Say Sister Festival 2026

Join us for a diverse and revolutionary celebration of women in roots music with the Say Sister! Festival. This transformative event celebrates the vital contributions of women to a space where their presence has always been essential, though often underappreciated, shining a spotlight on the past, present, and future contributions of women in Old Time Music.

Concert starts at 7:30 PM The lineup is:

Yasmin Williams – innovative jazz and avant guard

Yasmin Williams is an innovative guitarist and composer known for her unique compositional approach and expansive instrumental style. Her latest album Acadia, released on Nonesuch Records, showcases her evolution from solo performer to collaborative artist, featuring partnerships with notable musicians like Aoife O’Donovan and Immanuel Wilkins.

Williams’ distinctive creative process involves “ruminating” on single notes until compositions naturally emerge. Beyond traditional fingerpicked guitar, she demonstrates mastery of multiple instruments including kora, harp guitar, banjo, and electric guitar. Her music, while rooted in folk traditions, transcends conventional structures to incorporate elements of progressive rock and experimental composition.

Following her acclaimed 2021 album Urban Driftwood, Acadia represents a significant artistic expansion, featuring three distinct sections that move from traditional folk influences to atmospheric soundscapes and experimental arrangements. Williams’ approach emphasizes sustained tones and intricate articulation, creating music that balances technical precision with ethereal, floating melodies.

Valerie Turner- Piedmont Blues (with Ben Turner, percussion)

Bio

The Piedmont Blūz Acoustic Duo, comprised of Valerie and Benedict Turner, are ambassadors of Country Blues music,

Music to Life juried artists, and inductees into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. Valerie plays finger-style Country Blues guitar and specializes in Piedmont-style fingerpicking. She also plays selections from the Delta Blues tradition. Her eclectic repertoire is influenced by her two mentors, Woody Mann and world-renowned Country Blues musician John Cephas. Valerie’s guitar playing is reminiscent of traditional blues greats like Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Minnie, and Elizabeth Cotten. She is also the author of Piedmont Style Country Blues Guitar Basics, a popular guitar instruction book acquired by the Library of Congress. Inspired by the melodic and percussive sounds of the steel drums of his birthplace – Trinidad and Tobago – Benedict developed his unique style of playing washboard after studying with Washboard Chaz of Louisiana fame and Newman Taylor Baker of the Ebony Hillbillies. He also adds interesting touches with bones and harmonica. Through performing and teaching, the duo’s mission is to help bring awareness to a unique aspect of African-American culture and to early blues artists’ contributions. They have entertained audiences domestically and abroad and are much loved wherever they go.Marcy Marxer- Bluegrass and Old Time

Lisa Liu – Jazz Manouche (Django Reinhardt Style)

Lisa Liu is a guitarist based in San Francisco, California and is always on the move playing shows around the world. She plays jazz, jazz manouche, and solo guitar. Liu is an Artist Ambassador for Santa Cruz Guitar Company, Sadowsky Guitars, Larkspur Guitars and Krivo Pickups. Liu is a Teaching Artist and writer for Acoustic Guitar Magazine and has performed and taught alongside Mimi Fox, Martin Taylor and John Knowles CGP. She is a Teaching Artist at TrueFire, Django and June, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, and has also been an Artist In Residence at The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, La Maison De Beaumont (France) and Hors Saison (France). Liu also works with the San Francisco Symphony providing educational outreach music performances in the SF Unified schools.

Liu has performed at Birdland (NYC), Django Reinhardt Festival (France), SiX The Musical on Broadway, The Guggenheim Museum (NYC), Djangofest NW (WA), Rocky Mountain Archtop Guitar Festival (CO), AAPI Jazz Festival (NJ), Django Birthday Festival (CA), The Music Center at Strathmore (MD),  The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC), Academy of Music (MA), Yale University (CT), Joe’s Pub (NYC), Barbès (NYC), The Knockdown Center (NYC).

Cathy Fink- Mother Maybelle Carter style, Folk styles

TWO-TIME GRAMMY® Award Winners, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are an eclectic folk festival on their own terms. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin and cello-banjo. The duo has released 53 recordings, won recognition as both songwriters and tradition bearers, and opened doors for countless other musicians. From social justice to the history of women in country music, Django style jazz to bluegrass and old time music, they are a rare eclectic duo that ties it all together-past, present and future.

Boston Globe called them “Spellbinding acoustic musicians, with a rare mastery of American roots styles.”

Billboard Magazine said, “As close to flawless folk/bluegrass as it gets.”