BACHA

John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse – Open Mic Friday 2/13/2026
2026-02-13 06:30 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse, Worcester MA, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States
2nd and 4th Fridays (except when noted)
First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA
Doors open and performer sign-up at 6:30 p.m.
Performances begin @ 7 p.m.
10 minutes in the limelight- spoken word or music (two songs). Duos or groups are considered one act and CANNOT sign up as single performers too. $3 admission for everybody. Performer or spectator.
Refreshments & snacks (donation appreciated).
PLEASE enter State Street upper parking lot door. Handicap parking and accessibility at the side entrance on Court Street by the Courthouse apartments. If you do park on Court Street only park on the church side of the street or you could get towed. The parking meters on Main Street and State Street require money until 8:00 pm. The meter maids and dudes love to hand out tickets.

Vance Gilbert
2026-02-20 19:30 - 21:30 | Follen Folk Nights, Lexington MA, 755 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
“If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might be something close to the great Vance Gilbert”, says Richmond Magazine. One of the originators of the finally recognized R&B/Folk/Jazz crossover-sub-genre, Vance was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Starting out hoping to be an R&B and jazz singer once at college, there he discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of the acoustic singer-songwriter thing. Noted not only for being the ever consummate performer, Gilbert has recorded 13 albums, including 5 for Philo/Rounder Records.

North Reading Community Coffeehouse February, 2026 Showcase
2026-02-21 18:30 - 21:30 | North Reading Community Coffeehouse, North Reading MA, 147 Park St, North Reading, MA, 01864, United States
The North Reading Community Coffeehouse is proud to present its February, 2026 Showcase. The performers are Uri and Lance Bourque, Cynthia Keefe and Kevin Kelley and The Lion Sisters – Josi and Lily Lion. We have a group of very talented musicians this month with a nice variety of music which will make for a very entertaining show. Each performer will do about a 40 minute set.The event is free but donations will be gratefully accepted and we will be offering refreshments with all the proceeds going to the Friends of the Flint Memorial Library in North Reading with whom we will be doing these concerts in conjunction with, to help support the library.

The event will also be livestreamed on the North Reading Community Coffeehouse Facebook page and on the YouTube channel the following day!
The links to the Facebook page and YouTube Channel are:
https://www.facebook.com/nrcoffeehouse
https://www.youtube.com/@NRCoffeehouse
We are located in the Activity Room of the Flint Memorial Library at 147 Park Street in North Reading. There is plenty of free parking. We start at 6:30. Please come, sit back, relax and listen to some terrific music! If you have any questions, please contact Art Grossman at NRCoffeehouse@gmail.com.

Ellis Paul
2026-02-21 19:30 - 21:30 | New Song, Bedford MA, 10 Mudge Way, Bedford, MA, 01730, United States
Ellis Paul is a songwriter, author, illustrator, and teacher. A constant presence on the American folk circuit for over 30 years, he has released 22 albums of original music and performed more than 5,000 shows. His songs have been featured in blockbuster films and covered by Grammy Award–winning artists.
His stage performance is a combination of humor, improv, and poignant story songs. He has performed at the Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, and clubs and coffeehouses all over the world and was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Maine and inducted into the Maine Music Hall of Fame. He has received 15 Boston Music Awards and the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award. His album The Storyteller’s Suitcase was named NERFA album of the year, and he was named IAMA International Acoustic Artist of the Year. His most recent album, 55, further deepens his reputation as one of folk music’s finest touring artists.
“Despite his success and sense of history, [Ellis Paul] remains an artist with his eye on the future and an interest in discovering the transformative potential of his music.” -The New York Times
“…one of the defining voices of American songwriting.” -Direct Curren

