Folk Music Society of Huntington

David Jacobs-Strain
2016-03-17 19:30 - 22:30 (America/New_York)
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
David Jacobs-Strain is a consummate fingerstyle and slide guitarist and a song poet from Oregon who brings an old-school sensibility to a new generation of blues and roots.
Although he plays in the blues tradition, David Jacobs-Strain isn’t from it. In his solo performances, you’ll hear echoes of Skip James, Charlie Patton and Tommy Johnson, and, perhaps, a song by Fred McDowell or Robert Johnson. But Jacobs-Strain is a modern roots musician, singer and songwriter. “”I come from the language of the country blues,” he notes, “but it’s important not to silence other influences.
David is known for his virtuosity and spirit of emotional abandon; his live shows move from humorous, subversive blues to delicate balladry, and then swing back to swampy rock and roll. It’s a range that ties him to his own generation and to guitar-slinger troubadours like Johnson and Jackson Browne. Says Jacobs-Strain: “I try to make art that you can dance to, but I love that darker place where, in my mind, Skip James, Nick Drake and, maybe, Elliot Smith blur together… I’m fascinated by the way that rural blues inscribes movement and transience. The music that frees a singer keeps them on the run; there’s a crossroads where a thing can be enchanting but dangerous; damaging but beautiful.”
Jacobs-Strain grew up in Eugene, Oregon, in a community that was centered on cultural change and environmentalism. He sees a distinct connection between the principles embodied in his upbringing and the democracy of the blues. “I’m really into handmade culture and real people making real music,” he notes. “The voice. One guitar. Even at their simplest, the blues have always been a vehicle for expressing your own situation – whether as an individual or a community. There’s such power in that.”
Jacobs-Strain began playing on street corners and at farmers’ markets as a teenager he bought his first guitar with the quarters he saved up. Before he dropped out of Stanford to play full-time, he had already appeared at festivals across the country and was often billed as a blues prodigy – but he had to fight to avoid being a novelty act. “I wanted to tell new stories; it just wasn’t enough to relive the feelings in other people’s music,” he recalls.
David Jacobs-Strain has appeared at festivals from British Columbia to Australia – including such notable ones as Bumbershoot, Merlefest, Philadelphia Folk Festival and Telluride Blues Festival. He’s also taught at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch and has previously performed for the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s First Saturday Concerts series.

Phil Ochs Song Night
2016-03-05 19:30 - 22:30
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Hosted by: Sonny Ochs — Performers include: Greg Greenway, Kim and Reggie Harris, Colleen Kattau, Sharon Katz, Pat Wictor
Phil Ochs was an American troubadour who passionately believed that he and his music could help change the world. Many of his songs became anthems for the anti-war movement during the turbulent 1960s, and his music continues to influence and inspire songwriters today – 40 years after his death. Among his best-known songs are Changes, I Ain’t Marching Anymore, Small Circle of Friends, There But For Fortune, and When I’m Gone.
The Folk Music Society of Huntington was pleased to join with the Cinema Arts Centre in 2011 in co-presenting two screenings of the documentary Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune, during which Sonny Ochs, Phil’s sister, shared some thoughts on her brother and on the film.
Since 1983, Sonny has been producing Phil Ochs Song Nights that feature talented artists who perform both Phil’s songs and their own to show that the art of topical songwriting is still alive and well. FMSH has presented a couple of these and is delighted to welcome Sonny Ochs back to host another one.

Performing on March 5 will be Greg Greenway and Pat Wictor of the folk harmony trio Brother Sun, along with Kim & Reggie Harris, Colleen Kattau and Sharon Katz.

Greg Cornell & The Cornell Brothers + David Moss
2016-02-18 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Greg Cornell and the Cornell Brothers (siblings in song, not in fact) is a Brooklyn-based roots music quartet featuring fiddle/mandolin, guitar, bass and percussion, along with tight three-part harmonies, that has played venues in New York, festivals and club dates in New England, and four shows at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The group’s musical repertoire features a blend of bluegrass, country, old-time and blues.
Inspired by his literary and musical heroes — Emerson, Whitman, Doc Boggs, Levon Helm, Gordon Lightfoot, Seldom Scene, Neil Young, Doc Watson and Jerry Garcia’s acoustic work – singer-songwriter Greg Cornell writes stories of struggle and regret ending in hope. He uses nature – especially the mountains and the sea – as settings for his tales of yearning and redemption. Accompanying Cornell (guitar and vocals) will be Amanda Homi (harmony vocals and percussion), Chris Nattrass (upright bass) and Zack Bruce (mandolin and harmony vocals). (www.reverbnation.com/cornellbros)
David Moss is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and a 2011 winner of the prestigious Grassy Hill Kerrville New Folk Competition.
Moss hails from Peoria, IL and began his musical journey playing cello and singing in various formats at a very young age. After earning a degree in cello performance from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), he moved to Austin, TX in 2007 and immersed himself in the music scene there for a number of years before relocating to New York.
Besides performing as a solo artist and with his twin brother, Adam, he continues his cello career playing and composing with The Blue Hit, Ana Egge, Moishe Circus and Satellite Ballet, among others. Moss’ song “Jerusalem,” penned in 2010, was featured on “Democracy Now” in 2014 – the same year that he released an album entitled Songs for Willoughby. (www.mosssongs.com)

The Slambovian Circus of Dreams
2016-02-06 19:30 - 22:30
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Formed in Sleepy Hollow, NY in the late 1990s, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams has achieved near legendary status as a pioneering alt-folk/Americana jam band, while remaining on the fringes of the music industry. The Slambovians’ lively late-night musical extravaganzas have made the band Falcon Ridge Folk Festival favorites for more than a decade.
The music of The Slambovian Circus of Dreams has been variously described as “hillbilly-Floyd,” “folk-pop,” “alt-country, roots-rock,” and “surreal Americana” — a clear indicator of its singularly indescribable uniqueness. Dancing freely between all existing religious and philosophical mythologies, the music is uplifting, empowering, at times haunting, and a lot of fun. Elements of The Incredible String Band, Dylan, Bowie, Neil Young and the Decemberists are all part of the musical mix.
Fronted by songwriter Joziah Longo (vocals/guitar/harmonica), the band features guitarist/mandolin player Sharkey McEwen, multi-instrumentalist Tink Lloyd (accordion, cello, uke, theremin, melodica); and new member Felipe Torres (percussion).
It’s impossible to capture in writing what the experience of seeing the Slambovians live is really like. Come see for yourselves.
“The Slambovians cast a wide net … (their) music seems to energize anyone who hears it.” – Relix Magazine
“One of Americana’s most original ensembles.” – Sing Out!
“Mightily impressive and hugely original” – Maverick Magazine – UK
“This band reminds me to write and perform with my whole heart and soul.” – Dar Williams

