Caroling, Handel’s "Messiah" sing-ins and stagings of "The Nutcracker" may dominate the musical landscape in December.  However, local and touring artists also ensure us that there is some fine acoustic music in the offing.

In addition to joining my colleagues in the Press Club of Long Island in singing song parodies poking fun at the year’s newsmakers during the club’s annual holiday show and party at the Huntington Hilton on December 6, I plan to attend several concerts and gigs on the Island this month, including the Editor’s Choices denoted in boldface type below and one featuring AcousticMusicScene.com co-creator Glen Roethel and the new trio Gathering Storm.

Happy holidays and best wishes for a healthy, peaceful, joyous and music-filled new year!

Michael Kornfeld

 

Saturday, 12/1

Vance Gilbert, one of the most talented and witty singer-songwriters on the folk circuit today, performs for the Folk Music Society of Huntington at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive, Centerport (just off Route 25A).  8:30 p.m. concert is preceded by an hour-long open mic at 7:30, for which prospective performers must sign up before 7:15 p.m.    (www.fmshny.org).  631-425-2925.  $20; $15 for members.

Sunday, 12/2

Free Grass Union, bluegras, Fadeley’s Pub, 422 W. Main Street (Route 27A), Patchogue.  4:30 p.m.  No cover.

The Pines, a new Minneapolis-based "goth folk" duo whose music combines roots, blues and indie-rock, Sunday Street Acoustic Series at The University Cafe, Stony Brook Union Building at Stony Brook University.  2 p.m.  (www.universitycafe.org).  For reservations and additional information, send an e-mail to SundayStreet WUSB@aol.com or call 631-632-1093.  $15; $10 for students.

Dar Williams, one of today’s top contemporary  folk singer-songwriters, Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn.  8 p.m.  $30; $35 at the door.

Tuesday, 12/4

Back Roads Trio, bluegrass, Checkmate Inn, North Country Road, Setauket.  9:30 p.m.

Stuart Markus, LI-based singer-songwriter, Rachel’s Waterside Cafe, 281 Woodcleft Avenue, Freeport.  6 p.m.

Wednesday, 12/5

Holley Anderson, feminist folksinger performs during the annual Green Party holiday party, Pisces Cafe, 14A Raidlroad Avenue, Babylon.  7 p.m.

Folk Open Sing at the Ethical Culture Society, 53 Prospect Park West (basement), Park Slope, Brooklyn (near 2nd Street).  7-10 p.m.  718-636-6341.

Thursday, 12/6

Old-Time Jam, Freddy’s, Dean Street & Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn.  9 p.m. – midnight.

Open Mic, featuring singer-songwriters and spoken word, The Perch Cafe, 365 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn.  7:30 p.m.  $5 suggested donation.

Friday, 12/7

"Dedicated to Susan Blake," a special open mic tribute, also featuring invited musical guests Katherine Congdon (NYC singer-songwriter) and Andy Greenhouse (NYC guitarist-composer), at Peacesmith’s monthly Topical, A-Typical, Folk Music, Poetry & Whatever Coffeehouse, First United Methodist Church, 25 Broadway (Route 110), Amityville.  8:30 p.m. until very late.  $7 donation (includes healthful punch and munchies). 

The Dreamsicles (harmonic duo of Tom Prasada-Rao and Cary Cooper), Garden Stage at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau, 223 Stewart Avenue, Garden City.  8 p.m.  (www.uuccn.org).  $15.

Jacque Dupree, one of the lead vocalists of Casselberry/DuPree, who describes her music as "gospelized folk on the verge of country," The Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn.  8 p.m.  (www.bsec.org).  718-768-2972.  $10.

Island SongwritersShowcase, featured artist followed by an open mic, Border’s, Jericho Turnpike, Syosset.  8 p.m.  Those wishing to perform must sign up at 7:30 p.m.  Free.

Open Mic, hosted by Joseph Ady, The Coffee Beanery, 12 Indian Head Road, Kings Park.  7:30 p.m.

