The Minstrel Acoustic Concert Series

Nuala Kennedy has been steeped in Celtic music since the age of 7. Born and raised in County Louth, Ireland, and educated in Edinborough, Scotland, she has been winning music competitions in both countries since she was 13. Now in her early 20's, she is in residency in New York under a fellowship founded by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma. She tours as a trio along with guitarist Kyle Sanna and fiddler Dana Lynn to complement her flute, whistle, and vocals. There is a palpable joy in this band immediately obvious to anyone who sees them and listens. The Minstrel was fortunate to be included in their schedule.

Our opener is a spin-off of the late lamented Dugan's Hooligans family band that gave its farewell performance on our stage back in December. Sharlys Dugan is a gifted 18-year old harper / whistle-player / singer / stepdancer heading off on her own musical career of Celtic music. She'll be playing with accompaniment from her friends, undoubtedly including some former Hooligans. But this will be Sharlys' show.

Please note a change in our Open Stage procedures: Starting in 2012 we are moving the start of the signup for our Open Stage from midnight to noon of the Saturday before the date of the Open Stage.

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

David Buskin (guitar, keyboard) and Robin Batteau (fiddle, guitar) along with percussionist Marshal Rosenberg first played together as Tom Rush's backup band. The combination was too good to remain in the background. Not only were they brilliant musicians and singers, they both were superb songwriters. (David Buskin is well known as one third of the hilarious Modern Man). They toured into the 90s to great acclaim before going their separate ways, and their loyal fans still remember. They're now back together and coming to the Minstrel.

Opener Beau Borrero is a new Folk Project member recently arrived from the state of Washington. One of his great musical influences is his mom, Gretchen Gubelman, who will be flying out to visit. Together they make a charming pair, singing their own original songs. Their music is characterized by skillful wordy lyrics, genetically matched voices in harmony, and occasional vaudevillesque humor.

Spuyten Duyvil [SPITE-en DIVE-el] might be thought of as Big Band Folk Music. This 8-member group explodes off the stage with infectious energy. Their music is Americana roots, and some originals that sound like Americana roots. They "...roll like an old time tent show, but instead of selling worthless snake oil, they deliver a package of gems, well crafted tunes and stories that are pure fun to listen to." Ron Olesko

We discovered our openers, Deuces Child(Gigi Tanglewoodand Lou Patrick) at a Minstrel Open Stage. This pair of charmers perform mostly their own songs filled with good harmonies, tongue-in-cheek humor, sparkling acoustic guitar interplay, and contagious fun. Their style centers on country blues and folk rock, but it's mostly their stage personnae that sell this duo.

Special offer for Jersey Arts cardholders – Show your card at the door and get two-for-one admission tonight.

Long Time Courting is a new combination of what reads like a Who's Who of contempory Celtic musicians. Bringing together the talents of Sarah Blair on fiddle/vocals, Liz Simmons on guitar/vocals, Shannon Heaton on flute/vocals, and Ariel Friedman on cello/vocals, this Boston-based band shares a love of traditional Irish, Scottish and American folk music as well as contemporary material. They bring elements of these various genres to their repertoire in a way that is seamlessly innovative, inventively arranged, and skillfully rendered.

Keeping in the Celtic theme, Edinburgh born harper and singer-songwriter Maeve Gilchrist will open tonight's show. She is widely recognized in the Celtic harp world as an innovator on the instrument because of her uniquely chromatic and improvisatory style of playing. Even so, her early immersion in traditional Scottish music shows through, grounding her original songs and tunes with ancient roots.

Those of you who caught the Kennedys' show last April will certainly remember Mark D. Conklin who opened for them. Mark knows how to write a good song and how to put it across. His lyrics are sharp, ironic, and clever. His subjects are interesting, innovative, and seen from a novel perspective. And he has that rare ability for a literary songwriter to rock out with the best. He is also the recipient of numerous songwriting awards including the Independent Music Award for Country Song of the Year for 2010.