Scott Krokoff & Robinson Treacher
2016-01-21 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Scott Krokoff weaves elements of folk rock and country pop genres to create evocative and introspective Americana songs that are both confessional and compelling. Influenced by his love of 1960s and 1970s music and accompanied by deft fingerpicking guitar work that combines the styles of James Taylor and Paul Simon with a slightly alt-rock edge, his music is imbued with an energy that reflects his own desire to dream big and live life to the fullest.
Scott began his solo career more than a decade ago after playing in a 1990s college band. He has written and recorded three albums featuring original music dedicated to his philosophy that we must all take risks in life to follow and ultimately realize our individual dreams and goals. His most recent CD, Realizations and Declarations, Vol. 2, was released this year. Scott has played at venues throughout the New York metropolitan area and done shows as far away as Belgium. He recently performed in the 2015 Huntington Folk Festival.
Robinson Treacher is an engaging, high-energy performing songwriter with a powerful voice and unique guitar stylings. Passionate, gritty and soulful, he has drawn comparisons to David Gray, Richie Havens and Van Morrison. “Like a tent revival shouter rooted in gospel and blues – a mix of silk and gravel – the sound is coming from a core somewhere deep,” wrote Richard Cuccaro in a Jan. 2015 Acoustic Live! in New York City cover story entitled Robinson Treacher – Soul Conjurer.
Not one to be pigeonholed into one particular genre, he takes fibers from many — from the bluesy soul of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke to the weathered back- country of The Band and Hank Williams — and weaves them into his own distinct musical tapestry.
Robinson has performed at venues throughout the New York metro area and across the country, including an appearance at the 2015 Huntington Folk Festival. His most recent album, Porches, was released in 2013.

Bob Westcott’s New Year Gala
2016-01-02 19:30 - 22:30
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Acoustic Apple
Steve Angliss and Gary Schoenberger (Acoustic Apple) are musicians who love to cover songs that famous (and not-so-famous) artists have created. Both Steve and Gary are familiar faces at our open mics. Gary is a member of the Folk Music Society’s Board, helps facilitate the monthly Folk Jams at the South Huntington Library and distributes the weekly Long Island Concert Notes. Steve is an active Folk Society volunteer, and often helps set up our sound equipment. Both are regular participants at various Bluegrass and Electric Jams on Long Island. Most of the songs Acoustic Apple covers are Americana, Folk-Rock and Roots, but some Pop, Bluegrass and Bar-Band Rock always manages to sneak into the set-list. Be sure to visit their website “AcousticApple.com” and “Like” their Personal Facebook pages.
Acoustic Apple Video (with a little help from He-Bird, She-Bird)
Josh Joffen
Josh Joffen sings from the heart. He weaves melody around his rich lyrical poetry, binds it together with expressive (and impressive) guitar work in multiple tunings, adds smooth soothing vocals, and serves it all up to us with a warm dimpled smile. Whether he is using humor, singing a love song to his wife, expressing delight in his beloved tropical island of Antigua, sharing memories of his Greenwich Village past, or exploring his understanding of the strange dichotomies of human nature you immediately understand the deep intelligence of the man who can write songs like this, just as you immediately understand how much he thoroughly enjoys life. Josh doesn’t just sing. He reaches out and embraces his audience, pulling them into his magical world. As a house concert presenter, I can say that it doesn’t get much better than this.” – Arlene Boumel, Boumel House Concerts, Coral Gables, FL
Counterclockwise Ensemble
The Counterclockwise Ensemble is a guitar, strings and percussion quintet that plays contemporary American chamber music. Equally at home in a variety of genres, the group primarily plays the compositions of guitarist Rich Stein, sprinkling in pieces by Holst, Copland, Saint-Saëns and Brahms as well as traditional American and Irish folk tunes into their sets.
The current ensemble includes Rich Stein (guitar), Andrew and Rebecca Perea (orchestral strings), Glen Saunders (double bass) and Jim Mansfield (percussion).

A Little Bit of Folk: From Activism to Lyricism
2015-12-29 19:30 - 22:30
A Little Bit of Folk: From Activism to Lyricism
Tuesday, December 29, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cinema Arts Centre
Tickets: $15; $10 for Cinema Arts Centre and FMSH members (with your membership card)
The Folk Music Society of Huntington is pleased to partner with the Cinema Arts Centre in co-presenting “A Little Bit Of Folk: From Activism to Lyricism,” the latest installment in archivist Bill Shelley’s series of film & video clips and discussion, Rock Legends Live! This celebration of the incredible musicians and the powerful social messages that have made folk music an inspiring vehicle for change is set for Tuesday, December 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Cinema Arts Centre (423 Park Avenue, Huntington). The nearly two-hour program will be followed by a reception in the Sky Room. Tickets are $15; $10 for Cinema Arts Centre and FMSH members (with your membership card).
Folk music has been a favorite for generations. Its artists have been promoters of world peace, civil rights, planetary concerns and humanitarian causes. This program will focus on much-loved musicians and the social causes that informed their music.
During the 1940s-1950s, Pete Seeger had a profound impact on the post-WWII generation with his activism for civil rights and social change. Among songs featured in this program will be Seeger with “What Did You Learn in School?” and others singing his classic “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” and “Turn, Turn, Turn.” Among the many other featured performing artists are Joan Baez, Tim Buckley, Leonard Cohen, Richie Havens, Melanie, Tom Paxton and Peter, Paul & Mary.
As 2015 comes to a close, let us always remember that the power of music can help change our world for the better.

Meghan Cary & Michael Braunfeld
2015-12-17 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Two Pennsylvania-based singer-songwriters – Michael Braunfeld and Meghan Cary – will be the featured performers during the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s monthly Hard Luck Café series at the Cinema Arts Centre (423 Park Avenue, Huntington) on Thursday, Dec. 17. The 8:30 p.m. concert in the Cinema’s Sky Room will be preceded by an open mic at 7:30 p.m.
“Both Michael and Megan had coveted juried Quad Showcases during the recent Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference and also showcased their talents during this summer’s Huntington Folk Festival,” notes FMSH President Michael Kornfeld. “We look forward to welcoming these two gifted artists back to Huntington.”
Michael Braunfeld is a storyteller, whose songs capture the everyday struggles and triumphs of ordinary people. His characters – though wrapped in the particular circumstances of their own lives – have universal appeal. Michael has earned critical acclaim and industry recognition, including a slot in the 2013 Emerging Artists Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and two Quad Showcases at Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences. He was welcomed into the Writers’ Night family at Nashville’s famed The Bluebird Café in 2014.
Braunfeld’s dynamic guitar style, trading off between percussive strumming and intricate finger picked melodies, has been compared to that of John Fahey. His powerful vocals have been likened to those of Bruce Springsteen. As a songwriter, he evokes the best of Springsteen, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, John Prine and his hero, Bill Morrissey. And onstage, Braunfeld is a commanding presence. (www.michaelbraunfeld.com)
Meghan Cary is a singer-songwriter who didn’t intend to be a musician. But when her then-fiancé unexpectedly died years ago, the former theater actress and successful voiceover artist picked up his guitar, figured out how to play it, and wrote her debut — earning her Billboard Magazine’s Critic’s Choice for Best Newcomer. “I wrote my grief into music and sang my way out of the abyss. I keep making music to help others move through loss and find joy again,” she says.
A passionate smoky-voiced singer, known for her unabashed willingness to connect with her audience, Cary brings listeners to their feet and, at times, to tears with high-energy tunes, masterful storytelling, and deeply personal lyrics that resonate universally. After pausing to raise two children, she returned to music a few years ago. Cary was part of last summer’s Emerging Artists Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Her multi-instrumentalist husband, Peter Farrell, will accompany Meghan. (www.meghancary.com)