Hank Stone, LI-based singer-songwriter, Pisces Cafe, 14A Railroad Avenue, Babylon.  8 p.m.  No cover.

Saturday, 12/8

Bill Carney’s Jug Addicts play jug band, old time, tin pan alley, early jazz and blues music, Barbe’s, 376 Ninth Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn.  10 p.m.  $10 suggested donation.

Anthony da Costa, a gifted, up-and-coming 16-year-old singer-songwriter from Pleasantville, NY; and Abbie Gardner, a talented 30-something singer-songwriter and dobro player, who also is part of Red Molly, the NY-based Americana trio, perform as a duo for The Eclectic Cafe at the Unitarian Universalist Society of South Suffolk, 28 Brentwood Road, Bay Shore.  8:30 p.m. show is preceded by an hour-long open mic at 7:30 p.m.  $10.

2007 has proven to be quite a good year for da Costa.  He wowed the crowd at this summer’s Huntington Folk Festival, was the overwhelming audience favorit among emerging artists at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (earning a spot in next year’s Most Wanted Song Swap), was a winner in the prestigious 2007 Kerrvile "New Folk competition, showcased at the Folk Alliance conference in Memphis and was the subject of much postive buzz at NERFA.  A prolific songwriter, he has penned more than 100 songs, ranging from heartfelt ballads like "Ain’t Much of a Soldier" to the amusing and topical "Poor, Poor Pluto."

Gardner may be best known as part of Red Molly.  However, she also has recorded solo albums, including last year’s Honey On My Grave; does swing dance gigs with her dad, jazz painist Herb Gardner, and his band; and joins other artists, like da Costa, on occasion.  Gardner – whose wide-ranging musical repertoire reveals the influence of blues, bluegrass, old-timey, folk and torch songs – was a Northest finalist in the 2006 Independent Music World Series, a 2006 Rocky Mountain Folks Festival New Song Contest finalist, and a 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest winner.

Mid-Island Song Crafters, features unsigned LI artists singing original songs, The Conklin Barn, 2 High Street (at New York Avenue/Route 110), Huntington.  5 p.m.  For more information, advance tickets, or to perform, call Jennifer Ostrowsky at 516-567-8353.  $9 + canned goods for distribution to the needy during the holidays.

Anne Price & Steve Suffet, socially conscious folksingers, VoxPop Cafe, 1022 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn (one block east of Coney Island Avenue).  7-9 p.m.  No cover.

Sunday, 12/9

LI bluesman Bennett Harris leads an acoustic trio (with bass and fiddle), Longwood Public Lirary, 800 Middle Country Road, Middle Island.  631-924-9090.  Free

Nerissa & Katryna Nields, two harmonizing sisters from Western Massachusetts make wonderful music together as they tour in support of their new release, Sister Holler, Sunday Street Acoustic Series at The University Cafe, Stony Brook Union Building at Stony Brook University.  2 p.m.  (www.universitycafe.org).  For reservations and more information, send an e-mail to SundayStreet WUSB@aol.com or call 631-632-1093.  $20; $15 for students.

Wednesday, 12/12

Aztec Two-Step, the harmonious, folk-rockin’ duo of Rex Fowler and Neal Schulman’s annual holiday season visit to The Brokerage, 2797 Merrick Road, Bellmore, is always a treat.  8:30 p.m.  $30.

Thursday, 12/13

Open Mic, featuring singer-songwriters and spoken word, The Perch Cafe, 365 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn.  7:30 p.m.  $5 suggested donation.

Glen Roethel, LI singer-songwriter and song stylist with a penchant for positive music and a new CD in the works + the new trio Gathering Storm (Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus & Hillary Foxsong), three singer-songwriters, two guitarists and three voices in harmony, Fiddleheads American Fish House & Grille, 62 South Street, Oyster Bay.  7:30-11:30 p.m.  No cover.

