The Troubadour Acoustic Concert Series™
Time: 7:30 PM unless otherwise noted. 2nd Fridays are usually Open Stage/audition night. (Check the schedule for rare exceptions.)
Location: Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 21 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ, a smoke & alcohol free environment. DIRECTIONS
Admission: Unless otherwise noted, $10 on your way in plus the balance of what you think the show was really worth on your way out. All exit donations go directly to the Headline Act. Vaccinated children 12 and under may attend free, but must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Until such time that children under 5 may be safely vaccinated, alas they will not be admitted.
Streaming: All Troubadour concerts may be viewed in person or live-streamed, except as noted.
For More Information: Email [email protected] or call 973-335-9489.
Buy Troubadour tickets online: You may purchase tickets in advance for Troubadour Acoustic Concert Series shows by clicking on the In-person Tickets link in the show listing below. Online sales cease a bit before midnight on the day before the event. Tickets will still be available at the door on the day of the show unless the event is completely sold out, in which case there will be a prominent notice posted on this website. Some events accept admissions payment only at the door, with no advance sales.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Spotlight Night at the Troubadour features four sets of stage-worthy artists from the Project’s roster of performing professionals, preceded by an hour (6:30 to 7:30) of exquisite hors d’oeuvres so our community can socialize with new friends and old. This is our Generations edition, pairing four fathers who raised their offspring in each family’s musical tradition.
It’s a night guaranteed to pull on your heart strings, tickle your ears, fill your belly, and grow your community.
********************************************************
Alan LeBoeuf and Elizabeth LeBoeuf
Alan LeBoeuf, as a member of RCA records trio ‘Baillie and the Boys’ had 6 top ten hits on the country charts, sang background vocals for Randy Travis, Marie Osmond, Marty Stewart, the Ramones, and many others. Alan portrayed ‘Paul McCartney’ more than 1000 times on Broadway in ‘Beatlemania’ (‘77-‘79) and ‘Rain’ (2010).
Elizabeth LeBoeuf is studying for her Masters degree in creative music technology at Ramapo College, in Mahwah, NJ, where she also studies, engineering, producing, and live performance.”
Andrew Dunn and Hannah Dunn
Andrew Dunn has been writing his own music for over 35 years. He discovered the Folk Project when he was 17 years old, and it shaped who he is. It’s only fitting that he would eventually introduce his family to the Folk Project as well.
And it obviously worked on Hannah. She started writing during the pandemic and has been steadily making a name for herself.
Dad just wants to drive her tour bus.
Sam Edelston and Teddy Parker
Sam Edelston grew up in the Folk Project, evolving from a young songwriter/fingerstyle guitarist to a prominent mountain dulcimer performer, teacher, and innovator. He plays anything from folk music to Tin Pan Alley to hard rock, around the country and online. He’s gone viral twice, with electric dulcimer covers of “Whole Lotta Love” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Sam was a Presenters Showcase artist at NERFA 2025. His groundbreaking 2024 CD, “MAKING WAVES,” is the first studio album to feature a mountain dulcimer fronting a Classic Rock band. He’s performed at Troubadour or Getaway in every decade since the ‘70s.
Teddy Parker is an even better musician than their father, but is still building their resume. Teddy is a lifelong Folk Project member and frequent Troubadour performer. They’re an award-winning songwriter who, along with piano, also plays mandolin, violin, and bass. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, they’ve been living in NYC, performing solo and with their theatrical pop rock band Teddy Hold On, teaching private music lessons, and songwriting professionally. They co-wrote 17 songs that appear in the popular PC video game “Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.” Teddy Hold On has released one EP, “Crying in Public.” ”
John Hone and Molly Hone
John Hone has been a member of the Folk Project for over ten years and is grateful for the friendships he’s made in this wonderful musical community. He performs solo and with fellow Folk Project member Diane Polledri in their Aloft Trio. John writes and performs original compositions as well and is working on his first CD.
Molly Hone has been playing music since her dad, John, gave her her first guitar for her sixteenth birthday. She has been writing her own songs for nearly as long.
