Community. Communion between audience and performers. Inspiration, anticipation, spontaneity; SHARED transcendent moments. Do you miss these things? I sure do! The Virtual Dream Café (VDC) attempts to recreate this atmosphere, via Zoom (interactive environment), until live music venues are able to reopen.
Two duos = double the fun! Midwest favorites Small Potatoes and Patty & Craig join Chicago Sue Fink for a night of harmonies, multiple instruments, and beautiful song offerings!
About the Performers:
- Patty & Craig, (Patty Stevenson and Craig Siemsen) are known for their gorgeous harmonies, impeccable musicianship, playful stage humor, and jewel-like original songs. They met in the mid-80s, when each was performing at the same music festival. Even after they married, the couple maintained solo careers for many years. Eventually they performed one show as a duo, and the rest, as they say, is history. Today, they write, perform, and record original songs as well as timeless covers, their sets woven together by the stories they tell.
Patty & Craig tour the Midwest and beyond. Their work includes solo recordings, guest appearances on other’s CDs, and, most recently, a well-received duo album, Paint Me a Picture, that has received airplay around the world. https://pattycraig.com/
- From the start over 28 years ago, Small Potatoes (aka Jacquie Manning and Rich Prezioso) called themselves “eclecto-maniacs” and described their music as “Celtic to Cowboy.” They say it's taken them “years of careful indecision” to come up with a mix of music that ranges from country, blues, and swing to Irish, with songwriting that touches on all of those styles and more. Their four albums of cherished original songs demonstrate that “indecision” can be wonderfully entertaining. Jacquie and Rich both sing and are multi-instrumentalists; they even yodel.
“The Spuds” are listed as a “favorite act” by many coffeehouses, clubs and house concerts across the U.S. They’ve made repeat appearances at major folk festivals, including Kerrville Folk Festival, Walnut Valley Festival, and Philadelphia Folk Festival. https://www.smallpotatoesmusic.com/ - Chicago-based singer-songwriter Sue Fink enchants audiences with her whimsical perspective on the world, through her compelling songs and charming performances. Her genre, “urban campfire cabaret,” is folk with a hint of jazz, a large dollop of humor, and a drop of sadness for good measure. Her songs receive airplay locally and nationally, including "The Midnight Special" (WFMT) and "Folk Festival" (Lilli Kuzma, WDCB); most recently, her “Alternate Universe” song was included in Episode 691 of This American Life (NPR).
Sue performs solo, as CatBird (duo with Jane Godfrey), and as SongSisters (trio with Amy Dixon-Kolar and Patti Shaffner). As host of the Virtual Dream Café, Sue appears in the round with very talented performers whom she feels everyone should get to know. https://suefink.com/
About the show format:
- "In the round" means we each perform a song, one after another. Performers are inspired by each other's songs, and spontaneity abounds!
- This show runs from 7:30 to ~8:30 pm (CST), approximately 1 hour... so, likely 3 to 4 rounds.
- "Doors open" at 7:15pm, so we can chat before the show begins. (Zoom is an interactive environment, where performers and audience can see and hear each other! Audience will be muted during the show, for sound clarity issues, but we can talk before and after the performance.)
- This will be an intentional show: we ask you to donate to reserve your seat, and then be present so we can share community. The show will NOT be recorded for later viewing. The intent is for us to share the magic together, in real time.
- Your generous $donation goes directly to these artists. Your donation also reserves your place in the "Zoom room," so to speak. We look forward to sharing music, and community, with you!
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Refund Policy
Your donation is non-refundable, but you may transfer your spot to someone else (for the same show date) if you're unable to attend.