Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen

    In a musical age created by the singer-songwriter, Steve Gillette has long been considered to be one of the finest. His music has inspired glowing reviews from the critics and the deep loyalty of his fans. Since Ian and Sylvia first recorded Darcy Farrow in 1966, Steve's songs have been sung by dozens of major artists including Garth Brooks, John Denver, Nanci Griffith, Waylon Jennings, Anne Murray, Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt, Spanky and Our Gang, Don Williams, and Tammy Wynette.
     Steve's first album, Steve Gillette, originally released in the Spring of 1968, has recently been reissued by Vanguard on compact disc. The album includes guest performances by Buffy Saint Marie, Bruce Langhorne and Dick Rosmini. His second album, Back On The Street Again, was produced by John Ware for Outpost Records, with help from Spanky McFarland and Emmy Lou Harris' Hot Band. Steve's third album Alone...Direct (solo voice and guitar) was recorded direct-to-disc and produced by John DelGatto on Sierra Records.
     Graham Nash produced Steve's fourth album, A Little Warmth in 1979 (Flying Fish). Appearing on this album were Johnny Barbatta and Pete Sears from The Jefferson Starship, Graham Nash, David Lindley, and Jennifer Warnes. The CD was reissued by Compass Rose Music in 2002.
      Since their marriage in 1989, Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen have been traveling, performing and recording together. Their album Live In Concert, recorded at The Ark in Ann Arbor in 1991, is available from their own company, Compass Rose Music. A second duet album, The Light Of The Day, was named Top Folk Album of 1996 by Rich Warren (WFMT) and Matt Watroba (WDET). Their third duet recording, A Sense Of Place, was released on Redwing Music in 2001. Their latest CD together is called Being There (Compass Rose, 2006). Steve and Cindy also collaborated with Anne Hills and Michael Smith on a quartet recording of story-songs, Fourtold (Appleseed Records, 2003).
     The Ways Of The World (Compass Rose, 1992), a recording of 12 original songs produced by Jim Rooney, features studio back-up by Stuart Duncan, Mark Howard, Roy Huskey Jr., and Mark Schatz. Steve’s latest solo recording is Texas And Tennessee (Redwing Music), with Charles Cochran, Mark Graham, Mark Schatz, Pete Sutherland, Pete Wasner, and others. The album was named one of 1998's Top Ten Folk Albums by Tower Records’ Pulse Magazine.
      In addition to performing in 31 countries, Steve has performed on over 100 college campuses and has taught numerous workshops and seminars on songwriting, guitar theory, and record production. Steve is the author of the book Songwriting And The Creative Process, published by The Sing Out Press in 1995. His film credits include writing and singing the main title theme for M.G.M.'s The Outfit, Walt Disney's The Pond, The Grass Is Greener, Summer Run, and Door To Door. Steve has also written songs for the Walt Disney characters Jiminy Cricket, Dumbo, Rainbow Brite, and Winnie the Pooh.
      Steve traveled to Japan with the "Day Of The Dolphin" concert series in Tokyo in 1976, and has been active in the anti nuclear movement and other social causes. He has received ASCAP and BMI performance awards, and was honored by the World Folk Music Association as a 1988 nominee for the Kate Wolf Award. He has been a featured performer at many festivals, including Clearwater’s Hudson River Revival, Fox Hollow, International Songwriter's Festival at Frutigen (Switzerland), The Mariposa Folk Festival, The Old Songs Festival, Owen Sound Summerfolk Festival, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, The Vancouver Folk Festival, The Walnut Valley Festival, The Winnipeg Folk Festival, Common Ground on the Hill's Roots Music Festival, and is a director and long-time participant in The Kerrville Folk Festival.

Cindy Mangsen is "one of the finest singers in American folk music"—Come for to Sing
     Accompanying herself on guitar, banjo, concertina, or mountain dulcimer, Cindy's repertoire ranges from haunting traditional ballads to songs by writers as diverse as Jack Hardy and Nancy White, with a few original songs thrown into the mix. Cindy began performing professionally in 1976 and can be heard singing harmony on many albums, including several of Tom Paxton's recordings.
     Cindy and her husband Steve Gillette have recorded four duet albums. The first is digitally-recorded Live In Concert (Compass Rose Music), produced in 1991, chosen one of the Top Ten Folk Albums of the year by Rich Warren (WFMT), Mike Flynn (The Folk Sampler), and Tina Hay (WPSU). Their second duet album, The Light Of The Day (Compass Rose Music, 1996), prompted England’s Folk Roots Magazine to comment “still just about the classiest duo around, with more of their sublime traditional and contemporary folk.” A third recording entitled A Sense Of Place (Redwing Music, 2001) focused on New England songs and tunes. Their latest duet CD is called Being There (Compass Rose Music, 2006).
      Cindy's first album (on vinyl) was recorded live to two-track, and featured guests Anne Hills, Jan Burda and Fred Campeau. Entitled Long Time Traveling, it was originally released on the Hogeye label in 1983 and was chosen one of the Top Folk Albums of the Year by the Chicago Reader. The album has recently been reissued on CD by Compass Rose Music.
     Cindy’s solo CD Songlines (Compass Rose, 1993) included both traditional and original material. Hailed by Scott Alarik in the Boston Globe as one of the Top Ten Folk Albums of the year, the album was produced by Pete Sutherland, and featured backup by Steve Gillette, Anne Hills, Priscilla Herdman, Abby Newton and others. Cindy’s 1998 recording, Songs Of Experience (Redwing Music, 1998), is “a collection of traditional folk songs done in an incredibly melodic and intense way...beautiful and powerful” (Friday Morning Quarterback). The album received the Editors’ Choice Gold Star Award from Crossroads Magazine. Cindy’s latest solo CD is Cat Tales: Songs Of The Feline Persuation (Compass Rose, 2005), an album of songs about cats and their people.
      Cindy is well-known for her collaborations. She has made three recordings in a trio with Anne Hills and Priscilla Herdman. Their first album, Voices (Flying Fish, 1990) has been called “a clinic in harmony...well-conceived, neatly crafted and expertly performed” (Hartford Advocate). The trio’s Voices Of Winter (Gadfly Records, 1997) is a live concert of songs celebrating the Winter season. Their third album, At The Turning Of The Year, was released in the Fall of 2000.
     A duet album with Anne Hills, Never Grow Old (Flying Fish), is a recording of traditional songs featuring many guest artists including Gordon Bok, John Hartford, Laurie Lewis, and Tom Paxton. The recording received an Honorable Mention at the 1994 NAIRD awards. Anne and Cindy’s companion album of traditional songs for families and children, Never Grow Up (Flying Fish, 1998), received the Parents’ Choice Award and has been called “the perfect modern folk recording” (Sing Out!). Cindy’s latest collaboration is Fourtold (Appleseed Records, 2003), a quartet album of story-songs with Steve, Anne Hills and Michael Smith.
      Cindy has made guest appearances on many radio programs including All Things Considered (NPR), Mountain Stage (WV Public Radio), The Folk Heritage (WGBH, Boston), and The Hudson River Sampler (WAMC, Albany), and on the public television series In the Tradition. She has performed at many festivals: Champlain Valley, Clearwater’s Hudson River Revival, Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Old Songs, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Walnut Valley, and Winnipeg Folk Festivals.