Compiled by Michael Kornfeld

Detailed listings for more than 85 concerts, open mics and jam sessions slated for December in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk appear in this installment of AcousticMusicScene.com’s Long Island AcoustiCalendar.  In addition to a lot of homegrown talent, touring artists of note visiting Long Island during the last days of 2008 include Aztec Two-Step, Anthony da Costa and Abbie Gardner, Joe Jencks, Chris Smither, Amy Speace, Loudon Wainwright III, Sloan Wainwright and Peter Yarrow. A few listings for the first weekend of 2009 also appear below.

Monday, 12/1

Country Blues Jam at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. No cover.

Open Mike with Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m. (sign-up at 8 p.m.). 

Tuesday, 12/2 

Stuart Markus, LI-based singer-songwriter and member of the folk harmony trio Gathering Time performs sol at Rachel’s Waterside Grill, 281 Woodcleft Avenue, Freeport. 9:30 p.m.

Buddy Merriam & Back Roads, LI bluegrass stalwarts, Checkmate Inn, North Country Road, Setauket.  9:30 p.m.

Wednesday, 12/3

Folk Open Sing, sponsored by the Good Coffeehouse and the Pinewoods –Folk Music Society of New York, Ethical Cultural Society building (basement), 53 Prospect Park West (near 2nd Street), Brooklyn.  For information, call Alison Kelley, 718-636-6341.

Open Mic, Cool Beanz, 556 North Country Road (Route 25A), St. James.  8-11 p.m.

Open Mic, The Cup, 3268 Railroad Avenue, Wantagh.  9-11:45 p.m.  $1 cover.

Open Mic, Life Café, 983 Flushing Avenue, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  9 p.m. – Midnight.

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  7 p.m.

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn.  9:30 p.m.

“WoodSongs at the Movies” features a 45-minute live performance by The Homegrown String Band, followed by an hour-long screening of Michael Johnathon’s “WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour " with featured artist Tim O’Brien.  Inspired by the rural string bands of the early 20th century, Long Island’s Jackofsky family has been playing traditional and neo-traditional acoustic American roots music and lively originals together for more than a decade.  The Folk Music Society of Huntington joins Clearview Cinemas in presenting this weekly multimedia music event  at Clearview’s Babylon Cinemas, 34 Main Street (west of Deer Park Avenue), Babylon. 7:30 p.m.  $12.

Thursday, 12/4

Old Time Jam with Zot’s Dream (jug music featuring banjos, washboard, washtub bass, tin-can drums, etc), Freddy’s 485 Dean Street at Sixth Avenue, Brooklyn.  9 p.m. to midnight.

Kevin Smith performs traditional and contemporary Irish music at Irish Cottage Restaurant & Pub, 108-07 72nd Avenue, Forest Hills, Queens.

Friday, 12/5 

First Friday Bluegrass Night at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 9 p.m.

Bev Grant & the Dissident Daughters share a bill with the wonderful contemporary folk duo Friction Farm at The Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn.  8 p.m. (www.gchmusic.org). 718-768-2972. $10; $6 for children.

Chris Smither, a gifted blues and roots-inspired singer-songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist, who has been making music for four decades, plays the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. (www.boultoncenter.org). 631-969-1101. 8 p.m. $27.50; $22.50 for members.  

Amy Speace, who performs for the Garden Stage at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau, is blessed with an amazing voice and a gift for songwriting.  She is among the best new contemporary singer-songwriters on the scene today.  223 Stewart Avenue (corner of Nassau Boulevard), Garden City.  8 p.m.  $15 in advance; $17 at the door. For advance tickets and information, contact calendar [at] uucn.org.

Strike The Bell (Stuart Markus and Judith Zweiman) stroll the streets of Port Jefferson singing sea chanteys and traditional holiday tunes during the village’s annual Charles Dickens Festival this evening.

PeaceSmiths Fundraiser-Coffeehouse at the First United Methodist Church, 25 Broadway/Route 110 (southernmost end near Merrick Road/Montauk Highway), Amityville.  Coffeehouse starts at 8 p.m. and features performances by David Bailey, Blacklisted & The Banned, Jeff Curtis, Suzanne Ernst, Andy Greenhouse and Walter Sargent (with a tribute to Susan Blake).  Potluck dinner set for 6 p.m.  $20 donation for dinner and coffeehouse + a dish to share; $7 suggested donation for the coffeehouse only. (www.peacesmiths.org).  631-798-0778.  