Charlotte Morris / James Lee Baker ~ A split bill - Feb. 21, 2026
2026-02-21 19:30 - 22:00 | Rose Garden Coffeehouse, Mansfield MA, 17 West St, Mansfield, MA, 02048, United States
James Lee Baker
Winner 2024 Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Competition
Birthed from the dusty high plains of the bible belt, wordsmith James Lee Baker sources the essence of his craft from a small-town past and a journey of self-discovery as the way out. Laced with mysticism, his emotive and thought-provoking songs speak to the shared, tender heart of our human condition.
​In 2020, he released 100 Summers – a full-length LP of songs centered around a theme of change. The title track reached #1 on the FAI Folk charts that month, garnering nearly half a million streams across platforms. Two of the songs on the project –Returning to Paris and The Last Cowboy in Hutchinson County – were selected as finalists for several nationally-known songwriting contests.
In 2022, he released a cover project called “Impressions”, recorded by Chris Bell (U2, The Eagles) and produced by Roscoe Beck (Eric Johnson, Leonard Cohen), which was released in 2022. The single “Did Galileo Pray?”, a cover of Ellis Paul, charted #10. John Apice from Americana Highways said “Baker’s cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Just Like a Woman’ is one of the finest I ever heard. He captures the lyric, understands it and possesses it as a first-class interpreter.”
Charlotte Morris
Winner 2025 Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Competition
Growing up near Philadelphia, Charlotte Morris found her passion for music early, learning multiple instruments and writing songs by age twelve. Influenced by folk classics and female storytellers like Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile, she developed a genuine, raw, and emotional style.
After touring with “Lonesome Traveler” in 2018, performing alongside folk legends, Charlotte released her debut EP “To New York, with Love,” followed by the “Sputnik” EP and a national acoustic tour. Her first full-length album, “Songs For My Next Ex” (2020), received critical acclaim, prompting her move to Nashville in 2021.
There, she participated in The Johnny Mercer Foundation’s Songwriters Project, mentored by industry greats. In 2022, Charlotte partnered with Charlotte Avenue Entertainment, releasing impactful singles like “Good Kind of Hurt” and “Tennessee.” Her second studio album, “Wild Child” (2023), gained international recognition. After a 30-city international tour in 2024, Charlotte returned to Philadelphia, with new music and tours on the horizon. She holds a degree in Theatre from Northwestern University.

John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse – Open Mic Friday 2/27/2026
2026-02-27 18:30 - 21:30 | John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse, Worcester MA, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States

North Reading Community Coffeehouse - Performing Artist Series Featuring Brendan Buckley and Katrina Holden with John Kramer
2026-02-28 19:30 - 21:30 | North Reading Community Coffeehouse, North Reading MA, 147 Park St, North Reading, MA, 01864, United States
The North Reading Community Coffeehouse (NRCC) is proud to welcome back Brendan Buckley and Katrina Holden with John Kramer on piano. The show is on Saturday, February 28. Doors open at 7 PM and the show begins at 7:30 PM.
Husband and wife team Brendan Buckley and Katrina Holden-Buckley have spent years performing on New England’s operatic and concert stages including Boston Lyric Opera, Opera on Tap, and CT Lyric Opera, to name a few. Brendan maintains a private voice studio from their home in North Reading. They are both looking forward to another performance with the NR Coffeehouse, where they’ll sing some of their favorite things. Don’t miss this engaging and eclectic mix of musical theatre, jazz, classical music, and witty banter on how they juggle work, parenthood, and still maintain their passion for the performing arts and each other for the most part.

The concert is free, but there will be a “Suggested Donation” of $10, if you are in a position to do so. The important thing is to join us if you can and do what we can to help keep live music alive!
The event will also be livestreamed on the North Reading Community Coffeehouse Facebook page and on the YouTube channel the following day! The links to those two sites are:
https://www.facebook.com/nrcoffeehouse

https://www.youtube.com/@NRCoffeehouse

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Flint Memorial Library in North Reading with whom we will be doing these concerts in conjunction with, to help support the library. We are located in the Activity Room of the Flint Memorial Library at 147 Park Street in North Reading. There is plenty of free parking. Please come, sit back, relax and listen to some terrific music! This event is partially sponsored by the North Reading chapter of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. If you have any questions, please contact Art Grossman at NRCoffeehouse@gmail.com.“

John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse – Open Mic Friday 3/13/2026
2026-03-13 18:30 - 21:30 | John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse, Worcester MA, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States
Here are the usual IMPORTANT details for JHH Open Mic:
2nd and 4th Fridays (except when noted)
First Unitarian Church, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA
Doors open and performer sign-up at 6:30 p.m.
Performances begin @ 7 p.m.
10 minutes in the limelight- spoken word or music (usually two songs unless you choose to sing American Pie or some sea shanty with fifty verses). Duos or groups are considered one act and CANNOT sign up as single performers too. Putting on a clown wig will NOT fool us. $3.00 admission for everybody. Performer or spectator. Payable to the lovely lady at the folding card table (please bring $1 bills). Refreshments & snacks (donation appreciated).
PLEASE enter State Street upper parking lot door. Handicap parking and accessibility at the other side of the church on Court Street by the Courthouse apartments. If you DO park on Court Street only park on the church side of the street or you could get towed. The parking meters on Main Street and State Street require money until 8:00 pm. The meter maids (and dudes) love to hand out tickets.
Weather Cancellations: ANY weather cancellations of the Worcester Public Schools on the day of Open Mic WILL cancel Open Mic.

