“Joe Jencks is the type of musician that will cause you to drop that morning newspaper or pull your car to the side of the road when you hear his songs. He is the type of artist that will turn heads in his direction when he walks onto a stage. His voice will instantly draw you into his passionate songs. He is the type of musician whose music will become a part of you.” -Ron Olesko, WFDU FM Teaneck, NJ
October 31st the 2009 Bear River Concert series welcomes Joe Jencks to the Sill Barn on the property of Camp Courageous of Iowa
Door open @ 6:15
Concert starts at 7
There is a suggested $10.00 per person donation @ the door.
If you have any questions or need more information please call:
319-465-4069
Biography
Joe Jencks is an international touring performer and award-winning songwriter. His career is based as much in ministering to the human spirit as it is in the performance of music. “A Joe Jencks concert is definitely not a visit to the inner world of some guy with a guitar who would like us all to sit still and listen politely. It’s an occasion for singing, a contagious rising up of voices, an act of joy and defiance! …Tapping into the latent, nearly mystical beauty that a roomful of people can unleash by singing together.” – Seattle Folklore Society
Joe has earned wide recognition for his songs about working people, and for his unique merging of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Joe weaves a diverse web of stories with brilliant musical skill, ensnaring even the most rigid of hearts, inviting them to open. Whether performing at a union conference or folk festival, or at an intimate club or house concert, Joe manages to make any audience feel welcomed, valued, and part of a community.
Joe’s life-long interest in folk music led him to undergraduate and graduate studies in Vocal Music Performance, Choral Conducting, and Music Education. Like any good craftsman Joe applies the skills of this well-rounded training, using his lush and lyrical voice to enchant, heal, and inspire to action. Joe has won numerous songwriting awards for his original work, and has an ability to connect genuinely and intimately with audiences of diverse ages and backgrounds. “He has a remarkable tenor voice that’s capable of great strength and sweetness in the same moment, much as was Phil Ochs’ voice. His guitar is always a dead-on accompaniment to his songs’ intentions.” –Bill Fischer, Victory Music Review
Joe is a dual US/Irish citizen living in the US, and merges traditions from both countries in his eclectic and vibrant musical presentation. Joe has had the unique pleasure of sharing the stage with numerous folk artists including Pete Seeger, Utah Phillips, Holly Near, John McCutcheon, Pat Humphries, and Bill Staines.
“In these times, we need the singers who will do the homework and tell the stories! Joe Jencks is among the fine next generation singers who are ready to carry on the tradition as well as look into the future” –Holly Near
“The key to the future is people joining in. The music of Joe Jencks captures this essential spirit. Joe is a fantastic singer who carries on the traditions.” -Pete Seeger
“Rise As One is a very impressive ‘document’ covering as it does both historic and contemporary songs about workers and organizers. I found it an unusual and significant selection of songs.” ~ Faith Petric, The Folknik, San Francisco
“Listen to Joe! A clear tenor voice; a heart that’s in the right place, close to the skin; a sense of justice tempered by a sense of humor; and a CD that captures it all in rich tasty arrangements. How can you go wrong?”
-Charlie King, Songwriter and Performer, Shelburne Falls, MA
“The next time someone says that folk music has lost its conscience, lacks great protest songs, or has lost its connection with its causes, I will sit them down and play Joe Jencks’ CD, I Hear Your Voice. Jencks sings with a superb tenor voice, and picks flashy guitar… that doesn’t obscure the beauty of his voice or the words of his well-crafted songs.” -Sing Out! Magazine, Rich Warren –Host of ‘The Midnight Special’ WFMT –FM Chicago, IL
“Joe Jencks is the type of musician that will cause you to drop that morning newspaper or pull your car to the side of the road when you hear his songs. He is the type of artist that will turn heads in his direction when he walks onto a stage. His voice will instantly draw you into his passionate songs. He is the type of musician whose music will become part of you. His craft and artistry will remind you of the best efforts of Phil Ochs, Stan Rogers, and Woody Guthrie. The troubadour tradition is alive and well in the 21st century with the music of Joe Jencks.”
class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”">-Ron Olesko, WFDU –FM Teaneck, NJ
“What a warrior…” -Bob Franke, Songwriter and Performer, Peabody, MA
“I find that Joe embodies the spirit of Pete Seeger. In much the same way, Joe has his finger on the pulse of our grassroots social conscience, and passes it on for us to scrutinize. Every generation needs a voice for social justice and Joe Jencks is one of those very important voices.” -Judy Matzen, Off the Square Concerts, Woodstock, IL
“Joe Jencks is one of the Northwest’s best-not-kept secrets; a singer-songwriter with a warm, smooth, powerful voice, and memorable finely crafted songs that have something to say. He moves freely between the worlds of contemporary acoustic pop and traditional folk, alternating and combining them into a rich and satisfying musical mosaic!” –Richard Middleton, Victory Music Review, Seattle WA
Instrumentation
Joe Jencks: Voice and guitar
Discography
Links In A Chain – 2009
The Candle And The Flame – 2007
Rise As One – 2006
I Hear Your Voice – 2002
What Kind of Brother – 2000
The Wonder Deep Within – 2003
The Phoenix – 1995
Links