Saturday, 12/6

Folk Music Society of Huntington’s annual Emerging Artists Showcase features gifted Midwest-based singer-songwriter Joe Jencks and local favorites Gathering Time, a folk harmony trio (featuring Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus and Hillary Foxsong) that has been capturing attention and fans with its spirited blend of folk and acoustic originals, stylistic interpretations of choice covers, and wonderful three-part vocal harmonies. This concert, part of the 40th season of the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s First Saturdays Series, takes place at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (just off Route 25A) in Centerport. The 8:30 p.m. concert is preceded by an hour-long open mic at 7:30 p.m.  (www.fmshny.org). 631-425-2925.  $20 in advance; $22 at the door; $15 for FMSH members.  Tickets available in advance via Brown Paper Tickets. 

Saturday Night Jam, Sunny’s, 253 Conover Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn.  8 p.m.

Sunday, 12/7

Paradiddle Records Holiday Hullabaloo may not be exclusively acoustic, but it promises to be a lot of fun and benefits a good cause (Long Island Cares – the Harry Chapin Food Bank), BrickHouse Brewery, 67 West Main Street, Patchogue. 2 p.m. $10.

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m. 

Sunday Street Acoustic Series at the University Café features singer-songwriter Sloan Wainwright and her niece, Lucy Wainwright Roche, Stony Brook Union building, Stony Brook University.  2 p.m.  (www.universitycafe.org). 631-632-1093.  SundayStreetWUSB@aol.com. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door (if available). 

Monday, 12/8

Country Blues Jam at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. No cover.

Open Mike with Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m. (sign-up at 8 p.m.).

Tuesday, 12/9 

Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary performs a free concert and signs his children’s books at Book Revue, 313 New York Avenue (Route 110), Huntington. 7 p.m.

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarists plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Wednesday, 12/10

Acoustic Strings N Things, presented by the Smithtown Township Arts Council, includes an open mic and featured performers, Mills Pond House, 660 Route 25A, Smithtown. 631-862-6575. 8-9:30 p.m.  Free.

Aztec Two-Step, the harmonious folk-rockin’ duo of Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman have been making wonderful music together for more than 35 years, annual December visit to The Brokerage, 2797 Bellmore Avenue, Bellmore. 8 p.m.  $30 plus two-beverage minimum.

Open Mic, Cool Beanz, 556 North Country Road (Route 25A), St. James.  8-11 p.m.

Open Mic, The Cup, 3268 Railroad Avenue, Wantagh.  9-11:45 p.m.  $1 cover.

Open Mic, Life Café, 983 Flushing Avenue, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  9 p.m. – Midnight.

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  7 p.m.                                           

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn.  9:30 p.m.

“WoodSongs at the Movies” features a 45-minute live performance by Phil Minissale, the finger-pickin’ good Long Island Blues Boy, who is now 21 and touting his new debut release, followed by an hour-long screening of Michael Johnathon’s “WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour with featured artist Marie Knight, a soulful blues and gospel singer.The Folk Music Society of Huntington joins with Clearview Cinemas in presenting this weekly multimedia music series at Clearview’s Babylon Cinemas, 34 Main Street (west of Deer Park Avenue), Babylon. 7:30 p.m.  $12.

Thursday, 12/11

Cat Martino, indie folk singer-songwriter who accompanies herself on piano and guitar, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. $10 suggested donation.  Howard Fishman, an eclectic composer and talented musician and interpreter of the songs of others, follows at 10 p.m.

Open Mic Night, hosted by talented singer-songwriter and percussive fingerstyle guitarist Joe Iadanza, features music and poetry, Canvas Gallery, 51 Gibson Avenue, Huntington. 7-9:30 p.m.; performer sign-up at 7 p.m.  $5.

Kevin Smith performs traditional and contemporary Irish music at Irish Cottage Restaurant & Pub, 108-07 72nd Avenue, Forest Hills, Queens.

Pat Wictor, a top-notch, blues and roots-inspired singer-songwriter and lap-slide guitarist, is accompanied by percussionist extraordinaire Cheryl Prashker for the Babylon Village Arts Council Second Thursdays Concert Series at Astoria Federal Savings Bank, 180 West Main Street, Babylon. 7:30 p.m. Free.    

Friday, 12/12

Jen Chapin, jazz-tinged singer-songwriter, performs for the Grounds and Sounds Café at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook, 380 Nichols Road (just north of Route 347, near the university).  8:45 p.m. featured performance is preceded by an open mic at 8 p.m.  $20. Cans of food or other non-perishable food items also would be appreciated.

Bennett Harris, fingerstyle Piedmont and Delta blues and ragtime guitarist, Jesse’s Roadhouse BBQ, 1810 Merrick Road, Merrick. 8:30 p.m.