Roia Rafieyan grew up in Iran, and studied classical guitar when she moved to the States. That training shows in her complex and fluid guitar work backing up her well-written songs. There's compassion, a gentle humor, and heart in those songs, and she's a treat to listen to.

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

Tonight a pair of brilliant Nashville songwriters share our stage:

Years as a successful Nashville songwriter have honed Don Henry into a powerful master of his craft. He is heartfelt, literate, and funny, and manages to defy convention and still achieve commercial success. His own Puckish character creates even more wonderful characters for his songs. "Harley", Mr. God". "Beautiful Fool "(Stopped show at the Philadelphia Folk Festival), etc.

As a Nashville songwirter, Craig Bickhardt has written over 800 songs for such luminaries as Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Tony Rice. He is also a strong performer of these songs, with powerful guitar work and emotional delivery.

Both men are also accomplished instrumentalists and vocalists as well as great writers. They will be sharing the stage, swapping songs, and backing each other up as appropriate.

Special offer for Jersey Arts cardholders – Show your card at the door and get two-for-one admission tonight.

Orrin Star is an ex-Winfield Champion flatpicking guitarist as well as a mandolinst. He applies those talents to bluegrass and Celtic classics, swing tunes, novelty songs, some originals, and a wide variety of other music. He's also a charming and very funny guy on stage.

Note: The Accidentals, originally scheduled to headline this date have had to cancel.

Our opener tonight is Fibonacci. The Folk Project has always been a fertile breeding ground for bands, and this one combines some of our best musicians: Christine DeLeon (vocals) Kathy Haynie (keyboard) Andy Koenig (bass & wind-synthesizer) and Pat Hickey (guitar). The band is essentially a top-of-the-line bar band, performing the hit music of the members' youths. "House of the Rising Smoke on the Stairway to Free Bird".

NOTE: SPECIAL 7:30 SHOW TIME!
Admission by free-will donation

The Minstrel will be presenting a special screening of the documentary film "Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune". Directed by Ken Bowser, the film gives a biography of the iconic singer and songwriter of the '60's with interviews and commentaries by Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, Tom Hayden and others. The film will be introduced by Phil's sister, Sonny Ochs, who will be available after the viewing for a Q&A session, and back stories and details not covered in the film.

An all-star cast consisting of Kim & Reggie Harris, Magpie, John Flynn, Joe Jencks, Greg Greenway & Pat Wictor will perform THE SONGS OF PHIL OCHS. Phil was one of the seminal figures of the 60's Folk movement and penned dozens of classics that live today in the hearts of fans and performers alike. The evening will be hosted by Phil's sister, Sonny Ochs, who is still an active figure in the folk community. The performers will also include some of their own songs, and Sonny will add historical and biographical notes to put these songs in the context of the era and the times.

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

An eclectic mix of music from bluegrass to jazz to standards comes from the agile musical minds of Folk Project members FRANK Sole AND HANK (Hen3ry) Nerenberg. Frank is a skilled guitartist both in lead flatpicking styles and in Django-inspired jazz. Hen3ry (the 3 is silent) has one of the widest ranging musical minds in the Project, and is a genius at innovative and appropriate arrangement. They were a big hit opening for Frank Vignola at the Minstrel last October.

Our opening act is Bill Griese, a singer/songwriter with a traditional folk-rock approach, Bill delivers warm, smooth vocals and a relaxed pick-less guitar style playing introspective original material or refreshingly unexpected covers. A real charmer.

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason confirmed as headline act. Watch this space for more details.

BEPPE GAMBETTA, the Italian bluegrass flatpicking champion. Sounds like an ethnic joke, but Beppe is no joke. Early in life he was captured by the music of such greats as Doc Watson and Tony Rice, and soon got to the point where he was sharing festival stages as an equal with his heroes. Equally adroit on mandolin, he can blaze through a hot bluegrass tune or croon a lovely Italian traditional ballad. And all with an elegant continental charm that is a joy to witness.

