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Friday Folk Coffeehouse Presents Singer Songwriter Rupert Wates on October 17!
Friday Folk Coffeehouse at First Church Dedham
670 High Street, Dedham, MA
(781) 326-7463
Contact: Geoff Tegnell
First Church Friday Folk Coffeehouse presents its 2nd concert of the 2025-2026 season featuring Rupert Wates at First Church and Parish Dedham, 670 High Street, Dedham on Friday, October 17, 2025 at 7:30 pm in the Parish House Auditorium. There will be refreshments for purchase. Tickets are $15 and are available online at Folk Coffeehouse |dedhamuu and at the door. Doors open at 7:00 pm.
Rupert Wates was born in London and studied at Oxford University. He began his full-time songwriting career in the late 1990s. In London, he collaborated with top-tier performers before moving to Paris in 2001, where he formed his own quartet and began performing regularly. Since relocating to the United States in 2006, Wates has earned more than 50 songwriting and performing awards. His music is an eclectic blend of acoustic, melodic art/folk infused with elements of jazz, vaudeville, and cabaret. He has released twelve solo albums, each earning critical acclaim and international airplay. His songs have been covered by artists across the UK, Canada, and the U.S., In 2016 alone, over 20 cover recordings of his songs were released.
Performing an average of 120 shows annually across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, Wates prefers intimate listening rooms where the focus is on connection and storytelling. He was voted Artist of the Year in both 2013 and 2016 by Concerts In Your Home. In 2018, he was a finalist in the Kerrville New Folk Song Contest and named an Emerging Artist at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. Though British by birth, Wates has been hailed as “a prime figure in American music” by Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange, who praised him as “one gifted sonofabitch.” Audiences everywhere respond to the haunting, melodic quality of his songs—music that rings true.
First Church and Parish Dedham Unitarian Universalist was first gathered in 1638 and is located in Dedham Center at 670 High Street. Its lively music program includes choir at Sunday services and the Parish Players theater troupe, in addition to our Friday Folk Coffeehouse events.
