

Joyride is a contra dance band of
friends from Portland, Oregon. We're well-known for our
tight ensemble work, skilled play, fun
energy, and inventively arranged tune combos fit to
dances and played spot-on, close to the floor. Kathleen Towers' dynamic fiddle
joins Erik Weberg's mighty
flute, harmonica, & bombarde atop the agile rhythms of Sue Songer's lilting piano and Jeff Kerssen-Griep's exuberant
guitar and djembe; Sue also joins Kathleen to drive twin fiddles on
occasion. We play new and old fiddle tunes from New England,
the British Isles, Appalachia, French Canada and points
beyond, including right here at home. Joyride has played for contras,
dance camps, concerts and festivals from Alaska to the Bay Area since
1999. Closer to home, we host excellent regional and
national callers at our own "First Wednesdays" contra dance each
month at Portland's gorgeous old Polish Hall. Check out our
calendar below and join your friends in a fun ride-along soon!
| Upcoming Gigs: | |||
| Date | Location | Caller | Link |
| February 21, 2009 | Tacoma, WA | Laura Mé Smith | |
| March 4, 2009 | The Polish Hall, Portland, OR | Barb Kirchner | |
| March 21, 2009 | Corvallis, OR | Mary Devlin |
|
| April 1, 2009 | The Polish Hall, Portland, OR | Mary Devlin |
|
| May 6, 2009 | The Polish Hall, Portland, OR | James Hutson |
|
| June 3, 2009 | The Polish Hall, Portland, OR | Lynn Ackerson |
|
Joyride artwork by Hector J. Garponius