The Kelly Girls
2026-03-13 19:30 - 21:30 | Parish Center for the Arts, Westford MA, 10 Lincoln Street, Westford, MA, 01886, United States
Cabaret Seating. BYOB & Snacks. Doors open at 7:00 pm
$20 Members/ $22 non-members in advance ; $25 at the door (if available)

For The Kelly Girls, Celtic music is about storytelling, complete with varying degrees of instrumentation and lyrics. “We respect the historical compositions that we play and recognize we are also part of a new generation of storytellers. We love to perform music that weaves together threads of hope from the past with dreams of the future.” The Kelly Girls have played many prestigious venues and festivals, delighting audiences with their infectious laughter and accomplished musicianship.

Laurie MacAllister - March 14, 2026 (A second Saturday event)
2026-03-14 19:30 - 22:00 | Rose Garden Coffeehouse, Mansfield MA, 17 West St, Mansfield, MA, 02048, United States
In late 2024, Laurie MacAllister embarked on an exciting new chapter, launching a solo career with a sold-out performance at the legendary Club Passim.
Two decades earlier, she co-founded the beloved Americana trio Red Molly, which released seven acclaimed albums and toured both the U.S. and internationally, including appearances at MerleFest, Cayamo, and Boston Symphony Hall.
Along the way, ad executives heard Laurie’s voice on the Red Molly album “Never Been to Vegas” and invited her to sing the iconic Folgers Coffee jingle for a national TV commercial.
Her 2018 self-produced solo album “The Lies the Poets Tell” is a heartfelt tribute to the contemporary folk music scene, celebrating a handful of its best songs and songwriters. It features duets with six male artists, including the late Americana master Jimmy LaFave. SiriusXM praised the album as “Defining. A curated collection packed with emotional vibrancy.”
Laurie’s earlier solo album “The Things I Choose To Do” was produced by folk luminary Cliff Eberhardt and was first released independently. Hearing it, Barnes & Noble re-released it as an exclusive on their label, saying, “MacAllister wholly inhabits these songs as subtly as a chameleon, convincingly taking on the persona’s skin, quite simply singing her heart out.”
From a young girl with a quiet dream of becoming a singer, Laurie’s journey has unfolded one song at a time. Over more than two decades, she’s made her dream into a reality.
Laurie has announced her Solo Debut Tour, headlining shows in 2025 across the Northeast, bringing her soulful, loving voice and presence to fans old and new.

Joe Jencks
2026-03-20 19:30 - 21:30 | Follen Folk Nights, Lexington MA, 755 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
Joe Jencks is an 25-year veteran of the international folk circuit, an award-winning songwriter, and celebrated vocalist based in Chicago. Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, Joe delivers engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. Having penned several #1 Folksongs including the ever-relevant Lady of The Harbor, Jencks was also co-founder of the harmony trio, Brother Sun. From Festivals like Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Mariposa, and Old Songs, to venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Jencks has enthralled diverse audiences with his approachable style. Joe is noted for his unique merging of musical beauty, social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Jencks serves it all up with a lyric baritone voice that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel.

North Reading Community Coffeehouse March, 2026 Showcase
2026-03-21 18:30 - 21:30 | North Reading Community Coffeehouse, North Reading MA, 147 Park St, North Reading, MA, 01864, United States
The North Reading Community Coffeehouse is proud to present a very special March, 2026 Showcase on Saturday, March 21 at 6:30. We are paying tribute to Bill Staines. Bill was a major figure in American Folk Music as a singer-songwriter for over 50 years. He travelled and toured constantly, doing 150- 200 shows a year. He was a very humble, low-key person who always made himself available. He recorded about 25 albums and was called by the late Nanci Griffith “the Woodie Guthrie of my generation.” Some of his more well-known songs are “Bridges”, “Crossing the Water”, “My Sweet Wyoming Home”, “The Roseville Fair”, “A Place in the Choir”, “Child of Mine” and “River”. His songs have been recorded by many other artists. In addition, Bill was instrumental in helping get the North Reading Community Coffeehouse up and running with a concert in 2017, which to date was our best-attended event by far.

The performers for the evening are Eddie Dee with Holly Turner on piano and Chris Moriarty on cello; Val Fowler and Art Grossman. This is going to be a very entertaining evening and one we have been looking forward to for a long time.. .

The event is free but donations will be gratefully accepted and we will be offering refreshments with all the proceeds going to the Friends of the Flint Memorial Library in North Reading with whom we will be doing these concerts in conjunction with, to help support the library.

The event will also be livestreamed on the North Reading Community Coffeehouse Facebook page and on the YouTube channel the following day! The links to those two places are:
https://www.facebook.com/nrcoffeehouse

https://www.youtube.com/@NRCoffeehouse

We are located in the Activity Room of the Flint Memorial Library at 147 Park Street in North Reading. There is plenty of free parking. Please come, sit back, relax and listen to some terrific music! If you have any questions, please contact Art Grossman at NRCoffeehouse@gmail.com.

