In the 1960s, folk music was all the rage in many parts of the country. In downtown Philly, for example, fans flocked to the Gilded Cage, The Artist Hut, The Focal Point and the Second Fret, or the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, to hear legends like Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, the Kingston Trio, Joni Mitchell, Arlo Guthrie, Judy Collins and more. But with the ascent of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, heavy metal, soul music and eventually disco, folk music faded into the background.<\/p>\n
But if Midnight on the Water has anything to say about it, American folk music, with its roots in British, Irish and Scottish ballads merged with African music styles, just might be making a comeback. The popular Philly-based cross-genre string trio will be performing an intimate concert at Mt. Airy Violins & Bows, 6665 Germantown Ave., on Friday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n
The concert will offer a sneak peek at the trio\u2019s dual debut albums, \u201cStardrops Volumes I & II,\u201d which push the boundaries of the genre by sharing a futuristic dream for the world in which \u201call music is folk music,\u201d in the words of the band.<\/p>\n
The trio consists of Tom Krumm (fiddle, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Nathan Bishop (fiddle, viola, hardanger d\u2019amore) and Dani Hawkins (cello). Their captivating music can be heard at listening rooms, festivals and contra dances through the mid-Atlantic region. According to Bishop, the name of the band was taken from \u201cthe name of a gorgeous waltz by Benny Thomasson. We floated some other names that were more generic like Two River Strings, but we ultimately figured it was best to name ourselves after something that\u2019s beautiful and simple as a reminder to ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krumm, 29, of Plymouth Meeting, who has performed with boldface names like Roseanne Cash and Al Kooper, was a recent soloist with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. Krumm, who graduated in 2017 from the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston with a degree in professional music and concentration in violin performance, logged over 400 hours of studio and performance time during his studies. He particularly enjoyed exploring micro-tonal Arabic music.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur upcoming record features around two thirds original material alongside our own arrangements of other material,\u201d Krumm told the Local last week. \u201cFor this May 1 concert, we\u2019ll probably be playing a decent bit from the album and working in some new material we\u2019ve been excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Germantown native Hawkins, who is \u201cslightly older than Tom and Nathan,\u201d has performed with the Boston Philharmonic and Delaware Symphony Orchestra and has taught music at Cornell University, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Swarthmore College.<\/p>\n
Hawkins, who earned a Ph.D in ethnomusicology from Cornell University, told the Local, \u201cWe originally formed the band with very mercenary intentions. The more different kinds of music you can play, the more gigs you can take. The original concept of Midnight on the Water was a group of string players that could play lots of different kinds of music and so take lots of gigs because we all have lots of rent to pay. But as we started gigging, we also found that we really enjoyed each other as creators and as people, and so it morphed into a more fun, creative enterprise.<\/p>\n
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