Friday, 12/14

LI bluesman Bennett Harris, Jesse’s Roadhouse BBQ, 1810 Merrick Road, Merrick.  8:30 p.m.

Mike & Ruthy (Michael Merenda & Ruth Ungar, acoustic roots duo who also are part of The Mammals, Barbe’s, 376 Ninth Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn.  9 p.m.  $10 suggested donation.

Phil Minissale, the "Long Island Blues Boy," is the featured act at the Grounds and Sounds Cafe, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook, Nichols Road, just north of Route 347.  (www.groundsandsounds.uufsb.org).  Show begins with an open mic at 8 p.m.; Minissale performs at 8:45 p.m.  $10.

Open Mic, hosted by Joseph Ady, The Coffee Beanery, 12 Indian Head Road, Kings Park.  7:30 p.m.

Saturday, 12/15

Bob Westcott’s Annual Holiday Revue, a benefit concert for the Folk Music Society of Huntington, features talented LI singer-songwriters and musicians Tim Dillon, Dee Harris and Cathy Kreger, Hard Luck Cafe, Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive, Centerport.  (www.fmshny.org).  631-661-1278.  8 p.m.  (no open mic tonight).  $10; $7 for members.

Sunday, 12/16 

(off the Island but well worth the trip)

Tribes Hill Solstice 2007, an interfaith holiday celebration in song featuring some of the Hudson Valley’s finest singer-songwriters, presented by The Golden Apple Coffee House at St. Mark’s Church, 85 East Main Street, Mount Kisco, NY.  3 p.m.  (www.tribeshill.com).  $15 in advance/$20 at the door.

Matt Turk, a soulful folk troubadour, guitarist and mandolinist who also can rock out, plays a winter concert at the Westhampton Free Library, 7 Westhampton Avenue, Westhampton Beach. 1:30 p.m.   (www.wham.suffolk.lib.ny.us).  631-285-3335.  Advance registration required.

Wednesday, 12/19

Bennett Harris, LI-based acoustic blues guitarist, Bar-BQ, 689 Sixth Avenue (at 20th Street), Brooklyn.  9:30 p.m.

Thursday, 12/20

Kings County Opry, Freddy’s, Dean Street & Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn.  9 p.m.  No cover.

The Pisces Cafe Unplugged Series , hosted by Mark Loebl and featuring LI indie singer-songwriters The Unknown Gentlemen (8:30 p.m.), RobinEve (9 p.m.)m Roger Silverberg (9:30 p.m.) and Geoffrey Armes & Kevin McLeod (10 p.m.), The Pisces Cafe, 14A Railroad Avenue, Babylon.  No cover.

Friday, 12/21

Tornado Alley, five-piece, LI-based Americana-newgrass band featuring four singer-songwriters, Plainview-Old Bethpage Public Library, 999 Old Country Road (across from Shop-Rite), Plainview.  7:45 p.m.  Free.

Saturday, 12/22

Cathy Kreger, LI-based singer-songwriter, Elijah Churchill’s, 1031 Route 25A, Fort Salonga.  8-11 p.m.

Sunday, 12/23

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam, Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, 12/27

Cathy Kreger, LI-based singer-songwriter, Hudson’s Mill Restuarant, 5599 Merrick Road, Massapequa.  8-11 p.m.

Glen Roethel, NY singer-songwriter and song stylist with a penchant for positive music and a new CD in the works, Fiddleheads American Fish House & Grille, 62 South Street, Oyster Bay.  7:30-11:30 p.m.  No cover.

Friday, 12/28

Gathering Time (Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus & Hillary Foxsong), three singer-songwriters, two guitarists and three voices in harmony, The Inn at New Hyde Park, 214 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park.  9 p.m. – midnight.

Phil Minissale, finger-pickin’ good "Long Island Blues Boy," Bobbique, 70 West Main Street, Patchogue.  7:30 p.m.

