Drummer Tom Maher has been delivering toys to Children’s Hospital for over 10 years. In 2012 he had a mission: play rock and roll holiday songs for the children he was delivering the toys to. So he called his old friend Jon Svetkey and asked if he could put a band together. Jon made a few calls and a yearly tradition was born.

The band — which includes Tom and Jon, Everett Pendleton on bass, Heather Quay on vocals, Rob Laurens on keyboards, and First Church Belmont favorites Jim Wooster on guitar and Jeff Isen on percussion, trombone, harmonica and more! — will be performing a collection of fun, upbeat holiday rock and roll songs that everyone can sing along to. The crazy fun part? Immediately following the FCB performance they will pack everything up and drive over to Children’s Hospital to do it all again at 4pm!

So bring your family, bring a new and unwrapped toy or two, sing along, dance and enjoy this very special Second Friday Coffeehouse holiday concert.

Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony is a collaborative group of Boston-based singers and string players who gather once a year to reinvent the sound of the holidays. With new arrangements of classics (both sacred and secular) and a throng of unlikely additions to the seasonal lexicon, Wintery Songs is anchored by major-label veterans and highly acclaimed harmony singers Jennifer Kimball and Rose Polenzani. Re-arranging hymns and pop gems, Wintery Songs celebrates the sacred tradition and also represents the fascinating sonic melting pot of December sounds: the pagan, the schmaltz, the pop, and new ‘cold’ songs by alt-pop bands Real Estate and Mt. Eerie, and new songs by Jennifer Kimball, Laura Cortese and Brittany Haas.

Part POPS in a suitcase, the Wintery Songs strings play with a distinctly Celtic flavor and share with the singers a healthy dose of irreverence. The songs run the gamut from familiar hymns “Joy to the World” on baritone uke and “The Holly & the Ivy” with a driving rhythmic string drone to a Scottish style jig. All six ladies sing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” a cappella in a round; their magical arrangement of Real Estate’s “Snow Days” shimmers; “Jingle Bells” ala Frank Sinatra swings; and their reharmonization of “Winter Wonderland” is deeply satisfying in a minor key. A medley of tunes from Tchaikovsky’s "Nutcracker Suite,” is a showstopper! And while Kimball functions as ringleader/instigator, every member of the group contributes new songs to this truly collaborative project.

The group’s CD — HARK — will be available at the show. Don’t miss this wonderful holiday concert!

www.winterysongs.com

Love songs. Hate songs. Unavoidable fate songs. Grooves of the old. Sounds of the new. (With some sounds of the old too, of course!) Horns, there are four; all some sort of brass. Push us from soft to full sound in the flashiest flash. Keyboards and Rhodes, guitar, bass and drums. 4-part R.A.D. vocals for your listening fun. Come hear our pop. Like never before. Traces of rock, ska, jazz, maybe more? Come hear the band 'cause we're coming to you. The tree grows bigger like all saplings do.

(The Saplings are: Ryder Eatons, Matt Bent, Abe Nouri, Greg Roberts, Adrian Eldridge, Andrew Links, Jack Courtright, Geraldo Marshall, Ben Bird and FCB Youth Group alum, Rowan Wolf.)

The first half of the night will feature performances from members of our First Church Youth Group (along with alumni and friends). This fantastically talented group will put on a show filled with moving, surprising, provocative and altogether irresistible performances! So come on out and show these wonderful young people how much you appreciate their energy and talent and their support of social action.

We are super excited to announce our first in-a-very-long-time OPEN MIC NIGHT! Bring your instrument, your song, your poem, your story and come perform for an appreciative, supportive audience. At the halfway point, we will be treated to a set of fantastic, socially-aware music by legendary troubadour Dean Stevens!

Dean is a formidable creator and interpreter of a wide spectrum of songs in English and Spanish.  His own material explores a variety of personal and social topics, paints sketches of people and places, celebrates the Earth, and annoys the narrow minded. Born and raised in Costa Rica, Dean is a lifelong student of Latin America. He travels frequently to Central America and has become known for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of refugees returning to their homes in El Salvador and Guatemala. He has four highly acclaimed recordings to his credit.

So come on down and let the world hear your song! Sign up and play!

Brooks Robertson

Brooks Robertson played here last year and just blew us all away. We are thrilled to have him back.

Brooks doesn't need much more than two thumbs, eight fingers and six strings on a wooden box to carry his listeners away. He draws inspiration from the fingerstyle mastery of the legendary Chet Atkins, Lenny Breau and Earl Klugh.

Brooks merges hauntingly beautiful compositions, country rhythms and jazzy harmonies with funky licks into his own art form — sometimes delivered with a punch, sometimes with a smile — all firmly intent on keeping the legacy of fingerstyle guitar alive and well.

Big Little Banter

Big Little Banter is a collaboration project between Nate Daviau and Julia Gartha. Throughout the summer of 2017 Julia and Nate teamed up to bring a new energy to folk and country pop across the Toronto bar scene.

They were introduced at the Berklee College of Music in Boston but bonded through their mutual love of Toronto. In the comfort of their hometown they quickly started bringing stories to life with their intimate and accessible tunes.

You can check out their adventures on Facebook and Instagram at: @biglittlebanter.

www.biglittlebanter.com

THE YELLOW ROOM

Second Friday favorites Heather Quay and Jon Svetkey — now using the folk friendly name “The Yellow Room” — have been singing and strumming together for almost twenty years. Their original songs combine elements of classic pop, folk and country music while showcasing their love of two-part harmony and fun.

Heather has been on the stage for many years. As one half of Quay & O’Conor, she performed at colleges and clubs throughout the Northeast, including Columbia University, CBGBs and Club Passim, and released an album of original music. Jon, and his band, The Loomers, have performed at venues such as The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, The Hatch Shell in Boston, Club Passim, Caffe Lena, and Fenway Park. He co-headlined writers-in-the-round nights with folks like Kristian Bush of Sugarland, Dar Williams, and Ellis Paul. Jon has released 10 albums of his music and his songs have appeared on CBS, Cinemax, The CW, MTV, NBC, and PBS.

Heather and Jon are thrilled to be returning to the Second Friday. And, as a special added bonus, Jeff Isen will join them for a few songs!Don’t miss it!

JEFF ISEN

Jeff comes from a long line of musicians, and he has kept up the family tradition playing folk, blues, alt country, rock, and everything in between. A multi-instrumentalist, Jeff has played with a jug band in Berkeley CA, a blue grass group in Malawi, a rock band in Sri Lanka, and a few different outfits in Boston. He is also a song writer just waiting for his SoundCloud account to go viral! Lately, thanks to the involvement of his wife and son at the First Church, Jeff has been haunting the FCB Hootenannies and is having a great time making music with a whole new gang!

foodbaby is Roger Gallagher (vocals, keys, guitar), Tom Perrotta (guitar), Ben Scheindlin (vocal, bass), Narayan Kaimal (trap kit), and Bill Denison (vocals, guitfiddles). Hailing from Belmont, Mass, and playing original Roots-Rawk influenced by the swinging of Elvis to the shoe-gaze of the Sonic Youth, and everywhere in between!

First Church’s own keyboardist, singer, arranger, and composer Richard Curzi, returns to the Second Friday Coffeehouse with his band Positive Energy for the 18th time, to close out our 2018-2019 season.

Positive Energy features Richard on keyboards and vocals, Roger Brown on drums, Jim Wooster on guitar, Jon Svetkey and Paul Judge on guitars and vocals, Rick Dimino on bass, Jeff Isen on many instruments, with vocalists Bridget Curzi, Kate Donovan, Heather Quay, Laura Wooster, Roger Read, and John Howe.

This year's show will again feature the amazing Belmont Roxx Orchestra featuring some of Belmont High Schools finest musicians playing Richard's orchestral arrangements of some of his favorite tunes!

This year’s repertoire promises to be the bands most eclectic mix ever – taking us from Chick Corea to Fats Domino and The Temptations. As has now become a Positive Energy tradition, the group will pay musical tribute to a number of recently departed icons of the music world.

This will be a night you won’t want to miss!

DON WHITE

songwriter/storyteller/humorist/teacher/author

“Mark Twain meets Woody Guthrie… Woody Guthrie meets George Carlin…” - Ed Stivendor

There is no one-word description for what Don White does. He is a storyteller-comedian-author-troubadour-folk singer-songwriter. He is a walking challenge to the phrase “file under.” Best to just sort him under “Don White.”

“If William Blake saw the universe in a grain of sand, Don White sees it in a squeaking door or Marshmallow Fluff.” - Bill Harley

For more than twenty years, he has been bringing his audiences to laughter and tears in his live performances, studio recordings, and on the printed page.

