President’s Letter
Folknotes 3/17/26
Hello Everyone,
This Sunday at Leo, we have two song circles, a guitar workshop, and three great bands on our schedule. What more could you ask for?
Don’t miss the fun. If you can, join us this Sunday. You’ll be happy you did.
Here's what's going on at Leo, and a couple other things folks might be interested in.
Moonrise Music Hall
Singing Resistance Cincy Rehearsal, 2:30-3:30 PM, Sunday, March 22, 2026
Leo Coffeehouse, 5:00-9:00 PM, Sunday, March 22, 2026
Looking Ahead: Leo Coffeehouse, 5:00-9:00 PM, Sunday, March 29, 2026
Reference Information/QCB Membership (Below my sign off)
Moonrise Music Hall
One of the goals of the Queen City Balladeers is to promote folk, and other, music throughout the region. One way we do that is by letting you know about music venues in the area that we think our members would be interested in supporting.
The Moonrise Music Hall is “a listening room in the heart of Northside.” This house concert series is curated by Cincinnati-based songwriters Karen Bridges and Clint Thomson (also known as Stone and Snow), who are fantastic musicians in their own right. Alana Johnson and I have been to two MMH concerts this year and we were thoroughly impressed by the level of musicianship on stage. So much so that we decided after the second concert, that we would try to attend as many of their concerts as possible.
Like Leo Coffeehouse, MMH is a true listening room, with no loud bar noise, or steaming cappuccino machines, held in a beautiful setting. Also like Leo Coffeehouse, the focus is on the music and the musicians.
There are two MMH concerts left before the summer break. The Stillhouse Junkies play Thursday, April 9, 2026 and Ordinary Elephant plays Friday, May 8, 2026. Doors open at 6:30 PM, showtime is at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available online at $20.00 purchased ahead of time, rising to $25.00 closer to the concert. All seats must be reserved ahead of time. They are not set up to sell tickets at the door.
You can learn more about Stone and Snow here.
You can learn more about the Moonrise Music Hall and the upcoming concerts here,
and follow MMH here on Facebook.
Singing Resistance Cincy Rehearsal
2:30-3:30 PM, Sunday, March 22, 2026
While Singing Resistance Cincy is not a QCB sponsored group, or an official QCB event, a number of QCB members are in this group. SRC has asked for, and received, Zion UCC’s permission to use the church to rehearse songs they plan to sing at No Kings rallies scheduled for Saturday, March 28, 2026.
I’m sure other QCB members will be interested in this as well. All are welcome. As John Fonner, who brought this to our attention, says, “This is what folk music does best!”
Leo Coffeehouse, 5:00-9:00 PM
Sunday, March 22, 2026
5:00 PM: Expressive Rhythm Guitar Workshop led by Dale Farmer
Rhythm guitar can be so much more than a steady beat and chord background. It can create interesting foundations and vibes to pull your audience in and out with tension and release. When rhythmic energy is woven with that of voices and other instruments, the dynamic can be magical. This workshop will get you thinking about how your own rhythmic style can be further developed on guitar and other strum based instruments.
5:00 PM: Song Circle/Jam-Downstairs
Anyone can bring songs to lead while others provide backup and harmony.
5:00 PM: 60s Jam led by John Mann-Upstairs
Let’s unite and heal our communities through song!
6:40 - 9:00 PM: Performances
1st Set: Tangled Roots
Mike Boerschig, Jody Knoop, and Sherry Cook Stanforth share a lively mix of American folk and heritage music weaving in original songs and historically rich singalongs, with generational spirit. The trio blends rich vocal harmonies with guitar, mandolin, flute, tin whistle, and harmonica. Songs tell stories of land and family, paths and rivers, love and loss, changed ways of living and working. Their Tangled Roots name reflects a belief that the ever-growing realms of nature and story entwine to bind all people together. Facebook: Tangled Roots.
2nd Set: Ma Crow & Company
The legendary Ma Crow & Company is a 7-time Entertainment Award nominee featuring bluegrass, Americana and old-time mountain music. Ma won a CAMMY in 1999, and was a featured guest with MUSE Choir. Performances include WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour, Song the the Mountain, Ohio State Fair, Tall Stacks, Appalachian Festival, Queen City Balladeers EdenSong, Taste of Cincinnati, Richwood Bluegrass Festival and River Roots Festival not to mention part of the cast of The Mountain Minor. Ma is joined by Vicki Abbot, Mike Thompson, John Vennemeyer and Steve Johnston. www.macrowmusic.net, Facebook: Ma Crow & Co.