Susan Werner
2015-12-05 19:30 - 22:30
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Susan Werner has never been one to adhere to just one musical style. A gifted singer-songwriter, who accompanies herself on both guitar and piano, she is known for her musical versatility and for her witty repartee during live performances. The classically trained and jazz-inspired Iowa native, who now calls Chicago home, has been delighting concert and festival audiences for two decades.
She composes skillful songs that effortlessly slide between folk, jazz, and pop – all delivered with sassy wit and classic Midwestern charm.
Throughout her expansive career, boundless versatility has emerged as a hallmark of Werner’s talent, and has proven to be a quintessential ingredient of her engrossing musical persona.
“… a triply blessed artist who sings adroitly, plays the piano smartly and, best of all, writes songs of genuine distinction and high craft.” – Chicago Tribune
“It’s not enough to say she’s a brilliant, spectacular performer. She is pure genius in capturing the human experience and setting it to music. She’s also a chameleon, slipping seamlessly between cabaret, folk, gospel, classical and the blues.” – Source Media Group
Susan will perform one extended set beginning at 8:45 PM. A 15-minute refreshment break will follow the Open Mic.

Oh Canada! – Manitoba Hal & Shawna Caspi
2015-11-19 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Manitoba Hal has forged an international reputation for engaging and connecting with his
audience through songs that are mournful, hopeful, silly, romantic and introspective. He proves that the uke can be small but mighty as he pulls out powerful blues riffs and melodies adding subtle important accompaniment using looping technology.
His strong foundation in American roots / blues music, confident baritone voice, and distinctive original music have made him a solid draw at festivals, house concerts and soft seat theatres in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. He has performed at the Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival, Kitchener Blues Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Vancouver Island Music Festival, New York Uke Festival, Ukulele Festival of Great Britain and Melbourne Ukulele Festival and he has been a mainstage headliner at international ukulele festivals such as the Cairns Ukulele Festival and the Grand Northern Ukulele Festival.
Manitoba Hal Video
With her third album, Apartments For Lovers, Shawna Caspi taps right into those folk roots, stripping away the session musicians and elaborate arrangements of her previous records in favour of a simple, authentic sound – her solo guitar and voice. The result is a collection of songs that is close-up and honest, showcasing her warm vocals, classically-trained fingerstyle guitar playing, and intimate songwriting in a genuine, powerful way.
On Apartments For Lovers, Shawna creates delicate, quiet moments that are vulnerable and accessible even when she’s writing about someone else. Her songs are snapshots – moments that may appear small, but which subtly carry weight and offer greater depth thanks to her well-crafted lyrics.
“Some musicians make songwriting sound less of a craft and more of a life affirming obsession. Caspi’s compositions stand out as beautiful, complex and intricate…” – NOW Magazine, NXNE preview
For 15 years, Shawna has been playing the guitar she bought at the Ottawa Folklore Centre, one of Canada’s best loved music stores. This cherished instrument has accompanied her on tour through seven provinces, where she has played festivals including the Blue Skies Music Festival, the Summerfolk Festival, and the Deep Roots Music Festival. It was also her constant companion as she played on the long haul trains between Montreal and Halifax and between Vancouver and Toronto as part of the VIA Rail On Board Entertainment Program.
While she never had one particular musical influence growing up, Shawna found inspiration in a wide variety of independent Canadian singer/songwriters as she played and sang her way through the folk music scene. Some of these artists are now her peers, and she has shared the stage with several of her favourites, including Rose Cousins, Jon Brooks, James Keelaghan, Suzie Vinnick, and Garnet Rogers.
“Shawna Caspi has the rare gift of presence that immediately invites audience engagement, from the first strum of her skilled guitar playing to the last exquisite note she sings”. – Andy Frank, co-founder of Roots Music Canada
From cafes, soft-seat theatres, living rooms, festival stages, and yes, even trains, Shawna is making her living singing her stories across Canada. She loves the landscapes of her home country and while weaving them into her songs, she has also been portraying them on canvases. Shawna paints one-of-a-kind works of art inspired by the rich scenery she sees in her travels and makes them available for sale with her merchandise. Two of those paintings make up the front and back cover artwork for Apartments For Lovers.
Shawna’s Canadian folk roots are an intrinsic part of who she is. In fact, Shawna as a solo musician is exactly who she is as a person – warm, inviting, a storyteller, a traveller, a Canadian, an authentic artist. “And at the heart of everything”, she says, “I’m just a really big music fan”.
Shawna Caspi Video

Bumper Jacksons
2015-11-07 19:30 - 22:30
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The Bumper Jacksons are on a roll. Folding sounds of jazz, early blues, old-time music, and country swing into an exhilarating repertoire of modern American roots music, the DC-based band has brought a hard-driving party energy to countless dance floors. With three recent Washington Area Music Awards and many dozens of jubilant live shows under their collective belt, they released their second album, Too Big World, in July. It’s a sweetly balanced collection of hot swing numbers, heartbreak ballads, and late-night moonshine foot-stompers, as are the group’s live shows.
Frontwoman and Florida native Jess Eliot Myhre (clarinet, vocals, washboard) honed her musical chops in jam sessions in the streets and clubs of New Orleans, immersed in the music that fuels the city’s humid, carnivalesque all-night parties. In 2012, she met Maryland-born fellow song-crafter Chris Ousley (guitar, vocals) in Washington, DC, and the two joined forces to form the Bumper Jacksons’ core. Chris’ background in old-time banjo and bluegrass music harmonized perfectly with Jess’s vintage jazz credentials; the songs the duo collects, arranges, and creates weave the high lonesome echoes of old rural America into the galvanizing sounds of the cities and artists that have defined American jazz, blues and swing.
Check out and play Bumper Jacksons’ feminist take on the Appalachian song “Come All You West Virginia Gals” via THE BLUEGRASS SITUATION:
Then check out the Bumper Jacksons’ cool take on the old gospel song, “Satan, Your Kingdom Music Come Down” via POPMATTERS from their new album Too Big World.