“No artist on the circuit today is better than Don White at combining the heartfelt aesthetics of the singer-songwriter with side-splitting laughs.” - Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe

THE LOOMERS

folk-rock

In addition to being Don’s longtime backing band, The Loomers have performed at venues such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Fenway Park, The House of Blues, and Club Passim. Their songs are infused with the classic sounds of driving rock, heartland folk, rock & soul, and retro-1980s pop –– filled with the joys, hopes, sorrows and wonder of growing older. They've released five albums and their songs have been played on CBS, Cinemax, MTV, NBC, & PBS.

Lisa Bastoni

songwriter

"Americana of the highest order...along the lines of Gretchen Peters or Patty Griffin.” — Maverick-UK

Following a ten year break from music, a career change, and two children, Lisa Bastoni has returned with The Wishing Hour (2017). Produced by Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Felix McTeigue (Anais Mitchell/Lori McKenna), the album debuted as #1 most played on Boston's WUMB.

In the past year, Lisa has been selected to showcase at the New England Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference, as well as the Falcon Ridge and New Song Music/LEAF Festivals. Her song "Rabbit Hole" was grand prize winner of the Great American Song Contest. She has opened for artists such as Lori McKenna, The Low Anthem, Regina Spektor and Arlo Guthrie.

Rob Laurens

songwriter

“Rob’s songs are both timeless and contemporary. They transport us back to ballads past while holding our attention with a contemporary sound."

— Ellis Paul

Rob Laurens is a songwriter's songwriter. With a keen eye for subtle, understated detail, Rob creates songs whose lyrics resonate like the words of a writer; his songs tell stories, often expressing the kind of ideas and complexity of emotions more typically tackled in the work of a novelist.

Rob won the New Folk Award for Songwriting at both the Kerrville Folk Festival (TX) and its sister festival, The Columbia River Festival (WA). He returned to play the main stage at these and many other festivals. He tours both east and west coasts, playing such clubs as The Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, California, and Club Passim in Cambridge.

JOEL CAGE

“One man, one voice, one sixty-something year old Gibson arch-top, a sonic landscape, and a bunch of amazing songs. Joel puts on a show you are sure you will never see again. Every time.”

— Ray Brady, Dedham Square Coffeehouse

Joel Cage is an award-winning singer-songwriter. Once a member of the internationally acclaimed rock & roll group Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Joel has been performing nationally as a soloist for the past two decades. He won top prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and was the winner of the USA Songwriter’s Competition three times.

Those prone to comparison will liken Joel to Chris Smither, Richie Havens, Bruce Cockburn, or an acoustic Pete Townshend. Most frequently he gets compared to Stephen Stills. However, you can’t compare Joel Cage to any other player – he stands alone. His command over his guitar is incredible – he’s an original – completely subsumed by the instrument. What you get is a one-of-a-kind experience. Don’t miss it.

Drummer Tom Maher has been delivering toys to Children’s Hospital for almost 15 years. In 2012 he had a mission: play rock and roll holiday songs for the children he was delivering the toys to. So he called his old friend Jon Svetkey and asked if he could put a band together. Jon made a few calls and a yearly tradition was born.

The band — which includes Tom and Jon, Everett Pendleton on bass, Heather Quay on vocals, Rob Laurens on keyboards, and First Church Belmont favorites Jim Wooster on guitar and Jeff Isen on percussion, trombone, harmonica and more! — will be performing a collection of fun, upbeat holiday rock and roll songs that everyone can sing along to. The crazy fun part? Immediately following the FCB performance they will pack everything up and drive over to Children’s Hospital to do it all again at 4pm!

So bring your family, bring a new and unwrapped toy or two, sing along, dance and enjoy this very special Second Friday Coffeehouse holiday concert.

Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony is a loose collaboration of Boston-based musicians organized by veteran singer/songwriter Jennifer Kimball, who celebrate the holiday season with their delightful annual program of sacred, secular and wintery pop music rearranged, re-harmonized and often just plain turned on its head. Wielding fiddles, cellos, ukes, guitars and glockenspiels, this ensemble re-envisions the sounds of the season. From Sinatra to Tchaikovsky, Isaac Watts to Ana Egge, this beautifully eclectic mix of sacred and secular music inspires a reinvention of the holiday experience; one where minor keys are as familiar as major, the church has transformed into a club where all are welcome and the season’s darkness is as deep as it’s festive lights are welcoming.

A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to The Grow Clinic at Boston Medical Center, which provides comprehensive specialty medical, nutritional, developmental and social services, and dietary assistance to children from the Greater Boston area diagnosed with Failure To Thrive.

Don’t miss this wonderful holiday concert!

Sway Casey is an artist who wants to make music that makes you feel great or at least makes you feel better. Music that you can put on repeat. Music you can vibe to, music you can connect to, music you can chill to, music you can fall asleep to, music you can drive to, music you can dance to, music you can sway to, but, most importantly, music that you can fall in love with. Sway has performed at multiple venues across New England with the goal of spreading a bit of positivity everywhere he goes.

The first half of the night will be an open mic featuring performances from members of the First Church Youth Group, Youth Group alumni, and Belmont High students. Sign up that night. Sing a song and show your support of social action.

Ethan Setiawan & Louise Bichan

Bluegrass

Orkney (Scotland) born fiddler Louise Bichan and Indiana (USA) mandolinist Ethan Setiawan join forces to explore fiddle traditions from Scotland to Appalachia, via Scandinavia and Canada. New compositions, informed by these traditions and by the wealth of inspiration their current home of Boston (USA), blend together with age old tunes.

Setiawan won the 2014 National Mandolin Championship, the 2017 RockyGrass Mandolin Championship and has shared the stage with the likes of Julian Lage, Darrell Scott, Bryan Sutton, Tony Trischka, and Darol Anger.

Bichan has won awards for her compositions and playing. She has appeared at Edinburgh Castle, Reading Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Lorient Interceltique Festival, Milwaukee Irish Festival and Sligo Live festival. In 2016 she released her first solo album, Out of My Own Light, to great acclaim.

Beane and Jade

Pop/R&B

Currently studying Video Game Scoring and Contemporary Writing & Production at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Jade Che is a 21-year-old contemporary pianist and composer born in China and raised in Australia and the States. Her understanding of the diverse cultures that she's a part of allows her to express herself through various styles of music, as well as other mediums of art.

Beane is a soulful singer-songwriter with roots in Central Pennsylvania. He has lived in Boston for three years and studies music business at Berklee College of Music. Beane’s main goal is to leave people feeling better than they did before they interacted with his music. He released the “Human Beane” EP in November of 2017 and is planning on releasing a number of singles in 2019.

roots rockers

Second Friday favorites Jim and Paul are back!. This time around they’ll be singing their favorite songs, accompanying themselves on acoustic and electric guitars and mandolin. Always a treat to hear, Jim and Paul will make you smile!

Opening Act:

Roger Miller & Gerri Strickler

pop & folk music

Roger and Gerri started their singing friendship 8 years ago as members of the FCB's Nova Choir. With Roger on guitar, sometimes mandolin, and Gerri on autoharp, they perform together within the wider church community and around town. Tonight, FCB friends, Jim Sugarman and Bayard Klimasmith, will join them for a few songs!

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Lula Wiles came of age in Boston, in the practice rooms of Berklee College of Music and the city’s lively roots scene. But long before they were in a band together, the members of Lula Wiles were singing folk songs and trading fiddle tunes at camp in Maine. On those warm summer nights, playing music was just plain fun. But the members of Lula Wiles carry those early lessons of community and the meaning of shared art with them to this day, as they seek to create music that questions cultural virtues, soothes aching wounds, and envisions a better world.

In 2016, the band self-released “Lula Wiles,” a sensitive, twang-tinged collection of originals. Since then, they have toured internationally, winning fans at the Newport Folk Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and sharing stages with the likes of Aoife O’Donovan, the Wood Brothers, and Tim O’Brien. We are thrilled to have them back at the Second Friday Coffeehouse! Come and help us celebrate their brand new Smithsonian Folkways album, “What Will We Do” at this very special concert!

Visit Lula Wiles Online

Liv Greene is a singer-songwriter based in Boston. She was a 2015 YoungArts finalist in Voice, and is an alumna of Interlochen Arts Academy, where she won the program’s Artist of the Year. She is currently studying Contemporary Improvisation at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

Visit Liv Greene Online

This Month's Featured Charity: Boston Area Rape Crisis Center

BUY TICKETS HERE!