Bill Carney’s Jug Addicts perform a lively blend of jug band, old-time, tin pan alley, early jazz and blues music at Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. $10 suggested donation

Cathy Kreger, LI-based singer-songwriter, who also is part of the new trio Lucky 13, performs solo at Fiddlehead American Fish House & Grill, 62 South Street, Oyster Bay. 7:30-11:30 p.m.

Shilelagh Law, Irish pub band, fronted by a non-Irishman, that interprets traditional Irish music through the filter of the urban experience, plays Woodhaven House, 63-98 Woodhaven Boulevard, Rego Park, Queens.

Loudon Wainwright III, a witty and engaging singer-songwriter, graces the stage at the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. (www.boultoncenter.org). 631-969-1101. 8 p.m. $45; $40 for members.  

Pat Wictor, a top-notch, blues and roots-inspired singer-songwriter and lap-slide guitarist, joined by percussionist extraordinaire Cheryl Prashker, The Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn.  8 p.m. (www.gchmusic.org). 718-768-2972. $10; $6 for children.

Saturday, 12/13

Caroline Doctorow and James O’Malley, two talented Long Island-based singer-songwriters, share a bill at The Eclectic Café, Unitarian Universalist Society of South Sufolk, 28 Brentwood Road, Bay Shore.  (www.eclecticcafe.org). 631-661-1278.  8:30 p.m., preceded by an open mic at 7:30 p.m. $10; $8 for members. 

The Folk-Groovin’ Café, St. Lawrence of Canterbury Church, 655 Old Country Road, Dix Hills. 8 p.m. $7.

Eileen Ivers, a fine fiddler and former star of “Riverdance,” presents “An Nollaig – An Irish Christmas,” at the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. (www.boultoncenter.org). 631-969-1101. 8 p.m. $35; $30 for members.  

Saturday Night Jam, Sunny’s, 253 Conover Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn.  8 p.m.

We’re About 9, an engaging contemporary acoustic trio with tight harmonies and clever, original music, make its fifth annual visit to Merrick for Courthouse Concerts.  Phil Minissale, the finger-pickin’ good Long Island Blues Boy, opens. Showtime is 7 p.m.; pre-show gathering at 6 p.m. $15 suggested donation.  Reservations required: courthouseconcerts@yahoo.com.

Sunday, 12/14

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Red River Ramblers — a four-piece, old-time rootsy country band featuring Ken "The Rocket" Korb, Lara Kendall, Tom Linden and George Cassidy — performs at the South Country Public Library, 22 Station Road, Bellport. 631-286-0818. 2-3:30 p.m. Free.

Sunday Street Acoustic Series at the University Café features Anthony da Costa and Abbie Gardner performing as a duo.  Da Costa is a prolific 17 year-old singer-songwriter and self-taught multi-instrumentalist, who was a winner in the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Competition and was voted as the emerging artist “most wanted” to return to the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival last year.  Gardner is a gifted singer-songwriter and dobro player, who also is part of the fabulous female Americana roots trio Red Molly.  Stony Brook Union building, Stony Brook University.  2 p.m.  (www.universitycafe.org). 631-632-1093. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door (if available).

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarists plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation. 

Monday, 12/15 

Brooklyn Songwriters Exchange hosted by local songwriter Rebecca Pronsky and featuring Devon Sproule and Andy Friedman, Union Hall, 702 Union Street, Brooklyn. 7:30 p.m. No cover.

Country Blues Jam at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. No cover.

Open Mike with Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m. (sign-up at 8 p.m.).

Wednesday, 12/17

Acoustic Strings N Things, presented by the Smithtown Township Arts Council, includes an open mic and featured performers, Mills Pond House, 660 Route 25A, Smithtown. 631-862-6575. 8-9:30 p.m.  Free.

Open Mic, Cool Beanz, 556 North Country Road (Route 25A), St. James.  8-11 p.m.

Open Mic, The Cup, 3268 Railroad Avenue, Wantagh.  9-11:45 p.m.  $1 cover.

Open Mic, Life Café, 983 Flushing Avenue, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  9 p.m. – Midnight.

Open Mic, Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (corner of 7th Street), Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  7 p.m.                                         

Roots n’ Ruckus, a night of folk, old-time and blues music, at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn.  9:30 p.m.

