Cary Sheldon is a singer, songwriter, and beloved Berkeley voice teacher with 30 years’ worth of grateful students. She has been playing and teaching in the Bay Area for the last 40 years. Her love for R & B music led her to be part of Zazu Pitts Memorial Orchestra in the 1980’s.  Other affiliations include The Henry Kaiser Band, The Henriettas (a recreation of DeZurick sisters, a popular country music duo from the 1940’s), who appeared on Prairie Home Companion, and most recently her band DanceChant, a joyful community-inspired R&B band that encourages audience participation. She continues to be inspired by her love of singing in community. “Singing together with others is one of the greatest joys in my life.” Now in her 60’s, she returns to influences from her early life. Her grade school music teachers included John Langstaff, creator of the Christmas Revels, and the repertoire was based on the American folk tradition, including old English ballads, spirituals, freedom songs, and the popular folk and protest songs of the 1960’s. She hopes to inspire others to explore the depth of this material and rediscover the joy of community singing.
Photo by Jeanette Yu

Guest Artists

Song Circle features a rotating crew of wonderful Guest Artists who join Cary (and sometimes even take over for a session).

Upcoming Song Circles

On NOVEMBER 9 join Cary and Hank Maninger for another fun sing-along evening.

Hank Maninger has been playing in the Bay Area music scene his entire life. He started off as the bass player for Bonnie Hayes and the Wild Combo, recording two records and placing two songs on the soundtrack of the movie Valley Girl. He played bass with Chuck Prophet for a few years, touring Europe, and played guitar with surf revival pioneers the Aqua Velvets. As a member of the critically acclaimed western soul band the Hacienda Brothers, Hank toured the world and recorded four albums, in addition to a recent compilation of unreleased cuts.

Lately Hank has focused on teaching and performing in the Bay Area with his own trio, and with Nashville Honeymoon, a classic country/Americana band that he leads with his wife, Lynne Maes. They have released three records of original material.

On DECEMBER 14 join Cary and friends Kathy Kennedy & Randy Craig for a special holiday sing-along!

Kathy Kennedy has been singing professionally in the Bay Area for over 20 years with groups like The Charmers, the Zasu Pitts Memorial Orchestra, and later Big Bang Beat. She has performed at resorts all over the world in Hawaii, Europe, Istanbul and the Caribbean. Kathy has also performed as a back-up singer with many big names over the years. As part of an in-house band, she sang with Bonnie Raitt, Ronnie Spector (The Ronettes), Barbara Lewis, Eddie Money, Bill Spooner (The Tubes) and also with The Wrecking Crew, featuring Hal Blane and Al Jardine (The Beach Boys). She also toured with Mickey Thomas Starship, singing lead on Grace Slick’s “White Rabbit” and “Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now.” She currently sings Motown classics and buried song treasures with The Soul Delights, and is consistently in demand to perform at parties and events with a wide variety of Bay area bands.

A Marsh regular and popular favorite, Randy Craig has been delighting bay area music lovers for decades.

Randy is a founding member of Pickle Family Circus, and of San Francisco Make*A*Circus. He’s been an Academy Award nominee and has won an OBIE, a Bay Area Criitcs’ Circle Award, and is a two-time winner of Best of San Francisco Fringe.

He’s performed in most of the United States, including Alaska, and internationally in Germany, Denmark, London, and Istanbul.

He has scored “too many shows!” including “One of the ten best shows of the year” (SF Chronicle theatre critic Rob Hurwitt) “Scapin” with MacArthur Award winner and clown supreme Bill Irwin.