The Woods Hole Public Library is pleased to announce the return of Red Yarn in a free family performance.
Red Yarn weaves folksongs and puppetry into high-energy, interactive shows for family audiences. Performing alongside his wife Jessie in support of their fourth album, Born in the Deep Woods, Red Yarn will have audiences singing, dancing, stomping, clapping, and celebrating the multicultural musical heritage of the USA. With traditional and original songs blending old time, classic rock and indie folk, Red Yarn’s dynamic sound is both rooted and modern. As Red and Ms. Jessie lead audiences through the Deep Woods of American folklore, they’re joined by a rowdy band of “critters” – handmade animal puppets who provide comic relief and valuable social-emotional lessons.
Red Yarn (aka Andy Furgeson) weaves folksongs and puppetry into high-energy shows for all ages. He was originally from Austin, Texas, and based in Portland , Oregon since 2005. In 2008, he began an exploration of animals in American folk music. He created a blog called ‘Red Yarn’ to chronicle his folkloric research and growing interest in puppetry. He dove deep into the folk music catalog with his Lomax-a-Day and Songbag-a-Day projects, adapting 60+ songs from classic anthologies. Red Yarn became Andy’s alter-ego, an itinerant bard and animal whisperer with a red beard “ as thick as the yarns he spins”. He dreamt up the Deep Woods as a magical forest to contain all of his characters. By 2011, Andy was performing regularly at libraries, cafes and community events, reinvigorating American folklore for younger generations.
Since committing himself full-time to Red Yarn in June 2012, Andy has performed 250 shows per year, taught music and puppetry to thousands of students, and touched the lives of countless families with his songs, puppets and positive messages. With four albums, extensive national touring, many music videos and a TV pilot under his belt, Red Yarn is taking his creative folklore project to a national scale.
Andy lives in North Portland with his wife and singing partner Jessie Eller-Isaacs (a teacher coach at Open School), their two young children, and a basement full of puppet critters.
Red Yarn has performed at South by Southwest, Stagecoach Country Music Festival, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, Symphony Space, and libraries and children’s museums across the country. Accolades for Red Yarn’s albums include NAPPA Gold, Parents’ Choice, and Fids & Kamily Music Awards, and frequent play on SiriusXM Kids Place Live.
Red Yarn released his fourth album, Born in the Deep Woods, on March 10, 2017. It completes his Deep Woods trilogy, exploring musical genres that grew out of American folk music. From bluegrass to trance blues to heartland rock’n’roll, Born in the Deep Woods pushes Red Yarn’s creative folklore project into bold new territory.
To learn more about Red Yarn, people are encouraged to visit the website www.redyarnproductions.com.