New show: All Hallows’ Eve

We’ve wanted to do a Halloween show for a long time, but could never figure out how to do it, since modern Halloween dates only to 1870, and we usually present songs of an earlier era. Then we started exploring the roots of Halloween, which reach back centuries into our past—to All Hallows’ Eve and to ancient holidays, rituals, superstitions, and folklore. That’s when we started uncovering a trove of music. For at its core, the beliefs and observances that preceded Halloween are about the deepest mysteries of life–about life and death, things seen and unseen, and occurrences we can’t explain. Whether you call it le Jour des Morts, Dia de los Muertos, or Samhain, this is a holiday for the ages. We bring these ancient mysteries to life with a new program of music–fiddle, hammered dulcimer, and vocals–spanning several centuries.