“Despite his success and sense of history, Mr. Paul remains an artist with his eye on the future and an interest in discovering the transformative potential in his music.” - The New York Times

Some artists document their lives through their music. Others chronicle their times. It’s a rare artist who can do both, telling their own story through songs that also encapsulate the essence of people and places who have helped define their era overall. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen all come to mind. Yet few songwriters can relate their own life to the life experienced by others who find that common bond — the exhilaration of the open road, the celebration of heroes, the coming of age, the hope for redemption, the sharing of love, intimate, passionate and enduring — the way that Ellis Paul does.

Smart. Literate. Poetic. Singular. Storyteller. Folksinger. Yes, but Ellis Paul is far more. How much more? An incredible 30-year career. 15 Boston Music Awards. 20 albums. Newport Folk Festival. Carnegie Hall. Hundreds of venues from Alaska to Miami, Paris, and London. Dozens of compilations, commercials, documentaries, TV shows, and blockbuster movie soundtracks. He is one of the finest singer/songwriters of his generation — for many, the face of contemporary folk music — and probably no artist on the acoustic music scene is better loved by fans, or more respected by his contemporaries than Ellis Paul. Come to this first concert of our 35th Anniversary Season and find out why.

Opening Act: Jon Svetkey & Heather Quay

Second Friday favorites Heather Quay and Jon Svetkey — now using the folk friendly name “The Yellow Room” — have been singing and strumming together for over twenty years. Their original songs combine elements of classic pop, folk and country music while showcasing their love of two-part harmony and fun.

Heather has been on the stage for many years. As one half of Quay & O’Conor, she performed at colleges and clubs throughout the Northeast, including Columbia University, CBGBs and Club Passim, and released an album of original music. Jon, and his band, The Loomers, have performed at venues such as The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, The Hatch Shell in Boston, Club Passim, Caffe Lena, and Fenway Park. He co-headlined writers-in-the-round nights with folks like Kristian Bush of Sugarland, Dar Williams, and Peirce Pettis. 30 years ago, Jon co-founded the seminal songwriter collective End Construction. -- along with Ellis Paul, Brian Doser and Jim Infantino. Jon has released 10 albums of his music and his songs have appeared on CBS, Cinemax, The CW, MTV, NBC, and PBS.

This Month's Featured Charity: Story Starters

BUY TICKETS HERE!

“I love music. I love playing guitar. I love singing. If you're not crazy about the song I'm playing right now, wait a couple of minutes!” - Everett

Everett Pendleton is what you call “a musician's musician.” Not only does he play guitar with great chops and exquisite taste, he is also one of the most amazing singers you will ever hear. Plus, he has a 1000-watt smile that lights up the room.

Everett brings a genuine love for music to all that he does. Born and raised in Chicago, Everett comes from a musical family. His dad, Penny Pendleton, Everett's father, was a very accomplished and respected jazz bassist on the Chicago scene.

Over the years, Everett has become an incredibly in-demand musician. Since 1993 he’s been playing with Jon Svetkey, and has been the lead guitarist in The Loomers. He’s traveled to China and Brazil, taught at the Bass Workshop in New Hampshire, and he currently plays (bass guitar!) with Gary Backstrom. To paraphrase the great cartoon legend Freakazoid, "HE'S GOT LEGS BABY! HE'S EVERYWHERE!"

Oh yeah, did we mention he's also a fine songwriter in his own right? Come and find out how amazing Everett is.

OPENING ACT: Soren Hallet

Soren was the winner of Belmont Idol 2018. Currently a senior at Belmont High, this is Soren’s debut appearance at our coffeehouse. It’s also his professional debut!

This Month's Featured Charity: Waltham House

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Jim Infantino is a distinctive singer/songwriter whose songs are alternately funny and serious. He began his career the early 90s, leaving his native New York for Boston, busking in the T and joining the collective End Construction Productions with Jon Svetkey, Brian Doser, and Ellis Paul. Following their release of the CD "Resume Speed," Jim did two solo CDs, founded his band, Jim's Big Ego, and toured for years, playing nationally notable venues from Nashville to Northampton to San Francisco.

He has opened for Patty Larkin, David Bromberg, James Taylor, David Wilcox, and Dar Williams and his songs have been covered by James Naughton, David Wilcox, and Ellis Paul. Jim's Big Ego has released seven albums since the early 90s. Google "the greatest band in the history of recorded music" and you will find Jim's Big Ego.

www.bigego.com

OPENING ACT: Hannah Siglin

Hannah Siglin is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist from the Inland Northwest. Raised on folk music and studied in classical training, her songs tangle intricate guitar parts with raw and intimate lyrics, beautiful both stripped down to her guitar and voice, or set over the dynamics of her band—acoustic bass, fiddle, and trombone.

This Month's Featured Charity: common cathedral

Drummer Tom Maher has been delivering toys to Children’s Hospital for almost 15 years. In 2012 he had a mission: play rock and roll holiday songs for the children he was delivering the toys to. So he called his old friend Jon Svetkey and asked if he could put a band together. Jon made a few calls and a yearly tradition was born.

The band — which includes Tom and Jon, Everett Pendleton on bass, Heather Quay on vocals, Rob Laurens on keyboards, and First Church Belmont favorites Jim Wooster on guitar and Jeff Isen on percussion, trombone, harmonica and more! — will be performing a collection of fun, upbeat holiday rock and roll songs that everyone can sing along to. The crazy fun part? Immediately following the FCB performance they will pack everything up and drive over to Children’s Hospital to do it all again at 4pm!

So bring your family, bring a new and unwrapped toy or two, sing along, dance and enjoy this very special Second Friday Coffeehouse holiday concert.

Drummer Tom Maher has been delivering toys to Children’s Hospital for almost 15 years. In 2012 he had a mission: play rock and roll holiday songs for the children he was delivering the toys to. So he called his old friend Jon Svetkey and asked if he could put a band together. Jon made a few calls and a yearly tradition was born.

The band — which includes Tom and Jon, Everett Pendleton on bass, Heather Quay on vocals, Rob Laurens on keyboards, and First Church Belmont favorites Jim Wooster on guitar and Jeff Isen on percussion, trombone, harmonica and more! — will be performing a collection of fun, upbeat holiday rock and roll songs that everyone can sing along to. The crazy fun part? Immediately following the FCB performance they will pack everything up and drive over to Children’s Hospital to do it all again at 4pm!

So bring your family, bring a new and unwrapped toy or two, sing along, dance and enjoy this very special Second Friday Coffeehouse holiday concert.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony is a loose collaboration of Boston-based musicians organized by veteran singer/songwriter Jennifer Kimball, who celebrate the holiday season with their delightful annual program of sacred, secular and wintery pop music rearranged, re-harmonized and often just plain turned on its head. Wielding fiddles, cellos, ukes, guitars and glockenspiels, this ensemble re-envisions the sounds of the season. From Sinatra to Tchaikovsky, Isaac Watts to Ana Egge, this beautifully eclectic mix of sacred and secular music inspires a reinvention of the holiday experience; one where minor keys are as familiar as major, the church has transformed into a club where all are welcome and the season’s darkness is as deep as it’s festive lights are welcoming.

A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to Waltham House, which is the first residential group home designed specifically for LGBTQ youth in New England, and one of only three of its kind in the nation. Its founding principles are that every child deserves to live in an environment in which they feel safe, respected, supported and cared for by those around them.

Don’t miss this wonderful holiday concert!

The first half of our night will be an open mic featuring performances from members of the First Church Youth Group, Youth Group alumni, and Belmont High students. Sign up that night. Sing a song and show your support of social action.

The second half will feature a performance from JUST FRIENDS -- an amazing band of jazz musicians from Belmont High School. Just Friends is Anthony Haddad on bass, Honor Hickman on saxophone, Nate Jones on trombone and keys and Jon Messer on drums. We are thrilled to have them at the coffeehouse!

This Month's Featured Charity: FCB Youth Group Service Trip Fund

Featured act: Kim Moberg

We are super excited to announce our third annual OPEN MIC NIGHT! And since it's on Valentine's Day, we're proposing an evening of chocolate & roses to go along with love songs from all of the performers.

So bring your instrument, your song, your poem, your story and come perform for an appreciative, supportive audience. At the halfway point, we will be treated to a set of fantastic music by up and coming songwriter Kim Moberg!

Kim’s passionate and heartfelt vocals mesmerize listeners while her songs tug at feelings of melancholy, heartbreak, healing and social consciousness. She recently won the Performing Songwriter Competition at the Rose Garden Coffeehouse. Her debut CD, “Above Ground,” produced by Grammy-nominated producer Jon Evans, will be available at the show.

So come on down and let the world hear your song! Sign up and play! (Performers free!)

