David Jacobs-Strain, a superb blues/roots rock guitarist and singer-songwriter from the Pacific Northwest, recently said: "How do you continue to find inspiration in sound? Why does a certain musical phrase grab you by the hair and heart and brain? How do you continue to make it new? How do you honor the people who poured themselves into the music in the first place?" Over more than a decade of performing and six CDs, including his latest, Liar's Day, David continues to explore these questions, combining a deep knowledge of the blues tradition with his powerhouse finger-picking and bottleneck-slide guitar skills, soulful vocals, and insightful writing in a pursuit to honor both the roots of American country blues and the possibilities that can grow from them.

Arguably one of folk music's most engaging performers—and certainly one of its master craftsmen—Cliff Eberhardt enthralls listeners with his biting, clever, and honest originals, full of vivid imagery and intense emotions. A driving force in the Greenwich Village New Folk scene of the 1980s, Cliff is known for couching his ballads in rootsy arrangements that emphasize his bluesy guitar playing and earthy vocals. Tonight he spotlights numbers from his new CD, 500 Miles (Red House), the follow-up to his critically acclaimed The High Above and the Down Below, which was named the #5 album of the year by USA Today.