Renowned Folk Music 'Gang' to Play Rare Concert May 10, 2008

98.7WFMT’s “Folkstage” show will present a rare public appearance Saturday, May 10, by all eight members of a close-knit collective of critically acclaimed singer-songwriters from Ann Arbor, Mich., who call themselves The Yellow Room Gang.

It will be the first time the entire group, known for its diverse musical styles and insightful, masterly songwriting, has performed together in Chicago — or anywhere outside of their home state.

The concert is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The Center for the Performing Arts at Governors State University, 1 University Parkway, University Park, Ill. Tickets are $18 and $34, depending on seat location, and are available by phone from the center’s box office (708) 235-2222 and online at www.centertickets.net. Public transportation: Metra Electric Line to University Park. Pace Route 367 (University Park).

Their music ranges from folk-oriented acoustic settings to rock, and from rollicking love songs to jug-band style fun and quirky humor, according to Rich Warren, producer and host of WFMT’s “Folkstage” and “The Midnight Special.”

The three-hour concert includes a performance by the female trio The Biddies, a stand-alone act comprising two members of The Yellow Room Gang plus Claudia Schmidt, an international concert and recording artist whose credits include multiple appearances on public radio’s "A Prairie Home Companion."

The first two hours of the concert will air live over WFMT as a special edition of “Folkstage” and will stream worldwide at www.wfmt.com. The show will be rebroadcast on XM Satellite Radio at a later date.

The Yellow Room Gang is David Barrett, Jim Bizer, Annie Capps, Kitty Donohoe, Michael Hough, Jan Krist, David Tamulevich, and Matt Watroba.

Barrett is an Emmy Award-winning composer-songwriter whose composition “One Shining Moment” was recorded by Luther VanDross. Bizer, according to the group’s literature, is known for songs that are “both beautiful and startling” and for his thoughtful and humorous lyrics. Capps brings a “sweet, wry perspective” to everyday situations. Donohoe, who blends Celtic and American roots music, has three albums to her credit and received an Emmy Award from the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her 9-11 song “There Are No Words.”

Hough, part of the venerable duo Mustard’s Retreat, is known for his “smartly goofy parodies and too-tall tales.” Krist is a four-time Detroit Music Award Winner, praised by Entertainment Weekly as a singer who “makes soul-searching more enjoyable than it has any right to be.” Tamulevich is the other half of Mustard’s Retreat. The Ann Arbor News called his work “tender, intelligent, moving, fresh, and eclectic.” Watroba writes memorable songs infused with compassion and humor. Folk-roots music magazine Dirty Linen called one of his albums “one of the best under-the-radar musical gems to come along in quite some time.”

The group takes its named from Tamulevich’s bright yellow living room, where, for the past three years or so, the musicians have gotten together monthly for dinners, jam sessions, and workshops where they candidly critique each other’s new songs.

“Audience members in the concert hall and those listening at home will feel like they’ve been invited into one of the extraordinary gatherings in that renowned yellow room,” says WFMT’s Warren.

Expect an unpredictable, improvisational flow to the concert, says Tamulevich, the group’s spokesman and a folk-circuit performer since the 1970s. Each artist will perform some of his or her signature songs, but overall, “We’ll have a loose set list,” he says.

All nine performers will be on stage together. As each takes a turn in the spotlight, others will contribute vocal harmonies and instrumental accompaniments, as inspiration strikes.

“There’s just a magic that happens,” Tamulevich says. “All of us have marveled at it. It’s consistent. It’s present at every show.”

A concert review in the Ann Arbor Observer described a Yellow Room Gang performance as “a great, warm evening, filled with laughter, stories, reverence, cool songs, and terrific guitar slinging.” The reviewer wrote, “Best of all was witnessing — and feeling a part of — these ultratalented people’s creative chemistry.”

Official Website: http://www.centertickets.net