Grammy Award-winning Maryland artists perform with local families

“Everyone is always ready to enjoy music,” Fink said of touring the country and performing at folk festivals.

Fink and Marxer ? eclectic musicians who enjoy many musical styles ? will play the guitar, mandolin, five-string banjo, washboard and steel drum at family concerts presented by the nonprofit Candlelight Concert Society.

From their first note, the show is interactive. “We have the audience singing with us, making hand motions and doing call and response songs like ?Scat Like That.? The concert is really all about the kids and parents making music together,” Fink said.

“We want to have [songs and activities] that relate to parents and children, and their relationships to each other,” Marxer said.

For years, the best part of a performance has been watching parents and their children walk into a venue, Marxer said. “They’re happy and excited, often holding hands and smiling. They’re about to have an experience that they’ll share and enjoy.”

After performing together for nearly 25 years, Fink and Marxer have hundreds of songs in their catalogue. Yet they especially identify with folk tunes in the sense that folk reflects the bond between the audience and performers. “We do this together,” Fink said about her, Marxer and the audience.

Fink and Marxer are “state-of-the-art” performers, said Toba Barth, artistic director of Candlelight Concert Society. “The goal of the [Candlelight] series is to introduce children and their families to authentic performances. Cathy and Marcy understand their art form and present it in the most authentic way. They?re icons of American folk music and understand how important it is to get children started [in music].”

[email protected]

Candlelight Concert Society presents Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer

» When: Sunday, January 28

3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

» Venue: Smith Theatre, Howard Community College,

10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia

» Cost: $9

» Info: 443-367-3123,

www.candlelightconcerts.org