Zoe Speaks

By Journal staff

MARQUETTE — The Hiawatha Music Co-Op announces a traditional music event, “Cultivating Our Roots: Traditional Art Performance, Education and Preservation,” Nov. 3-6.

The event will feature the Kentucky folk group Zoe Speaks and will feature four days of concerts, school assemblies and workshops highlighting the roots of the Appalachian arts and music.

Zoe Speaks is a band deeply rooted in the music making and storytelling lineages of its rural Eastern Kentucky origins, where music is a part of daily life. Zoe Speaks consists of Kentuckians Mitch Barrett and Carla Gover, their daughter, fiddler/bassist/vocalist Zoey Barrett, and her multi-instrumentalist husband Arlo Barnette, who draw on their deep roots in the region to put their own spin on everything from traditional ballads to finely-crafted originals.

Zoe Speaks has been delighting audiences of all ages for over 20 years with performances and workshops including traditional and original songs, mountain tales, and clogging from the Appalachian region of Eastern Kentucky where they were born and raised.

Zoe Speaks will be performing at a variety of venues and for all ages including: a children’s concert at the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum on Wednesday, Nov. 3 from 4-5 p.m., (free, use QR code on the Hiawatha website to secure entrance); a “Live at The Fold” concert on Thursday, Nov. 4 (free and open to the public and limited to 30-40 persons); Workshops at The Hiawatha Fold on Saturday, Nov. 6 Guitar 10-11 a.m., Fiddle 11 a.m.-noon, Flatfoot Dancing noon-1 p.m. (free and open to the public) and a concert at the Barrel & Beam in Marquette on Saturday, Nov. 6 from 7:30-9 p.m. (free and open to public).

A $5-$10 donation is suggested at events to help the Co-op continue multi-generational programming.

The Hiawatha Music Co-op will also present Zoe Speaks at assemblies at The Hiawatha Fold for the Marquette Area Home-Schoolers, Marquette County Schools including the Gwinn Area Schools and Powell Township School and will share their music and stories at The Great Lakes Recovery Center youth and adult units.

The Cultivating Our Roots Week will conclude at the Hiawatha Music Co-op Annual Members Meeting at Barrel & Beam (Members only 5-7:30pm) with a performance from Zoe Speaks from 7:30-9 p.m.

“Cultivating Our Roots” is made possible through the Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operational Grant and from The Community Foundation of Marquette County. COVID-19 precautions will be followed. Masks and social distancing will be required for participation at all events.

For more information about Hiawatha MusicCo-op or Cultivating Our Roots or the QR code visit Hiawathamusic.org or call The Hiawatha Fold 906- 226-8575.