Anyone not familiar with the music of Bill Staines is in for a special treat.
Last Dance Productions is pleased to welcome Bill Staines to one of the great listening rooms in town, the New England Folk Music Archives. The event takes place on on Wednesday, July 17th at 7pm. We’ll have a conversation with Bill recording his thoughts about the Folk Scene in New England over the past years that will be deposited into our growing oral history collection.
After the conversation we’ll be treated to a performance by Bill Staines.
For more than forty years, Bill Staines has traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folksong societies, colleges, concerts, clubs, and coffeehouses. A New England native, Bill became involved with the Boston-Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960′s and for a time, emceed the Sunday Hootenanny at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. Bill quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. From the time in 1971 when a reviewer from the Boston Phoenix stated that he was “simply Boston’s best performer”, Bill has continually appeared on folk music radio listener polls as one of the top all time favorite folk artists. Now, well into his fifth decade as a folk performer, he has gained an international reputation as a gifted songwriter and performer.
The Cambridge Historical Society and the New England Folk Music Archives announce an evening of conversation and music at the Cambridge Historical Society, November 21, 2013.
At 6:00pm, a lively conversation between former WUMB program director Brian Quinn and Lorraine and Bennett Hammond will discuss and explore the rich history of folk music around the greater Boston area. This conversation will be recorded and deposited into The New England Folk Music Archives’ growing oral history collection.
Following the conversation, Lorraine and Bennett will perform traditional and original compositions on guitar, dulcimer, and harp, drawing on a long folk tradition.
Suggested donation for this event is $10 at the door, however additional support would be greatly appreciated to help the Cambridge Historical Society and The New England Folk Music Archives continue their important work in the community.
Lorraine and Bennett Hammond play and sing in perfect complement: blending their instruments with consummate skill, they create a new voice for music that ranges in style from classical through Celtic, blues and contemporary. The joy they take in their music is contagious, and their flair for tailoring their selection of songs and tunes for individual audiences lends a lively freshness to each performance.
Brian Quinn spent over 20 years managing all aspects of public radio station WUMB in Boston, recognized as the nation’s premiere station for folk and acoustic music. For most of these years he served as the station’s program director. Brian also was instrumental in planning and overseeing the annual Boston Folk Festival, which annually drew thousands of participants to the University of Massachusetts. He has several years of experience producing events on The Boston Common, Copley Square, Sanders Theater and The Somerville Theater.
•The Cambridge Historical Society
Venue Address: 159 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Venue Web Site: http://www.cambridgehistory.org/
Cambridge Historical Society Phone: (617) 547-4252
The New England Folk Music Archives
Promoter Address: 319 Hurley St. #3, Cambridge, MA 02141
Promoter Website: http://www.newenglandfolkmusic.org
Info Phone: 508-789-7611 (Brian Quinn)
Time Line
5:30 pm Doors open
6:00 Oral History with Lorraine and Bennett Hammond
7:00 Concert
Lorraine and Bennett Hammond
Antje Duvekot has solidified her reputation as one of Boston’s top singer songwriters with “Big Dream Boulevard” her debut studio release and “the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer” her follow-up CD. The debut CD was produced by Seamus Egan, founder of the Irish super group, SOLAS. The project was released on acclaimed songwriter Ellis Paul’s label, Black Wolf Records and quickly attracted international attention for Antje. It was voted “#1 Folk Release of 2006” by the Boston Globe and was named to the “Top10 Releases of the Year” by National Public Radio’s, Folk Alley. Her follow up album “the Near Demise of the Highwire Dancer” was produced by Richard Shindell and along side with Richard features other “folk royalty” such as John Gorka, Lucy Kaplancky and Mark Erelli. It was voted #1 album of the year 2009 by WUMB 91.9 fm in Boston.
“What a blessing to have worked with someone as talented as Antje. With a voice like hers, and songs as good as these, a producer (especially a first-time producer!) just tries to get out of the way, to do no harm, and to let the artist speak for herself.” – Richard Shindell
“Duvekot has gotten hotter, faster than any local songwriter in recent memory. Her songs feel at once fresh faced and firmly rooted, driven by the whispery sensuality of her voice. She believes in the redemptive power of the shared secret; and is utterly unafraid to mine the darkest corners of her life for songs that turn fear into resilience and isolation into community”. The Boston Globe
Antje has won some of the top songwriting awards including the Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, the prestigious, Kerrville (TX) “Best New Folk Award” and in one of the nation’s top music markets, she won the Boston Music Award for “Outstanding Folk Act”, three of the top prizes in the singer songwriter world.