John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse – Open Mic Friday 3/27/2026
2026-03-27 18:30 - 21:30 | John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse, Worcester MA, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States

North Reading Community Coffeehouse - Performing Artist Series Featuring Crowes Pasture
2026-03-28 19:30 - 21:30 | North Reading Community Coffeehouse, North Reading MA, 147 Park St, North Reading, MA, 01864, United States
The North Reading Community Coffeehouse (NRCC) is proud to welcome “Crowes Pasture” featuring Andy Rogovin and Monique Byrne. The show is on Saturday, March 28. Doors open at 7 PM and the show begins at 7:30 PM.
Crowes Pasture is a New England-based folk/Americana duo. Two-time nominees for “Roots Act of the Year” and winners of the International Acoustic Music Awards’ “Best Country/Bluegrass Song” in 2024, the duo inspires audiences with intimate, harmony-driven performances that are both heartfelt and deeply connective. Their banjo-guitar interplay and soulful songwriting have earned them a loyal following and acclaim from “Americana Highways” as “a wholly vintage vocal parfait” with “a genuine instinctive unifying feel.”
The concert is free, but there will be a “Suggested Donation” of $15, if you are in a position to do so. The important thing is join us if you can and do what we can to help keep live music alive!

For more about Crowes Pasture, you can go to their Facebook page at: crowespastureduo.com
A portion of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Flint Memorial Library in North Reading with whom we will be doing these concerts in conjunction with, to help support the library. We are located in the Activity Room of the Flint Memorial Library at 147 Park Street in North Reading. There is plenty of free parking. Please come, sit back, relax and listen to some terrific music! This event is partially sponsored by the North Reading chapter of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. If you have any questions, please contact Art Grossman at NRCoffeehouse@gmail.com

The event will also be livestreamed on the North Reading Community Coffeehouse Facebook page and on the YouTube channel the following day! The links to those two sites are:
https://www.facebook.com/nrcoffeehouse

https://www.youtube.com/@NRCoffeehouse

John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse – Open Mic Friday 4/10/2026
2026-04-10 18:30 - 21:30 | John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse, Worcester MA, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States

Cosy Sheridan with Charlie Koch and Kent Allyn
2026-04-10 19:30 - 21:30 | Parish Center for the Arts, Westford MA, 10 Lincoln Street, Westford, MA, 01886, United States
Cabaret Seating. BYOB & Snacks. Doors Open at 7:00 PM
$20 Members/ $22 non-members in advance ; $25 at the door (if available)

Cosy Sheridan has been called one of the era’s finest and most thoughtful songwriters, and also ‘a buddhist monk trapped in the body of a singer-songwriter’. Her music regularly tops the folk radio charts. Her CD “Pretty Bird” was listed among Sing Out Magazine’s Great CDs of 2014. Her concerts are wide-ranging explorations: ragtime guitar and social satire, modern renditions of mythology (meet Hades the Biker) and tales of modern adulthood. She first caught the attention of national folk audiences in 1992 when she won both the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Song Award and The Telluride Bluegrass Festival Troubadour Contest, and then released her critically acclaimed CD Quietly Led on Waterbug Records. Since then she has released more than 13 CDs and written a one-woman-show.
Charlie Koch is Cosy Sheridan’s husband and musical partner. He started learning guitar at 11 years old, and has taught bass or guitar classes at Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and also at Moab Folk Camp. Koch also has a lifetime of experience teaching horseback riding, skiing and tennis.
Cabaret Seating. BYOB & Snacks.

Hubby Jenkins
2026-04-17 19:30 - 21:30 | Follen Folk Nights, Lexington MA, 755 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
Hubby Jenkins is a talented multi-instrumentalist who endeavors to share his love and knowledge of old-time American music. Born and raised in Brooklyn he delved into his southern roots, following the thread of African American history that wove itself through America’s traditional music forms. As an integral member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and later Rhiannon Giddens band, Hubby has performed at festivals and venues around the world, earning himself both Grammy and Americana award nominations. Today he spreads his knowledge and love of old-time American music through his dynamic solo performances and engaging workshops.