This Month's Featured Charity: Belmont Against Racism

After considerable thought, and to be consistent with Governor Baker’s recommendations in his declaration of a State of Emergency on Tuesday, March 10, we are sorry to say that we are going to postpone tomorrow night’s coffeehouse. We’ll reschedule as soon as we can!

Thanks for your understanding. We’ll see you at the next coffeehouse!

Bayard Klimasmith

Bayard is a life-long singer, guitar player, and choral performer, although never professionally. He has a super-power: he can quickly write silly songs to celebrate family events. However, for this open-mic night, he will be performing a short set of not-quite-as-silly original songs.

Gerri Strickler & Roger Miller

Roger and Gerri started their singing friendship 8 years ago as members of the FCB's Nova Choir. With Roger on guitar, sometimes mandolin, and Gerri on autoharp, they perform together within the wider church community and around town. Their good friend Jim Sugarman will also join them for their set!

The Griffins

Pamela and Darrell enjoy performing songs with close harmonies that convey the range of emotions of the human experience. They started performing a the coffeehouse with their son, Avery, in 1996.

Jim Hall

Second Friday Coffeehouse co-founder Jim Hall has been singing for over sixty years, and has performed classical, pop, musicals, and barbershop. His set will include songs by the “masters” of the 50s and 60s Folk Revival.

This Month's Featured Charity: Désfalva Church Musical Instrument Fund

Due to the current state of affairs, First Church Belmont is closed for the unforeseeable future. That means we've had to reschedule some concerts.

Please reach out to us if you would like a refund for tickets or if you'd like to use your seats for the rescheduled date. Thanks.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Danielle Miraglia

Danielle Miraglia comes armed with a strong steady thumb on an old Gibson, an infectious stomp-box rhythm and harmonica with tunes ranging from heart-felt to socially conscious that will move both your heart and hips.

Danielle’s music blends influences of some of her own musical heroes - The Rolling Stones, Prince, Janis Joplin along with her lyrical ability to explore human nature at its best and worst.

Danielle has toured and played major venues across the United States and beyond, and has shared the stage with luminaries like Buddy Guy, Joan Osborne, Bettye Lavette, John Hammond and Robert Cray.

Danielle M and The Glory Junkies are nominated for a 2018 Boston Music Award for "Blues Artist of the Year" and Danielle was nominated for a 2015 Boston Music Award for Singer-Songwriter of the Year.

Lisa Bastoni

"Americana of the highest order...along the lines of Gretchen Peters or Patty Griffin.” — Maverick-UK

Following a ten year break from music, a career change, and two children, Lisa Bastoni has returned with The Wishing Hour (2017). Produced by Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Felix McTeigue (Anais Mitchell/Lori McKenna), the album debuted as #1 most played on Boston's WUMB.

In the past year, Lisa has been selected to showcase at the New England Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference, as well as the Falcon Ridge and New Song Music/LEAF Festivals. Her song "Rabbit Hole" was grand prize winner of the Great American Song Contest. She has opened for artists such as Lori McKenna, The Low Anthem, Regina Spektor and Arlo Guthrie.

This Month's Featured Charity: The Grow Clinic

Due to the current state of affairs, First Church Belmont is closed for the unforeseeable future. That means we've had to reschedule some concerts. Please reach out to us if you would like a refund for tickets or if you'd like to use your seats for the rescheduled date. Thanks.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

DON WHITE

songwriter/storyteller/humorist/teacher/author

“Mark Twain meets Woody Guthrie… Woody Guthrie meets George Carlin…” - Ed Stivendor

There is no one-word description for what Don White does. He is a storyteller-comedian-author-troubadour-folk singer-songwriter. He is a walking challenge to the phrase “file under.” Best to just sort him under “Don White.”

“If William Blake saw the universe in a grain of sand, Don White sees it in a squeaking door or Marshmallow Fluff.” - Bill Harley

For more than twenty years, he has been bringing his audiences to laughter and tears in his live performances, studio recordings, and on the printed page.

“No artist on the circuit today is better than Don White at combining the heartfelt aesthetics of the singer-songwriter with side-splitting laughs.” - Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe

THE LOOMERS

folk-rock

In addition to being Don’s longtime backing band, The Loomers have performed at venues such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Fenway Park, The House of Blues, and Club Passim. Their songs are infused with the classic sounds of driving rock, heartland folk, rock & soul, and retro-1980s pop –– filled with the joys, hopes, sorrows and wonder of growing older. They've released five albums and their songs have been played on CBS, Cinemax, MTV, NBC, & PBS.

This Month's Featured Charity: Learn2Cope

Due to the current state of affairs, First Church Belmont is closed for the unforeseeable future. That means we've had to reschedule some concerts. Please reach out to us if you would like a refund for tickets or if you'd like to use your seats for the rescheduled date. Thanks.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

DON WHITE

songwriter/storyteller/humorist/teacher/author

“Mark Twain meets Woody Guthrie… Woody Guthrie meets George Carlin…” - Ed Stivendor

There is no one-word description for what Don White does. He is a storyteller-comedian-author-troubadour-folk singer-songwriter. He is a walking challenge to the phrase “file under.” Best to just sort him under “Don White.”

“If William Blake saw the universe in a grain of sand, Don White sees it in a squeaking door or Marshmallow Fluff.” - Bill Harley

For more than twenty years, he has been bringing his audiences to laughter and tears in his live performances, studio recordings, and on the printed page.

“No artist on the circuit today is better than Don White at combining the heartfelt aesthetics of the singer-songwriter with side-splitting laughs.” - Scott Alarik, The Boston Globe

THE LOOMERS

folk-rock

In addition to being Don’s longtime backing band, The Loomers have performed at venues such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Fenway Park, The House of Blues, and Club Passim. Their songs are infused with the classic sounds of driving rock, heartland folk, rock & soul, and retro-1980s pop –– filled with the joys, hopes, sorrows and wonder of growing older. They've released five albums and their songs have been played on CBS, Cinemax, MTV, NBC, & PBS.

This Month's Featured Charity: Learn2Cope

BUY TICKETS HERE

"It's right there in the name for this ultra-gifted, rotating collective of singers and multi-instrumentalists. And sprawl is a good word when it comes to the Boston-based group's raucous live shows, which were initially built around the community concept of traditional Irish seisiúns. The group, whose members have played with a variety of acts including Patty Griffin, Josh Ritter and the J. Geils Band, expertly blends vintage American roots music styles — from country to jazz to rock — in a rowdy but deft fashion."

– Rolling Stone

Session Americana (Boston) is a rock band in a tea cup, or possibly a folk band in a whiskey bottle. This band/collective of talented musicians craft an musical experience unlike any other. On stage is a collapsible bar table wired with microphones, a vintage suitcase recast as a kick drum, an old Estey field organ, a pre-war parlor guitar, a mandocello and all of its smaller siblings, a harmonica case fire damaged when Jack's bar went up in flames and graffitied by Depeche Mode roadies, and an assortment of other instruments that get passed around in this freewheeling modern hootenanny. The anything-could-happen feel of a Session show depends on craft that's not accidental or easily won; they bring a kind of ease and genuineness to this timeless music, sometimes presenting the latest batch of original songs, sometimes reaching back into depths of the American "song bag".

DON WHITE ZOOM/ YOUTUBE/FACEBOOK LIVE SHOW

This show will be streamed live to Facebook and YouTube from Zoom.

If you want to be in the interactive Zoom concert use this access information.

Meeting ID: 842 7714 8210

Password: 793408

To view the show on Facebook Live please go to https://www.facebook.com/DonWhiteFolk/live/

To view the show on YouTube, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6J6IQqef74&feature=youtu.be

This event will be interactive – meaning that Don and the audience will be able to hear laughter and applause as it happens. At the end of the show, there will be an after party with Don and maybe a surprise guest or two!

The show is free. There will be a VIRTUAL TIP JAR. A portion of the money donated will be given to the Second Friday Coffee House.

ABOUT DON WHITE

There is no one-word description for what Don White does. He's an award-winning singer/songwriter, a comedian, an author, and a storyteller. He's been bringing audiences to laughter and tears for thirty years, released ten CDs, three live DVDs, and a book, Memoirs of a C Student. For more information about Don's work, please check out the videos and music here: www.donwhite.net.

To watch Don in action, enjoy the Accordion Door Story!

Thank you for supporting Second Friday Coffee House.

First Church’s own keyboardist, singer, arranger, and composer Richard Curzi, returns to the Second Friday Coffeehouse with his first online concert!

WATCH ON FACEBOOK!

WATCH ON YOUTUBE!

