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Pam Ortiz is that rare songwriter who can touch people where they feel deeply, where they laugh and where they cry.  She did that for 10 years with the group Terra Nova in the ‘90s playing to packed coffee houses in the Baltimore, Washington area.  Her songs were showcased in the three albums that the vocal group recorded.  For the past 12 years she has devoted herself to raising her children, family and work.  Now, with a slew of new songs, a new album in the works, the accompaniment of a few old and new friends, she’s back with new songs, new stories…with her signature clear voice, turn of phrase and melody.  Songs that speak of who we are, what we’ve won and lost, how we love and live. also includes Pam’s husband, Bob Ortiz, on percussion and guitar. Ford Schumann on guitar, Nevin Dawson on viola and violin and Philip Dutton on piano and keyboards.


In her youth, Carey was inspired by Stevie Wonder and Joni Mitchell to compose her own social justice and love songs.  Later she performed Jug Band, Rock, and Big Band music, then moved on to Celtic and Black Gospel—a strong foundation for becoming an innovative recording artist and performer.  Carey accompanies herself on piano and guitar, giving solo concerts and working with other musicians around the D.C. area including Lynn Hollyfield, Jody Marshall, Len Seligman, and Bob Williams.

Carey’s songs have been used in films to raise awareness about an interfaith coalition and about hospice care.  The Songwriters Association of Washington has chosen Carey’s work for multiple First Place honors.  In addition, she has received top Contemporary Folk and Gospel Vocalist awards (Wammies) from the Washington Area Music Association as well as a top Contemporary Folk Recording Wammie for her second Azalea City Recordings release, Peace of Wild Things.


Composer and multi-instrumentalist blends the sounds, styles, and instruments of American folk music with the experimental spirit of contemporary classical and art rock.  He performs as a solo guitarist and singer-songwriter, as an accompanist, and as a member of Great Noise Ensemble.  His compositions can be heard on his two solo CDs: New Music for Banjo, which was awarded the 2009 WAMMIE Award for Classical Recording; and American Gypsy, a collection of 15 original pieces for solo guitar. Mark has been a member of the Washington-based Great Noise Ensemble(GNE) since it's inception in 2005.  GNE is dedicated to performing new works and promoting emerging talent in contemporary classical music.  In addition to performing as a soloist and with GNE, Mark is active in the Washington area's folk and acoustic music scene.  He performs and records with many of the area's singer-songwriters, and he has earned numerous WAMMIE nominations for Contemporary Folk Instrumentalist.

Jim Jones was born in a log cabin in Illinois…. (ahh…sorry, wrong bio).  Jim Jones’ interest in folk music started in the early 60’s.  His first performance was as part of a “Peter, Paul and Mary” type group in high school in Dover, DE.  In college, Jim mostly studied folk music (when he should have been studying subjects such as Psychology, English and Math) and played as a solo around Central Pennsylvania.  After the end of the “folk scare,” from the early 70’s to the mid 80’s, Jim only played occasionally for his own amusement at home, while concentrating on graduate school, law school and a career.  However, after finishing law school in 1985, Jim decided that he needed to get back to the folk music he loved so much.  Since then, he has played in the folk duet, “Mutual Company,” in several old time string bands (most recently “The New Southern Cowtippers”), and for the past five years as part of the 60’s retro-folk band, “Kensington Station.”  Jim has decided to go back to solo performing, bringing back the music that was so much a part of, and influence on, his early adult life in the 60’s.