Musician flies in for Cream Tees benefit concert

AN American musician is using her annual visit to Teesdale to help support a local youth music group.
Katherine Rhoda, from Maine, New England’s most northerly state, will perform at Boldron Village Hall on Saturday, January 28, to help raise funds for folk group Cream Tees.
The group was formed as part of the Music at the Heart of Teesdale (M@HoT) scheme, which in turn was set up under the lottery-funded Heart of Teesdale Landscape Partnership.
With the partnership now finished, Cream Tees must become self-sustaining in order to carry on.
M@HoT project co-ordinator Neil Diment said Ms Rhoda had come across Cream Tees thanks to her husband’s Cumbrian roots.
“She visits Teesdale every year. She and her husband, David Wallace-Lawrence, have become fans of the Music at the Heart of Teesdale project and Cream Tees.
“Katherine will play a charity concert with a suggested donation of £5 and all proceeds to benefit the young musicians’ group.”
Opening the show will be Cream Tees musicians Rachel and Fiona Todd.
Mr Diment added: “Katherine collects and plays vintage fretless zithers. The early 1900s saw a flood of musical inventions, some ridiculous, some sublime, all marketed in the US, Europe, and Australia, as the ultimate in DIY music making.
“At Boldron, Katherine will sing and play a number of fretless zithers – including Marxophone, pianolin, harpeleik, and Faudel's Harp Zither – as well as accordion and santur (a Middle Eastern type of hammered dulcimer), sharing a blend of originals, traditional material, and off-the-beaten-path cover versions,” he added.
The show starts at 8pm. Seating is limited and those wishing to go along can reserve their place by emailing dwl@shineitallaround.com.
Ms Rhoda’s second CD, Joyful Confluence, released in the US in August 2016, is now available.
For more information about her music, visit katherinerhoda.com.