Saturday, 12/29

Mark Levy, Northern California-based singer & guitarist who sings Judaic folk music in Yiddish, Hebrew, Ladino, Russian & English, performs at a private residence in Jackson Heights, Queens at 7:30 p.m.  Space is limited.  718-672-6399.  $13.

Montana Clay, acoustic duo performs a mix of classic rock, folk and country-rock on a shared bill with 60s-style rock & rollersThe Queazles, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, Browns Road, Huntington.  (www.lastlickscafe.com).  Featured perfromers at 8 p.m., preceded by open mic at 7 p.m. (for which sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m.).  $15.

Sunday, 12/30

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam, Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

 

Coming in January 2008

Wednesday, 1/2 

Traditional Irish music & dancing night at Ceol, 191 Smith Street in Brooklyn’s Boerum Hill neighborhood.  7-10 p.m.

Thursday, 1/3

Phil Minissale, finger-pickin’ good "Long Island Blues Boy," Toast Coffeehouse, 242 East Main Street, Port Jefferson.  7 p.m.

Old-Time Jam, Freddy’s, Dean Street & Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn.  9 p.m. – midnight.

Open Mic, featuring singer-songwriters and spoken word, The Perch Cafe, 365 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn.  7:30 p.m.  $5 suggested donation.

Friday, 1/4

Island SongwritersShowcase, featured artist followed by an open mic, Border’s, Jericho Turnpike, Syosset.  8 p.m.  Those wishing to perform must sign up at 7:30 p.m.  Free.

Johnsmith, a unique and incredibly talented singer-songwriter from Wisconsin makes his first LI concert appearance, Garden Stage at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau, 223 Stewart Avenue, Garden City.  8 p.m.  (www.uuccn.org).  $15.

PeaceSmiths Topical, A-Typical, Folk Music, Poetry & Whatever Coffeehouse features alternating sets by  NYC-based singer-songwriter Heather Lev and poet Steve Schmidt + open time at the end of the evening, First United Methodist Church, 25 Broadway (Route 110), near Montauk Highway, Amityville.  8 p.m.  631-798-0778.  $7 suggested donation.

Saturday, 1/5

Howard Fishman, Barbe’s, 376 Ninth Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn.  10 p.m.  $10 suggested donation.

Folk Music Society of Huntington’s second annual Emerging Artists Showcase, featuring Jud Caswell and Chris O’Brien, two talented singer-songwriters from New England, at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive, Centerport (just off Route 25A).  8:30 p.m. concert is preceded by an hour-long open mic at 7:30, for which prospective performers must sign up before 7:15 p.m.    (www.fmshny.org).  631-425-2925.  $20; $15 for members.

Free Grass Union, LI-based bluegrass band, Fiddlers Cove, 367 Three Mile Harbor Road, East Hampton.  9 p.m.  Free.

Jeffrey Gaines, souful singer-songwriter, Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore.  8 p.m.  (www.boultoncenter.org ).  631-969-1101.  $20.

Sunday, 1/6

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange, Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Avenue, Brooklyn.  7 p.m.  $10

The Kennedys, popular husband & wife jangly folk-pop duo and one of the most enjyable acts on the contemporary folk scene,  make a return visit to the Sunday Street Acoustic Series at The University Cafe, Stony Brook Union Building at Stony Brook University.  2 p.m.  (www.universitycafe.org).  For reservations and additional information, send an e-mail to SundayStreet WUSB@aol.com or call 631-632-1093.  $19 in advance; $22 at the door.

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam, Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/9

Acoustic Long Island weekly series of coffeehouse podcasts features an hour-long open mic follwed by a 45-minute set by featured performer Jesse Ruben, a 20-something Boston-based singer-songwriter, Deepwells Mansion, Route 25A (just west of the Moriches Road intersection), St. James.  8-10 p.m.  ( www.acousticlongisland.com).