VIRTUAL TIP JAR

WATCH ON FACEBOOK

WATCH ON YOU TUBE

Donate To Concert Tip Jar

Purchase Season Ticket

He has opened for Patty Larkin, David Bromberg, James Taylor, David Wilcox, and Dar Williams and his songs have been covered by James Naughton, David Wilcox, and Ellis Paul. Jim's Big Ego has released seven albums since the early 90s. Google "the greatest band in the history of recorded music" and you will find Jim's Big Ego.

www.bigego.com

Brian Doser is an amazing family music entertainer. His online morning concerts -- 150 and counting! -- have been a massive international success. Keep the kids up late for a special night of your favorite holiday songs. And, as a special bonus, watch for a very special video at the end of the show...

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Brian's Facebook Page!

Bob Bedell is a fantastic songwriter from North Carolina. For many years he's performed with Catbird Seat, an Americana trio with Rob Griffin and Brett Norton. Their music explores harmonies and discourse through various themes from the alluring and simplistic, to the serious and inane. We are extraordinarily lucky to be able to present Bob doing his solo thing.

Facebook Catbird Seat!

Hear Catbird Seat!

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Tammy Patrick possesses a sweet, clear voice that draws comparisons to Nanci Griffith. She’s recorded five CDs, including 2016’s, “Songs from the Cardinal’s Room.” Jeff Farias toured extensively with Rounder recording artist Carrie Newcomer, and has performed with Bonnie Raitt, Greg Brown, Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, and others. Since 2014 they have been part of Southern Maryland’s vibrant music scene.

WATCH THE SHOW ON FACEBOOK

WATCH THE SHOW ON YOU TUBE

Viirtual Tip Jar

Purchase Season Ticket

Don Conoscenti is one of the most respected musicians and acclaimed songwriters in acoustic music. He is also a seasoned studio pro working as producer, composer and multi-instrumental session player in an array of musical scenarios. His live performances are a soulful fusion of styles blended from his experience playing rock, jazz, blues, folk, funk and country. But his primary love is the landscape of storytelling. He’s made many friends in the Folk, Americana, Rock, Jazz, and Native American musical communities and they’ve lent their talents to his recordings and performances.

His recordings have been in the top 20 albums played by folk and acoustic DJ’s worldwide. NPR, World Café and Acoustic Café have all spotlighted his music and he has played some of the top venues and festivals in the U.S including Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Kerrville Folk Festival the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, The Troubadour, and The Kennedy Center to name a few.

Don will be joining us from his home in Taos, NM -- so please note the 9pm start time.

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WATCH THE SHOW ON YOU TUBE

Virtual Tip Jar

Purchase Season Ticket

“I love music. I love playing guitar. I love singing. If you're not crazy about the song I'm playing right now, wait a couple of minutes!” - Everett

Everett Pendleton is what you call “a musician's musician.” Not only does he play guitar with great chops and exquisite taste, he is also one of the most amazing singers you will ever hear. Plus, he has a 1000-watt smile that lights up the room. Oh yeah, did we mention he's also a fine songwriter in his own right? Tune in and find out how amazing Everett is.

WATCH THE SHOW ON FACEBOOK

WATCH THE SHOW ON YOU TUBE

Virtual Tip Jar

Purchase Season Ticket

WATCH THE SHOW ON FACEBOOK

WATCH THE SHOW ON YOU TUBE

Virtual Tip Jar

Purchase Season Ticket

WATCH THE SHOW ON FACEBOOK

WATCH THE SHOW ON YOU TUBE

Virtual Tip Jar

Purchase Season Ticket

WATCH THE SHOW ON FACEBOOK

WATCH THE SHOW ON YOU TUBE

Virtual Tip Jar

Purchase Season Ticket

We are thrilled to welcome you all back to our first in-person concert in almost 2 years!

SOLD OUT! (Reserve a seat for next month here!)

The Loomers have been passionate about making music for over 25 years. Their songbook is a trip through the American musical landscape –– infused with the classic sounds of driving rock, heartland folk, rock & soul, and retro-1980s pop –– filled with the joys, hopes, sorrows and wonders of growing older.

These days the band is comprised of JON SVETKEY (acoustic guitar, lead vocals, songs), EVERETT PENDLETON (electric guitar, harmony vocals), JACK CAVALIER (bass guitar, harmony vocals), MICHAEL CAHILL (drums), ROB LAURENS (keyboards), HEATHER QUAY (harmony vocals, high-strung guitar), TOM SIMONS (electric guitar), and JEFF ISEN (guitar, mandolin, trombone, harmonica, harmony vocals, kitchen sink).

Some cool things the band has done over the years: backed John Mellencamp at a party at the 2004 Democratic National Convention; performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Fenway Park, The House of Blues, The Somerville Theatre, and CBGBs, among many venues; sold out Club Passim, the legendary acoustic music Mecca in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and, won Berklee College Of Music's "Battle Of The Executive Bands" twice. They've released five albums -- Reeling Down A Road, Tomorrow Today, SHINE, Simple As That and escalation -- and their songs have appeared on CBS, Cinemax, MTV, NBC, & PBS, as well as internationally online and on cable. They have performed at events that have raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities like The Somerville Coalition For The Homeless and The Home For Little Wanderers.

They also perform as a backing band and cover band. For 25 years they've backed the amazing Don White, accompanied acclaimed songwriter Ellis Paul during his "Carnival Of Voices" tour and hosted many sold out Tribute Nights at Club Passim. Their cover song list runs from the 1950s through the 1990s and includes everything from Elvis and Sam Cooke to The Beatles and The Monkees to The Spinners and The Commodores to Bruce Springsteen and U2.

We are thrilled to have them welcome you all back to live concerts!

The Loomers' Website

Patrons must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination for admission (pic or copy of vaccination card). Masks required. No exceptions. 75 person seating capacity.

RESERVE YOUR SEAT HERE!

Come hear Jonny Kringle and The Wondaland Band play all your favorite classic rock holiday songs -- and make some kids happy at the same time!

Drummer Tom Maher has been delivering toys to Children’s Hospital for almost 20 years. Back in 2012 he had a mission: play rock and roll holiday songs for the children he was delivering the toys to. So he called his old friend Jon Svetkey and asked if he could put a band together. Jon made a few calls and a yearly tradition was born. The band includes Tom and Jon, Everett Pendleton on guitar, Heather Quay & Lyn O'Conor-Ferguson on vocals, Claire Svetkey on vocals & trumpet, Rob Laurens on keyboards, Jason Redi on bass, Jeff Isen on percussion, trombone, harmonica and more!

And don't miss the super top secret special holiday music bonus before the show!

We are prohibited from delivering toys this year but all donations from the concert will go directly to the toy fund and will help families spending their holidays at Children's. You can donate online when you reserve your seat or in-person at the show.

We hope you'll join us for this very special Second Friday Coffeehouse holiday concert.

Patrons must provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination for admission (pic or copy of vaccination card). Masks required. No exceptions. 75 person seating capacity.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Tickets purchased for the original 2/11/22 concert will be honored at this rescheduled show, but please let us know if you would prefer a refund. 2021-2022 Season Tickets will be honored through the 2022-2023 season.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

We are beyond thrilled that our return-to-live-music 2022-23 season opener is the amazing DON WHITE.

There is no one-word description for what Don White does. He's an award-winning singer/songwriter, a comedian, an author, and a storyteller. He's been bringing audiences to laughter and tears for thirty years, released ten CDs, three live DVDs, and a book, Memoirs of a C Student. For more information about Don's work, please check out the videos and music here: www.donwhite.net.

To watch Don in action, enjoy the Accordion Door Story!

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

MAKE A DONATION/RESERVE A SEAT HERE!

Come hear Jonny Kringle and The Wondaland Band play all your favorite classic rock holiday songs -- and make some kids happy at the same time!

Drummer Tom Maher has been delivering toys to Children’s Hospital for almost 20 years. Back in 2012 he had a mission: play rock and roll holiday songs for the children he was delivering the toys to. So he called his old friend Jon Svetkey and asked if he could put a band together. Jon made a few calls and a yearly tradition was born. The band includes Tom and Jon, Everett Pendleton on guitar, Heather Quay & Lyn O'Conor-Ferguson on vocals, Rob Laurens on keyboards, Jason Redi on bass, Jeff Isen on percussion, trombone, harmonica and more!

And don't miss the super top secret special holiday music bonus before the show!

We are prohibited from delivering toys this year but all donations from the concert will go directly to the toy fund and will help families spending their holidays at Children's. You can donate online when you reserve your seat or in-person at the show.

We hope you'll join us for this very special Second Friday holiday concert.

