Cindy Kallet
& Grey Larsen

Cindy and Grey are no strangers to the Common House Concerts stage: this will be their third appearance. And for good reason. Their music is sublime, their interactions with the audience are warm and engaging, and an evening spent in their company inevitably feels altogether too short. 

Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen, each well-known and loved for their decades of music-making, have spent years in a joyful musical collaboration. Cindy is a superb singer, guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Grey is one of America’s finest players of the Irish flute and tin whistle, as well as an accomplished singer and concertina, fiddle, piano and harmonium player. As composers each contributes to the unique tapestry of contemporary folk and world music as it flourishes in the US today. Together, they weave songs and tunes of vibrant color and rich texture. Their music is remarkable for its vibrant colors and intricate textures, filled with a level of nuance and craftsmanship often compared to that of fine chamber music.

Scott Alarik of The Boston Globe calls Cindy “…one of folk music’s most respected songwriters… provocative, heartwise, and original …a brilliant guitarist….” Mike Joyce of the Washington Post calls Grey “… a gifted multi-instrumentalist who consistently demonstrates his melodic finesse,” while The New Mexico Daily describes his playing as “positively spellbinding.” Cindy and Grey have also appeared with host Andrea Seabrook on National Public Radio’s “Weekend All Things Considered.”

The duo’s repertoire includes Cindy’s sparkling original songs, distinctive settings of traditional Irish music, Scandinavian fiddle duets, old-time fiddle and guitar tunes from southern Indiana, and new music that Cindy and Grey are inventing together. There is plenty of variety and breadth of musical territory here, all deeply rooted in folk traditions, and interwoven with the renaissance and baroque counterpoint in which both Cindy and Grey, coincidentally, were immersed while growing up. Included are vocal duets, guitar, Irish flute, Irish alto flute, tin whistle, concertina, harmonium, and duet fiddling, and plenty of stories that put the music into a personal context.