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Diane Zeigler / Eric Behr

Diane Zeigler / Eric Behr

Saturday, February 20, 2027, 7:30 pm

Rose Garden Coffeehouse

17 West St

Mansfield, MA 02048

TICKETS CLICK HERE

DIANE ZEIGLER

Singer/Guitarist/Songwriter and mom of three Diane Zeigler is making a return after many years. She last played the Rose Garden in 2001, and we’re pleased to get her back!

Zeigler emerged on the Boston folk scene in the early 90s and quickly established herself as an important voice in the era’s new singer/songwriter movement. Her debut CD on Rounder Records was released in 1995 to critical acclaim. It also coincided with the birth of her first child, followed by a growing family.

Despite the recognition Zeigler earned as a songwriter and performer, her artistic career took a winding path after she became a mother. She continued touring while raising two young children and won multiple national songwriting awards, but stepped away from music entirely after the birth of her third in 2006. In 2026, when her youngest entered college, Zeigler began writing songs again and is now planning a new album.

We’re thrilled to give her a forum for her re-emergence.

ERIC BEHR – Winner of 2026 Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Competition

Based in Riverside, Rhode Island, Eric Behr is a seasoned singer-songwriter whose musical journey has been decades in the making. First picking up the guitar at age 11 after hearing the Kingston Trio, his trajectory was cemented in 1963 when he watched Joan Baez introduce Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival. Though he studied acting at Goddard College alongside peers like David Mamet and William H. Macy, Behr spent much of his career running a successful accounting firm before retiring in 2021.

Re-engaging with songwriting after attending WUMB’s Summer Acoustic Music Week in 1996 — where mentors like Bob Franke encouraged his brave, honest storytelling — he now describes himself as a “re-emerging artist.” Beyond his solo work, Behr serves on the Board of Directors for the Rhode Island Songwriters Association (RISA) and frequently contributes as both a musician and actor in regional theater productions.

That lifelong dedication to craft was on full display during his winning contest performance. He opened his set with “Memorial Day,” a poignant story inspired by a Vietnam master sergeant who bypasses political speeches to quietly touch a name on the wall, offering a stark reminder that “sometimes words don’t mean a thing.” He closed with “Ahmed Al-Khatib,” a powerful narrative following a Palestinian family’s choice to donate their young son’s organs to save three Israeli children — a heavy yet hopeful reflection on shared humanity and the idea that we are all ultimately “people of the book.”

His return to the Rose Garden will feature those two songs and many others, and we are happy to have him back.

More Last Dance Productions events here.

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On A Winter’s Night 2027

Winter's Night

Patty Larkin, Cliff Eberhardt,

John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky

Saturday, February 6, 2027

The Regent Theatre,

7 Medford St, Arlington, MA 02474

TICKETS, CLICK  HERE

 

“On A Winter’s Night” is a reunion tour from veteran singer-songwriters who remain among the brightest stars of the singer/songwriter movement for the past three decades. In 1994, Christine Lavin gathered them together, along with folk and Americana artists, to showcase the music of the Winter Season on the now-classic On A Winter’s Night CD, followed by several years of touring collaborations. These artists have released dozens of recordings and toured steadily through the decades, with fond memories of their touring days together. The winter season is again celebrated by these unique and popular performers, back together by popular demand.

CLIFF EBERHARDT

One of the most original songsmiths currently on tour, Eberhardt is a highly intelligent, articulate artist whose penetrating and profound lyrics are sometimes overshadowed by his extraordinary guitar playing. Upon close listening, the Philadelphia-born singer’s gift for the English language is abundantly clear. The words that tumble from his mouth are framed by a raspy yet deeply elegant voice. Like John Hammond and Richie Havens, Eberhardt continues to carry the torch for traditional and contemporary folk music through his strong live shows. Whether he’s out on tour solo or with a small band, Eberhardt’s guitar playing, singing, and original folk songs and blues make for a compelling, thought-filled, emotional roller coaster of a concert.

JOHN GORKA

Hailed by Rolling Stone as “the leading singer/songwriter of the New Folk movement,” John Gorka is perhaps the quintessential singer-songwriter of the 90’s folk scene. Originally from New Jersey, John served an apprenticeship at Godfrey Daniels coffeehouse in Bethlehem, PA, then the Greenwich Village Fast Folk scene. Winning the prestigious New Folk award at the Kerrville Folk Festival, in 1984, he was then signed to Red House Records on which he released his landmark first of 17 recordings, I Know. Boston Globe penned Gorka “for the sophisticated intelligence and the provocative originality of his songs.” Recent accolades include 2016’s Indie Acoustic Project’s Best Singer/Songwriter CD of the Year for Before Beginning (Red House Records). 2018 brought his latest release, and 14th of his career, True In Time (Compass Records). True In Time (Compass Records).

LUCY KAPLANSKY

“A truly gifted performer…full of enchanting songs” (New York Times). Blending country, folk and pop styles, Lucy has the unique ability to make every song sound fresh, whether singing her own sweet originals, covering country classics by June Carter Cash and Gram Parsons, or singing pop favorites by Lennon/McCartney and Nick Lowe. Lucy’s iconic voice has been featured in film and on television, including commercials like Chevrolet’s iconic “Heartbeat of America” jingle. A Billboard-charting singer and one of the top-selling artists on Red House Records, she has topped the folk and Americana radio charts and has been featured on shows throughout the world from NPR’s Weekend and Morning Editions to BBC Radio to CBS Sunday Morning. One of the most in-demand harmony singers, Lucy has sung on countless records, performing with Suzanne Vega, Bryan Ferry, Nanci Griffith, and Shawn Colvin.