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Caroline Cotter & Jay Hitt
2015-10-15 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Caroline Cotter is a travel-inspired singer-songwriter. Music has always been at the heart of her life, alongside an insatiable passion for travel and global exploration. Over the past ten years, Caroline has lived in and traveled to 27 countries on five continents. While writing and recording her first national release, Dreaming As I Do (which reached #5 on the Folk DJ chart earlier this year), she spent the last few years working for the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) in Portland, Maine. CIEE provided amazing opportunities for international community and travel, and further inspired Caroline’s songwriting.
Prior to joining CIEE, Caroline spent time working in France, Portugal, Spain, and Thailand; studying yoga in India; and traveling in South America. In addition to writing songs in English, she sings in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Sanskrit, and is always looking for beautiful ways to bring the world to her audience and to connect inter-culturally through her music. With a captivating soprano voice and award-winning songwriting, Caroline’s music takes you all over the world: from a Parisian salon, to an Indian ashram, to a bluegrass festival campfire, to the depths of the human heart.
Jay Hitt is a Pittsburgh, PA-based singer-songwriter whose musical versatility and down-to-earth folk style speaks to his audiences of the simple joys found in everyday life. A talent for vivid storytelling combined with crisp and delicate acoustic melodies makes it easy to understand why Jay’s songs so effortlessly touch the hearts of his fans.
Jay has performed in many venues throughout the United States both as a solo artist and as a member of various bands. He impressed listeners at this summer’s Huntington Folk Festival and as part of the juried Emerging Artists Showcase at the 2015 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Jay has also written commercial music for radio advertising and a theme song for television. He’s received several songwriting awards and was a winner of the New Folk Competition at the New Jersey Folk Festival at Rutgers University in 2003. Jay has several albums of original songs to his credit — including his most recent release, Greetings From the Wilderness (2013).

Vance Gilbert
2015-10-03 19:30 - 22:30
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Vance Gilbert is not merely a talented singer-songwriter, but a consummate entertainer who possesses “the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god (Fort Worth Star-Telegram).
With his engaging personality, wonderful biting wit, soulful and resonant tenor voice, and solid songwriting and performance skills, Vance Gilbert has been impressing audiences since emerging on the Northeast singer-songwriter scene during the early 1990s.
A former multicultural arts teacher and jazz singer from the Philadelphia suburbs, he began playing open mics in the Boston area and soon attracted the attention of singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin. She invited him to be a special guest on a 1992 tour in support of her Fat City album. Gilbert has since released many albums of his own, toured extensively, and opened tours for the late comedian George Carlin for two years.
Vance drew two standing ovations following his stirring performance for the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s First Saturday Concerts series in 2007. He also graced the Chapin Rainbow Stage at Heckscher Park in 2010 when he co-headlined the fifth annual Huntington Folk Festival with Susan Werner. His songwriting and performance clinics at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conferences and the Rocky Mountain Song School also have drawn rave reviews from attendees.
“His catchy, pop-friendly melodies support keenly crafted, hard-hitting lyrics. His guitar is supple, his milk-warm tenor honest and gently acrobatic… He does not duck hard truths and never succumbs to the temptation to tie his points up in neat platitudes or truth-isms. He writes powerfully and uncompromisingly about the wrenching separation suffered by single parents, the tug between love’s desire and its demands, and the bitterness of being nonwhite in this Eurocentric culture… He is that rare performer for whom people lean forward in their seats as eagerly between songs as during them.” (The Boston Globe)

“Young Folk” – Annika Bennett & Kirsten Maxwell
2015-09-17 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Annika Bennett is an award-winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Although she’s only 17, Annika’s songs reflect a level of craftsmanship and her lyrics a depth of wisdom that belie her youth. They are definitely not about teenage angst. She has written scores of songs and performed extensively throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Last year, Annika received ASCAP’s prestigious Robert Allen Award for Excellence in Songwriting and was the Audience Choice winner of WNYC Radio’s Battle of the Boroughs (Queens) competition. A semi-finalist in the 2014 International Songwriting Competition, Annika also participated in RealWomen RealSongs – a group of female artists who each wrote a prompted song a week during 2014. Winner of the 2015 Your Big Break Contest sponsored by the Gold Coast Arts Center, Annika also closed out the juried Emerging Artists Showcase during this summer’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

Kirsten Maxwell is a folk music “triple threat.” Her talent is equal parts singer, performer, and songwriter. Often compared to timeless singers like Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and Judy Collins, the 23-year-old is unlike any young female singer of her generation.
Over the past year, Kirsten has quickly made a name for herself on the Long Island music scene. Now venturing out into New England, she won a songwriting contest sponsored by the Rhode Island Songwriters Association (RISA) — taking the prize with two original songs off of her debut album, Crimson.
Kirsten began singing and performing at age 5 as part of the Amato Opera Children’s Chorus. She continued classical vocal studies at The Crane School of Music, where she developed captivating control over an otherwise naturally passionate voice. Kirsten graduated from SUNY Geneseo last year with a BA in Creative Writing, which enhanced her innate songwriting abilities.

Borderline Picnic and Jam
2015-08-23 12:00 - 18:00
On Sunday, August 23rd the Borderline Folk Music Club will again be sponsoring the annual Borderline Picnic which this year will be a tribute to Tom Paxton at our new venue, Germonds Park, 185 Germonds Road, West Nyack 10994. This event, which will run from 12:00 noon to 6:00 PM is FREE and open to the entire community.
Schedule for the Borderline Folk Music Club Picnic
12 noon – Kickoff and introductions
12:10 – 12:25 Kirsten Maxwell
12:27 – 12: 42 Lew Abramson
12:44 – 12:59 Larry Kolker
1:01 – 1:16 pm Kerri Powers
1:18 – 1:33 pm Steve Suffett
1:35-1:50 pm Dennis McDonough
1:52 – 2:07 pm Anne Price and Rita Deutsch(Hudson River Rose)
2:09 – 2:25 Maggie Seligman and Richard Brooker
2:27- 2:42 Josh Joffen
2:44-2:59 Barry and Brooks
3:01 – 3:16 Mara Levine
3:18- 3:33 Terry Kitchen
3:35 – 3:50 James Durst
3:52- 4:07 Robert and Susan Gelb
4:07 – 4:22 Lydia Adams Davis
4:26- 4:41John VandenOever
4:44-4:58 Bob Wright/Bill Doerge
5:00 – 5:15 John Guth
5:15 – 5:25 Tom Paxton
5:30 – 5:45 – Jean Ritchie Tribute
5:45 – Finale sing-a-long – “Peace Will Come,” “Last Thing on My Mind”
Emcees: Bill Hahn (WFDU), Michael Kornfeld (AcousticMusicScene.com) and Joe Pszonek (WMSC)
We will also have a separate jam area for those wanting to jam and sing led by Bob Wright.
Co sponsoring this year’s festival are the Town of Clarkstown, Folk Music Society of NY (aka Pinewoods), AcousticMusicScene.com, the Folk Music Society of Huntington. and Tribes Hill. FREE admission; Bring your own food, drink, and lawn chairs. Those who don’t can purchase it from the park concessionaire. Alcohol and pets are not permitted on premises.
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10th Annual Huntington Folk Festival
2015-07-26 12:00 - 22:30
Tom Paxton will headline the 10th Annual Huntington Folk Festival on Sunday, July 26 at Huntington, NY’s Heckscher Park, located off Main Street (Route 25A). Extending from noon until l0:30 p.m., the free festival – co-presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council – is part of the 50th Annual Huntington Summer Arts Festival. Tom Paxton also is marking his 50th year as a touring artist.

