Look out, it's time to bust out and cut loose with the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention! The Freight is proud to host this evening of old time mayhem from two of the Bay Area's finest string bands, the Stairwell Sisters and the Roadoilers, with basso profundo and Jew's harpist extraordinaire, Larry Hanks, opening.

Driving stringband music, sweet country harmonies, and red-hot buckdancing: the Stairwell Sisters offer all this and more when they bring their passion for old-time country songs and rowdy fiddle tunes to the Freight for a wild, good-time show. Energetic musicianship and tight vocal arrangements are the order of the hour when Lisa Berman (dobro), Stephanie Prausnitz (fiddle), Evie Ladin (clawhammer banjo and clogging), Martha Hawthorne (bass), and Sue Sandlin (guitar and tiple) take the stage.

If your toes need an excuse for tapping, the Roadoilers are the fellas for the job. This old-time string band applies fiddles, banjos, guitars, and bass to fiddle tunes and old time songs spiked with rags, jigs, cakewalks, and reels. Mike Drayton, Perry Fly, John Pedersen, and Chuck Wiley have a combined 160 years of experience playing old-time and bluegrass music. That old-time groove just won't stop!

Kicking off the festivities tonight is local songster Larry Hanks. Larry applies his expressive bass vocals, tasteful guitar, and Jew's harp to a unique repertoire gathered over four decades on the folk music scene, including old-time songs, ballads, and topical songs from the past and present.

Visit the artist's website