An amazing doubleheader of iconic American folk music comes to the Napa Valley when The Kingston Trio and The Brothers Four take the stage for a special performance at Lincoln Theater Napa Valley on Tuesday September 23 at 7 p.m.

In 1957 The Kingston Trio emerged from San Francisco’s North Beach club scene to take the country by storm, bringing the rich tradition of American folk music into the mainstream for the first time. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Trio enjoyed unprecedented record sales and worldwide fame, while influencing the musical tastes of a generation. Over the years, the Trio has played on, remaining popular for a simple reason — great songs that sound as good today as the first time you heard them.

Dubbed “America’s Musical Ambassadors to the World,” The Brothers Four have played thousands of college concerts, sung for four different U.S. presidents at the White House, appeared at countless community concerts, performed with symphony orchestras and jazz stars and toured dozens of foreign countries for more than four decades.

“The Kingston Trio and The Brothers Four are two iconic musical groups,” said Lincoln Theaters’ Executive Director Deb Stallings. “Their respective contributions to the American music scene have been nearly immeasurable. We are thrilled to be able to bring such talent to the Napa Valley.”

Just out of college, the original Kingston Trio, Bob Shane, Nick Reynolds and Dave Guard took dormant folk music and gave it a comic twist irresistible to the college crowd (and just about everyone else). The music was rooted in American popular culture, but performed with a refreshing style that now seems timeless. The song “Tom Dooley” in 1958 really set off the folk music revival, and helped set the stage for the protest movement of the 1960s and the music that flowed from it.

The Trio has had changes in its makeup over the years. The Kingston Trio today consists of Bill Zorn, George Grove and Rick Dougherty. They are continuing the Kingston Trio legacy with fantastic reviews, command performances and many standing ovations wherever they perform.

So why has the Trio’s music had such longevity? “Folk music, like other folk arts, is promulgated by the people, not just artists,” according to The Trio’s George Grove. “It’s a kind of music that tells the story of a nation, a people, a person, or an event.  It’s simple yet interesting, and usually doesn’t incorporate the angst and anger of Rock ’n’ Roll.”

The music of The Brothers Four has delighted millions for over 40 years. The group’s repertoire includes folk songs — both old and new — from the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Japan and China. The group was a pioneer in the folk music revival and their all-acoustic presentation consists of guitars, banjo, mandolin, upright bass, and of course the rich blend of their four voices.

The full-time lineup of The Brothers Four, as solid as ever, now includes Mike McCoy, a veteran folk performer and singer/songwriter; Karl Olsen, folk performer, choral director, writer and arranger, and the latest addition to the group; Mark Pearson, guitarist, banjo player extraordinaire and singer/songwriter; and founding member, Bob Flick, bass player, group leader and singer/songwriter.

Musical million-sellers for The Brothers Four include such releases as “Greenfields,” “Yellow Bird” and “Try to Remember.”

The Brothers Four founding member Bob Flick said that his group’s music is not so different from that of the Kingston Trio. “It’s similar in that it’s acoustic, all-male folk music, performed in a sing-along style,” he said. “We’re different because of the fourth voice — more harmonies, more melodic.”

Some of Flick’s most poignant memories are of playing for the troops in Vietnam: “We played for the troops before the whole Bob Hope thing. Sometimes we would play four or five times a day, flying by helicopter from one location to another. After a concert or via mail, fans would come up to me and show me a picture of when they were in Vietnam and ask us if we remembered playing for them. They would tell us that the only thing that kept them going during that crazy time was to hear our music and remember our visit.”

The Kingston Trio and The Brothers Four perform at Lincoln Theater Napa Valley on Tuesday, September 23 at 7 p.m. For tickets, which are $45 per seat, contact the box office, 100 California Drive, Yountville, phone 944-1300 or go to www.lincolntheater.org.