Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen performed a House Concert here on Saturday, March 13, 2004.

Steve Gillette is best known as a songwriter, with songs recorded by artists from Ian & Sylvia to Garth Brooks, from Jiminy Cricket to John Denver. His song "Darcy Farrow" alone has been recorded by more than one hundred artists since 1966, most recently by Jimmy Dale Gilmore and Nanci Griffith. Quite literally, he wrote the book on songwriting: Songwriting and the Creative Process (Sing Out Press) is a standard text in songwriting classes across the country. Steve sings in a rich baritone and is a virtuoso on guitar, using a unique fingerpicking style with a flat-pick and two fingers. His most recent solo recording is Texas and Tennessee (Redwing Music), named one of the Top Ten Folk Albums of 1998 by Tower Records' Pulse Magazine. Other musicians who have recorded Steve's songs The Dirt Band, Waylon Jennings, Laurel Canyon Ramblers, Anne Murray, Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Bobby Vinton, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Jennifer Warnes to name just a few.

Cindy Mangsen, who married Gillette in 1989, is also a songwriter, but her focus has been on songkeeping. Cindy is a master interpreter of traditional ballads, rich in myth and legend. She plays guitar, concertina, and banjo, and is renowned for her compelling voice, described by one critic as a voice that can warm a New England winter. Mangsen also performs and records with Anne Hills and Priscilla Herdman. Never Grow Old and Never Grow Up, duet albums by Mangsen and Hills, were two of the most significant traditional folk recordings of the '90s. Cindy's most recent solo album, Songs of Experience (Redwing Music), won the Editor's Choice award for Traditional Folk Music from Crossroads Magazine. As Steve comments, "Cindy has brought me back to my roots, and I think I've influenced her in terms of ensemble playing, rhythmic development, arrangement and performing. We're very fortunate to play for people who really listen and who come to a concert with a certain sense of history. There's a strong feeling of community about this music." Steve and Cindy's latest project is a quartet called Fourtold, with Anne Hills and Michael Smith. The group released a self-titled album in early 2003 (Appleseed).

Steve and Cindy have been featured on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and Mountain Stage, and have delighted audiences across North America and Europe with their music, warmth, and humor. They have recorded three duet albums: Live in Concert (1991), The Light of the Day (named Best Folk Album of 1996 by WFMT and WDET), and A Sense of Place (2001, Redwing Music).

Steve & Cindy performed a couple of wonderful sets of music before a very enthusastic and appreciative crowd here at Russ & Julie's House Concerts. We had quite a nice turnout and everyone really had a great time. Thank you to Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen for a thoroughly enjoyable evening!