Whoopie-ti-i-o and a ho-ho-ho, Santa's in the saddle

Rhythm in Shoes disbanded a couple of years ago, but the performers have plenty of rhythm left to share! RIS veterans Rick Good, Sharon Leahy, Ben Cooper and Emma Young, along with Paul Kovac, created a lean & mean offshoot of RIS: Shoefly. ShoeFly is old-time song and dance, rooted in the traditions of early country music, bluegrass and honky-tonk. The band has just released their newest CD, Six-Fifty.

For the last few years, Good and Cooper have been hosting an old-time music jam on Wednesday nights at the Trolley Stop on Fifth Street in the Oregon District. Occasionally the session is performance-oriented instead, as it will be on Wednesday, December 21 at 9 pm. There's no cover--that's right, all this musical goodness is FREE--and the Trolley has food and drink on offer. You'll also get a taste of "Good'n'Young", a group made up of Good, Leahy, Emma Young and her husband Linzay of the Red Stick Ramblers. There will be dancing and general merriment, plus opportunity to purchase that new CD to give as a holiday gift. They'll finish out the night with the regular oldtime jam. And who knows, an impromptu square dance has also been known to happen.

So carve a little time out of your holiday schedule to celebrate with some of the best musicians in town.