in the Elephant Cage”, the first in ten years, displays the honesty and humility that comes with working through hard times. It features great local musicians, including Eben Grace, Kim Stone, and Eric Moon. His most recent release, “Phone Booth” is intentionally low-fi, a handful of single-take solo performances with the minimum of technology to obscure the soul of the artist. In an era of machine-made “music” the rawness of Danny’s recordings are shockingly emotional.

Carla Sciaky is a multi-instrumentalist-folksinger-songwriter based in Denver, Colorado. As a soloist, she toured the US extensively throughout the 1980s and 90s, compiling a discography of eight solo albums and appearing on many group efforts, compilations, and colleagues’ collections. Her songwriting won her awards and/or recognition in such arenas as the Kerrville New Song Competition, the Louisville, Kentucky songwriting competition, the Colorado Arts and Humanities Fellowship for Composition, the Billboard Songwriting Competition, and the Colorado, Utah, and Kansas Artist in Residence programs in the schools. Her best known song, “Under the Quarter Moon,” written on the shore of Lake Superior, has been selected for Minnesota Public Radio compilations, recorded and performed by countless fellow folksingers and choirs, and sung at campfire circles. With the infamous Mother Folkers, she performed for over a decade, recorded two albums, and what inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Carla’s latest release, “Heart of the Swan,” is first solo recording in almost 30 years and registered #4 on the Folk Radio DJ list for October, 2024! It was almost 2 years in the making, and features her songwriting that tells of the last 30 years of growth.