Opening for Paxton on the park’s Chapin Rainbow Stage will be No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow. This group of award winning songwriters features the delicious harmonies of the nationally touring performers The YaYas (Catherine Miles & Jay Mafale), Carolann Solebello and Karyn Oliver. Collectively, they are an incorrigible bunch of musical co-conspirators bent on giving an audience an unforgettable show.

Prior to the evening concert, AcousticMusicScene.com and FMSH will host unplugged showcases and song swaps featuring more than three-dozen artists near canopy tents from noon until 6 p.m. Artists confirmed to perform during the afternoon include Acoustic Apple, Annika, Mark Allen Berube, Michael Braunfeld, Meghan Cary, Andrea Cetlin, Greg Cornell and the Cornell Brothers, Curtis & Carla, Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick, Phil Henry, Jay Hitt, Karen Hudson, Josh Joffen, Stuart Kabak, Kalinec & Kj, Judy Kass, Cecilia Kirtland, Scott Krokoff, Mara Levine, The Levins, Lisa Jane Lipkin, Eli Maniscalco, Kirsten Maxwell, Lois Morton, Mark Newman & Naomi Margolin, James O’Malley, Elaine Romanelli, Shawn Taylor, Robinson Treacher and Bob Westcott.

Acoustic Music Scene.com Tent
12:45 Mark Newman & Naomi Margolin
1:00 Scott Krokoff, Shawn Taylor, Robinson Treacher
1:30 Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick
1:45 Greg Cornell & The Cornell Brothers
2:00 Funny Folk: Mark Allen Berube, Lois Morton
2:30 Josh Joffen, James O’Malley, Bob Westcott
3:00 Mara Levine, The Levins, Elaine Romanelli
3:30 Westchester Artists: Curtis & Carla, Judy Kass, Lisa Jane Lipkin
4:00 Keystone Staters: Michael Braunfeld, Meghan Cary, Jay Hitt
4:30 Karen Hudson, Stuart Kaback, Cecilia Kirtland
5:00 Young Folk: Annika, Kirsten Maxwell
5:30 Phil Henry, Kalinec & Kj

Folk Music Society of Huntington Tent
12:00 Open Mic
1:00 Acoustic Apple
1:15 Andrea Cetlin
1:30 Eli Maniscalco
1:45 Scott Krokoff
2:00 James O’Malley
2:15 Mara Levine
2:30 Jay Hitt
2:45 Meghan Cary
3:00 Michael Braunfeld
3:15 Lois Morton
3:30 Bob Westcott
3:45 Larry Moser & Mary Nagin
4:00 Kirsten Maxwell
4:15 Phil Henry
4:30 Josh Joffen
4:45 Kalinec & Kj
The 50th Annual Huntington Summer Arts Festival is produced by the Town of Huntington, presented by the Huntington Arts Council, and sponsored in part by the New York State Council for the Arts, the County of Suffolk and Canon U.S.A.

Falcon Ridge “Most Wanted” Emerging Artists Tour
2015-06-18 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriters Jean Rohe and Matt Nakoa will perform during the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s Hard Luck Café series at the Cinema Arts Centre (423 Park Avenue, Huntington, NY) on Thursday, June 18. The 8:30 p.m. concert in the Cinema’s Sky Room will be preceded by an open mic at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 ($10 for Cinema Arts Centre and FMSH members). Both featured artists will be part of the “Most Wanted” Song Swap during this summer’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, having been selected by audience members from among 24 artists/acts who performed in its Emerging Artists Showcase last year.
Jean Rohe’s inviting performances of one-of-a-kind narrative songs, blending folk, jazz and Brazilian traditions, have entertained audiences throughout the United States and in Europe. Ranging from fantastical riffs on old folktales to autobiographical sojourns, Jean’s songs also deal artistically with matters of social concern and have earned recognition from both the ASCAP Foundation and the New York Songwriters Circle. Lead Me Home, Jean’s debut album, was followed by her latest release, Jean Rohe & the End of the World Show, a travelogue of original songs sung in several languages, that garnered three Independent Music Awards in 2014.
“What sets Jean Rohe apart are the suppleness of her voice, the integrity of her vision and the grace she shows in her wide-ranging journeys across the musical landscape, “ says John Platt, host of WFUV’s “Sunday Breakfast.” FMSH is pleased to welcome Jean back for her second Hard Luck Café appearance.

Matt Nakoa, a 2014 winner in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition, spent his formative years on an upstate New York goat farm and once performed as a classical pianist. He began composing music as a teenager and won a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he received top honors in songwriting and vocal performance. Matt’s engaging style and musical artistry have led him to an extensive touring schedule that includes both domestic and international engagements; he recently gave a concert at The White House and has performed shows throughout India.
On the heels of his 2012 pop-rock-styled debut album Light in the Dark, Matt’s most recent studio album, A Dozen Other Loves (2014), explores a primarily acoustic palette and has received extensive airplay on folk-oriented radio. His film scoring has been featured on Disney.com, while his piano music received favorable reviews in The New York Times and other publications.

Catie Curtis
2015-06-06 19:30 - 22:30
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Catie Curtis is a Boston-based singer-songwriter who has toured the U.S. and Europe for more than 20 years — including several performances at The White House, at two Presidential Inaugural Balls, at Carnegie Hall, and with Lilith Fair. Dubbed a “folk-rock goddess” by The New Yorker, she’s released 13 albums, recorded a duet with Kris Kristofferson for his CD The Austin Sessions, and was the grand-prize winner in the 2006 International Songwriting Competition. Catie has also won a slew of Boston Music Awards and had songs featured in numerous films and TV shows.
Since 2012, Catie has been the producer of Voices United Concerts, organized to raise awareness and funds for Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU). AU is a crucially important bi-partisan non-profit that lobbies, litigates and educates to protect against religious extremism – an issue Catie unequivocally supports. Voices United shows have presented a diverse lineup of performers with such greats as Sarah Silverman, Ani DiFranco, Dar Williams, Louis Black, Kate Clinton, John Gorka, Roy Zimmerman and Melissa Ferrick, to name just a few. The first season, in 2012, presented 75 house concerts (one in every state) over one weekend, and plans are now well underway for the 2015 Voices United Concert schedule.
When Maine-native Catie Curtis is not writing, recording, touring or producing concerts, she also officiates and performs at fans’ weddings (having received her ordination online in 2011), teaches at song schools around the country, leads high school songwriting workshops, speaks on diversity, and runs a songwriter retreat in Maine every summer called “Catie at the Cove.”