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Tickets purchased for the original 1/14/22 concert will be honored at this rescheduled show, but please let us know if you would prefer a refund. 2021-2022 Season Tickets will be honored for the 2022-2023 season.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Peter Mulvey has been a songwriter, road-dog, raconteur and almost-poet since before he can remember. Raised working-class Catholic on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, he took a semester in Ireland, and immediately began cutting classes to busk on Grafton Street in Dublin and hitchhike through the country, finding whatever gigs he could. Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging in the Midwest before lighting out for Boston, where he returned to busking (this time in the subway) and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national and international touring. The wheels have not stopped since.

Nineteen records, an illustrated book, thousands of live performances, a TEDx talk, a decades-long association with the National Youth Science Camp, opening for luminaries such as Ani DiFranco, Emmylou Harris, and Chuck Prophet, appearances on NPR, an annual autumn tour by bicycle, emceeing festivals, hosting his own boutique festival (the Lamplighter Sessions, in Boston and Wisconsin)… Mulvey never stops. He has built his life’s work on collaboration and an instinct for the eclectic and the vital. He folds everything he encounters into his work: poetry, social justice, scientific literacy, & a deeply abiding humanism are all on plain display in his art.

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Tickets purchased for the original 1/14/22 concert will be honored at this rescheduled show, but please let us know if you would prefer a refund. 2021-2022 Season Tickets will be honored for the 2022-2023 season.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Peter Mulvey has been a songwriter, road-dog, raconteur and almost-poet since before he can remember. Raised working-class Catholic on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, he took a semester in Ireland, and immediately began cutting classes to busk on Grafton Street in Dublin and hitchhike through the country, finding whatever gigs he could. Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging in the Midwest before lighting out for Boston, where he returned to busking (this time in the subway) and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national and international touring. The wheels have not stopped since.

Nineteen records, an illustrated book, thousands of live performances, a TEDx talk, a decades-long association with the National Youth Science Camp, opening for luminaries such as Ani DiFranco, Emmylou Harris, and Chuck Prophet, appearances on NPR, an annual autumn tour by bicycle, emceeing festivals, hosting his own boutique festival (the Lamplighter Sessions, in Boston and Wisconsin)… Mulvey never stops. He has built his life’s work on collaboration and an instinct for the eclectic and the vital. He folds everything he encounters into his work: poetry, social justice, scientific literacy, & a deeply abiding humanism are all on plain display in his art.

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

www.bigego.com

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Tickets purchased for the original 3/11/22 concert will be honored at this rescheduled show, but please let us know if you would prefer a refund. 2021-2022 Season Tickets will be honored for the 2022-2023 season.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

“Despite his success and sense of history, Mr. Paul remains an artist with his eye on the future and an interest in discovering the transformative potential in his music.” - The New York Times

Some artists document their lives through their music. Others chronicle their times. It’s a rare artist who can do both, telling their own story through songs that also encapsulate the essence of people and places who have helped define their era overall. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen all come to mind. Yet few songwriters can relate their own life to the life experienced by others who find that common bond — the exhilaration of the open road, the celebration of heroes, the coming of age, the hope for redemption, the sharing of love, intimate, passionate and enduring — the way that Ellis Paul does.

Smart. Literate. Poetic. Singular. Storyteller. Folksinger. Yes, but Ellis Paul is far more. How much more? An incredible 30-year career. 15 Boston Music Awards. 20 albums. Newport Folk Festival. Carnegie Hall. Hundreds of venues from Alaska to Miami, Paris, and London. Dozens of compilations, commercials, documentaries, TV shows, and blockbuster movie soundtracks. He is one of the finest singer/songwriters of his generation — for many, the face of contemporary folk music — and probably no artist on the acoustic music scene is better loved by fans, or more respected by his contemporaries than Ellis Paul.

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Danielle Miraglia

Lisa Bastoni

"Americana of the highest order...along the lines of Gretchen Peters or Patty Griffin.” — Maverick-UK

Singer-songwriter Lisa Bastoni is a 2019 Kerrville New Folk Winner, and is a 2019 & 2020 Boston Music Award nominee (Folk Artist of the Year). Her 2019 album, How We Want to Live, chronicles life changes, including songs about the dissolution of her marriage and learning to live a new normal -- but more than anything, it finds the songwriter diving deeper into the life she craves.

How We Want to Live, produced by award-winning songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Sean Staples, features guest performances by Mark Erelli, Rose Cousins, Lula Wiles and Naomi Sommers.

Lisa Bastoni has shared the stage with Lori McKenna, Little Big Town, Arlo Guthrie, Regina Spektor, The Secret Sisters, Teddy Thompson, and many more.

Songs from How We Want to Live have been featured in Billboard Country, Wide Open Country, PopMatters, and The Bluegrass Situation.

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

ABOUT HANNEKE CASSEL

Effervescent and engaging, Boston-based fiddler Hanneke Cassel is a performer, teacher and composer whose career spans over two decades. Her style fuses influences from the Isle of Skye and Cape Breton Island with Americana grooves and musical innovations, creating a cutting-edge acoustic sound that retains the integrity and spirit of the Scottish tradition. Hanneke’s music is a blend of the contemporary and traditional, described by the Boston Globe as “exuberant and rhythmic, somehow wild and innocent, delivered with captivating melodic clarity and an irresistible playfulness.”

A native of Port Orford, Oregon, Hanneke started out as a Texas-style fiddler and went on to win the 1997 U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Championship, which awarded her the opportunity to study with Alasdair Fraser and introduced her to fiddle camps and the folk community -- both of which continue to play an integral role in her life. Hanneke teaches regularly at Fraser’s Valley of the Moon and Sierra Fiddle Camps, the Mike Block String Camp (run by her husband, acclaimed cellist Mike Block), Harald Haugaard’s International Fiddle School, and the West Denmark Fiddle School. She has served as a guest instructor in the American Roots department at Berklee College of Music, where she received her Bachelor’s of Music in Violin Performance.

Hanneke is a sought-after performer who has graced stages across North America, Europe, Australia, India, and China. She has been featured at Celtic Connections (Glasgow, Scotland), KVMR Celtic Fest (Grass Valley, USA), Milwaukee Irish Fest (Milwaukee, USA), Celtic Colours (Cape Breton, Canada), WGBH Christmas Celtic Sojourn (Boston, USA) and the National Celtic Festival (Port Arlington, Australia). The Hanneke Cassel Band features Mike Block on cello and alternating guitarists Keith Murphy and Christopher Lewis.

ABOUT THE HANNEKE CASSEL BAND

The Hanneke Cassel Band features Boston-based fiddler and bandleader Hanneke Cassel on fiddle, Jenna Moynihan on 5-string fiddle/vocals and Keith Murphy on guitar/vocals. Jenna Moynihan is regarded as one of the best in the new generation of fiddle players. Versatile and inventive, her fiddling style draws strongly from the Scottish tradition, but is in no way bound by it. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Jenna performs as part of a duo with cutting edge harpist Mairi Chaimbeul and is the regular fiddler for the Seamus Egan Project. Newfoundland-born guitarist Keith Murphy began absorbing his native musical languages – folksongs, ballads and dance music – from an early age. A proficient multi-instrumentalist, he has long applied considerable energy to the rhythmic side of music, becoming a valued band member and highly sought-after sideman on guitar, mandolin and foot percussion. Together, the Hanneke Cassel Band creates a cutting-edge acoustic sound that retains the integrity and spirit of the Scottish tradition.

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Kemp Harris is a composer, musician, children’s author, actor and teacher. Born in North Carolina, Kemp taught himself piano and was writing songs at age 14.

As a musician and composer, Kemp has shared the stage with Taj Mahal, Gil Scott-Heron and blues artist, Koko Taylor. He wrote and performed “If Loneliness Was Black” for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Complexions. He also composed for Phase One Contemporary Dance in Atlanta. Kemp’s CD, “Sometimes In Bad Weather”, is a thoughtful tapestry exploring the intersection of American roots music, jazz, and African folk influences. Kemp’s second CD, “Edenton” is a blues inspired journey, featuring the Holmes Bros providing additional vocals. He is also a member of the band “Roll Over Baby”. Kemp also composed the ending credits soundtrack for “An Unreasonable Man”, a documentary about the life and career of Ralph Nader. The song “Stand Up, Rise Up” is the theme for Ralph Nader’s weekly talk show.

COVID-19 vaccination and masks are encouraged for all performances.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

We are beyond thrilled that our 2023-24 season opener is the amazing VANCE GILBERT.

https://vancegilbert.com/

Please note: All ticket sales are final. No refunds.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Carrie Newcomer is a songwriter, recording artist, performer and educator. She has been described as a "prairie mystic" by the Boston Globe and one who "asks all the right questions" by Rolling Stone Magazine. Carrie has 19 nationally released albums on Available Light & Concord/Rounder Records including Until Now, The Point of Arrival and The Beautiful Not Yet. Newcomer has released three books of poetry & essays, A Permeable Life: Poems and Essays, The Beautiful Not Yet: Poems and Essays & Lyrics, and Until Now: Poetry by Carrie Newcomer. Her song "I Should've Known Better" appeared on Nickel Creeks' Grammy-winning gold album This Side, and she earned an Emmy for her PBS special An Evening with Carrie Newcomer.

