ANTJE DUVEKOT

https://antjeduvekot.com

Saturday – May 18 – 7:00 pm

A native of Heidelberg, Germany, the now Boston-based singer-songwriter, Antje Duvekot composes intriguing and emotionally complex vignettes which straddle and sometimes blur the lines between the personal, the social and the political.

“I see my songs as therapy for me and if saying these things can make me feel better, then maybe other people who can relate to what I’m saying will feel better, too. A lot of my songs are about me and the things I’m going through in my life, although I can be inspired by what’s happening in the news, too. But what I love about music and art in general is, whereas you wouldn’t go up to complete strangers and tell them about your inner emotional landscape – well, I wouldn’t anyway – art, songwriting and performing gives you an excuse and the means to do that.” – Antje

Suggested donation: $15 to $25 (or pay as you are able)
Reservations at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

Listen at:  Lighthouse   Watch:  Long Way

MICHAEL & CARRIE KLINE with Joe Blumenthal

www.folktalk.org

Saturday – April 20 – 7:00 pm

Carrie and Michael Kline’s lives circle around one another and are inspired by Appalachian music and culture. Their voices carry the songs with truth and authenticity, and their guitar accompaniments and haunting harmonies get you where you live. With their lifelong focus on West Virginia history and tradition, their performances celebrate the old-time singers as well as the songs.

“We place our songs in a historical, folkloric context with stories and images to set the stage for the songs. We sing in the kind of tight, high mountain harmony that comes from living and loving together for thirty years, having met in the Valley and recently returned after 26 years as West Virginia-based folklorists, oral historians, and music makers. Our guitar accompaniments are also in closely arranged harmony, with Michael’s melodic lines and Carrie’s rhythm and runs, elevated by Joe Blumenthal’s upright bass arrangements.

Suggested donation: $15 to $25 (or pay as you are able)
Reservations at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

Listen at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CH8woGxbnk

TIM GRIMM with Nate Borofsky

https://timgrimm.com

Saturday – March 16 – 7:00 pm

Tim Grimm is a bit of a Renaissance man in the performing arts world, forging a rich and varied career that blends his love of songwriting, travel, and acting in theatre, film and television. For most of his 25-year career as a storytelling balladeer in the tradition of John Prine, Woody Guthrie, and Bob Dylan, Tim has written primarily about community, history, family, and social issues – often framed by his strong sense of place and the many years he spent on the family farm he built in rural Indiana. His songs are filled with rural characters and landscapes, written and sung with vivid warmth and intimacy.

Along with greats like Greg Brown and John Gorka, Tim Grimm is in my opinion among the best singer-songwriters in the United States. – The Long Journey – Roots and Country Music – Italy.             Listen at:  I Come from These Rolling Hills

From 2001 to 2013, NATE BOROFSKY toured the world with the award-winning folk-pop band Girlyman.  Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls said of Girlyman, “Magical musicality. This band will transform your artful heart and mind.”

On his own, Nate has won a Boston Music Award, and several songs he has written have been featured on the TV show Guiding Light and been recorded by internationally touring acts. Most recently, Nate wrote and performed songs in the Oklahoma Shakespeare Company production of ROMEO and JULIET.   https://nateborofsky.com

Recommended donation: $20 to $30 – Pay as you are able

Reserve seats at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

                                           

LARA HERSCOVITCH

Saturday – February 17 – 7:00 pm

Mount Toby Concerts

194 Long Plain Rd. (Rt 63), Leverett, MA

Lara Herscovitch is a singer-songwriter-poet-performer-author gem. She brings “a luminous voice and a buoyant stage presence…big-hearted lyrics embrace the sum of life… – The Boston Globe

Herscovitch’s music blows on the embers of a lagging spirit or a dormant creative life.” Lara leads with authenticity, integrity, humor and heart. Sound Waves magazine described her music as “expertly written prose … song writing at its best…good for your ears AND your soul.” Acoustic Live in New York City added, “She possesses not only a huge reservoir of musical talent and a voice with a bell-like clarity, but a keen sense of global concern and a fierce intellect…It might seem too good to be true, but true it is.”

