Earlville Shuffle Distinguished Faculty
Introducing: Anne McCue
Anne McCue is a songwriter, music producer and multi-instrumentalist, guitar being her main instrument. She is about to release her 8th album, Wholly Roller Coaster, a psychedelic folk pop odyssey.
Anne has traveled all over the world playing her songs in concert halls and festivals. Described by Billboard Magazine as a “triple-threat” artist, Lucinda Williams had this to say about Anne - “I got inside the songs. I went to see her perform, I was floored.”
Anne has produced albums by artists such as Emma Swift and Scott Miller. She recently toured across the USA with the Trailblazing Women of Country on guitar and lap steel, and is host of the radio show Songs On The Wire on Nashville's WXNA. Anne hails from Sydney, Australia. She is the Nashville correspondent for Rhythms Magazine.
Introducing: Joe Crookston
Joe Crookston is a powerfully evocative songwriter, gripping presence on stage, and able to coax perfect backdrops for his songs out of guitar, dobro and fiddle. He is deeply recognized and influential in the world of troubadours, sharing songs and stages with Gordon Lightfoot, Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams, David Francey, Mary Gauthier, John McCutcheon, John Gorka, Judy Collins, Shawn Colvin, and The Decemberists. He has played by invitation at many legendary festivals, not the least of which include the Kerrville Folk Festival, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Festival, and the 30A Songwriters Festival.
The range in Joe’s songcraft is stunning, from the flirtatious wit of “Rattlesnake Tail (Little Bit Lovely)” about an encounter with a lady in a red dress, to the gentle pathos of “Blue Tattoo” about the mark carried by a concentration camp survivor. His phrasing is flawless, his soft rhymes are just right, and his word play is sharp but never cute.
Able Baker Charlie & Dog was awarded “Album of the Year” by Folk Alliance International (2009), and two of Joe’s songs, “Blue Tattoo” and “Brooklyn in July” have inspired feature films available on Amazon Prime.
Joe Crookston has unmatched dedication to helping others on their musical journeys, teaching songwriting and guitar at The Swannanoa Gathering, The Ashokan Center, Winter Village Music Camp, The Goderich Celtic College, Appel Farm Arts, and Music Center Wildflower Music Festival. Ohio-raised and Seattle-seasoned; Joe now tours the US, Canada and Ireland from his home base in Ithaca, New York, where he also leads the special 3-day resident experience of his Bard Songwriting Retreats.
Introducing: Ron Flynt
“Power Pop” wasn’t yet a musical style label when Tulsa, Oklahoma native Ron Flynt hit the Hollywood club scene and assisted in defining the movement as bassist, vocalist and songwriter for the band 20/20. 20/20’s crisp and driving songs like “Remember the Lightning” and “Yellow Pills” were heard around the World and even showcased with a live performance on American Bandstand in 1980.
Ron’s explorations of multiple instruments, songwriting, and music production led to songs like “Mary’s World” and projects including the “Big Blue Heart” album by Ron Flynt and the Bluehearts, and “Ron Flynt L.A. Story”, a semi-fictional song cycle about his days in 1980’s Hollywood.
Ron is now the owner of Jumping Dog Studio in Austin, Texas, and couldn’t be busier these days! Just this year he produced records at Jumping Dog with Mike Graham, Claudia Gibson, Penny Jo Pullus, Chad Richard, Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus, Walt Wilkins and Bill Small.
In the studio as producer, writer, engineer and instrumentalist, Ron provides guidance and inspiration to emerging artists. Jordi Baizan, a Jumping Dog Studio customer says “Working with Ron Flynt was a true joy! Great musician, professional, engineer, artist, and human being!”.
Gathering no moss, he is hitting Texas joints with Austin bands Walt Wilkins and the Ramble, and The Drakes. And now 20/20 is back! Ron and bandmates just inked a deal with Spyderpop Records for release of their new album, Back To California, due out in early 2025.
Introducing your Shuffle Master: Steve Blais
Steve Blais has been mixing live music performances at the Earlville Opera House since 2002, and has been part of the Programming Committee since the mid-1990’s. He had a transient dalliance with original funk/punk/reggae/rockabilly music in the Ithaca band “Identity Crisis” in the early 1980’s and was dormant as a songwriter until 2018, as his retirement from the day job was on the horizon.
Meanwhile, he developed a passion for Cajun and zydeco music, and an interest in button accordion, which resulted in forming the (more-or-less) acoustic Central New York band “Tumbleweed Gumbo”, playing Cajun, Creole, Celtic, and miscellaneous American and Canadian roots music. These days Steve works a few of his own new songs into his solo performances at local bistros and hosts the occasional open mic at the Huff Brau Tavern in Earlville.
Steve has been lucky enough to escape to a music camp once every few years, including Augusta Heritage in West Virginia in 1999; Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Camp in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana in 2007; Ashokan Southern Week in the New York Catskills in 2010; Culture Camp at the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, New York in 2018 and 2021; and Richard Thompson’s Frets and Refrains Acoustic Guitar and Songwriting Camp in the Catskills in 2024.
Steve first had the pleasure of being assigned to a temporary band of strangers, all trying to learn some traditional Cajun and Creole music, at Balfa Camp in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana in 2007. It was fun, and challenging, and featured drop-in coaching by la crème de la crème of Cajun musicians. That experience came to mind in 2011 when Steve was challenged to assemble regional musicians, on very short notice, to fill in for an Earlville Opera House community chorus fundraiser that was cancelled due to an injury (all healed now). Over 30 musicians volunteered, so, wanting to get past people gathering into their usual musical gangs and playing their usual stuff, shuffling them between a bunch of different bands of (mostly) strangers, and having each band perform a song at the concert, seemed like a good idea at the time. It was called the Kaleidoscope Orchestra, and the participants loved it!
Pondering how to rekindle the fun of transient bands of strangers, and himself wondering if forming a new band or assembling musicians in a studio would be a path to turning his rough song ideas into memorable experiences, Steve drew from his Balfa and Kaleidoscope experiences and imagined the Earlville Shuffle! With the support and prestige of the Earlville Opera House, and with the advice and assistance of wise friends and musicians, he has recruited a fantastic Distinguished Faculty for the Earlville Shuffle, and will shuffle Songwriter/Players into challenging and rewarding adventures!