Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) partners with Club Passim in Cambridge, Massachusetts to present a Spring FolkFest on Saturday, March 23, from 12-4 p.m. The afternoon of music, emanating from the legendary Harvard Square listening room and featuring a number of artists performing short showcases, will be livestreamed via Concert Window. To view, log on to www.concertwindow.com/clubpassim on the day of the show. For those in the Greater Boston-Cambridge area who wish to enjoy the festival in-person, tickets — priced at $15; $12 for Club Passim or Folk Alliance International members — are available at www.clubpassim.org.
Featured artists — each of whom had a juried official showcase at the 2018 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT –- and the afternoon schedule appear below:
12:00 p.m.: House of Hamill
12:30 p.m.: Diane Perry
1:00 p.m.: Rod Abernethy
1:30 p.m.: Ellen Bukstel
2:00 p.m.: Kipyn Martin
2:30 p.m.: C. Daniel Boling
3:00 p.m.: Meghan Cary
3:30 p.m.: Cassandra House
Here are website and video links for the participating artists:
Rod Abernethy
https://rodabernethyguitar.com/home
https://youtu.be/Rui0Xfy0q_s
C. Daniel Boling
http://www.danielboling.com/bio.html
Ellen Bukstel
http://ellenbukstel.com/
https://youtu.be/DP6B89aenOc
Meghan Cary
http://www.meghancary.com/
https://youtu.be/wSNJ6NspqZk
Cassandra House
https://www.cassandrahouse.net/home
https://youtu.be/fnOkwZ3w5kY
House of Hamill
https://www.houseofhamill.com/
https://youtu.be/YtfvRLP4h8s
Kipyn Martin
https://www.kipynmartin.com/
https://youtu.be/ACX_Q9L0Sqs
Diane Perry
https://www.dianeperryfolk.com/
https://youtu.be/PCairKiDfKM
NERFA is a regional affiliate of Folk Alliance International — a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation, and promotion. More than 700 performing artists, presenters, promoters, agents, managers, folk DJs, and others actively engaged in contemporary and traditional folk music attended NERFA’s 24th annual conference in Stamford, CT in November. NERFA is governed by a volunteer board of directors that has been engaged in ongoing efforts to make it more of a year-round organization in order to best meet the needs and serve the interests of FAI members from the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC to the provinces of eastern Canada. The Spring FolkFest is an example of this, as was the 2018 Mid-Winter FolkFest that NERFA presented at Club Passim. So, too, are the NERFA Presents Young Folk showcases that have taken place over the past three summers in partnership with a few music festivals in the U.S. and Canada, as well as NERFA Showcases co-presented with several other nonprofit venues and presenting organizations in the region.
Although it didn’t adopt its current name until incorporating as a nonprofit in1994, Club Passim (clubpassim.org) has its roots in what was then Club 47, a folk venue that opened its doors at another Cambridge location in 1958 before moving five years later to its current location on Palmer Street and then changing its name to Passim in 1969. Passim has been a cornerstone of the arts community of New England for more than half a century. Located in the heart of Harvard Square, Club Passim is one of the few “listening rooms” in the greater Boston-Cambridge area. It’s a place where audiences and artists can interact with one another in an intimate setting. More than 400 shows are presented each year, featuring artists from a broad range of musical genres. A musical Mecca for the folk and singer-songwriter scene since its early days, Passim retains a folk aesthetic. Among the many folk luminaries who have graced its stage are Joan Baez, Shawn Colvin, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Tom Rush, and Suzanne Vega.
Editor’s Note: I am president of the NERFA board of directors. My board colleagues join me in extending thanks to Kathy Sands-Boehmer (a former board member and vice president) for taking the lead in arranging the Spring FolkFest and to Matt Smith and his team at Club Passim for partnering with NERFA on this event for a second consecutive year. Thanks also to NERFA board member Jessica Wrubel (Razzi Entertainment) for designing the online poster.
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