FOOTMAD Presents

Our 45th Concert Season
2026-2027

Enjoy nationally and world-acclaimed musicians
in intimate concert settings in the valley's finest theaters.

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Simple Gifts

  • Two women playing twelve instruments! Performing Romanian, Klezmer, Greek, Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian, Appalachian, and more.

    2026 December 5 - Saturday - 7:30 PM
    Kanawha United Presbyterian Church
    1009 Virginia St. E.
    Charleston WV

    Drawing on an impressive variety of ethnic folk styles, this award-winning duo plays everything from lively Irish jigs and down-home American reels to hard-driving Klezmer frailachs and haunting Gypsy melodies, spicing the mix with the distinctive rhythms of Balkan dance music, the lush sounds of Scandinavian twin fiddling, and original compositions written in a traditional style.

    Buy tickets for Simple Gifts

  • Bio

    Two women plus twelve instruments equals one good time when Simple Gifts takes the stage.

    Linda Littleton and Karen Hirshon switch with ease among fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, guitjo, recorders, bowed psaltery, hammered dulcimer, baritone fiddle, guitar, and percussion.

    Simple Gifts is frequently complimented on their stage presence, which is warm, personal, and accented with humor. These women deliver their music with rare intensity and contagious enthusiasm. It’s obvious that Simple Gifts loves the music they play and knows how to share their excitement with the audience. This is an act not to be missed!

  • UKULELE WORKSHOP

    ADDITIONALLY, Simple Gifts is presenting a FREE Ukulele Workshop – December 5, 1 p.m. at Kanawha County Public Library!

    See KCPLS Webpage for registration and additional information for this KCPL-FOOTMAD collaborative event.
    kcpls.org/events/upcoming

    Ukulele is an excellent introduction to guitar, since it's the same as the upper four strings of guitar. Twenty ukuleles will be provided, or bring your own! Then, in 45 minutes to an hour students learn two to three chords and the basics of strumming and fingerpicking. À Simple Gift for you!

“These women share a chemistry that infuses their music with energy, integrity, and joy. Theirs is a special gift. ”
— David W. Johnson, Boston Globe
“Listening to [Simple Gifts] is like sampling an international buffet ... The number of instruments they pick up in a typical concert makes the group anything but simple. ... [This is] acoustic music of the highest order.”
— Will Lebzelter, Centre Daily Times
“Simple Gifts wowed our audience with a cultural and educational program that was fun, informative, and energetic.”
— Teresia Bush, Smithsonian Institution

  • Concert Time

    Concert starts at 7:30 pm

    Box office sales start at 7:00 pm

    Doors open at 7:00 pm

  • Tickets

    $25 in advance
    $30 at the door
    $10 Students

    Children under 13 admitted free

  • Concert FAQs

    All the FAQs and nothing but the FAQs

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​FOOTMAD appreciates Fund for the Arts major donors ($10,000+) who keep culture strong in the Kanawha Valley: City of Charleston, Cecil I. Walker Charitable Trust, William Maxwell Davis Trust, Daywood Foundation, Spilman Thomas & Battle, Dutch Miller, and WSAZ.