From the OL Editorial Team

Some of the Bay Area’s best-known women musicians will come together this Wednesday, Nov. 30, in Rise Up & Dance, a concert and dance party to support and benefit Laney College's CalWORKs - a program that helps families rise from poverty to careers through community college education.

Performers will be playing together and in various combinations and include Irina Rivkin, Pam & Jeri of Blame Sally, Andrea Prichett of Rebecca Riots, Green & Root, Carrie Gerendasy of Average Dyke Band, Karen Soo Hoo, Michelle Levy & Jim Oakden of String Fire, Kate Kilbane and the Cellar Doors and special guests.

Rise Up & Dance is open to all, whether you like partner dances such as West Coast swing, nightclub two-step, country-western two-step, Argentine tango or just want to boogie, or sit down and enjoy the show.

Here's a preview to some of the artists:

Rise Up & Dance is organized by singer-songwriter Irina Rivkin, founder of Rose Street House of Music, a living room concert hall supporting women musicians. The lineup features an array of talent. Andrea Prichett is a founding member of Rebecca Riots, the ‘90s trio who inspired many young women to pick up guitars and sing from their hearts. Prichett performs some Riots favorites and some of her own topical and social justice songs.
rebeccariots.com

The duo Green & Root also point to the Riots as inspiration. Formed in 1999, they have written and performed together on record – their CD “Down That Road” – and at concerts and festivals up and down the West Coast and Hawaii. Green was inspired by Prichett and Rebecca Riots to set up Berkeley’s FolkDiva performing and recording collective of women musicians. greenandroot.com

Of Russian Jewish parentage, OutMusic awardee Irina Rivkin has mixed her ancestral folk traditions with contemporary singer-songwriter settings. Referring to Prichett’s Rebecca Riots, Rivkin says, “When I hear them, I feel that music can change the world.” Rivkin's performance includes live-on-the-spot vocal arrangements, swirling vocal percussive beats, and textured interweaving harmony that she creates onstage using a loop station instrument. Michael Dougan in the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Rivkin “performs her own breathtaking act as a ‘live one-woman choir’ (using digital looping technology to astonishing effect).”
irinarivkin.com and www.youtube.com/irinarivkin (live performance video)

Pam Delgado and Jeri Jones, founding members of the rising Indie Americana band Blame Sally, have become an underground phenomena in the San Francisco Bay Area. These two accomplished instrumentalist/singers combine strikingly different approaches to create a distinct and compelling sound. Their original songs have had national airplay including feature and rotation on San Francisco’s KFOG and Starbucks XM Cafe. blamesally.com

Carrie Gerendasy of Ashkenaz favorite Average Dyke Band does a solo spot, high energy folk with her stellar vocals accompanied by fancy guitar work. carriegerendasy.com

San Francisco bassist-singer Kate Kilbane writes and sings jazz-soul infused rock of often epic sweep in her inspiring songs about the lives of ancient Greek women including Philomela, Procne and Medea. She and her band the Cellar Doors are recording a rock opera based on the story of Medea. katekilbane.com

Hailing from Texas and now living in the Bay Area, Karen Soo Hoo sings and plays guitar. Her original music has often been described as a "mosaic of sound." She serves a tasty blend from jazzy pop to bluesy rock. Hoo was a grant recipient from the Asian American Arts Foundation and philanthropist S. Kneisley.
reverbnation.com/KarenSooHoo

From the contra dance band String Fire, Michelle Levy and Jim Oakden play dance-oriented tangos, waltzes and Celtic fare. Levy has been performing on and exploring the possibilities of bowed string instruments for more than 20 years. She studied classical viola and Old Timey fiddle and banjo at Brown University. She studies in Medieval performance practice on vielle with Shira Kammen and with members of Sequentia at the Vancouver Medieval Programme while performing throughout the country with an eclectic variety of ensembles and vocalists, from Celtic to Algerian Amazigh (Berber) with Moh Alileche. michellevielle.com

If You Go

Pam & Jeri (Of Blame Sally), Andrea Prichett (Of Rebecca Riots), Green&Root, Irina Rivkin, Michelle Levy & Jim Oakden (Of String Fire), Karen Soohoo, Carrie Gerendasy (Of Average Dyke Band), Kate Kilbane & The Cellar Doors and Special Guests

When: Doors open at 7 p.m., Night-club Two Step and Waltz lessons at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m. - Wednesday, November 30th. 30

Where: Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley

Cost: $8-$20 sliding

Details: ashkenaz.com