Keller Williams and Leo Kottke bring “Shut The Folk Up and Listen” to The Ridgefield Playhouse on January 12

Talented pickers Keller Williams and Leo Kottke have teamed up for Shut The Folk Up and Listen collaborative shows! The Ridgefield Playhouse Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer Series, Mountain Dew Country and Bluegrass Series and Pepsi Rock Series Powered by xfinity presents this talented duo on Thursday, January 12 at 8 p.m.

This very special evening of music, which is partially underwritten by Casey Energy, features a solo set by each artist, and will also include some spontaneous collaboration between Williams and Kottke. Keller Williams is best known as a one-man band for his exciting and unpredictable live stage show singing his compositions and choice cover songs while playing accompaniment on acoustic guitar and creating samples on the fly—a technique called live phrase sampling or looping. Recent years have found Keller fronting a handful of collaboration projects—as Keller Williams with The Travelin’ McCourys; Keller and The Keels; with his six–piece outfit, More Than a Little; with the newly debuted Keller Williams Trio featuring Rob Wasserman and Rodney Holmes; and The Keller Williams KWhatro featuring Gibb Droll, Danton Boller, and Rodney Holmes. For “Shut the Folk Up and Listen,” Keller goes back to his earliest roots: stripped down and loop-less with just him and his guitar and alongside one of his biggest musical heroes.

Famed acoustic player Leo Kottke is known for a fingerpicking style that draws on blues, jazz, and folk music, and for syncopated, polyphonic melodies. Kottke overcame a series of personal obstacles, including partial loss of hearing and a nearly career-ending bout with tendon damage in his right hand to emerge as a widely recognized master of his instrument. In concert, Kottke intersperses humorous and sometimes bizarre monologues with vocal and instrumental selections from throughout his career, played solo on his 6- and 12- string guitars. Keller Williams and Leo Kottke are featured artists of media sponsor 90.7fm WFUV.

For tickets ($55), call the box office at 203-438-5795, or visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.