Thursday, 1/10

Glen Roethel, LI singer-songwriter and song stylist with a penchant for positive music and a new CD in the works + the new trio Gathering Storm (Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus & Hillary Foxsong), three singer-songwriters, two guitarists and three voices in harmony, Fiddleheads American Fish House & Grille, 62 South Street, Oyster Bay.  7:30-11:30 p.m.  No cover.

Friday, 1/11

Gathering Time (Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus & Hillary Foxsong), three singer-songwriters, two guitarists and three voices in harmony, The Inn at New Hyde Park, 214 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park.  9 p.m. – midnight.

James O’Malley, a gifted and gentle-voiced LI-based singer-songwriter and two-time finalist in the Plowshares Songwriting Contest, is the featured act at the Grounds and Sounds Cafe, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook, Nichols Road, just north of Route 347.  (www.groundsandsounds.uufsb.org).  Show begins with an open mic at 8 p.m.; O’Malley performs at 8:45 p.m.  $10.

Saturday, 1/12

Gretchen Witt (NY singer-songwriter) and Gathering Time (LI’s own Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus & Hillary Foxsong), three singer-songwriters, two guitarists and three voices in harmony, The Eclectic Cafe, Unitarian Universalist Society of South Suffolk, 28 Brentwood Road, Bay Shore.  8:30 p.m. show, preceded by an hour-long open mic at 7:30 p.m.  (www.eclecticcafe.org).  631-661-1278.

Sunday, 1/13

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange, Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Avenue, Brooklyn.  7 p.m.  $5.

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam, Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/16

Acoustic Long Island weekly series of coffeehouse podcasts features an hour-long open mic follwed by a a 45-minute set by featured performer Earl Pickens, Deepwells Mansion, Route 25A (just west of the Moriches Road intersection), St. James.  8-10 p.m.  ( www.acousticlongisland.com).

Thursday, 1/17

Ani DiFranco, unique and righteous babe brings her Canon of funky, folky, poetic and often politically charged songs to the Inter-Media Art Center (IMAC), 370 New York Avenue (Route 110), Huntington.  8 p.m.  Carol Ann Dorsey opens.  8 p.m.  ( www.imactheater.org).  631-549-9666.  $49.50; $37.50 for members.

Kings County Opry, Freddy’s, Dean Street & Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn.  9 p.m.

Friday, 1/18

Bill Carney’s Jug Addicts play jug band, old time, tin pan alley, early jazz and blues music, Barbe’s, 376 Ninth Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn.  10 p.m.  $10 suggested donation.

Richie Havens, a living legend, Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore.  8 p.m.  (www.boultoncenter.org ).  631-969-1101.  $45, $40 for members.

HPL Cafe features Miller’s Crossing, Long Island bluegrass band, Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street, Huntington.  631-427-5165.  7:30 p.m.  Free.

Glen Roethel, NY singer-songwriter and song stylist with a penchant for postive music, Marino’s Remedies Cafe, 95 East Hoffman Avenue, Lindenhurst.  9 p.m.

Bill Staines, traveling troubadour and much-covered writer of such calssics as "A Place In The Choir," "Bridges," "Crossing The Water" and "River," makes his annual visit to the Our Times Coffeehouse at the Ethical Humanist Society building, 38 Old Country Road, Garden City.  8 p.m.   Be prepared to sing along.  Staines’ lyrics are memorable and his melodies are infectious. ( www.ourtimescoffeehouse.org).  $15.

Saturday, 1/19 

Folk Music Society of Huntington’s Hard Luck Cafe presents its annual Open Mike Night, Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive, Centerport.  (www.fmshny.org).  631-661-1278.  8 p.m.   $7.

Sunday, 1/20

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange, Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Avenue, Brooklyn.  7 p.m.  $5.

Ellis Paul, gifted singer-songwriter, makes a return visit to the Sunday Street Acoustic Series at The University Cafe, Stony Brook Union Building at Stony Brook University.  2 p.m.  (www.universitycafe.org).  For reservations and additional information, send an e-mail to SundayStreet WUSB@aol.com or call 631-632-1093. 

