Chris Mason and Friends

Saturday, Dec. 11 at 8 p.m.
St. John's Church

The Roots Cafe has supported Baltimore’s thriving alternative-cabaret scene by hosting such lions of the scene as Boister, Carmaig de Forest, Diana Froley and Radiant Pig. Now we have a chance to showcase the scene’s patriarch, Chris Mason. He’s best known as half of the Tinklers, the duo that inspired David Fair of Half Japanese to write a song in their honor and Kramer to release three Tinklers CDs on his Shimmy Disc label. Mason’s latest project is 19 Old Songs, a project that puts ancient Greek poetry to rootsy American music. “If you didn’t know these pieces were written a few thousand years ago,” Splendid Magazine commented, “it would be pretty easy to imagine that they were, say, the same vintage as the songs found on Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music.” Mason sings and plays guitar; Liz Downing of Radiant Pig sings harmonies; Mark Jickling of Half Japanese plays mandolin, guitar and banjo and sings, and Rebby Sharp of the Orthotonics plays fiddle. In addition, Lyle Kissack and Anne Watts of Boister will join them for a few songs.