Appropriately opening for Beppe this evening is AcquAria, an Italian-American duet that specializes in the traditional music of Sicily. With the sounds of traditional whistles, frame drum, Jews harp, and mandolin, they present songs of the old seafaring and fishing life and dance music of the real Sicily.

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

Diane Perry is a natural. One of those performers who, from their very first note, you just know was born to her instrument. Diane's instruments are the violin and her voice. And her genre is the American Popular Songbook she fell in love with as a teen. Classically trained at Juilliard, her violin playing combines the tone of the concert-hall virtuoso with the weighty swing feel of the big bands. And her vocal interpretations are unique and perfect for the material.

Our opener tonight, Hiroya Tsukamoto, displays a very different kind of instrumental excellence. He delivers skillful and innovative guitar instrumental solos with the accompaniment percussionist James Shipp. His music is sometimes contemplative and meditative, and sometimes exciting.

Caleb Hawley takes the pejorative out of pop. He's a young award-winning songwriter with an irrepressible grin in his voice and a jazz approach to his guitar playing. That voice is supremely flexible and expressive after the fashon of Stevie Wonder or Vance Gilbert. The guitar work is also reminiscent of Gilbert's, with flying chords and tasty licks thrown in seemingly at will. His talent won him a spot on American Idol in 2011. He's exciting, likeable, and very very good.

JACK WILLIAMS comes to us from a rock background. It shows in the drive of his guitar work, which is clean, exciting, and endlessly full of beautiful and appropriate licks. His songwriting has an unpreposessing understated poetry to it, kind of like a South Carolina version of an acoustic Bruce Springsteen with Jerry Garcia on acoustic lead guitar. And if he holds true to form, catch his astionishing finale of a15-minute free-association medely of every song from every genre ever written, and never the same as previously.

Naomi Sunshine is a phenomenon. In her youth she was a professional singer, singing backup with people like Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Mel Torme, and Nat King Cole, who only worked with the best. Now at age 87, she's still a singer who can still belt it out with the best, and a showwoman beyond compare. Accompanied by jazz guitar virtuoso Grover Kemble, she still does admirable credit to the repertoire of the great American Songbook. The lady is a pistol!

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

As the Minstrel's Program Chairman, Mike Agranoff has been its public face for over 30 years. But he's also a regularly touring seasoned performer, and a full set from him can be pretty impressive. His prodigious skills on guitar, concertina, and piano are matched to a wide variety of music. Expect anything from irreverant parodies to traditional ballads; from blazing dance tunes to Joplin piano rags; from great chorus songs to his signature spoken-word recitations.

Gathering Time is a vocal harmony-based trio from Long Island, NY that has started to make quite a stir in the Northeast. They put together an exciting program of songs from their own pens, those of their contemporaries in the acoustic singer-songwriter genre, and some classics from the 60's. Glen Roethal, Stuart Markus, and Hillary Foxsong have voices that blend exquisitely.

Mike and GT have become fast musical friends over the past two years. They know each others' material, and sit in on each others' sets, supplementing each others' instrumentation and harmonies to make the collaboration even stronger than the sum of the already strong parts.

It's been 4 years since Broadside Electric last graced our stage. For almost 2 decades the band's mission has been to take traditional ballads, mostly English and Irish, clothe them in full-bore rock and roll settings, add 5-part harmony vocals, and blow us away. The members, Tom Rhoads (guitar, bouzouki, dulcimer), Amy Ksir (whistle, oboe) Jim Speer (Chapman Stick) Helene Zisook (electric violin) and Joe D'Andrea (drums) have become old friends and members of the Folk Project They combine a great knowledge of and respect for the old music with a great inventiveness and musicality in creating the new settings for it. And the result is flat out kick-ass music.

For most of it's 37 years of existence the Minstrel has celebrated its anniversary with a show put on by its member musicians. Back on our July 4th Picnic, we combined anywhere from 40 to 50 musicians into randomly grouped duos and trios. And each group then put together one song to perform for the show. It's an unending surprise what people will come up with, and there have been some memorable moments over the years.