Don White
2026-04-18 19:00 - 21:30 | Parish Center for the Arts, Westford MA, 10 Lincoln Street, Westford, MA, 01886, United States
Cabaret Seating. BYOB & Snacks. Doors open at 6:30
$20 Members/ $22 non-members in advance ; $25 at the door (if available)
Back for another year, Don White is equal parts storyteller-comedian-author-troubadour-folk singer-songwriter. He has been bringing audiences to laughter and tears for 30 years. White’s arc as an award-winning songwriter and performer has taken him from his industrial hometown of Lynn (MA) across the country as hitchhiker, through Boston’s comedy clubs and coffeehouses, and onto the stage with greats like Arlo Guthrie, Taj Mahal, Ritchie Havens, Patty Larkin, Bill Morrissey, Tom Rush, Louden Wainright III, and Christine Lavin, with whom he toured for 8 years all across North America in a co-bill called ‘The Funny Side of the Street.’ At every point, White has been the ultimate observer, infusing his work with his experiences as a husband, a father, a seeker, and a joker.
Cabaret Seating. BYOB & Snacks.

Garnet Rogers
2026-04-18 19:30 - 21:30 | New Song, Bedford MA, 10 Mudge Way, Bedford, MA, 01730, United States
Barely out of high school, Garnet Rogers was on the road as a full-time working musician with his older brother Stan. Together they formed one of the most influential acts in North American folk music.
Since then, Garnet Rogers has established himself as “one of the major talents of our time and a “charismatic performer and singer” (Boston Globe).Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence and a voice to match. With his “smooth, dark baritone” (Washington Post), his incredible range, and his thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere.
His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic in detail, his songs “give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart” (Kitchener Waterloo Record). An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humor and lightning-quick wit move his audience from tears to laughter and back again.

Craig Bickhardt - April 18, 2026
2026-04-18 19:30 - 22:00 | Rose Garden Coffeehouse, Mansfield MA, 17 West St, Mansfield, MA, 02048, United States
By Barry Alfonso
When Craig Bickhardt steps onto a concert stage, he comes equipped with his trusty acoustic guitar. A side musician or two will frequently join him. He’s also accompanied by something invisible, yet ever-present: the stories of a lifetime, vividly translated into words and melody.
From the boisterous club scene of Philadelphia to the country-rock milieu of Los Angeles to the picking parlors of Nashville, Craig has immersed himself in the sights and sounds of American music. His music reflects a life lived as a rock band lead singer, a solo troubadour, a dedicated songwriter, a husband and father. Dreams, heartaches and hard-earned lessons have fed his creativity. There is no other way he could’ve written the eloquent, often bittersweet songs that have become his trademark.
“I start a lot of songs because I feel conflicted,” he explains. “I may begin from a point of darkness, but I usually end up writing towards the light because, for me, hope is the thing worth singing about. The characters in the stories I sing aren’t heroic; they’re very ordinary. But they’re reaching for something beyond themselves, and I find nobility in that.”
Craig is a singer/songwriter of the old school – you can hear echoes of such ‘60s folk revival artists as Tom Rush, Gordon Lightfoot and Eric Andersen in his work. Added to this is the melodic sophistication of a Jimmy Webb or a Paul Simon, as well as a spare but telling lyric approach. “I admire songwriters like Woody Guthrie and poets like Robert Frost because they created functional art,” he says. “Too much music today is just for the singer, not for Everyman. I think of my work as a ‘Please Touch’ museum – I want my songs to be sung until they’re worn out.”
Also crucial to Craig’s art is his virtuosic guitar work, interweaving folk, blues, country and ragtime influences into a unique whole: “The guitar isn’t just an accompanying instrument for me – sometimes it’s the front man and my voice is the accompanist.”
Craig came to music as something of a family inheritance. His father Harry worked at WIP radio in Philadelphia and moonlighted as a big band musician. As a youngster, Craig absorbed everything from Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins to Stan Kenton and Duke Ellington. At 14, Craig found an old guitar in the family attic and taught himself to play. Soon he was writing songs and performing at venues like Philadelphia’s famed Main Point.
The Philly club scene shaped his emerging musical style. “I was lucky to grow up in a town that was a melting pot for musicians,” Craig says. “I got to hear lots of R&B as well as the great folk performers of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. It taught me that nothing moves people like a great song sung with some passion.”
By the mid-‘70s, Craig was co-lead singer/guitarist with Wire and Wood, an eclectic country-rock quintet that won a fervent East Coast following. The group opened for the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Stephen Stills before relocating to L.A. in search of a record deal. Craig and his compadres succeeded in attracting the interest of Bob Dylan’s former manager Albert Grossman, who signed them to his Bearsville/October Records label. Unfortunately, Wire and Wood’s album was never completed and the group called it quits soon after.
Craig went through another life-changing ordeal while living in L.A. One night, he awoke to find that the house he shared with his band mates was on fire. He barely managed to escape before the place collapsed in flames – and came away with a revelation: “At that moment, everything in the world felt luminous again, like it did when I was young. That experience made me realize that my happiness didn’t depend on possessions or status. I suddenly felt free and very grateful to be alive.”
This brush with mortality also re-motivated him as a musician. After Wire and Wood dissolved, Craig secured an assignment to write and sing songs for Tender Mercies, a country music-themed film starring Robert Duvall. This led to a lengthy residency in Nashville, where he saw his songs recorded by such legends as Ray Charles, B.B. King, Johnny Cash, the Judds, Tony Rice and Alison Krauss.
All the while, Craig continued playing his music live at the Bluebird Café and other clubs in the Nashville area. The call to the stage grew stronger after he released his first solo album, Easy Fires, in 2001. Five years later, he returned to his Pennsylvania roots and fully came into his own as a solo performer. By the end of the decade, Craig had won a new legion of fans on the East Coast and beyond through opening gigs for the likes of Judy Collins, Kathy Mattea and Billy Joe Shaver and club dates on his own.
A Craig Bickhardt live set is a mix of absurd anecdotes and personal confessions, accompanying a well-stocked bag of original tunes and the occasional choice cover. His decades in music have given his performances the depth of experience – his love songs seem sweeter and more poignant, his story-song narratives more true-to-life than they could have in the past.
“I think people come to my shows to be reminded that there’s something profound in the small stuff we experience every day,” he says. “My goal is to get an audience to look deeper at the things we all take for granted.”
Craig Bickhardt travels light to his gigs – but he brings a great deal to the stage. He combines a seasoned troubadour’s easy command of his art with a beginner’s passion to win over his next audience and top his next song. The stories of his lifetime are simply too good not to share.