3rd Set: Back Porch Hounds
The Back Porch Hounds play a roots music mix of country blues, old style jazz, Celtic, old-time and bluegrass. It’s mostly old, obscure music with a modern edge, plus some originals. If they look like a bluegrass band from a distance, it’s because they love tapping into the many roots, and instrumentation, of traditional music. The hounds include: Frank Fitch, Dennis Henderson, Fred Hautau, and Dale Farmer.
Facebook: the Back Porch Hounds.
Looking Ahead:
Leo Coffeehouse, 5:00-9:00 PM
Sunday, March 29, 2026
5:00 PM Workshop: Metaphor in Song led by Megan Bee
Metaphors give us pictures; love is a battlefield, love is a rose, you're a firework, etc. Pictures help bring our songs to life. We’ll briefly explore examples of metaphor in songs then use a 3-step process to write our own metaphors and create images to fill our songs with juicy details.
5:00 PM: Song Circle/Jam-Downstairs
Anyone can bring songs to lead while others provide backup and harmony.
6:40 - 9:00 PM: Performances
1st Set: Jamonn Zeiler
Jamonn is celebrating nearly 60 years performing in public and he still cannot get enough of the music he loves.
Facebook: Jamonn Zeiler
2nd Set: Megan Bee
Award-winning singer-songwriter Megan Bee writes with a deep love for the land. Her 4th studio album Cottonwood has been called "as real as it gets–a raw and real telling of engaging, relatable stories." Based in Athens, OH and frequently roamingthe country, her music is influencedby the collision of Appalachian folk and modern songwriting.
https://MeganBeeMusic.com
3rd Set: David Singley
David Singley is a singer-songwriter-guitarist from Saint Paul, MN, whose music is born of the street, the country, and the academy. A veteran of backing world-class artists and performers, he has recently joined the Great Resignation and set his sights on his own artistic pursuits. His last album, The Long, Slow Fuse of Night, charted on Americana radio for several months. His influences include all the great singer-songwriters of the 1970s. https://DavidSingley.com
That’s all for this Folknotes, I hope to see you soon.
Neil Harrell
President, Queen City Balladeers/Leo Coffeehouse
QCB/Leo Coffeehouse Membership
It’s that time of year again. The start of a new Leo season. Annual QCB membership dues continue to be $20.00 for a family, or for a single person plus a guest. Membership gets you into every Leo Coffeehouse performance for a year. Where else can you get that kind of musical entertainment and camaraderie for that amount of money?
It really helps us out if you pay through the QCB website.
The easiest way to pay your dues for the 2025/26 season is via PayPal right here.
If you prefer to pay by check, click on the link above and print the membership form. Then mail the form and your check to Treasurer: John Mann, 6514 Meis Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45224.
To donate more than the $20.00 standard dues, you can do so by check, or here on our website. When you get to the page with the box to relay instructions, just note that you are paying a larger amount for your dues.
For visitors who prefer not to become a member, a donation of $5.00 (cash) per person helps us pay the rent for our non-profit organization. Donations can be slipped in the box at the welcome table outside our performance room, Founders Hall. If you can’t afford that, pay what you can afford or nothing at all. We will welcome you to join us either way.
Reference Information/Links
Facebook:
QCB/Leo Coffeehouse Membership
We are keeping our standard annual QCB membership dues at $20.00 for a family, or for a single person plus a guest. Last year, knowing that the pandemic cut into our contingency funds, as we continued to pay overhead expenses with no income, some members donated larger amounts to QCB. We very much appreciate the support of all QCB members at all levels.
We are exploring setting up our website to allow the payment of different levels of dues support. For now, if you’d like to pay the standard dues, you can pay them online here or by a check at Leo. (We’ve discontinued our P.O. Box, I will have a mailing address in the next newsletter for those who wish to mail their membership dues.)
If you would like to donate more than the $20.00 standard dues, you can do so by check, or through our website. When you get to the page with the box to relay instructions, just note that you are paying a larger amount for your dues.
For visitors who prefer not to become a member, a donation of $5.00 (cash) per person helps us pay the rent for our non-profit organization. Donations can be slipped in the box at the welcome table outside our performance room, Founders Hall. If you can’t afford that, pay what you can afford or nothing at all. We will welcome you to join us either way.