“WoodSongs at the Movies” features a 45-minute live performance by Lucky 13, a talented new LI-based trio featuring the eclectic styles and voices of Marci Geller, Cathy Kreger and Susan DeVita, followed by an hour-long screening of Michael Johnathon’s “WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour with featured artists Over the Rhine. The Folk Music Society of Huntington joins with Clearview Cinemas in presenting this weekly multimedia music event at Clearview’s Babylon Cinemas, 34 Main Street (west of Deer Park Avenue), Babylon. 7:30 p.m.  $12.

Thursday, 12/18

Cathy Kreger, LI-based singer-songwriter, who also is part of the new trio Lucky 13, performs solo at Hudson’s Mill Restaurant, 5599 Merrick Road, Massapequa. 7:30-10:30 p.m.

Kevin Smith performs traditional and contemporary Irish music at Irish Cottage Restaurant & Pub, 108-07 72nd Avenue, Forest Hills, Queens.

Friday, 12/19

Phil Minissale (the finger-pickin’ good Long Island Blues boy, who is now 21), Joseph Patti and Michael Korb, Cool Beanz, 556 North Country Road (Route 25A), St. James.  8 p.m.

Red River Ramblers — a four-piece, old-time rootsy country band featuring Ken "The Rocket" Korb, Lora Kendall, Linden and George Cassidy — plays Eastenders Coffee House, 40 East Main Street, Riverhead. 8-11 p.m.

Singer-songwriters David Roach and Jen Chapin share a bill at The Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn.  8 p.m. (www.gchmusic.org). 718-768-2972. $10; $6 for children.

Saturday, 12/20

Paula Cole Acoustic, the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. (www.boultoncenter.org). 631-969-1101. 8 p.m. $55; $50 for members.  

Chris Van Cott & The Vagabonds, with opener Jay Scott, Once & For All, 8 East Main Street, Patchogue. 8:30 p.m. No cover.

Saturday Night Jam, Sunny’s, 253 Conover Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn.  8 p.m.

Bob Westcott’s 17th Annual Holiday Revue features singer-songwriter David Bailey, husband & wife duo Princess Peapod, and Return to the Dream (Martha Trachtenberg, Tom Griffith, Diane Garisto and Andy Huenerberg). This benefit concert for the Folk Music Society of Huntington is part of its Hard Luck Café series at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (just off Route 25A), Centerport.  8:30 p.m. concert is preceded by an hour-long open mic at 7:30 p.m.  (www.fmshny.org). 631-425-2925.  $10; $7 for FMSH members.

Sunday, 12/21

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarists plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Monday, 12/22

Country Blues Jam at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. No cover.

Open Mike with Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m. (sign-up at 8 p.m.).

Saturday, 12/27

Cathy Kreger, LI-based singer-songwriter, who also is part of the new trio Lucky 13, performs solo at Elijah Churchill’s, 1031 Route 25A, Fort Salonga. 7-10 p.m.

An Evening with Dar Williams, one of today’s most talented contemporary singer-songwriters, performs at Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. $25.

Sunday, 12/28

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.

Stephane Wrembel presents The Django Experiment, French virtuoso guitarists plays in Reinhardt’s style, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. $10 suggested donation.

Monday, 12/29

Country Blues Jam at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 9 p.m. No cover. 

Open Mike with Dave Drew, Bartini Bar, 124 North Carll Avenue, Babylon. 9 p.m. (sign-up at 8 p.m.).

Coming up in early January …

Friday, 1/2 

First Friday Bluegrass Night at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn. 9 p.m.

Island Songwriters Showcase (ISS) Open Mic at Broder’s Café, Jericho Turnpike (Route 25), Syosset.  Sign-up is at 7:30 p.m. and the music starts at 8 p.m.

PeaceSmiths Topical, A-Typical, Folk Music, Poetry and Whatever Coffeehouse, First United Methodist Church, 25 Broadway/Route 110 (southernmost end near Merrick Road/Montauk Highway), Amityville.  8 p.m. (www.peacesmiths.org).  631-798-0778.   $7 suggested donation.

Saturday, 1/3

Folk Music Society of Huntington Annual Members Showcase takes place at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (just off Route 25A) in Centerport. The 8:30 p.m. concert is preceded by an hour-long open mic at 7:30 p.m.  (www.fmshny.org). 631-425-2925.  $20 in advance; $22 at the door; $15 for FMSH members.  Tickets available in advance via Brown Paper Tickets. 

Saturday Night Jam, Sunny’s, 253 Conover Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn.  8 p.m.

Sunday, 1/4

Ponkiesburg Pickin’ Party, weekly traditional acoustic music jam features dashes of country, old-time, bluegrass, blues and folk at Kili, 81 Hoyt Street (between State & Atlantic), Brooklyn.  4:30-7:30 p.m.