ArtsLink Presents Folk Duo Simple Gifts
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NEW MARTINSVILLE - ArtsLink's 2026-27 Concert Series Season kicks off with a performance by folk duo Simple Gifts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at The Parlor Theater at Doolin Center, 253 Main St., in downtown New Martinsville.
Tickets for ArtsLink members are $10 for an individual and $20 for a family (two adults and kids under 18), for non-members $15 for individuals and $25 for a family, student tickets are $5 and will be available at the door. Cash, checks, and credit cards are accepted, and light refreshments will be served. For your convenience, please park in the free parking lot at the corner of Martin Avenue and Jefferson Street and use the rear entrance to the Doolin Center.
Two women plus 12 instruments equals one good time when Simple Gifts takes the stage. Drawing on an impressive variety of ethnic folk styles, this award-winning duo plays everything from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer frailachs and haunting Gypsy melodies, spicing the mix with the distinctive rhythms of Balkan dance music, the lush sounds of Scandinavian twin fiddling, and original compositions written in a traditional style. Combining tradition with innovation, Simple Gifts creates some of the finest arrangements in folk music today: swing fiddle creeps into a Romanian dance, spoons show up in an Irish reel, and a blues lick introduces a Klezmer melody. Based in the hills of central Pennsylvania, these women play an amazing array of instruments. Linda Littleton and Karen Hirshon switch with ease among fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, guitjo, recorders, bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer, baritone fiddle, guitar and percussion.
Funding for this program made possible with assistance from Williams and WETZ/WYMJ Radio. This project is supported with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts.
ArtsLink is committed to providing universal accessibility wherever possible. People with special needs can call 304-455-2278 to request assistance.