Midwinter Music Madness - Pepper & Sassafras with Tim Burns and John Dancks
Schedule
Sat, 21 Feb, 2026 at 04:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester, NY 14626 | Rochester, NY
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“Wendy is as sassy as sassafras. Jeffrey is the antithesis of hot pepper: gentle and thoughtful. Together they stir up great music – clever, funny, and thought provoking, with an easy rapport with the audience.” – Park Coffeehouse“Well-written songs with agile guitar accompaniment and really sweet harmonies.” – The Folk Project (New Jersey)
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, grand prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, teams up with multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Wendy Sassafras Ramsay in the dynamic acoustic duo Pepper and Sassafras.
Rodgers, also the founding editor of Acoustic Guitar magazine, delivers masterful band-in-a-box guitar work while Ramsay, harmonizer extraordinaire, adds flute, clarinet, guitar, accordion, and her quirky originals to the mix.
Based in Syracuse, the duo was finalist for Best Duo at FreshGrass and has been featured on the public radio show Folk Alley. After winning Golden Link’s New Voices showcase, they performed at the Turtle Hill Folk Festival in 2018. Along with their own music, Rodgers and Ramsay play together in the acoustic Grateful Dead collective Dead to the Core.
For this Golden Link concert, the duo will be joined by long-time collaborators Tim Burns and John Dancks.
Tim Burns (guitar, mandolin, vocals) is a Rochester native who got his start as a performer with the acoustic groove band The InBetweens, performing nearly 200 shows a year in the mid-’90s. Known for his powerful vocals and songwriting, Burns currently leads the Americana band Two Hour Delay, which has opened for such acts as Rusted Root, Donna the Buffalo, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage.
John (JD) Dancks (upright bass) has been a fixture on the Central New York acoustic music scene since his days at Syracuse University, when he played with banjo great Tony Trischka in the Down City Ramblers. Dancks has also played with renowned guitarist Russ Barenberg and in the national touring act Country Granola with singer Danny Weiss. A member of the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame, Dancks currently performs with The Cadleys and many other groups.
Midwinter Music Madness!
Beat the winter blahs with an afternoon and evening filled with the smells of good cooking and the sounds of great music! The schedule:
4:00 pm: Pre-concert Hootenanny – bring your instrument, voice, and a song to share (preferably chorus songs).
5:30-7:00 pm: Potluck Supper –Bring a dish to share. Please bring your own plates and silverware to be eco-friendly (although we will have paper plates and plasticware available). Singing continues through the dinner hour. Click Here! for more information and to let us know what you plan to bring.
7:30 pm: Pepper & Sassafras in concert!
Note: There is no charge for the hootenanny or potluck supper, although donations will be accepted to cover our costs. You will need to purchase a ticket for the concert, though. The concert gate will open at 6:45 pm.
Please Note:
• Tickets will be available at the door, but we encourage purchasing in advance through the website to expedite your entry into the concert. Also, purchasing in advance will save you money!
Online ticket sales end at midnight on February 20.
General Admission: $25 ($27 at the door)
Golden Link Members: $20 ($22 at the door)
Students: $10
Children under 12: $5
• This is an alcohol and smoke free event •
goldenlink.org for tickets and info:
https://www.goldenlink.org/content.aspx?page_id=4091&club_id=724073&item_id=2659605
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Where is it happening?
Greece Baptist Church, 1230 Long Pond Rd, Rochester, NY 14626, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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