Featuring Dan Berggren, Dan Duggan and Peggy Lynn
General Admission $15 ($13 Opera House members)
Dan, Dan & Peggy, three award-winning solo musicians (and Opera House favorites), have joined forces to create the dynamic trio Jamcrackers, named in honor of the Adirondack river drivers who broke up log jams. "These loggers worked hard to find solutions and to get things rolling on a job that couldn't be done alone," says Peggy, speaking on behalf of the group. "Dan, Dan and I feel the same way about our music."
These good friends and accomplished musicians bring a rare blend of humor, history and musical spirit to their performances. Award-winning educator and songwriter Dan Berggren has deep roots in the Adirondacks. His music, which reflects the spirit and the hard-working people of that region, has traveled around the world from Central Africa to Transylvania. Author and environmental activist Bill McKibben says Dan's music "is the sound of the Adirondacks, as much as the water lapping against the granite shore of the lake or the loon echoing in the sunset or the wind tossing the spruce tops."
Berggren is the recipient of both the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching and the New York State Outdoor Education Association Art & Literature Award. His own record label, Sleeping Giant Records, has released 14 recordings featuring his music, including one Jamcrackers album, Ten Miles to Saturday Night.
National Hammered Dulcimer Champion Dan Duggan is known from Maine to California for his wizardry on the hammered dulcimer, flat-picking guitar and keyboards. His dulcimer talent is spotlighted on Paul Simon's Grammy-nominated album "You're the One." Duggan has recorded four collections of original compositions as well as three albums of traditional holiday music. His CD of original songs for children, "The Pieces of Our Life," received a Parent's Choice Approval Award.
Peggy Lynn, better known as the "First Lady of Adirondack Music," writes and performs songs about the women and natural beauty of the North Country; and her bluesy alto voice melts every audience that hears it. Named 1996 Adirondack Woman of the Year, she coauthored, with Sandra Weber, the book Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks. In 2005, she and Dan Berggren both received the Adirondack Mountain Club's Education Award. Recognized nationwide for her soulful songwriting and extraordinary vocal versatility, her work has been featured at the famous Bluebird Cafe in Nashville.
"A Jamcrackers performance is genuine and contagious," noted one recent reviewer. "The trio's diverse blend of folk and blues, ballads and gospel and dance tunes sparks a rare chemistry and guarantees a good time."