John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse – Open Mic Friday 4/24/2026
2026-04-24 18:30 - 21:30 | John Henry’s Hammer Coffeehouse, Worcester MA, 90 Main St, Worcester, MA, 01608, United States

Cliff Eberhardt with Special Guest Louise Coombe
2026-05-01 19:30 - 21:30 | Follen Folk Nights, Lexington MA, 755 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
With 10 albums under his belt, Cliff Eberhardt is considered one of today’s most respected songwriters. He is joined by Louise Mosrie Coombe who is being recognized as a new, vibrant voice of Americana and soulful Southern folk.
“Eberhardt is better than ever…, kicking ass with fresh insight and new ways to lament old yearnings” — Philly Rock Guide
“Louise Mosrie Coombe’s voice is a gift from the gods, and how she uses it is a gift to us” — Christine Lavin

Cliff Eberhardt
2026-05-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Parish Center for the Arts, Westford MA, 10 Lincoln Street, Westford, MA, 01886, United States
Cabaret Seating. BYOB & Snacks. Doors Open at 7:00 PM
$20 Members/ $22 non-members in advance ; $25 at the door (if available)

Cliff Eberhardt knew by age seven that he was going to be a singer and songwriter. Growing up in Berwyn (PA), he and his brothers sang together and their parents played instruments. His dad introduced him to the guitar and he quickly taught himself to play. Fortunate enough to live close to the Main Point (one of the best folk clubs on the East Coast), he cut his teeth listening to the likes of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, and Mississippi John Hurt — receiving an early and impressive tutorial in acoustic music. At the same time, he was also listening to great pop songwriters like Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Rodgers and Hart, which explain his penchant for great melodies and clever lyrical twists. After a successful whirlwind of a career in the industry, in 2021, Cliff released “Knew Things” – a new album of original songs which reached #4 on the Folk Alliance International’s Folk Radio Chart. Touring constantly, Cliff is well-known as a songwriting teacher all over the U.S. at songwriting camps and private lessons. He also produces, arranges and advises on other artist’s recordings. Learn more about Cliff online at cliffeberhardt.net.
Cabaret Seating. BYOB & Snacks.

Richard Shindell
2026-05-15 19:30 - 21:30 | Follen Folk Nights, Lexington MA, 755 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
Innovative, original and occasionally spiritual, Shindell’s songs weave tales that interchangeably champion the downtrodden, exalt the disaffected or wax empathetic to those lost to society’s fringes. From lighthearted ballads and adulterous love songs, to dirges and diatribes that skillfully skewer politics, prejudice, war and religion, to the comic point-of-view of a cow stuck in a barbed wire fence, he has a unique ability to morph into the soul of the many and varied personalities he casts as narrators in certain songs—veritable novellas framed in haunting acoustic melodies.

Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light
2026-05-16 19:30 - 21:30 | New Song, Bedford MA, 10 Mudge Way, Bedford, MA, 01730, United States
Rachel Sumner is no stranger to the stage. She spent her early career on the bluegrass circuit, singing and writing with the genre-bending Boston group Twisted Pine. Since setting out on her own, Sumner’s songs have been critically acclaimed, winning the Lennon Award in the folk category of the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison);” earning her a spot in the Kerrville New Folk Competition; and being chosen four consecutive years by WBUR/NPR as one of the top Massachusetts entries in the Tiny Desk Competition.
Since winning the 2023 Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival band competition, Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light have been captivating audiences throughout the northeast and beyond. Sumner’s lyric-forward writing and penchant for snaking chord progressions demand something far beyond folk conventions, highlighting the acrobatic range of her brilliant bandmates Kat Wallace (fiddle) and Mike Siegel (upright bass).
Her new album, “Heartless Things,” marks a significant evolution in Sumner’s studio sound, stepping out from the acoustic string band framework of her debut album. This new record blends elements of chamber-folk and indie pop with Sumner’s love of Appalachian balladry and bluesy hooks, resulting in an immersive setting that highlights the top-notch narrative writing we’ve come to expect.

Christine Lavin & Performing Songwriter Competition - May 16, 2026
2026-05-16 19:30 - 22:00 | Rose Garden Coffeehouse, Mansfield MA, 17 West St, Mansfield, MA, 02048, United States
Christine Lavin & finals of our 2026 Performer Songwriter Competition
$30 + Eventbrite fees in advance / $35 at door
Our contest finalists will be named in April 2026. We are not yet accepting entries. For details on the contest, visit our website.
CHRISTINE LAVIN:
Christine Lavin started her professional life as a waitress/bread baker at the Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1975 where she met Dave Van Ronk who encouraged her to study guitar with him in NYC. She took his advice and is now a singer/songwriter/guitarist/recording artist/author/videographer based in New York City. Her latest solo album, her 25th, ON MY WAY TO HOOTERVILLE, includes 10 new songs and one re-worked song, “Ramblin’ Waltz,” a re-telling of her time in 1975 when she was an entourage driver for the first week of Bob Dylan‘s iconic “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour.
In 2023 Christine released “The Seasons Project,” an 80-song seasonal compilation that features the work of 63 American, Canadian, British and Irish singer/songwriters. Christine assembled this compilation to help guide future historians and folklorists to authentic music being written in the last two decades of the 20th Century and the first two of the 21st Century.
In 2024 she is completing her 26th solo album, DRUM SCHOOL DROPOUT, hoping to have it completed in 2025.
In October 2024 there were 11 performances of “InunDATEd,” a 90 minute theatrical production that showcased nine of Christine’s songs by the York Theatre in NYC. There will be one more workshop production before the show is released world-wide. The most recent production starred two thrilling Broadway veterans, Kate Rockwell and Taylor Crousore
HONORS AND AWARDS: In May 2021 Christine received an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from her alma mater, the State University of New York at Brockport. In an odd twist, she has a younger brother also named Chris (born on Columbus Day) who also in May 2021 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from his alma mater, Hobart/William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY.
What are the odds there would be two Chris Lavins from the same family to both be awarded honorary doctorates one week apart?
In September 2019 Christine spent a month at the artist retreat Yaddo in Saratoga Springs. Three of the songs she wrote there are included on her latest HOOTERVILLE album. In April 2019 she was inducted into the Rochester, NY Music Hall Of Fame along with Al Jardine of The Beach Boys. She received a 2012 Nightlife Award given annually to the best concert and cabaret performers in New York City. In November 2011 her book COLD PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST: A MEM-WHA?? (Tell Me Press, New Haven) won the 43rd Annual ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for excellence in writing about music. is available in paperback, kindle, and audio book formats, with the foreword written by actor/playwright/singer/songwriter Jeff Daniels. Christine has also won five ASCAP Composer Awards, The Kate Wolf Memorial Award, and her album Good Thing He Can’t Read My Mind won Album Of The Year from the National Association Of Independent Record Distributors.
She has produced 12 compilations, and so far these compilations have showcased songs of over 100 songwriters whose work she admires. The food-themed compilation, ONE MEAT BALL, includes a 96-page cookbooklet that Christine edited — songs and recipes by Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Dave Van Ronk, and many more, including a surprise appearance by international — and now late — gigastar Dame Edna. Sigh.
For four years she hosted “Slipped Disks” on xm satellite radio, playing CDs slipped to her backstage by compatriots, and was occasion guest host for City Folk Sunday Supper on WFUV-FM at Fordham University. She also writes freelance for various publications (The Washington Post, Huffington Post, St. Petersburg Times, Performing Songwriter, and Delta “Sky” Magazine). Her song AMOEBA HOP is a science/music book by illustrator Betsy Franco Feeney (Puddle Jump Press), receiving the stamp of approval from The International Society of Protistologists, and a “Best Book Award” from The American Association for The Advancement of Science.
THE PLUTO FILES: THE RISE AND FALL OF AMERICA’S FAVORITE PLANET (W.W. Norton) by Neil deGrasse Tyson, head of the Hayden Planetarium in NYC, includes the complete lyrics to Christine’s song “Planet X,” which details Pluto’s history and planetary status debate in rhyme. Neil included Christine in a live concert event at The Beacon Theater in NYC, “Comedians & Astronomers,” and his voice is on that recording, her 23rd album, SPAGHETTIFICATION.
Christine performs concerts all over the US, Canada, and points beyond (Australia, Germany, Israel), often hosting knitting circles and Downton Abbey-style napkin folding backstage at each show. Songs of hers have been performed by artists as diverse as Broadway stars Betty Buckley, Sutton Foster, Karen Ziemba, and Klea Blackhurst, cabaret divas Andrea Marcovicci. Barbara Brussell, and Colleen McHugh, the a cappella Dartmouth Decibelles, and The Accidentals, winners of the National Harmony Sweepstakes Championship.
On A Winter’s Night, her first seasonal compilation project, (20 artists) became a four-artist national tour that first hit the road back in January 1991 and was a five-artist tour that hit the road November 2019, including Christine, Cliff Eberhardt, Patty Larkin, Cheryl Wheeler, and John Gorka — only to be abruptly sidelined by the pandemic on March 12, 2020. The remainder of those dates went on as rescheduled in February/March 2022.
LATEST PROJECTS: Christine started creating videos for her songs in 2011, and now creates them for other artists (including Michael Feinstein, Noel Paul Stookey, Janis Ian, Judy Collins, Craig Werth, Julie Gold, David Ippolito and others).
Christine was the keynote speaker in November 2016 at the annual North East Regional Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA) in Stamford, CT, and that keynote address has become the basis for her next book, which will take up where COLD PIZZA left off. She was also keynote speaker at the Lifespan National Caregivers Conference in 2017 in Huntsvile, Alabama.
Until November 2018, Ms. Lavin was very involved with the care of her aging mother in Geneva, NY. She relocated there twice, while continuing her full time performing in 2010 – 2012, and then again in 2016, to help out. She taught herself to make videos to help her mother remember daily events, having no short term memory. Soon she started making videos for her own music, and now videos for others. Her mother died in November 2018 at the age of 99-1/2, and her family cherishes those videos, which inadvertently spurred Ms. Lavin’s career on in an unexpected direction.