Recommended donation: $15 to $25 – Pay as you are able

Reserve seats at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

Watch:  Highway Philosophers    You USA    Shine Sister Shine

WINDBORNE – SOLD OUT

 www.windbornesingers.com

Saturday – January 20 – 7:00 pm

Stunningly powerful vocal harmony floods the room as the four Windborne singers present Song on the Times, their project of working class movements for peoples’ rights from the past 400 years, sung for today struggles. The group was catapulted to new heights when clip of them singing in protest outside Trump tower went viral, and their Indiegogo for the project raised 1,600% of its goal from 2,600 people in every State and 22 countries.

Aside from this new project, Windborne has collected and studied polyphonic vocal music for over 15 years from traditional singing masters from cultures around the world, Windborne is able to shift from radically different genres like no band you have ever heard, as comfortable with an improvised Corsican couplet song, as an English ballad.

Lynn Mahoney Rowan, Will Thomas Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share a vibrant energy onstage – their connection to each other and to the music clearly evident. They educate as they entertain, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing.

“The best musical discovery of the year…Stunningly powerful vocal harmony…Windborne sets a new bar for folk harmony singing today” –Brian O’Donovan WGBH, National Public Radio

Recommended donation: $20 to $30 – Pay as you are able
Reserve seats at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

Facebook: Facebook.com/WindborneSingers

Youtube: Youtube.com/WindborneMusic

EVELINE MacDOUGALL with Fiery Hope

Saturday – December 16 – 7:00 pm

Mount Toby Concerts

194 Long Plain Rd. (Rt. 63), Leverett

Fiery Hope began in 1988 in the form of a chorus called Amandla, which means “power” in Zulu. They started out by singing exclusively South African freedom songs as part of anti-apartheid work, but have since added songs from many different cultures, as well as original compositions by their founder and director, Eveline MacDougall. They sing to celebrate life, articulate social concerns, and provide inspiration as they work for justice and peace. They encourage audience participation at their concerts and workshops, and love inviting folks of all ages to join in.

Eveline MacDougall was raised in a musical family, in a house filled with passionate philosophies about justice and human rights. At the age of 23, she began to see that music and activism didn’t have to live separate lives. She offered a session to teach South African freedom songs. Forty people showed up and couldn’t stop singing the compelling, uplifting songs. On that day in January of 1988, Amandla was born.

Eveline and the Amandla chorus members are committed to acting with determination and hope-filled hearts during this era of increasing injustice and environmental crisis. For that reason, they decided to change their name to Firey Hope. They sing for justice, freedom, and peace—songs new and old, songs from around the world. They wear sashes made of cloth from many lands to remind themselves that we belong to a global family. https://fieryhope.org

Recommended donation: $20 to $30 – Pay as you are able
Reserve seats at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

Videos at: https://www.facebook.com/FieryHopeChorus/videos

CLAUDIA SCHMIDT & SALLY ROGERS

https://sallyrogers.com/concert-booking/sally-and-claudia

Saturday, – November 18 – 7:00 pm

Claudia Schmidt and Sally Rogers have been weaving their voices, dulcimers, and guitars together for decades, creating an atmosphere of joy and musical lushness that audiences find so irresistible, they frequently join right in. Their soaring harmonies (‘blood harmony’ was how one fan described it), fascinating double dulcimer work, and the mix of 6 and 12 string guitars, blend with a wide choice of songs. A concert by these two masters of their craft is an immensely satisfying and restorative experience.

Claudia and Sally have been perfecting their craft of performing for almost four decades, both as solo artists and as a duo. Claudia’s is a quirky and wonderful hodge-podge (her word!) of music, poetry, story, laughter, drama, and celebrating the moment. Work in clubs, theaters, festivals, TV, radio has added depth and dimension, and since she has always included her original work along with very personal versions of the work of others, what you get is a unique look at the world from someone who says what she sees with clarity, humor, and wonder.

Sally Rogers began her career as a full-time touring musician in 1979, after encouragement from Stan Rogers, the legendary Canadian singer-songwriter.  That was followed by an invitation from Garrison Keillor to appear on A Prairie Home Companion. Her concerts enfold the audience in the music as they are encouraged to join in throughout the evening. Her gorgeous singing voice, boundless energy and good humor are welcomed from coast to coast.