Lara Herscovitch & Josh Joffen
2015-05-21 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Lara Herscovitch is an engaging contemporary singer-songwriter with a voice “clear and smooth, like expensive liquor” (Northeast Performer). Her music blends acoustic folk with pop, jazz, blues and Latin influences. Hailed as “a remarkable performer” on WSHU’s Profiles in Folk, Lara has showcased at the International Folk Alliance Conference, served as the official Connecticut State Troubadour (2010-2012), and performed on A Prairie Home Companion and in John Platt’s “On Your Radar” series in NYC. Trained as a policy social worker, Lara has worked on behalf of disadvantaged populations in Asia, Latin America and the U.S. Small wonder, then, that echoes of the global themes of equity and social justice resonate throughout her music. Lara has recorded five studio albums, including her most recent release – Four Wise Monkeys.
Josh Joffen is a Long Island-based singer-songwriter whose songs are, by turns, rousing, funny, poetic and insightful — blending modern and traditional folk and jazz influences with a rich palette of guitar voicings and open tunings. Josh is a two-time winner of the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition and a 2011 winner in the Great American Song Contest His songs have appeared in Fast Folk Musical Magazine and Sing Out! and have been recorded by such artists as Gathering Time and Mike Agranoff. With his warm, welcoming stage presence, Josh is equally at home before large and intimate audiences. He has performed at numerous clubs, coffeehouses and festivals. His most recent album, Postcard From Antigua, is a lyrical travelogue with songs set in locales from the Caribbean and the Middle East to his native New York.
Noting that “Lara and Josh were the first artists to perform in the Hard Luck Café series when it moved to the Cinema Arts Centre in April 2011,” FMSH President Michael Kornfeld said: “We are thrilled to welcome them both back for this return engagement.”

Brother Sun
2015-05-02 19:30 - 22:30
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Brother Sun celebrates the amazing power of three-part male harmonies – weaving contemporary and traditional folk with eclectic touches of blues, gospel, jazz and pop. Comprised of nationally touring singer-songwriters Joe Jencks, Greg Greenway and Pat Wictor, the trio has performed sold-out concerts across the U.S. and evoked standing ovations at the Falcon Ridge and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, among others.
Brother Sun’s sophomore release, Some Part of the Truth, was the #1 album on the Folk DJ chart for 2013, while its self-entitled debut recording was #8 for 2011.

Claudia Russell / Bruce Kaplan & Glen Roethel
2015-04-16 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan are touring artists and self-described “late-bloomers” based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A smoky-voiced singer-songwriter and deft guitarist, Claudia is adept at adapting her expressive voice to a wide range of material, embracing multiple styles, and weaving them into a distinctive Americana sound – accompanied by her husband Bruce on mandolin and guitar.
Claudia, who earned Best New Artist honors from Boston’s WUMB in 2000, following the release of her first album Song Food, released her fourth CD, All Our Luck is Changing, in 2013. Her songs have been heard on college and public radio stations across the country, while Claudia has been featured in Sing Out!, The Boston Globe and the San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications. One of her and Bruce’s songs also was featured on Christine Lavin Presents Just One Angel v2.0.
Glen Roethel is a New York-based, California-born contemporary folk-pop-rock singer-songwriter with a penchant for positive intentional lyrics. A guitar player’s guitarist, he delivers both his original songs and his large repertoire of covers in lush baritone-tenor vocals accompanied by deft guitar and ukulele stylings. A founding member of the folk-rock harmony group Gathering Time, Glen is also a sought-after accompanist and producer — as well as an instructor at Summersongs.
Glen has released six albums of original music — including his latest, Unfolding (2014), which contains three songs that were nominated for Posi Awards (the “Grammys” of positive music). Since returning to solo work in 2013, Glen has performed at venues across the U.S. He often improvises new songs on the fly. A generous, welcoming performer, Glen has been described as “spontaneous and exciting – like 1000 tiny fun bombs going off all at once.”

Jeff Scroggins & Mara Levine
2015-03-19 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Jeff Scroggins is an acclaimed banjo player who has toured internationally with his band Jeff Scroggins & Colorado. A winner of the prestigious National Bluegrass Banjo Championship and dozens of state and regional banjo contests, Jeff’s fiery style and lightning-fast licks have earned him many fans worldwide. He also teaches for Swallow Hill Music in Denver, Colorado and is in demand as an instructor at many bluegrass music camps in the U.S. and abroad.
Jeff will be joined by band members Tristan Scroggins on mandolin and Greg Blake on vocals and guitar, with special guest Larry Cohen (Silk City, Skyline) on bass. Long Island’s own Martha Trachtenberg and Tom Griffith will also join him for this performance.
Mara Levine: Called one of the best singers of her generation by Christine Lavin, the folksinger and jewelry designer creates beautiful interpretations of fine traditional and contemporary folk songs. Reviewers have said Mara’s voice is reminiscent of folk icons Judy Collins and Joan Baez.
Mara’s second album, Jewels and Harmony, received stellar reviews, was the #1 album on the Folk DJ chart for January 2013 and placed #3 overall for 2013. Her version of Bob Franke’s “Straw Against the Chill” with Joe Jencks and her arrangement of Paul Simon’s “Leaves That Are Green” with folk-harmony trio Gathering Time both were #1 songs on the monthly Folk DJ charts.
Jeff Scroggins and his band, along with members of Gathering Time, will join Mara for this performance.

Millers Crossing
2015-03-07 19:30 - 22:30
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Miller’s Crossing is a Long Island-based bluegrass band known for its driving and soulful original and traditional music. Formed in 2004, the band is fronted by songwriter and mandolinist Marjorie Kelting, and features Jen Larson (guitar and vocals), Terry McGill (banjo and vocals) and Eric Howell (bass).

Cathy Kreger & Steve Robinson
2015-02-19 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
About the Artists
Cathy Kreger is a Long Island-based singer-songwriter and guitarist who has been performing throughout the Northeast for nearly 30 years. Armed with only an acoustic guitar and a voice as clear as cool water, she delivers more pure music per minute than a bevy of roadhouse rockers. Her musical style is a combination of adult contemporary and old blues, with an alternative folk flair. Kreger turns folk, rock, blues, and pop influences into a lyrical and melodic style that is as passionate as it is polished.
From the time she was a girl, Kreger has had the continuous inspiration of her musical parents, who were touring folksingers. She realized at a young age that there was an opportunity for her to provide the safe place that comes from reaching inside yourself and exposing your own emotions — giving people the ability to experience theirs. This was the power she found in herself, the power that still drives her today. “When I’m at a show,” she says, “I like to be stretched like a rubber band, to laugh, to cry, to be entertained. That’s what I try to do on stage. If you’re interested in feeling your emotions, you’ll want to be at my show.”
Steve Robinson is a native Long Islander whose engaging songs are informed by his varied life experiences — as a carpenter, English teacher, fisherman, truck driver, landscape foreman, air traffic controller, union rep, computer programmer, and more — combined with his life-long love of music and performing. A self-taught guitarist, he has developed his own unique finger style which combines driving rhythms with tasteful licks and smooth slide work. His music is firmly rooted in the blues, and breathes fresh life into tunes influenced by acoustic Americana, old-time jazz, soul, rock, pop, and country. Robinson represented Long Island at the prestigious 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN as a winner in the 2007 Long Island Blues Challenge.
”Steve Robinson is one guy with talent to burn,” writes Ann Marie Harrington in Take Country Back magazine. “He possesses a pleasant, laid back and expressively soulful voice, he’s a gifted musician who plays with diversity and passion, and has a talent for well-written lyrics and an ear for a great melody.”

