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.
Representing Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago... folks from the Heartland, sharing heartfelt folk songs! Michelle, Charlie, and Sue met at a Midwest folk conference, and they’ve shared their music in each other’s cities, too. Now they meet again, virtually, to share their distinctive styles and songs with you!
About the Performers:
- Detroit-based Michelle Held captivates the listener with her distinctive and soulful voice, complemented by a poignant and thought-provoking lyrical world. She earned National Honorable Mention recognition in Telluride Bluegrass Festival’s Telluride Troubadour Contest in 2018 and 2019. Brett Callwood of Detroit Metro Times writes, “Held plays gentle folk with oft scathing lyrics. It’s her voice that adds the X-Factor; that little bit of welcome strange.”
Performing regularly since 2013 and welcomed on such renowned stages as Kansas City Folk Festival, Wheatland Music Festival and The Ark, Michelle has been building a repertoire of original work and is preparing to record her debut album. Stay tuned! https://linktr.ee/michelleheld
- Charlie Mosbrook is an award-winning songwriter, performer, and advocate for American folk music. Beginning his career in 1988 as a street musician, he quickly became a popular open mic host throughout Northeast Ohio. From these early roots he nurtured his songwriting, musicianship, and stagecraft, and today performs for major festivals and concert series throughout the country.
Charlie’s recordings of original and traditional songs are played on folk radio programs around the world. As a folk music advocate, he continues to organize local open mics and serves as the president to FARM (Folk Alliance Region Midwest) and Folknet of Northeast Ohio. Watch Charlie’s weekly artist showcase program, “Charlie’s Open Mic,” on YouTube. http://charliemosbrook.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 starts at 7:30 CST (8:30 ET), and runs 60-70 minutes... likely 3 to 4 rounds.
- "Doors open" at 7:15pm CST, 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!
Speakers
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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.
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