Events Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Last Dance Productions

Healing Garden Concert with Irene Kelley Antsy McClain and Lance Cowan

Healing Garden at Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA.

The Healing Garden Concert Brings Renowned Singer-Songwriters to the French American Victory Club

Nashville Comes to Waltham, MA

Sunday, April 26, at 2 pm.

Prepare for an afternoon of world-class storytelling, soulful melodies, and acoustic mastery. This intimate performance offers New England audiences a rare opportunity to hear the stories behind the songs from artists who have shaped the landscape of folk, bluegrass, and Americana. A benefit for the Healing Garden at Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA.

The Lineup

Irene Kelley: A bluegrass legend and prolific songwriter, Kelley’s songs have been recorded by giants like Alan Jackson, Loretta Lynn, and Trisha Yearwood. Her crystalline vocals and deep Appalachian roots bring a pure, heartfelt authenticity to the stage.
Antsy McClain: The mastermind behind The Trailer Park Troubadours, McClain is a master of “humor with a heart.” His performances blend observational comedy, masterful guitar work, and songs that find the extraordinary in everyday life.
Lance Cowan: A veteran storyteller and songwriter, Cowan’s work is steeped in the rich traditions of the American South. Known for his evocative lyrics and warm, narrative style, he rounds out this trio with grounded, melodic grace.

On A Winter’s Night 2026

Patty Larkin, Cliff Eberhardt,

John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky

Saturday, January10, 2026

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

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September 24, 2025/by Last Dance Productions

Concerts, Events

Peter Asher: Songs and Stories

Tuesday, September 23, 2025, 7 pm.

An Unlikely Story, 111 South Street, Plainville, MA 02762

Click Here For Tickets and Info.

Peter Asher, we first came to know him through the global smash “World Without Love” as one half of the British Invasion duo Peter & Gordon. He returns–now a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire– in “Peter Asher: A Musical Memoir of the 60s and Beyond” which brings a multimedia experience to the stage, hosted by the two-time Grammy winner for Producer of the Year. Peter Asher moved effortlessly from his role with Peter & Gordon to Music Executive with the Beatles’ Apple Records, then famously- (as in cover of Rolling Stone magazine level famous)- to Producer and Manager, handling the careers of James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and a host of others. Books abound, documentaries with half-truths (and worse) are all too common, but, now, finally, Mr. Asher tells firsthand his tales from the eye of the cultural hurricane in this intimate evening.

“Memoir” includes film footage and photos from Peter’s considerable personal archive, brought to life with a storyteller’s gift, transporting audiences back to the heart of 60s popular culture. Icons such as Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Marianne Faithful, Yoko Ono, Carole King, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt are among the cast of characters in this narrative – along (of course) with the greatly missed Gordon Waller. The evening is filled with the music of Peter & Gordon, including “I Go to Pieces,” “True Love Ways,” and “Lady Godiva.” The songs given to Peter & Gordon by Paul McCartney are also front and center: “Woman,” “I Don’t Want to See You Again,” Nobody I Know,” and “World Without Love,” all of which were US Top 40 hits. Peter presents these timeless classics along with other old favourites from that golden era.

The show brings the audience through the earliest days of Peter’s journey to the present day, and projects including his SiriusXM radio show on the Beatles Channel, “From Me to You”. Peter’s book, based on the show, “The Beatles A to Zed,” was released by MacMillan on October 29, 2019; the book is already in its third printing.

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August 13, 2025/by Last Dance Productions

Concerts, Events

The Kennedys Return to The Rose Garden Coffeehouse

Saturday, November 15, 2025,

The Rose Garden Coffeehouse, 17 West St., Mansfield, MA 02048

Tickets, Click Here.

Songwriting duo Pete and Maura Kennedy make a strong return to the studio and stage after three years of weekly live-streamed lockdown-era concerts. They took the opportunity to explore classic songwriting in depth, performing over a thousand songs during the pandemic. That vast overview strengthened and refined their own writing and laid the foundation for this new collection of original, socially-conscious songs.