John and Molly have performed together many times over the past 15 years.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
James Keelaghan, hailed by leading critics as Canada’s finest singer-songwriter, is a defining voice in folk and roots music. For nearly 25 years, he has crafted songs with passion, precision, and curiosity, earning a reputation as a poet laureate of the genre. Known for his distinctive craftsmanship and narrative depth, Keelaghan blends historical storytelling with deeply personal reflections on human experience. His nine recordings have captivated audiences worldwide, from Australia to Scandinavia, garnering awards and acclaim. A disciplined visionary with a love of language, history, and melody, Keelaghan connects powerfully with listeners through masterful storytelling and compelling live performances.
David Woodhead is a versatile musician deeply rooted in independent music, known for a distinctive melodic and textural style adaptable to many settings. With credits on nearly 300 recordings, he has collaborated with influential artists including Stan Rogers, Gil Scott-Heron, David Sanborn, and James Keelaghan, touring internationally and performing with ensembles ranging from jazz and classical-folk to global and improvisational projects. An experienced educator and Banff Centre resident artist, Woodhead’s own music blends folk intimacy, jazz harmony, and classical precision with space for improvisation. His projects range from the adventurous Confabulation ensemble to the folk-jazz chamber-focused Oriana Quartet.
Shanna in a Dress is your quirky best friend who refuses to wear pants. She says what everyone has felt but no one else will say and you’ll get an uncensored journey of clever humor and heartbreak, extreme candor, and a hefty side of entertainment at her shows. This witty wordsmith is known for taking you on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes within the same song. Think John Prine mixed with Ingrid Michaelson with a twist of Phoebe Buffay from Friends all wrapped up in a sweet voice accented by guitar, piano, and ukulele.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.
Too tough for folk and too blues-influenced for country, LYNNE HANSON’s brand of porch music with a little red dirt can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full on thunderstorm of gritty Americana swamp from one song to the next. Her hard living music has garnered her the nickname “Canada’s own Queen of Americana,” and she has an uncanny way of connecting with her audience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming. And while her deep, bluesy croon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, it’s the poetry of her lyrics that really sets her apart.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Rob Flax is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, classically trained at the New England Conservatory but known for his jazz and improvisational pyrotechnics and irresistible grooves, plus a deep knowledge of American fiddle traditions. He’s also a powerhouse vocalist, capable of silky crooning a la Nat King Cole or visceral Chicago blues shouts, and a consummate songwriter with lyrical depth to complement the instrumental virtuosity.
From performing with icons like B.B. King and Tower of Power to collaborating with Jacob Collier and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rob’s versatility shines across genres. As a composer, he’s contributed to film, choreography, and original projects. In his “One Man Band” shows, Rob uses a looper pedal to transform his violin into a symphony, alongside guitar, piano, and percussion
Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio consists of Rob Flax, Slava Tolstoy, and Chris Sartori. They Bring together energetic virtuoso violin, guitar, upright bass, plus three part vocals, elevating Rob’s eclectic originals with intricate instrumental interplay, tight vocal harmonies, and irreverent humor.
Slava Tolstoy studied guitar performance at St. Petersburg Jazz School and earned a BA from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He founded the “International String Trio”.
Chris Sartori is the upright bass which anchors everything with an undeniable, articulate groove. He is a member of Twisted Pine and a graduate of the Jazz program at Umass, Amherst.
Jesse Ruben is a singer/songwriter best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows. He’ll make you feel a lot of feelings.His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows. He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. After dealing with a four-year battle with Lyme disease, he is touring in support of his new album, Belong. The powerful lyrical storytelling of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Jesse Ruben has been described as “a cup of hot cocoa for your ears…his music does more than inspire, it comforts.” He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows, but it is his standout live performances that will capture your heart.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
“Extraordinary English acoustic guitar virtuoso Chris Newman and legendary Irish harpist and tradition-bearer, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, are internationally celebrated icons of Celtic folk music. Expect a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, played with dazzling virtuosity and spellbinding lyricism.
Chris has toured with many luminaries of the folk and jazz worlds and his recent groundbreaking solo album, ‘Breaking Bach’, was “Dazzling… utterly breathtaking… a triumph” * * * * * FOLK WALES Máire is “an absolute legend” THE IRISH ECHO and a recipient of Irish traditional music’s most prestigious award, Musician of the Year (Gradam Ceoil TG4).