Christine Lavin & Don White
2015-02-07 19:30 - 22:30
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Hailed by The Boston Globe as “two of the funniest entertainers on today’s music scene,” veteran performers Christine Lavin and Don White    have brought their unique brand of clean and hilarious musical comedy to audiences across the U.S. since 2008 — proving night after night that comedy can be smart, friendly, and breathtakingly funny without being vulgar or pejorative.
Since emerging from the NYC singer-songwriter scene in the late 1980s, Christine Lavin has established herself as an entertaining tour de force. Quick on her feet, witty, insightful and engaging, she remains one of the most popular and respected performers in the genre. Christine has also been at the forefront of finding and promoting talented new artists.
Don White is the latest artist whom she has championed. “He’s such an original; I sometimes call him a ‘blue collar intellectual,’ ” says Christine. A product of the rich Boston arts scene of the 1990s, Don developed his songwriter/performer chops at Club Passim and Olde Vienna Kaffehaus while honing his comedic skills at Catch a Rising Star in Harvard Square. These experiences — along with his immersion in the Boston spoken word scene — combine to make Don one of the few performers who brings a comic’s wit and a poet’s heart to his songs and stories.

The New Students + Pesky J Nixon
2015-01-15 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
The New Students are a Brooklyn-based band performing both original and traditional material in tight three-part harmony and an eclectic blend of folk, roots, alternative and Americana traditions. Members of the group hail from Long Island and Brooklyn, and include singer/songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Justin Flagg and Matt Gelfer, vocalist Briana Carlson-Goodman, bassist Sam Gelfer and percussionist Jason Rosoff. With one foot in the 21st century and the other planted firmly in the soil of American folk music, The New Students always deliver an animated and heartfelt performance featuring skillful acoustic instrumentation, compelling lyrics and quirky humor.
The New Students formed in 2009 when Justin Flagg and Matt Gelfer, who’ve been playing music together since their childhood in Brookhaven hamlet, were joined by Broadway veteran Briana Carlson-Goodman. The addition of Sam Gelfer on upright bass and Jason Rosoff on drums rounded out the band, whose influences run the gamut of 20th century folk, bluegrass country and pop from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger to The Band, Allison Kraus and They Might Be Giants. Their latest recording, When the West Wind Blows, was released in 2014.
Pesky J. Nixon is a Boston-based Americana band whose unique brand of bombastic yet infectious energy, combined with their rich harmonies and musical versatility, draws the audience into their world of songs and stories. Members of PJN include Ethan Scott Baird (guitar and vocals), Jake Bush (accordion, harmonica, piano and vocals), Dan Carp (percussion and vocals) and Kara Kulpa (mandolin, fiddle and vocals). Drawing from influences that range from contemporary urban balladeers and rowdy Southern bluegrass to the wry wit of New England’s localized folk scenes, PJN creates an inviting yet challenging musical atmosphere with compelling vocal harmonies backed by instrumentation that includes zydeco-style accordion, virtuosic mandolin and a variety of tribal percussion instruments.
Performing their combination of original material, familiar songs and trademark stage banter up and down the East Coast for the past several years, PJN was chosen one of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s “Most Wanted to Return” artists in 2012 and had a formal showcase at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in 2012. Their latest album, Red Ducks, was released in 2012 and debuted at #8 on folk radio, according to the Folk DJ Listserv.

Annual Members Concert
2015-01-03 19:30 - 22:30
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The Folk Music Society of Huntington will showcase some of its musically inclined members in a special concert set for Saturday, January 3 at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (off Route 25A), Centerport. The following local artists and groups have been selected to perform short musical sets: Acoustic Apple (Gary Schoenberger and Stephen Angliss), Shawn Cullinane, Lois Morton, Rocket and the Launchers (Ken Korb, Lora Kendall and Suzanne Ernst), Alan Short, Roger Silverberg, Nick Vermitsky and Wild Ginger (Candace Baranello, Caren Jacobs and Maureen Keelty). Unlike most of the organization’s concerts, this one, which is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., will not be preceded by an open mic.
As a volunteer-run nonprofit organization, the Folk Music Society of Huntington is supported in large part through memberships. Although its First Saturday Concerts series usually features national and international touring artists, one evening each season is devoted to a Members Showcase Concert to enable some of its own talented members to display their musicianship, singing and songwriting skills. Tickets are $20 ($15 for FMSH members) and may be purchased online at www.fmsh.org with a credit card or at the door (cash and checks only).

Bob Westcott’s Holiday Revue
2014-12-18 19:30 - 22:30
TICKET INFO
Tickets for this event are available at the Cinema Arts Center on the day of the performance. Prices are $10 for FMSH and Cinema Arts Centre Members / $15 for Non Members. There are no advance tickets for this event.
Gail Storm – Robert Bruey – Wicked Karma (Dee Harris & Todd Evans)
Gail Storm is a singer/songwriter/pianist who performs locally as well as on the national and international circuits. Her blues stylings embrace the root music she cherishes and provide a refreshing frame to other genres. The “Storm” is known to have a “heavy left hand” as demonstrated by her strong, rhythmic bass lines-particularly evident in the “boogie woogie”.
Storm performs in a wide variety of venues (solo or as bandleader) and has radio, film and television appearances to her credit. She has opened for Maria Muldaur, Henry Butler, and Bakithi Kumalo (of Paul Simon). As bandleader, Gail has had such notable sidemen such as Wycliffe Gordon, Jerry Weldon, and Toby Walker. In addition to her performance schedule, she also teaches piano, conducts music and art workshops, leads multi-media presentations on blues topics, and tributes Carole King. Storm has also been on staff at the award-winning Augusta Heritage Blues & Swing Week.
Singer-songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist Robert Bruey grew up in rural New England and lives on Long Island’s North Fork. His roots and how they have helped to shape him are reflected in the original music on his recently released CD, ‘Carousel’, and are even more evident during a live performance. Robert Bruey’s music is honest and real, raw and meaningful, gritty and naturalistic. His deft, spare and unique finger-picking style — with notes carefully left alone to be heard in the moment — provides a perfect complement for his earthy and soulful voice and the meaningful, introspective lyrics of his songs. As a musical artist, he paints with words — imbuing his songs with imagery that enables listeners to visualize his stories as he sings them.Although he cites such diverse artists as Dave Matthews, Van Morrison, Waylon Jennings, Jackson Browne and Damien Rice as influences, Robert Bruey is his own muse blazing his own musical path – one that should lead him into listening rooms and living rooms far and wide.
Wicked Karma – This is one of the most creative, eclectic, out there (yet in there), acoustic guitar duos to emerge in a long time. Dee Harris and Todd Evans have freed themselves to travel wherever they wish to go and have given birth to their own organic music form with no boundaries or confining genre limitations. Theirs is a musical palette uninhibited and flowing with abstract expressionism. Even their song titles are derived from surrealism and the dada law of chance. Sharing a mutual passion for melody and improvisation, their original instrumentals feature striking chordal voicings, with turns of jazz, blues and Indian influenced resophonic slide guitar. It’s all wicked in the best way. It’s all Karma of the highest level.