Christine Lavin and Don White
2026-06-19 19:30 - 21:30 | Follen Folk Nights, Lexington MA, 755 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA, 02420, United States
Join us for a night of music and humor with Christine and Don. “It doesn’t sound like a folk concert, it sounds like a comedy concert,” says White of his laughter-inducing co-bills with Lavin. “We rehearse and we rehearse and then inevitably, she’ll throw something at me that I have no idea about, with a mischievous grin that lets me know she’s been thinking about it all afternoon. Just to see what will happen. And she’s taught me to do the same.”
…when Christine Lavin and Don White make us laugh, there always a warm shimmer of community beneath the silliness. Of all the gifts great entertainers can bring to the stage, I think this is perhaps the rarest and most valuable. Many can dazzle us; but only the very, very best can befriend us, and remind us that, in the end, we are all wary acrobats in the great human circus. And really, when have we ever needed laughs like that more? ” – Scott Alarik

Peter Mulvey
2026-06-20 19:30 - 21:30 | New Song, Bedford MA, 10 Mudge Way, Bedford, MA, 01730, United States
Peter Mulvey has been a songwriter, road-dog, raconteur and almost-poet since before he can remember. Raised working-class Catholic on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, he took a semester in Ireland and immediately began cutting classes to busk on Grafton Street in Dublin and hitchhike through the country, finding whatever gigs he could. Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging in the Midwest before lighting out for Boston, where he returned to busking (this time in the subway) and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national and international touring. The wheels have not stopped since.
Nineteen records, an illustrated book, thousands of live performances, a TEDx talk, a decades-long association with the National Youth Science Camp, opening for luminaries such as Ani DiFranco, Emmylou Harris and Chuck Prophet, appearances on NPR, an annual autumn tour by bicycle, emceeing festivals, hosting his own boutique festival (the Lamplighter Sessions, in Boston and Wisconsin… Mulvey never stops. He has built his life’s work on collaboration and an instinct for the eclectic and the vital. He folds everything he encounters into his work: poetry, social justice, scientific literacy and a deeply abiding humanism are all on plain display in his art.
