[from Kera Carpenter]
Folk singer Donal Leace at Domku
Wednesday 2/8, 8:30-11pm
Domku Bar & Cafe
821 Upshur Street NW
202-722-7475
Leace's bio
Singer-songwriter master craftsman Donal Leace has been a fixture in the Washington, DC folk community for more than 30 years. During the 60s, he was known as "Washington's Favorite Folk Singer," and the famed Cellar Door nightclub was called "The Home of Donal Leace."
Leace is known for his extraordinary instrument - his voice - which "resonates and vibrates like a hollow steel drum, then rings clear as a crystal bell." An engaging performer, Leace mixes soul, pop and jazz with a dash of humor. He writes about contemporary people, and weaves stories that he calls "little snapshots in time."
Since his first professional solo appearance in 1959 at New York's Carnegie Hall, Leace has performed all over the world with such greats as Muddy Waters, Joe Williams, Judy Collins, Big Mama Thornton and Odetta. He has recorded for Franc, Gateway, JBL and Atlantic Records, and has toured with Roberta Flack and Nancy Wilson.
Leace moved to Washington from Philadelphia in 1960, and put himself through school by playing in bars and nightclubs. He had a steady job at Charlie Byrd's Showboat nightclub, but was lured to the Cellar Door in 1962. That job lasted nine years. Leace said, "There was an apartment above the club where I lived, so the Cellar Door was literally the home of Donal Leace."
Leace's mentors included Dave van Ronk, who taught him how to play guitar, and Roberta Flack, who was his vocal coach and helped him get his recording contract at Atlantic Records. Leace has recorded four albums and is working on a fifth.
Leace is a graduate of Howard University, and holds graduate degrees from George Washington and Georgetown universities. He teaches theater at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Georgetown University.
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