With a blend of acoustic folk and a dash of country twang, Stacey Earle and Mark Stuart create a laid-back atmosphere with intelligent yet deeply personal stories of life and love.  While Earle handles lead vocal duties, Stuart's rich voice adds the perfect harmonization to the duo's self-penned fables over a dual guitar format.
Earle and Stuart were both gifted artists in their own right with solo careers when they met at a songwriters' night in Nashville in 1992.  The two were instantly aware they were each other's musical and spiritual soul mates and married later that same year.  While they performed together regularly, Earle released a solo disc in 1998, Simple Gearle, while Stuart released his debut, Songs From a Corner Stage, the next year.  They announced their husband and wife duo with the release of their first collaborative effort, Must be Live, in 2001.  Since then, they have played countless folk festivals around the world and have opened for such celebrated artists as Joan Baez, Steve Earle, Willie Nelson, Ralph Stanley, and Richard Thompson.  The couple's latest release, 2005's Communion Bread, is yet another fine example of their songwriting abilities as they once again paint intimate portraits of themselves. 8 p.m., $12 general, $8 students, Traditions Café, 300 Fifth Ave. S.W., Olympia, (360) 705-2819. â€" Tony Engelhart