PATTY LARKIN

She redefines the boundaries of folk-urban pop music with her inventive guitar wizardry and uncompromising lyrics and vocals. Acoustic Guitar Magazine hails her, “soundscape experiments” while Rolling Stone praises her, “evocative and sonic shading.” She has been described as, “riveting” (Chicago Tribune), “hypnotic” (Entertainment Weekly), and a “drop-dead brilliant” performer (Performing Songwriter). Recently an Artist-in-Residence at Berklee College of Music – and now on the faculty at Fine Arts Work Center – Larkin reflects, “I have been energized by the poets, writers, and artists I have met while teaching, and find myself on a journey to break down some of the predictable pathways that songs can travel.” Bird in a Cage, her 14th CD now available, puts poems from ten notable poets to song, including US Poet Laureates William Carlos Williams, Stanley Kunitz, Kay Ryan, Robert Pinsky, and Billy Collins, for a new and haunting collection that pulses with the magic of lyricism. Poems are made to be shared aloud, and with Bird, Patty takes up that tradition and sets it aglow.

You’ll undoubtedly be warm On This Winter’s Night.

Photo: Laurie Glassman

More Last Dance Productions events here.

TICKETS, CLICK  HERE

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Alex Radus In Concert

Alex Radus

Alex Radus.

Saturday, January 16, 2027  •  7:30 PM

Rose Garden Coffeehouse

17 West St

Mansfield, MA 02048

TICKETS CLICK HERE

Award-winning singer-songwriter from PA known for his “genre whiplash” style, with an eclectic mix of Americana, folk, swing, and blues.

You might remember Alex Radus from his memorable but brief performance with Laurie MacAllister at the Rose Garden in 2026.

Alex Radus is hailed as a “versatile crooner” and “skillful fretman”, but his songwriting takes center stage. Known affectionately for his unique brand of “genre whiplash”, Alex pairs whimsical and poignant storytelling with an eclectic mix of Americana, folk, swing and blues. John Gorka calls Alex Radus a “remarkable artist…an excellent guitarist, songwriter and singer…worth going out of your way to hear.”

Alex was selected as a 2024 Falcon Ridge Folk Fest Emerging Artist and voted a “Most Wanted” artist to return to the Main Stage in 2025. His most recent release, Where Liberty Lives, reached #10 on the FAI Folk Radio charts. Where Liberty Lives “is the kind of song that reminds you what folk music was always meant to do. Timely, tender, and absolutely necessary.” (Rock the Pigeon Music Blog)

More Last Dance Productions events here.

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Southern Rail Bluegrass

Southern Rail

Southern Rail returns to the Garden! Get a dose of great bluegrass to warm you up before the holidays!

Saturday, November 21, 2026

Rose Garden Coffeehouse
17 West St, Mansfield, MA 02048

TICKETS CLICK HERE

Southern Rail’s performances are high-energy, exuberant fun, with riveting harmonies, irrepressible humor, and sparkling banjo, mandolin, and guitar solo work. Southern Rail celebrates over three decades of performing with the long-awaited release of their 12th CD, “Voices in the Wind.”

Over the years, Southern Rail’s recordings, featuring their prolific songwriting, have graced Bluegrass Unlimited’s Top Thirty Singles Chart for a combined total of 32 months, climbing to #11. One of Southern Rail’s earlier CD’s, a special Bluegrass Gospel compilation entitled Glory Train, was nominated for Best Gospel Recording of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association. Southern Rail has been selected by the New England Foundation for the Arts to be included in their prestigious Touring Roster.

More Last Dance Productions events here.

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Brooks Williams Returns To The Garden

Brooks Williams

October 17, 2026, 7:30 PM

The Rose Garden Coffeehouse, Mansfield, MA

Click Here For Tickets.

Brooks Williams is one of those select few ‘’how on earth does he do it?” artists. He can sing. He can write. And, man oh man, can he play guitar.

Cambridge UK-based, Statesboro, Georgia US-born, admired by both listeners and fellow musicians, Brooks Williams has been a leading light on the acoustic music scene for three decades. FATEA says his performances show “the greatest level of true expertise.”

Listed as one of the ‘Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists,’ his guitar skills are evident as he effortlessly slides in and out of folk, blues and country. “He was playing Americana before it had been given the name,” says CMP . “How soulful a solo guitarist can be when he has talent, taste and astonishing technique,” writes Blues Revue.

Williams left his Georgia home in his late teens and moved to Boston at the height of the 1990’s acoustic music renaissance. He did his apprenticeship in the bars and clubs in New York and New England and cut his teeth supporting artists like Shawn Colvin, Chris Smither, Rory Block, Leo Kottke, Odetta, Billy Bragg and Taj Mahal.

His first album, North From Statesboro, caught the attention of The Washington Post and National Public Radio, which set the ball rolling and Williams never looked back. People took notice and acoustic music radio played him from the very beginning, including WUMB-FM in Boston, where Williams is one of their Top 100 Artists Of All-Time.

In subsequent years he has released a staggering 35 recordings in 36 years for labels like Green Linnet Records, Solid Air Records, Signature Sounds and Reveal, including Brooks’ Acoustic, his latest, which At The Barrier calls a “stunning collection from the chocolate-voiced, guitar maestro.”

More Last Dance Productions events here.

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