Matt Turk and C Lanzbom joined forces to form Deadgrass, a string band jamgrass adventure through Jerry Garcia’s musical world. Bassist Dave Richards, banjo player Kris Bauman and fiddler Kensuke Shoji complete this fine group of seasoned pros exploring the life works of Jerry Garcia on the instruments that first inspired him. Deadgrass celebrates and interprets the music of Jerry Garcia, drawing from Old & in the Way, JGB, Jerry’s Jug Band days and Grateful Dead.

A little more about the band: each member brings a deep well of experience across folk, jazz, rock, and roots traditions, creating a rich, improvisational sound that honors Garcia’s spirit while making it their own.

Matt Turk has performed and recorded with legends including Pete Seeger and Mickey Hart, bringing decades of festival and stage experience.
Grammy-winning guitarist C Lanzbom has collaborated with icons like Bruce Springsteen and runs his own state-of-the-art recording studio.
Dave Richards has played bass on Broadway’s Hamilton and performed with artists like Rosanne Cash.
Kris Bauman is a genre-crossing multi-instrumentalist featured on NPR’s Studio 360 and active across jazz, bluegrass, and beyond.
Kensuke Shoji, originally from Japan, trained at Berklee and brings a blend of bluegrass roots and jazz violin to the band.

The Folk Project Open Stage, North Jersey’s premier open  stage, is back live on the second  Friday of every month. The  Main Stage features two-song (or  ten  minutes, whichever is shorter) sign-up slots for our audience. To sign up to perform email Chairman Todd at [email protected].

Admission: $7 at the door only (tickets for the live show not available online.)  Children 12 and under free but must be accompanied by parent or guardian.

Catherine Miles and Jay Mafale — husband and wife, co-conspirators, storytellers. They are modern folk with a sprinkling of pop-catchiness and theatrical flair. Catherine’s voice is an expressive powerhouse. Jay’s guitar is distinctive and unconventional. Candid and playful onstage, they are known for the plainspoken poetry, clever humor, and unique perspectives of their songs which seek to shift points of view through themes of perseverance and hope. And yes, sometimes they throw in a villain just for fun.

Miles & Mafale’s songwriting has earned them acclaim in venerable listening rooms and festivals nationwide, and recognition as Most Wanted Emerging Artists at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and three-time Kerrville New Folk finalists.

Troubadour 51st Birthday Show

Our in-person admission includes birthday cake.

The Troubadour celebrates the 51st anniversary of its inaugural performance on July 25, 1975 with a show unique to the Folk Project, and one that only an organization such as ours could present.  The Project includes dozens of musicians and singers in its membership; we draw upon our own to comprise the performers in this show.  In early July, all the members who wished to be in the show put their names into a common pool and were combined into randomly selected duos and trios.  Each of those groups has worked up and will present one song on stage for the show.  It’s a celebration not only of our first show, but of our members, and our creed that everyone’s music is of value.  It’s our party, and you’re invited.  Our admission price includes birthday cake, unless you are streaming!

Folk Project member-musicians celebrate over a half century of presenting weekly live music, contra dances with astounding bands and many streaming programs.

Carolann Solebello is a performing songwriter born and bred in New York City. Well-known to folk audiences as the bass-playing, alto-singing founding member of harmony trio Red Molly, Carolann has spent most of her career as a solo troubadour. She nods to rural folk traditions with her smooth, compelling voice and warm acoustic guitar, yet keeps her boots firmly planted in the urban present with rhythmic precision and sophisticated vocal phrasing. An award-winning songwriter and proud member of AFM Local 1000, Carolann has five solo albums to her credit and is working on a sixth.

Electrifying contermporary folk duo Rakish fuse virtuosic fiddle and guitar with playful flair.“Explorative and versatile, the duo draws evident inspiration from not just the deep and wide history of Scottish and Irish Celtic composition, but also the precision-focused structures of classical chamber music and a whole array of improvisational styles” [Strings Magazine]. Award winning fiddler Maura Shawn Scanlin teams with acclaimed guitarist Conor Hearn, known for collaborations across the Celtic scene. Recent highlights of their travels together include performances at the Library of Congress, Celtic Colours International Music Festival, Prince Edward Island’s Festival of Small Halls, the Corvallis Celtic Festival, and Official Showcases at Folk Alliance International.

Born in Richmond, VA, Greg Greenway moved to Boston and became a standout voice in its folk music scene. Influenced by Richie Havens and Eric Andersen, he developed a genre-defying, multi-instrumental style blending folk, gospel, rock, blues, jazz, and world music. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and Mountain Stage, though he cites hearing his song “Driving in Massachusetts” on Car Talk as a personal highlight.

Greenway’s eight-year collaboration with Pat Wictor and Joe Jencks as Brother Sun produced two #1 Folk DJ albums and reached wide audiences. His current project with Reggie Harris, Deeper Than The Skin, explores race and shared history in America. Widely praised, critics hail him as a powerful, genre-crossing artist with exceptional stage presence.