Every year we close the Music on the Porches event with a concert at the G.A.R. Hall. Each year we work to find artists that embody and highlight the spirit of the day, which is a celebration of Music and Art in the Cuyahoga Valley and the community these events embrace and nurture. This year we are both thrilled and proud to present and welcome an evening with both Sean Watkins and Tim O’Brien…same night, same bill at the Historic G.A.R. Hall.

Eyrnn Marshall and Carl Jones are old-time musicians and inspired tunesmiths. They are married – in life and music. When they play, their instruments and voices blend like two forks of the same river. Southern song-duets and soaring fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo tunes comprise their diverse concert sets. They play with ease, spontaneity and vitality. While rooted in the traditional sounds of older players, this duo stays true to their own muse. Carl’s honest songs can make your heart ache. Erynn’s spirited fiddling can enthrall. Together Carl & Erynn’s expressive, musical meanderings can transport the soul.

Sean Watkins-Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sean Watkins has long been known for his work as one-third of the Grammy Award-winning Nickel Creek. Watkins has been a performer for more than 25 years. He was a mere 12 years old when he played his first gig in Nickel Creek, with sister Sara on fiddle and Chris Thile on mandolin. The trio’s star ascended quickly; a progressive bluegrass following grew into a large mainstream audience. On his own, Watkins displays tremendous warmth and soulfulness as a singer, a refreshing candor and humor as a lyricist, and prodigious skill as an arranger. As a writer, Watkins deftly juggles the observational and the autobiographical, convincingly taking on the personalities of others – then creating them with a voice that is clearly his own.

Tim O’Brien-Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Grammy winning singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist Tim O’Brien grew up singing in church and in school, and after seeing Doc Watson on TV, became a lifelong devotee of old time and bluegrass music. Tim first toured nationally in the 1980’s with Colorado bluegrass band Hot Rize. Kathy Mattea scored a country hit with his song Walk The Way The Wind Blows in 1986, and soon more artists like Nickel Creek and Garth Brooks covered his songs. Over the years, Tim has released 15 solo CD’s, as well as collaborations with his sister Mollie O’Brien, songwriter Darrell Scott, and noted old time musician Dirk Powell. He’s performed or recorded with Steve Earle, Mark Knopfler, Bill Frisell, and Steve Martin, and produced records for Yonder Mountain Stringband, David Bromberg, and Canada’s Old Man Luedecke. His newest release Where the River Meets the Road features songs from his native West Virginia. Bluegrass and Americana covers from songwriters Hazel Dickens, Billy Edd Wheeler, and Bill Withers sit alongside heartfelt autobiographical originals, with help from collaborators like Chris Stapleton, Kathy Mattea, Stuart Duncan, and Noam Pikelny.

We are more than excited to have these two fine musicians join us for what is sure to be an amazing night of music at the G.A.R, Hall.

Music on the Porches is proudly brought to you by The Peninsula Foundation, The Conservancy for the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and The Peninsula Area Chamber of Commerce with financial support from the Jelm Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.