Multi-instrumentalist and producer Joe Weed brings to the Freight stage a multi-faceted evening of music by Stephen Foster, America's first professional songwriter, who penned such classics as "Old Folks at Home" (Swanee River), "My Old Kentucky Home," and "Beautiful Dreamer." Drawing from the diverse cultures in the young country, Foster created a new American music -- vibrant, uplifting and compassionate. Joe (on fiddle and narration) and his band, including Marti Kendall on bass and vocals, Katie Kendall-Weed on fiddle and guitar, and Marty Atkinson on vocals and guitar, present Foster's music in lively contemporary acoustic arrangements, backed with video images of Foster, his family, manuscripts, and life in the 1850's. Bluegrass Unlimited magazine praised Joe's recent album, Swanee for "Some of the best recorded versions of Stephen Foster's eternal melodies," and The New York Post said "For those interested in American music, this is required listening."