For those of us who have heard Mark’s amazing musical stylings and his take on the stories behind them, there’s no need to explain. For those of you who haven’t heard Mark, you’re in for a treat!

Versatile veteran of the folk fest circuit, instructor of instruments both rare and enchanting, Mark Nelson will amuse and amaze you for two hours of seriously fun entertainment.

Seating is limited. Admission is by donation. RSVP this email with the number of people in your party and we’ll sign you in. You won’t regret it!

In Mark’s own words…

“One of my earliest musical memories was watching a band play a concert at my elementary school. I wasn’t particularly interested until the trumpet player grabbed a water hose, stuck a funnel in one end and a mouthpiece in the other, and positively wailed on the “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company C.” That was it! I realized that a) you could play music on anything and b) that meant anybody could play music. I’ve dedicated my life to those two things.

I learned the guitar at age 12 by sneaking into my sister’s room and playing along to her Jimmy Reed records. She wasn’t remotely happy about that, which I learned when she screamed and threw the guitar at my head. Well, now I had a guitar. I soon found Mississippi John Hurt, Libba Cotten and Dick Dale records, and so had new things to learn.

Several Surf, Rock and Blues bands later, I built an Appalachian Dulcimer for a class project and decided I really should learn what kind of music worked on it. That has led to a lifetime of studying and learning the music the people played for themselves, before radio and television and so-called social media came along and made everything sound the same. Hand-made music for working and dancing and bringing folks together.

I’ve learned obscure Appalachian fiddle tunes sitting knee to knee with old folks who lived pretty far off the beaten track. 45 years ago at a folk festival in the far west of Ireland I traded ballads with singers from Ireland, Scotland, Norway and France and won the “stupidest song in Ireland” contest (many pints were involved). I’ve been fortunate to meet and study with some of the masters of the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, a uniquely beautiful music that was unknown outside of Hawaii until very recently. Along the way i

I’ve played in Zydeco, Ghanian High-Life, Western swing and Jazz bands.

And I have performed just about anywhere you could set up a stage, from Amsterdam’s Festival of Fools to a wack-a-doodle ukulele festival in Australia to tiny First Nations villages in the far Northwest. I’ve also played tons of folk festivals, coffee houses, house concerts, street corners, theaters large and small in the US and a few other countries.

So what will you hear at Old Barney? A little of everything: Old Time & Irish fiddle tunes on the Appalachian Dulcimer. Rags and country blues on the guitar. Maybe some jug band tunes on the uke, and oh, I don’t know, perhaps a cowboy song or two. You can be sure to hear some Hawaiian slack key guitar. And I will certainly introduce you to one of the most amazing instruments I know of: the vielle à roue, or hurdy gurdy.

Think of it as a one man folk festival, without all those annoying stage announcements.

And yes, I once worked as a banjo-playing gorilla in Dublin, Ireland”.

www.mark-o.com