Tom Chapin
2014-12-06 19:30 - 22:30
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In a career that spans five decades, 23 albums and three GRAMMY awards, multi-talented singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Chapin has covered an incredible amount of creative ground. In addition to his work as a recording artist and concert performer, Chapin has acted on Broadway, as well as working extensively in films, television and radio.
As a music-maker, Chapin has maintained two long and productive parallel careers, both as a highly respected contemporary folk artist and as a pioneer in the field of children’s music. In the
former role, Chapin has established a reputation for insightful, heartfelt songcraft and effortlessly charismatic live performances. In the latter, he continues to engage the hearts, minds and imaginations of young listeners with witty, life-affirming original songs delivered in a sophisticated array of musical styles. In either format, Chapin’s infectious songs, sterling musicianship and personal warmth consistently shine through, whether he’s performing on record or in a concert hall,
an outdoor festival, a school, in front of a symphony orchestra or in an intimate coffeehouse.
The New York Times called Chapin “one of the great personalities in contemporary folk music,” while Billboard called him “the best family artist around” and described him as “totally captivating.” Parents magazine stated, “Nobody today is writing and performing better kids’ songs than Tom Chapin.”
The son of noted jazz drummer and teacher Jim Chapin and the grandson of author/critic Kenneth Burke and portrait painter James Chapin, Tom grew up in a family that encouraged artistic pursuits. He began performing professionally as a teenager in the early 1960s, playing in Greenwich Village folk clubs alongside his siblings Harry and Steve as The Chapin Brothers. In 1971, he began
a five-year run as the host of the Emmy- and Peabody award-winning ABC-TV children’s series Make A Wish. Chapin and his songs were also featured in the seminal 1970 documentary film Blue Water,
White Death, for which he spent six months sailing the Indian Ocean searching for great white sharks.
Chapin launched his solo recording career with 1976’s Life Is Like That. It was the first of a string of albums that further established his reputation as both a gifted storyteller and a natural entertainer, winning him an uncommonly loyal fan base in the process. He also continued to venture into other creative areas, playing the lead role in the hit Broadway musical Pump Boys and Dinettes, working off-Broadway as musical director of both Cotton Patch Gospel and Harry Chapin: Lies and Legends, and serving as host of TV’s National Geographic Explorer. He’s also written and performed satirical topical songs for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition, and had a cameo role as the Vice
Presidential candidate in Jonathan Demme’s 2004 remake of The Manchurian Candidate. Chapin was already firmly established as a performer and recording artist when he first branched out into family music with his 1988 album Family Tree. He’s since released twelve more family CDs aimed at post-toddler, pre-teen listeners and their parents, comprised of original songs addressing such issues as family life, positive self-image and respect for the environment.
“When I was hosting Make A Wish, people had suggested to me many times that I ought to make a ‘children’s record,’ which to me meant singing songs for toddlers about little duckies and
didn’t seem particularly interesting,” Chapin explains. “Then I had children, and when they were eight and six, I realized that there was not a lot of music for that age group. They understood language and story and humor, but were too old for toddler music and too young for rebellion and love songs. So I did Family Tree with that in mind, and it won all kinds of awards. Suddenly I had a new career as a family artist.”
Chapin’s latest family release is The Incredible Flexible You, a collection of 12 new songs that help young listeners navigate the tricky waters of social interaction. It’s ʻA Songbag of Social
Clues.ʼ Each tune is designed for preschool and early elementary children with social cognitive challenges, and their parents and teachers, too. It has received a 2013 Parentsʼ Choice Gold Award,
a Family Choice Award, a Momʼs Choice Gold Award and a Creative Child CD of the Year Award. “Writing family music,” he observes, “has been a wonderful course in songwriting. You have a
dual agenda: keep it understandable and fun for kids, but well-written and intelligent and musical enough to keep adults listening as well. Within these parameters, we’ve found an enormous amount of topics and approaches and musical feels that continue to excite us to keep coming back and doing
it again.” Chapin also serves as narrator of a series of children’s books, three of which, Mama Don’t Allow, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly and The Train They Call The City Of New Orleans, have won GRAMMY awards in the Best Spoken Word Album for Children category.
In addition to his varied musical and media endeavors, Chapin is also a powerful advocate on behalf of a variety of charitable causes. He is an active board member of WhyHunger, the organization which the artist’s older brother, the late singer-songwriter/activist Harry Chapin, founded (as World Hunger Year) in the 1970s. He also remains active in a variety of environmental causes, as well as efforts on behalf of music and the arts in our public schools.
“I’m at that place in my life where I follow what interests me,” Chapin concludes. “I still love the guitar, I still love to sing, and I still love the thrill of creation: a good song, a good recording, a good concert. I feel blessed to be my own boss, creating my own material and performing for so many different audiences, ages and generations.”
In the spirit of the holiday season, please bring canned food to this concert for distribution to needy Long Islanders through Long Island Cares – The Harry Chapin Food Bank.

An Evening with Peter Yarrow
2014-12-03 19:30 - 22:30
Come join Peter Yarrow as he personally guides us with commentary & live performance – from beloved anthems to selections from 13 never-before-recorded songs – through highlights of the brand new documentary, “50 Years with Peter, Paul and Mary” including DVD “extras” that will not be broadcast on any upcoming TV airings.
The celebration culminates in a reception signing of their handsome, moving new coffee table book chronicling the iconic trio’s epic journey of uplifting music and powerful activism that – as US Secretary of State John F. Kerry writes in his foreword – defined a generation, leaving a legacy that lives on today.
When Peter, Paul and Mary performed If I Had a Hammer and Blowin’ in the Wind at the 1963 March on Washington, “It changed the way we saw the world…and our role in it.” Beginning in 1962 with their first chart-busting album, and after 5 Grammies, 13 Top 40 Hits, 5 PBS TV specials, 8 gold and 5 platinum albums – Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers have touched the hearts and conscience of millions the world over.
“They challenged the nation and the world to speak out against the enemies of the age – racism, poverty, insane militarism, the institutions of greed and injustice. And they did it onstage – in their words and their in their songs, in their personal lives, and together. We could sure use a little more of them these days!” – Arlo Guthrie
“Peter, Paul And Mary: Fifty Years in Music and Life.” On every page of this lushly illustrated new coffee-table book, what Peter, Paul and Mary stood for comes alive for the first time and in their own words, through rare and remarkable images and evocative text. Drawn from interviews and personal writings, the narrative merges each artist’s perspectives, reflecting their unified commitment in music as in activism. Peter, Paul and Mary takes readers not only backstage but deep into the group’s most cherished beliefs and passions.
Tickets are $25 for Members of FMSH or CAC / $30 Public – Includes Book-Signing Reception. Purchase Tickets online at the Cinema Arts Centre website or at the event (if available).
Link for tickets: http://www.cinemaartscentre.org/event/an-evening-with-peter-yarrow-celebrating-the-50th-anniversary-of-peter-paul-and-mary/
FMSH Members purchasing advance tickets on-line, use code “FMSH2015”
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