Cd'A library to host folk concerts

COEUR d'ALENE - Folk music performers Hank and Claire, from Poulsbo, Wash., will bring a pair of free concerts - one just for kids and an evening program for the whole family - Wednesday, May 8, in the Community Room at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave.

The children's concert at 11 a.m., "Every Song a Story," will feature Hank Payne and Claire Favro with guitar and bowed psaltery performing songs from stories - with some help from their young listeners. Songs will include "Autumn to May," "The Marvelous Toy," "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," and other classic favorites for kids.

Any organization or school planning to send a larger group to the children's concert is asked to contact Communications Coordinator David Townsend at (208) 769-2315 Ext. 426 or at [email protected].

The family concert, "Heart of the Matter," begins at 7 and features Hank and Claire's arrangements of traditional and popular folk songs by Tom Paxton, Chuck Pyle, Lou and Peter Berryman, and many others as well as their own original songs.

"We might be covering a John Prine song, digging into traditional or composed mountain music, sharing our own original tunes, or interpreting a contemporary folksong in our own style, Favro said. "Always, we hope you catch the joy we feel in sharing songs that tell stories and touch us - in the heart, the funny-bone, or in the memory of who we are and where we come from."

Each of the performers has a long and varied musical background, with involvement in professional gigs and community music-making since the coffee house days of the 1960s. Their 2010 CD, Heart of the Matter, contains songs by other songwriters, as well as several Hank Payne originals.

The concerts are made possible by a grant from the Friends of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.