Recommended donation: $20 to $30 – Pay as you are able
Reserve seats at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiZI01rI1MY

SARA THOMSEN

https://sarathomsen.com

Saturday – October 21 – 7:00pm

“Thomsen’s soulful voice, poetic lyrics and unforgettable melodies cut through to the heart and the soul of human experience,” proclaims the Minnesota Women’s Press. With a voice rich as the best mid-west soil, Sara’s songs carry you inward and outward—in, to the particulars of your own life, and out—into the shared humanity of us all. Her performance style is easygoing and full of humor and depth, capturing the audience’s engagement. Sara’s music gently enfolds and unfolds the listener.

Dubbed in her local press as “one of Northern Minnesota’s best-kept secrets,” Sara’s home base is in the Lake Superior region near Duluth, MN. She has released six solo albums: Song Like A Seed (her latest), Somewhere to Begin, Everything Changes, By Breath, Fertile Ground, and Arise. In addition to her solo work, Sara is a weaver of song and community singing. At concerts, conferences, classrooms, workshops, retreats, jails, places of prayer, and lines of protest, to be with Sara is to want to sing. Increasing wonder and awareness, deepening spiritual connection, and widening social engagement through song is at the heart of her work. Sara’s ability to get people singing magically transforms gatherings into communities empowered with possibility.

Recommended donation: $20 to $30 – Pay as you are able
Reserve seats at diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-835-1695

COVID -19 Policy: Masks are recommended.

Emma’s Revolution

Outdoor fest of the best in music for social change

Saturday -September 16 – 4:00 pm

Outdoors at Mount Toby Concerts

194 Long Plain Rd. (Rt 63), Leverett, MA

Known for fearless, truth-telling lyrics and melodies you can’t resist singing, Emma’s Revolution is the dynamic, award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O. The duo are in their 20th year performing together. Emma’s Revolution’s songs have traveled around the world and have been sung for the Dalai Lama, praised by Pete Seeger and covered by Holly Near.

With one eye on the news, Emma’s Revolution consistently writes songs about critical issues happening in the world and enthusiastically lends their voices to the movements those issues inspire. “Our House is on Fire” was selected as the opening track for Hope Rises, a compilation CD from a national nonprofit co-founded by Noel (Paul) Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary. “Keep on Moving Forward” opened the UN’s Committee on the Status of Women’s Bejiing+25 Conference. The song originally opened the NGO Forum of the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, becoming its unofficial anthem. Emma’s Revolution are winners of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize and the first Phil Ochs Award.

As independent artists and queer and non-conforming women, Emma’s Revolution has a national presence among communities, organizations and venues that share the duo’s vision of valuing people over profit, choosing compassion over violence, demanding accountability, and building a more just and sustainable world. https://emmasrevolution.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/emmasrevolution
Instagram: www.instagram.com/emmas_revolution
YouTube: www.youtube.com/emmasrevolution

Suggested donation: $20 to $30

For more information: diacrowe@yahoo.com or 413-835-1695

Bring a lawn chair and refreshment. We will be outdoors for this concert.

Peaceful Means: Heather Pierson & Leah Boyd

https://peacefulmeans.net.wordpress.com

Saturday – July 15 – 4:00 pm

Outdoors at Mount Toby Concerts – 194 Long Plain Rd. (Rt 63) – Leverett, MA

Peaceful Means is a new musical duo featuring the harmonious warmth and presence of Leah Boyd and Heather Pierson. Weaving together original songs and uplifting arrangements of choice covers with their voices and accompanying piano, acoustic strings and percussion, they create music as an invitation to remember and to cultivate the joy, peace and connection that are available in every moment.

Drawing on their years of friendship and wealth of experience, Leah and Heather are happily united as Peaceful Means, inspired to create and share new music with audiences eager for an affirmation of humanity’s highest hopes. For both Leah and Heather, making music together has always been and continues to be one of their greatest joys – and joy multiplies when it is shared.

Suggested donation: $15 to $25

For more information: diacrowe@yahoo.com or 413-835-1695

Bring a lawn chair and refreshment.