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

When Bob Malone isn't occupied as John Fogarty's (Creedence Clearwater Revival) piano player, he tours as a great solo performer. In that setting he conjures up images of Professor Longhair, or Tom Waits. He mixes literate, sardonic, gutsy songwriting with full-tilt barrelhouse piano for a powerful stage presence.

Cliff Eberhardt is a powerhouse of a singer-songwriter in all aspects of his craft. His voice is a high-liner freight train demanding and deserving your undivided attention. The songs that train carries are frought with emotion and brilliant in their poetry. And the guitar work complements the package perfectly.

Opener John Schmitt bucks today's style-over-substance trend with a collection of really good songs. Songs that tell stories and paint pictures with literate, poetic lyrics and beautiful melodies. Not that he lacks style as well, though. His music has been described as Paul Simon meets Motown. He plays with a bassist and percussionist who also provide backup vocals

For just about as long as anyone currently involved in folk music can remember, BILL STAINES is the archetypical contemporary folk singer. People have been singing his songs on stage, in recording studios, and around campfires for over 30 years. He is responsible for such classics as "Roseville Fair", "All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir", and "River", all with choruses that beg to be sung with. Come and see a true living legend.

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

Christine DeLeon is perfectly described in Sing Out! Magazine's review of her 2008 debut CD: "This New Jersey artist's rich soprano is eerily reminiscent of that of a young Judy Collins: Powerful, crystalline and assured. And, like a young Judy, she makes her voice the centerpiece of [her performance] by featuring sweeping legato ballads accompanied by simple strummed acoustic guitar... Christine's songs are uniformly upbeat in something of the Dar Williams style..."

April Verch is one of those natural musicians that has it all. Immersed in the local dance music of her native Ottawa Valley in Canada, she showed head-turning talent on the fiddle since she was very young. Ever expanding, she voraciously absorbed other Canadian fiddle styles as well as those of the US, Scotland, Ireland, and anything else she heard. On the way she picked up step dancing, singing, and a great talent in showmanship. We saw her first at the Minstrel as a teenager in 2000 as Mad Pudding's fiddler. And now she fronts her own world-touring band, drawing raves wherever she goes.

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

LOU AND PETER BERRYMAN rank with such geniuses as Flanders & Swan, Tom Lehrer, and Alan Sherman as masters of the art of comedic song. Peter especially, who does most of the lyrics has an uncanny sense of the English language to put the perfect words to music that bring a smile, irrespective of the subject matter. The subject matter can range from flights of fancy, to carrying an unlikely concept to its even less likely conclusion, to simultaneous interlocking dialogue by two people about entirely different subjects that somehow seem to connect to each other. Peter plays 12-string guitar and Lou plays a seeing-eye accordion. (You'll see what we mean.)

This is an opportunity for all acoustic musicians to perform a 15-minute set on our stage, and for the audience to be treated to a diverse collection of acoustic musicians. We’ve often seen previews of our regular scheduled acts for the first time at Open Stage. For information on how to secure a performance slot, call 973-335-9489, or visit the Open Stage page.

SMALL POTATOES is the duo of Rich Prezioso and Jacquie Manning. They call themselves "Eclecto-Maniacs", which is pretty apt, as their musical tastes run from Celtic to cowboy with a large dose of their own writing. What helps them pull all this off is the fact that they are monster musicians; Rich can make the guitar talk, and Jacquie is a great whistle and percussion player. They both sing and their voices blend with the smoothness of years of singing together.

The whole of Brother Sun is greater than the sum of its parts. And those individual parts weren't none too shabby to begin with. Greg Greenway, Pat Wictor, and Joe Jencks are individually well known as strong and successful singers, songwriters, and performers. But together, they blossom and explode, putting terrific vocal harmonies and solid guitar and piano arrangements to their already powerful songs. Think of them as a male counterpart to Red Molly. This group merits the "Agranoff Imperative" rating. Not to be missed.