Two years after thrilling a packed out Sauder Concert Hall, mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile will return to Goshen College next weekend as part of this year’s Performing Arts Series. But don’t expect the same mix of folk-y bluegrass Thile dealt out as one-third of the former band Nickel Creek. As frontman of his new band, The Punch Brothers, Thile is experimenting with genre-blending. Where Nickel Creek floated along on pleasant melodies and sweet harmonies, Punch Brothers ramp up the speed and challenge listeners with densely arranged, sometimes contradictory instrumentation on songs like “Punch Bowl,” which sounds more inspired by garage...

By Ben Noll • March 25, 2009 • Arts

Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers and her band Immigrant Soul presented a diverse Performing Arts Series concert of Irish and American folk tunes to a sold out crowd in Sauder Concert Hall on Saturday. The multicultural music influences reflect Ivers’s own experiences growing up in New York as a second generation Irish immigrant. Ivers was accompanied by band members Tommy McDonnell (vocals, percussion), who was a member of the member of the “ORIGINAL Blues Brothers Band”; Buddy Connolly (accordion, whistles, keyboards), a three time All-Ireland accordion champion; Greg Anderson (guitar, bouzouki), who played with The Klezmatics when they toured with Itzhak...

By Elizabeth Beachy • February 18, 2009 • Arts

Called “the Jimi Hendrix of the violin” by the New York Times, Eileen Ivers will perform with Immigrant Soul on Saturday as part of the Performing Arts Series. The sold-out show begins at 7:30 p.m. Ivers has previously performed in the musical “Riverdance,” as well as with the London Symphony, the Boston Pops and the Chieftains, among many others. Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul perform music from a variety of roots, with African and Latin percussion and bass, Irish instrumentalists and American vocals. The band includes Tommy McDonnel (vocals and percussion), Buddy Connolly (accordion, whistles, keyboards), Greg Anderson (guitar and...

By Alysha Landis • February 11, 2009 • Arts

Everyone at Sauder Concert Hall was out of their seats long before the standing ovation concluded Sunday afternoon’s sold-out Bobby McFerrin concert. McFerrin may go down in popular culture history as a one-hit wonder who sang “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” But with talent as playful, raw and imaginative as McFerrin’s, the fact that his definitive hit was conspicuously left off the set list did not seem to bother the crowd. They were given several opportunities to go on stage and perform alongside the music legend. In light blue jeans and a tight, short-sleeved black shirt, McFerrin’s dress was as unassuming...

By Ben Noll • January 21, 2009 • Arts

Who hasn’t heard 10-time Grammy Award winner Bobby McFerrin’s captivating hit, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”? The song exhibits some of his best-known qualities, including his four-octave range and improvisational use of boops, bops and dweedle-dees.  However, it far from encompasses McFerrin’s music’s versatile use of vocal chords and intuitive comfort in jazz, classical and folk styles. The Los Angeles Times calls McFerrin’s greatest gift to his audience inviting spectators to become participants and “transforming a concert hall into a playground, a village center, a joyous space.”  This Sunday, Goshen College’s Performing Arts Series invites him to the stage of Sauder...

By Whitney Philipps • January 14, 2009 • Arts