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam, Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Song Crew Open Mic, Munch Cafe & Grill, 71-60 Yellowstone Boulevard (corner of Dartmouth Street), Forest Hills, Queens.  3-5 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/23

Acoustic Long Island weekly series of coffeehouse podcasts features an hour-long open mic follwed by a 45-minute set by featured performer John Wills, Deepwells Mansion, Route 25A (just west of the Moriches Road intersection), St. James.  8-10 p.m.  ( www.acousticlongisland.com).

Thursday, 1/24

Jorma Kaukonen, whether solo or as part of Hot Tuna, is a highly respected interpreter of roots, blues and Americana.  He performs two solo sets at Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore.  8 p.m.  and 10:30 p.m.  ( www.boultoncenter.org ).  631-969-1101. $50, $45 for members.

Phil Minissale, finger-pickin’ good "Long Island Blues Boy," Bobbique, 70 West Main Street, Patchogue.  7:30 p.m.

Glen Roethel, LI singer-songwriter and song stylist with a penchant for positive music and a new CD in the works, Fiddleheads American Fish House & Grille, 62 South Street, Oyster Bay.  7:30-11:30 p.m.  No cover.

Saturday, 1/26

Fabulous Folk Series features Red Molly and Pat Wictor, The Jeanne Rimsky Theater at Landmark On Main Street, 232 Main Street, Port Washington.  8 p.m.  (www.landmarkonmainstreet.org).  Red Molly is a NY-based rootsy Americans trio whose incredibly tight and beuautiful three-part harmonies, solid musicianship and warm stage presence have drawn a devoted following here over the past year for its mix of traditional songs with old gospel, bluegrass, covers of old-timey style numbers by contemporary artists and a few originals penned by the trio’s own Abbie Gardner.  Pat Wictor is a gifted, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and lap-slide guitarist who draws inspiration from rural blues, gospel and rootsy country music and also is adept at performing traditional numbers in his own distinctive style.  These talented artists previously shared the stage during last summer’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival as the audience’s choices for "Most Wanted to Return" emerging artists.  516-767-6444.  $25-$35.

Li bluesman Bennett Harris & his acoustic trio (guitar, bass & fiddle), South Huntington Public Library, 145 Pidgeon Hill Road, Huntington Station.  Free.  631-549-4411.

The Song Box presents an evening with LI’s own singer-songwriter Cathy Kreger and multi-instrumentalist Dee Harris in a recording studio at a private residence in Seaford.  A potluck buffet is served during the break between performers.  8 p.m.  $10 suggested donation for the performers.  Advance reservations required.  For reservations, send an e-mail to songbox@optonline.net or call 516-579-5365.  You will receive a confirmation and directions via e-mail.

NYC’s Luminescent Orchestri presents a rousing and rollicking evening of balkan and gypsy dance tunes, with a dash of klezmer added to the mix, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, Browns Road, Huntington.  (www.lastlickscafe.com).  8:30 p.m., preceded by open mic at 7:30 p.m. (for which sign-up begins at 7 p.m.).  $15.

CD Release Party for Denise Romas’ Inspired, a collection of songs by a LI-baed singer and songwriter whose beautiful voice and guitar accompaniment bring a special sound to well-known songs and her own well-written and often poignant originals, at Body Awarness Studio, 50 W. Montauk Highway, Lindenhurst (one block west of Wellwood Avenue).  Open mic from 8-9 p.m.; Denise and friends at 9:15 p.m.  $10.  Complimentary refreshments will be provided.

Sunday, 1/27

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange, Brooklyn Lyceum, 227 4th Avenue, Brooklyn.  7 p.m.  $5.

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam, Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, 1/30

Acoustic Long Island weekly series of coffeehouse podcasts features an hour-long open mic followed by a 45-minute set by LI singer-songwriter Tom Griffith, Deepwells Mansion, Route 25A (just west of the Moriches Road intersection), St. James.  8-10 p.m.  ( www.acousticlongisland.com).