by Ed Levy
April 29th will mark the last public performance by the eclectic indie folk duodisappear fear, comprised of sisters Sonia Rutstein and Cindy (Rutstein) Frank.disappear fear began recording in 1987, and the sisters performed regularly together until the mid-1990s when Cindy’s children were born. Over the years, the sisters played together only sporadically, as Sonia performed solo and with backup musicians, and developed an ardent following for her unique, passionate, and articulate songs. Last spring, Sonia and Cindy released Get Your Phil, a collection of topical songs by the late great Phil Ochs, many of which will be featured at the April 29 concert.
Singer/songwriter Holly Near could have been speaking of Sonia when saying of singer Ronnie Gilbert,” she knows how to sing and what to sing about.” I have been a big fan of Sonia for over 15 years, and of her songs about racial prejudice, coming out, Middle East peace, and an amazing variety of other topics. Sonia sings in Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic, in addition to English. She is working on a new solo recording (on which she’ll also sing in French), on honing her piano skills, and on producing other groups.
Sonia Rutstein of disappear fear in performance
In a phone interview, Sonia told me she loves being the performer who can bring people together from so many backgrounds. She said she has always been drawn to folk music due to its realness and its harmonizing. Her musical influences include: the Kingston Trio, Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell, and Odetta. She has performed with some of her favorite musicians including: Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Magpie, and Peter, Paul, and Mary. Sonia has performed all across the U.S. and Canada, in Europe and the Middle East, and elsewhere around the world.
Sonia graduated from the University of Maryland – College Park, and has stayed connected with our area ever since. She talks about having many times to carry her heavy equipment up three flights of stairs to a practice space above the original 9:30 Club on F Street, NW. Sonia performs regularly with DC-based violinist Helen Hausmann, and appears once or twice a year in the DC area.
Try Sonia and Cindy’s cover of “When I’m gone” for a taste of their music, http://www.myspace.com/music/player?sid=83038185&ac=now, and don’t miss this amazing concert!
Information Box:
Sunday April 29, 2012
Showtime 7:00 pm, Doors open 6:00 pm
Adat Chaim Congregation
115 Cockeys Mill Road
Reisterstown (suburban Baltimore), MD
http://soniadf.com/_nSite2012/index.html
TheDailySONiA 
