Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno
One of “10 New Artists You Need to Know.” – Rolling Stone Country
Friday January 4th 2019 at 7pm(doors at 6:30pm)
to Cville Coffee, 1301 Harris Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903
Advanced tickets @ $12 only available here, by calling 434 978 4335 or by emailing prismcoffeehouse@gmail.com
Tickets at the Door $15
Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno are tapping into the deepest parts of American music, taking old songs that have seldom been heard and presenting them next to their own timeless and visceral originals. When they are not performing as a duo, they’re often found sitting knee to knee, playing under the canopy of trees at fiddle festivals across the country, such as the gathering where they met in June of 2016. Across any campground, or concert venue, the echos of their vibrant and magnetic harmonies ring out.
Leva, of Lexington, Virginia grew up playing and performing with her parents, Carol Elizabeth Jones and James Leva, learning traditional songs from their sources and honing her rhythmic guitar style. In June, 2017 Vivian recorded her debut album Time is Everything in close collaboration with Calcagno during an inspired session at Studio 808A in the small town of Floyd, VA. She released this album of original music on March 2nd, 2018 on Free Dirt Records to critical acclaim, including being one of Rolling Stone Country’s “10 New Artists You Need to Know.”
Riley, of Seattle, WA spent his earlier years playing with the widely recognized band The Onlies, (winners of the 2016 Traditional old-Time Band competition at the Appalachian String Band festival), and is described as “masterful” and “deliciously well-crafted” (Kithfolk) and developing his own distinct authenticity on the fiddle and banjo.
Together, Vivian and Riley have toured across the country, in living rooms and concert halls. As individuals, they have shared the stages with and played, both nationally and internationally, in the bands of Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, The Lost Tribe Of Country Music, and Bruce Molsky to name just a few. To this collaboration they bring both the steady hands of experience and a refined taste for American music, yet still a youthful abandon that can’t be forced. They are on tour internationally to support Vivian’s new release with their distinct brand of old-time and country music in tow.
“A voice to be reckoned with, a voice that resonates well beyond her years. Her voice hovers over us—drops of clear crystal mountain water.” — Alice Gerrard
“Needs to be on your radar for 2018.” — Saving Country Music