Recent appearances include PBS Religion and Ethics and Krista Tippett's On Being. In 2009 and 2011 Newcomer was invited by the American Embassy of India to be a cultural ambassador, resulting in her interfaith benefit album Everything is Everywhere with master of the Indian Sarod, Amjad Ali Khan. In 2013 Carrie traveled to Kenya and the Middle East, performing in schools, spiritual communities and hospitals assisting AIDS patients. In 2015 Carrie's first musical, Betty's Diner: The Musical was produced by Purdue University. In 2016 Carrie was awarded an honorary degree in Music for Social Change from Goshen College. In 2019 she received The Shalem Institutes's Contemplative Voices Award.

In recent years Carrie joined with the author Parker J. Palmer on several projects, including The Growing Edge collaboration which explores growing edges, personally, vocationally and politically. Together they create live events, personal growth retreats, and the highly rated The Growing Edge Podcast that features authors, activists, poets and musicians, and online conversation starters for book and other conversation groups. Spirituality and Health Magazine named Parker & Carrie in the top ten spiritual leaders for the next 20 years.

https://www.carrienewcomer.com/

Please note: All ticket sales are final. No refunds.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

It's become an annual tradition to hear Jonny Kringle and The Wondaland Band play all your favorite classic rock holiday songs -- and make some kids happy at the same time!

Drummer Tom Maher has been delivering toys to Children’s Hospital for over 20 years. Back in 2012 he had a mission: play rock and roll holiday songs for the children he was delivering the toys to. So he called his old friend Jon Svetkey and asked if he could put a band together. Jon made a few calls and a yearly tradition was born. The band includes Tom and Jon, Everett Pendleton on guitar, Heather Quay & Lyn O'Conor-Ferguson on vocals, Rob Laurens on keyboards, Jason Redi on bass, Jeff Isen on percussion, trombone, harmonica and more!

And don't miss this year's extra special holiday music bonus!

All donations from the concert will go to the Maher Family Toy Drive and will help families spending their holidays at Children's. You can donate online when you reserve your seat or in-person at the show.

We hope you'll join us for this very special Second Friday holiday concert.

Please note: All ticket sales are final. No refunds.

SOLD OUT

Having distilled his own signature sound of blues and folk for over 50 years, Chris Smither is truly an American original. A profound songwriter, Chris continues to draw deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.

From his early days as the New Orleans transplant in the Boston folk scene, through his wilderness years, to his reemergence in the 1990s as one of America’s most distinctive acoustic performers, Chris Smither continues to hone his distinctive sound. He has always traveled his own road and stayed true to his musical vision.

He may be best known for writing "Love You Like A Man" which Bonnie Raitt and, more recently, jazz great Diana Krall have covered. His music has been covered by numerous artists and featured in soundtrack albums, independent film, television, and commercials. Reviewers continue to praise his dazzling guitar work, gravelly voice and songwriting.



More From the Levee (2020 Signature Sounds) is a masterwork and companion release to the celebrated double-CD 50-year career retrospective Still On the Levee that came out in 2014. It sports the unmistakable guitar sound Chris has made his own meshed with spare, brilliant songs, delivered in a bone-wise, hard-won voice."



NEW YORK TIMES: “With a weary, well-traveled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr. Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate."

ASSOCIATED PRESS: "Smither is an American original, a product of the musical melting pot, and one of the absolute best singer-songwriters in the world."


ROLLING STONE: "Bathed in the flickering glow of passing headlights and neon bar signs, Smither's roots are as blue as they come. There is plenty of misty Louisiana and Lightnin' Hopkins in Smither's weathered singing and unhurried picking. So fine."


NEW YORK TIMES: "With a weary, well-traveled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr. Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate."


https://smither.com/

Please note: All ticket sales are final. No refunds.

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Mark Erelli turns adversity into finely embroidered rock songs that burn with urgency on his 2023 album "Lay Your Darkness Down." Following full-bodied rock forebears Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison, Erelli's songwriting explores the unknown glories of this planet and love’s transformational power.

Over his two decade-long career, the singer-songwriter-sideman-producer-writer has proven himself equally at home in a multitude of roles: producing albums for artists like GRAMMY-winner Lori McKenna; serving as a sideman guitarist for artists like Paula Cole, Marc Cohn, and Josh Ritter; writing and producing his own material, like 2018’s “By Degrees,” for which he was nominated for Song of the Year at the Americana Honors and Awards; and most recently, becoming an advocate for low-vision artists and working with venues to make their spaces more accessible. Written in the wake of his diagnosis with a degenerative retinal disease, Erelli's 2023 album "Lay Your Darkness Down" is the next step on Erelli's journey, following up on 2020's "Blindsided," which garnered praise from Rolling Stone Country, the Associated Press, NPR, The Boston Globe, and more.

https://www.markerelli.com

Micah A. John

BUY TICKETS HERE!

COLD CHOCOLATE

Cold Chocolate is a genre-bending Americana band that fuses folk, funk, and bluegrass to create a unique sound all their own. Featuring Ethan Robbins on guitar and Ariel Bernstein on percussion, this powerful duo from Boston is impressing audiences throughout New England and beyond. Punctuated by tight harmonies and skillful musicianship, and with a focus on songwriting, Cold Chocolate has quickly gained recognition for their original music and high-energy shows. The band has shared bills with Leftover Salmon and David Grisman, and regularly performs at venues and music festivals across the country.

http://www.coldchocolatemusic.com/

PALMYRA

Established in the Shenandoah Valley, Palmyra explores the fusion of traditional folk string instruments, three part harmonies and foot percussion. In 2022, Palmyra made their Newport Folk Festival debut, were named the FloydFest 2022 On The Rise Winner, and performed over 200 tour dates on acclaimed stages up and down the East Coast. The trio captures the collective spirit of three Virginia natives, Teddy (he/him), Manoa (he/him), and Sasha (they/them). Palmyra’s songs are intimate and contemplative, with arrangements that allow them to create the illusion of a full, larger-than-three ensemble. The trio’s sound is a nod to Appalachia and Midwestern Americana, apparent through their stirring craftsmanship and dedication to a folk-driven, innovative experience throughout each live performance.

http://www.palmyratheband.com

Please note: All ticket sales are final. No refunds.

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SAM ROBBINS


Sam Robbins is often described as an "old soul singer songwriter." A Nashville based musician whose music evokes classic 70's singer songwriters like James Taylor and Neil Young, Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. An avid performer, he has gained recognition from extensive touring and as one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition, one of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country.



https://samrobbinsmusic.com/


SHANNA IN A DRESS


Shanna in a Dress is your quirky best friend who refuses to wear pants. She says what everyone has felt but no one else with say and you'll get an uncensored journey of clever humor and heartbreak, extreme candor, and a hefty side of entertainment at her shows. This witty wordsmith is known for taking you on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes within the same song. Think John Prine mixed with Ingrid Michaelson with a twist of Phoebe Buffay from 'Friends' all wrapped up in a sweet voice accented by guitar, piano, and ukulele. She's as real as it gets, as anyone who follows her on Facebook or Instagram knows.



https://www.shannainadress.com/

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Sol y Canto is the award winning Pan-Latin ensemble led by Puerto Rican/Argentine singer and percussionist Rosi Amador and New Mexican guitarist, singer and composer Brian Amador. Featuring Rosi’s crystalline voice and Brian’s lush Spanish guitar and inventive compositions, Sol y Canto is known for making their music accessible to Spanish- and non-Spanish speaking audiences of all ages. On occasion the group is accompanied by virtuoso musicians from Latin America and the U.S.

Sol y Canto’s original songs are distinguished by poetic, often quirky lyrics set in a framework of varied musical styles with surprising twists. They can make you dance, laugh, cry and sigh all in one concert. Their arrangements of classic and contemporary Latin tunes are always fresh and original. With Brian’s commanding, intricate guitar playing, Rosi’s rhythmic drive on cajón and bongos, and liberal use of vocal improvisation, the duo often sounds like a much larger ensemble.