So Much To Do.

“After such a deep dive into American roots music, we felt like we had a new set of writing tools. We were ready to create this body of work, and there’s just SO much to write about,” says Maura. “During our five-year hiatus from writing and recording, America changed in massive ways, divisive ways that have shaken our whole foundation. That has to be addressed by creative artists, those of us who have a voice to speak for others. Our love of the great things about this country, things that are under threat, is the reason we decided to make “Headwinds” the title track of the CD. Political and social headwinds are making it hard to get back “home’ to our greatness as a nation. We want to push back in a positive way against those winds.”

In addition to singing and writing, Pete and Maura are multi-instrumentalists. The thirteen songs are cast in a soundscape that draws from the classic canon of American roots, in keeping with the theme of getting back “home” as a nation. Acoustic and electric guitars, a vintage steel guitar, a gospel-inflected piano/organ mix, and even a slide ukulele all add colors to a songbag of sounds that have drawn us together during hard times. Pete and Maura believe that those sounds still have the power to pull us through again.

Three Decades Of Touring

The Kennedys began their writing and touring life three decades ago as members of Nanci Griffith’s Blue Moon Orchestra, developing their own sound as a frequent support act on Nanci’s tours across America, Ireland, Scotland and England. Collaborations with Nanci continued, culminating in Pete and Maura producing her final album, “Intersections.” Along the way, they hosted a nationwide radio program, “The Dharma Cafe” on Sirius/XM, wrote and released sixteen CDs of original music, and have been core artists on folk radio, expanding their audience further with the inception of the AAA and Americana formats.

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July 9, 2025/by Last Dance Productions

Concerts, Events

Mike Laureanno and Michelle Saylors In Concert

Saturday, October 18, 2025,

Rose Garden Coffeehouse,17 West St, Mansfield, MA 02048

Tickets: Click Here.

Mike Laureanno hails from Fall River, MA, an old mill town infamous for its axe-wielding resident, Lizzie Borden, and famous for its chow mein sandwiches and pork pies. A passionate performer, Mike’s songs are visceral and evocative. He is proud of his roots, and many of his songs deal with his gritty blue-collar hometown and the lives of his family and friends. He is a winner of the 2017 Wildflower, TX songwriting contest, the 2016 Woody Guthrie songwriting contest and a 2016 Kerrville New Folk, TX finalist.

Mike is also a skilled recording engineer, producer, and veteran sideman. He produced and recorded all of his albums in his home studio, and he served twelve years as the bass player for the legendary New York City FAST FOLK Musical Magazine founder, Jack Hardy.

He has released four albums to date: Pushing Back Wintertime (2013), Road Signs (2015), Tightrope (2017), and I come from Fall River (2021)

Bristol-RI-based singer-songwriter Michelle Saylors was raised on a 30-acre farm in bible-belt Tennessee. Early musical inspirations include country, bluegrass, gospel, folk, and Memphis blues. Michelle performed bluegrass music in the early 90s at festivals such as the Lester Flat Bluegrass Festival and the Country Showdown. Michelle moved to New England in 1998 and landed in Rhode Island in 2009, where she became involved in the Rhode Island Songwriters Association. Michelle played at the Bluebird Café in Nashville at Songwriters’ open mics on several occasions. Michelle performed at the Providence Folk Festival in 2014 and the Rhode Island Folk Festival in 2022.

In July of 2024, Michelle released her solo debut album titled “Hit the Creek,” which features 10 original songs written solely by Michelle. The album has been well-received by fans and continues to gain momentum on streaming platforms nationwide, with recent success in the UK. Her songwriting is rooted both physically and metaphorically in the space and distance between small-town Tennessee and coastal New England. Michelle is currently working on her second album. She identifies her musical style as Nashville blues, country, bluegrass, and folk.

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July 9, 2025/by Last Dance Productions

So Much To Do.

Three Decades Of Touring

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