Diane Zeigler / Eric Behr
Saturday, February 20, 2027, 7:30 pm
Rose Garden Coffeehouse
17 West St
Mansfield, MA 02048
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.
