Gypsyfire had a very simple start when Charles Stacey got together with Cynthia Whiddon Green. He brought his deep family roots in Ireland and discovered that Cynthia’s roots were just as deep in the Scottish and Appalachian soil. Their lives and their voices blended and from that came Gypsyfire.
In those days we home recorded and hand built cassettes and our daughters hand crafted items for the “small mall” that along with the $50 to $75 a gig and tips. With that we paid for 40,000 miles a year driving to hang out with family and friends. Those trips included twice a year jaunts to Washington, D.C. and Morgantown, W.VA and 4 times a year to Tahlequah, Oklahoma to be with family. During our time in Houston we did a regular monthly gig first at Cafe Maison, a coffee house on Shepard Street in Houston. We were joined where ever we went by friends who at times swelled the ranks of Gypsyfire on stage to as many as 10 musicians.
Among those that became regulars the champ was Ted Miller who joined in with us and began a monthly run at the Crowne Pub in Clear Lake. When they closed we moved to a regular gig at the Bay View Duck in Bayview Texas.
Between the monthly gigs we filled in with stops as long as they were within a 12 hour drive from Houston. One of our favorites was at the River’s Edge in Tulsa.
In 2003 Charlie and Cynthia relocated to Farmington New Mexico and found a whole new set of band mates and audiences.
The end of an era came in 2018 at the Aztec Highland Games with Cynthia’s final performance. Charlie honored their 22 years on the road and on stage with a song and video retrospective. She remains alive and well and safely retired from the stage.