Since 1994, Sol y Canto has brought audiences to their feet from the Kennedy Center to the California World Music Festival, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, as well as countless club shows and house concerts. The Boston Globe hails them as “sublime ambassadors of the Pan-Latin tradition”. Music critic Norman Weinstein of the Christian Science Monitor and Boston Phoenix observes:

“Every Sol y Canto album is a demonstration of what the poet Federico García Lorca identified as deep song. Always they evoke the sensual splendor of simply being vitally, vividly alive in a magical and mysterious universe. Brian Amador is a Spanish modernist poet in the guise of a musician…Together, Rosi and Brian Amador create a musical marriage made in heaven.”

https://www.solycanto.com

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The earth speaks to us in a myriad of ways — through ice cores, through uplift and erosion, through tree rings — languages we have the potential to restore our literacy in. Reconnecting with these quiet messages has set Seth Glier, an avid mushroom forager and a Grammy-nominated artist from Western Massachusetts, on a path of channeling nature’s longing for communion with humanity into song. His new album Everything is a collection of eight songs inviting us to imagine a future in which humans and the planet are re-aligned into mutual restoration.

Each song presents a practical climate solution with concrete optimism.“What if this is the beginning, not the beginning of the end,” the album opens with bristling energy and hope on “Rise,” an anthem about rewilding. “Finally Home” is a celebration of regenerative farming with driving doo wop vocal harmony. “Mammoth,” written from the perspective of a wooly mammoth being brought back to life from frozen DNA, invites us to consider the blip of human history against billions of years of evolution. The album’s guest stars Crys Matthews, Hayley Reardon, and Windborne elevate the record with surprise from the stark choir arrangement of “Birches” recorded a capella in an old church to “My Body Remembers,” a flowing meditation on the transmission of healing, EMDR & The Language of Trees. The album’s title track was inspired by an experience Seth had while foraging. “When I picked up the chantarelle mushroom and brought it towards my nose I first smelled sweet apricot and then my spine straightened suddenly. The feeling was like déjà vu. It was a first time, yet somewhere inside of me I had done this once before. I was reconnecting to a knowledge I had already known.” The album is an acknowledgement of the sacred connections that exist between all living things and is an active questioning of what might be possible collectively. Everything is a reminder that the future is something we always have an influence over.

Seth’s gifts are an innate curiosity and a fierce desire to connect with other people. His musical acumen provides him with a vehicle for both. He was worked as a cultural diplomat for the US State Department and collaborated with musicians in Ukraine, Mongolia, China, and Mexico. Seth has shared the bill with a diverse list of artists ranging from the likes of Ronnie Spector, James Taylor, Ani DiFranco, & Glen Campbell. As a producer, music director, or studio musician he has collaborated with Sophie B. Hawkins, Tom Rush, Antje Duvekot, Richard Shindell, Doctora Qingona, Dar Williams, Nick Carter, & Cyndi Lauper. Seth is a five-time Independent Music Award winner and received a Grammy nomination for his album The Next Right Thing. With a commitment to using songwriting as a tool for positive change, he has written with the students in Parkland, FL for the “Parkland Project,” cowritten with soldiers at Walter Reed, and is an advocate for autism awareness citing his autistic brother Jamie as his greatest non-musical-musical influence.

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David Wilcox is a penetrating storyteller. The revered folk musician has an effortless talent for spinning lyrics that quietly cut deep, and crafting melodies that seamlessly ride the plot twists and turns. Wilcox handily exemplifies the power of lyrical and musical catharsis.

Pick any song from Wilcox’s new acoustic album, My Good Friends, and you will find yourself instantly immersed. Sometimes you’ll see yourself in the lyrics, other times you’ll marvel at the four-minute mini-movie. My Good Friends is a stripped-down, acoustic collection of ten songs, a fan-requested creative respite for Wilcox as he also continues to work on a full band album coming in 2024.

Of special note on the new recording is “Jolt,” with its jittery rhythm playing perfect backdrop to lyrics about today’s obsession with online fear mongering and internet disinformation. The title track is a folk-blues number about living a life filled with close calls and surviving them all. Then there’s a trio of story songs – “Dead Man’s Phone,” “This Is How It Ends,” and “Lost Man” – that are as cinematic as they are charismatic. Wilcox says those last three songs “create a whole movie in my imagination.”

In fact, the way Wilcox feels about every tune on My Good Friends proves this is indeed a fan-requested labor of love. “I am grateful for the community that sustains me – my good friends,” he says. “These are the kind of friends that get you through difficult times. The kind of friends that you go to for a fresh perspective when the future looks grim. These songs grew out of conversations with friends, and they hold ideas that I like to have around.”

Such dedication to honoring personal and heartfelt music has been the backbone of David Wilcox’s entire career. The Ohio native with the warm baritone found his artistic muse in North Carolina during the mid-1980s. In 1987, he released his debut album, The Nightshift Watchman, which led to winning the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival in 1988. That translated to a four-album stint with A&M Records starting with 1989’s How Did You Find Me Here, which sold 100,000 copies by word of mouth. Thirty-plus years and twenty-plus albums later, Wilcox won top honors in the 23rd annual USA Songwriting Competition in 2018 for his effervescent “We Make the Way by Walking” from his last album release, The View From the Edge. Wilcox has deservedly earned praise over the years in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, and Rolling Stone, to name a few. He also has a dedicated and vocal core of fans who regularly write to thank him for his work and the impact his songs have had on their lives.

Today, Wilcox is still earning his admirers with storytelling that cuts deep into the soul and observes the human condition from both the nerve center and the outside looking in. That kind of storytelling is certain to become a good friend.

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Hayley Reardon is a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter and a storyteller in the truest sense of the word. Her songs serve as postcards from an artist brave enough to take the road less traveled. Reardon dove head first into music at the young age of 15, and has spent much of the past decade writing, recording and performing music around the world.

Raised in a coastal Massachusetts town north of Boston, Reardon spent three years based in Nashville and much of the past six years carrying her songs and stories all over the globe — including a six-month artist-in-residency stay in Dachau, Germany — gathering experiences, inspiration and soulful connections. Her ever-deepening music carries a lyrical and melodic weight beyond her years, being described as “brilliantly moving folk/pop with a lyrical depth and soul” and “a melancholy little masterpiece.” No Depression writes “Reardon is truly a treasure.”

Her latest release, Changes, is the continuation of a journey that began with Reardon’s 2022 release In the Good Light. Both projects were recorded in Barcelona with Catalan collaborators Pau Figueres (producer and one of Spain’s premiere instrumentalists) and Aniol Bestit Collellimir (recording engineer). The title track on Changes features an original, bilingual duet with Catalan sensation Judit Neddermann, with whom Reardon formed a deep musical bond during her time in Barcelona and who appears on the EP courtesy of Universal Music Spain.

“The journey to making In the Good Light taught me that soul family exists in the most unexpected places,” says Reardon. “Changes feels very much like it’s sister project — the two EPs mirror and complete each other in a way that I couldn’t have anticipated without all the life that happened in between them.”
For Reardon, this new collection of songs represents a sense of grounding and coming home to herself after a period of intense self-discovery. “I’ve just absorbed so much, so fast” she says, "new experiences in both life and music, exposure to different cultures and ways of being, new friendships, new joy and new pain. All while coming into my own as a woman during a particularly complicated time on earth.”

Reardon’s songs have found a home on Spotify Editorial Playlists like Fresh Folk, Folk Pop, Morning Coffee and Today’s Singer/Songwriters, as well as Apple Music’s Acoustic Chill and New in Singer/Songwriter. She totes over 5.5 million streams on Apple Music alone and has shared the stage with renowned artists including Lori McKenna, Rodney Crowell and Anaïs Mitchell, among others.

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“Despite his success and sense of history, Mr. Paul remains an artist with his eye on the future and an interest in discovering the transformative potential in his music.” - The New York Times

Some artists document their lives through their music. Others chronicle their times. It’s a rare artist who can do both, telling their own story through songs that also encapsulate the essence of people and places who have helped define their era overall. Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen all come to mind. Yet few songwriters can relate their own life to the life experienced by others who find that common bond — the exhilaration of the open road, the celebration of heroes, the coming of age, the hope for redemption, the sharing of love, intimate, passionate and enduring — the way that Ellis Paul does.

Smart. Literate. Poetic. Singular. Storyteller. Folksinger. Yes, but Ellis Paul is far more. How much more? An incredible 30-year career. 15 Boston Music Awards. 20 albums. Newport Folk Festival. Carnegie Hall. Hundreds of venues from Alaska to Miami, Paris, and London. Dozens of compilations, commercials, documentaries, TV shows, and blockbuster movie soundtracks. He is one of the finest singer/songwriters of his generation — for many, the face of contemporary folk music — and probably no artist on the acoustic music scene is better loved by fans, or more respected by his contemporaries than Ellis Paul.

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