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"There Aint No More" Fringe Tour!

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Hello Friends, Family, and Art Lovers,

 About six months ago Willi and Fletch had a crazy idea: to take 5 years of songs, square-dance calls, poems, fiddle tunes, and field-recordings from Willi's notebooks and turn them into a one-man folk-operetta called "There Aint No More: Death of a Folksinger.” We thought, "Hey, why not try our luck and apply to a bunch of fringe festivals? We're bound to get chosen at one or two." Well, we got lucky, one or two turned into…well…eight.

Now we're staring at a four-month, nation-wide tour, and we need your help to get us off the ground!

Turns out a Fringe Festival tour ain't cheap. After application fees, festival fees, production expenses, and early marketing we are looking at over $3,500 in startup costs. After we include gas, food, and lodging for four months that jumps to over $10,000!

The good news is, we only need a small part of that to get us started! Our goal of $2,000 is enough to help defray these early costs, help us break even, and really do this thing right.

The Team:

We've had some great help already from some of the finest artists we know.

- Octavio Logo is making an amazing "old man" mask, cast directly from Willi's face. 

- Randy Franco has helped us put together some fun press photos.

- Amber Eggleton is designing art for an authentic Crankie that tells part of our story through images.

- Ozark furniture maker Mike Britton of Rough Cut Creations is handcrafting a beautiful chair to Willi's dimensions.  

- Sam Burrow is sewing the most attractive sock puppets you've ever seen. 

It's your donation that supports the work of this team of awesome artists. 

 
What You Get, Besides a Warm Fuzzy Feeling:

$10 donation? Boom! You get a ticket $2 off our average ticket price. It only goes up from there: Check out more sweet stuff, like house concerts, etc. on the right!

Hell, if we reach just $1,000, everyone who donated will get an exclusive video of a song performed by Willi in every state we visit, sent straight to your email.  If we meet our goal and make $2,000, you will be giving NWA a free "returning home" performance of the show with special VIP seating to anyone who gave to this campaign. 

Enough about the perks! Lets find out about the show...

About the Show:

In a raucous one-man operetta based on legends of American folk music and the early vaudeville stage, a bawdy old folksinger tries to burn the barn down one final time before his last waltz is called.

 The play takes place during this folksinger’s last performance. Facing the life he has led and the legacy he will leave behind, the medication-addled musician uses every trick he knows to confront lost love, wartime memories, years of political activism, adventures into the American wilderness, and gig after gig spent in folk-music obscurity. 

Picking up his banjo, fiddle, guitar, harmonicas, and an old accordion, Willi Carlisle guides us through a life in song that will make audiences laugh, clap, and sing. Is there any vitality in the music of our great-grandparents, or are some things meant to die out entirely? Can sixty years of dogged, self-reliant work validate the existence of an old windbag?

To find out, combine a handful of dirty jokes, a couple of puppets, a mask, a crankie, and an authentic and sometimes troubling musical tradition. Bake on High for 60 minutes, and you’ve got “There Aint No More: Death of a Folksinger.” It's ragged, but right!


Thanks everyone for your support in making this artistic quest possible.

With much love,

Willi Carlisle and Joseph Fletcher


Tour Schedule:


NWA
April 13     8 pm    Preview Show: Backspace
April 21     8 pm    Preview Show: Walker-Stone House
April 30     8 pm    Preview Show: Black Apple Crossing
May  5        8 pm    Preview Show: "The Lab"

Tampa, Fl
May 11     9:10 pm     Fringe Performance
May 12    10:55 pm   Fringe Performance
May 13    12:00 pm   Fringe Performance
May 14       5:00 pm   House Concert

Orlando, Fl
May 17    9:30 pm    Fringe Performance
May 18    9:00 pm    Music: @ Copper Rocket
May 20    8:30 pm    Fringe Performance
May 21   10:45 pm  Fringe Performance
May 24     9:00 pm   Fringe Performance
May 26     5:30 pm   Fringe Performance
May 27     7:15 pm   Fringe Performance
                      9:00 pm   Music: @ Milk Bar
May 28     4:15 pm   Fringe Performance

Mt. View, AR
June 2       2:00 pm   Music: Ozark Folk Center
                     7:00 pm    Music: Ozark Folk Center

Philadelpha, PA
June 8      8:00 pm    Music: Twisted Tail
June 15   8:00 pm    Music: Twisted Tail

Portland, ME
June 22    7:00 pm     Fringe Performance
June 23   10:30 pm   Fringe Performance
June 24     1:45 pm    Fringe Performance

New York, NY
June  29    8:00 pm   Show: Cloud City (TBD)
July 1          8:00 pm   Show: Under St. Marks

Tremont, ME
July 2              8:00 pm    Show: Barn Arts Collective
July 4              TBD            Music: TBD

Dover, NH 
July 5-9          TBD           Seacoast Fringe Performances

Washington, DC
July 11         9:15 pm     Fringe Performance
July 12         9:45 pm     Fringe Performance
July 15         4:00 pm     Fringe Performance
July 16         9:15 pm     Fringe Performance
July 18         7:45 pm     Fringe Performance

Kansas City, MO 
July 20-30    TBD           KCFringe

Minneaplois, MN
Aug. 4           7:00 pm      Fringe Performance
Aug. 5        10:00 pm      Fringe Performance
Aug. 8           5:30 pm      Fringe Performance
Aug. 11     10:00 pm      Fringe Performance
Aug. 12        5:30 pm      Fringe Performance

St. Louis, MO
Aug. 18-26    TBD          St. Louis Fringe
Donate

Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $100
    • 7 yrs
  • Rootenanny Crew
    • $250 (Offline)
    • 8 yrs
Donate

Organiser

Joseph Fletcher
Organiser
Fayetteville, AR

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