Spencer LaJoye is making queer indie folk music for everyone. They are a coast-to-coast singer/songwriter and vocal loop artist with Midwest roots, a classically-trained violinist with an inner theater kid’s love of group choreography, and a student of Americana music with a theology degree hanging in their studio. The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition winner and 2024 Songwriter Serenade winner has been writing and touring their autobiographical folk songs for over a decade, but their viral 2021 anthem “Plowshare Prayer” secured them a permanent place in hearts and households across the world, as well as a peculiar career as a veracious songsmith with an unshakeable pastoral presence. Charming and banter-heavy, Spencer’s performances keep audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next.
*** Admission: $35/$30 (FP members)***
Richard Shindell lives as both an immigrant and emigrant, crossing thresholds, that informs his illumination of the human experience through narrative song. Shindell has inhabited a Zen Buddhist monastery and busked in the streets of Paris.
Originally from New York, now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. Meticulously recorded over three years in New York and Buenos Aires, his most recent release, Careless, offered an ambitious, luxurious, full- length statement. Shindell immersed himself in the studio, allowing the time and latitude to explore, experiment, take risks—to play as each of these eleven songs was given form and substance. While his signature acoustic guitar style is used to good effect, Careless also found Shindell plugging in more.
“The wider sonic and dynamic range of the electric has been a real inspiration.
Rejuvenating.””
North Carolina singer-songwriter Jess Klein performs her Americana/folk-rock originals with a “voice of unblinking tenacity” (New York Times). Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience. Hailed as “a major talent” (Billboard), Jess has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR’s All Things Considered, performed at the Newport, Winnipeg, Falcon Ridge and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, and shared stages with Arlo Guthrie, Josh Ritter, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Alejandro Escovedo. Jess’s live shows are known for their intimate and soulful atmosphere; her emotive vocals and poignant storytelling invite her fans on a journey through themes of love, loss, and resilience.
Jess Klein came to this world to pull firebrand power and childlike joy from our darkest shadows. Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Dan Rodriguez is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in hard work, open roads, and deep love of home. Raised in the suburbs of Detroit, he moved to Minneapolis at 18 to study music and stayed, embracing the snow, the seasons, and the sturdy Midwestern spirit that now shapes his sound.
A whiskey-and-beer-drinking, fishing-and-hunting-loving, motorcycle-riding, good-food-appreciating family man, Rodriguez shares his life with his wife and their two sons, Oak and Alder. That grounded, back-to-basics lifestyle runs through his songwriting, where blue-collar grit meets heartfelt reflection.
Music is his trade and performing is his calling. Whether he’s in the studio crafting songs, out on the road bringing them to audiences, tending backyard chickens, tapping city maples for syrup, or pulling vegetables from his wife’s thriving garden, Rodriguez lives the kind of life he writes about: honest, rooted, and real.
Danielle Miraglia hits the stage with a strong, steady thumb on her old Gibson and an infectious stomp-box rhythm, delivering songs that range from deeply heartfelt to fiercely socially conscious. Her performances are equal parts grit and groove, moving both your heart and your hips.
Her latest release, Bright Shining Stars, debuted at #15 on the Billboard Blues Chart. The Cascade Blues Association praised it as “…tough as rawhide, but smooth as blended whiskey.” Released on the Vizztone Label Group, the album captures the powerful one-woman-band sound Miraglia has honed over years of live performance. This solo acoustic folk-blues recording features guest appearances by Laurence Scudder, Peter Parcek, and Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt.
Alongside her compelling originals, Miraglia includes select covers from her live repertoire, paying homage to influences such as Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin. The title track, “Bright Shining Stars,” was written by her husband, Tom Bianchi, adding a personal touch to an album that reflects both her roots and her evolution as an artist.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Claudia Schmidt brings her exuberant music and love of humanity back to the Troubadour! With her multi-octave voice, 12 string guitar and mountain dulcimer, she weaves together song, story and spoken word in a one-of-a-kind presentation that will fill your heart and refresh your soul. After more than 50 years of writing and performing, she is as strong as ever, sharing her wonder and amazement at the world and all the creatures, including us, who inhabit it. She recently released her 22nd album, Reimagining, and is working on new material for yet another release in the not-too-distant future. Come and get energized, humorized and harmonized!
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Pat Wictor makes his home in many musical worlds. Grounded in rural blues and gospel traditions, Wictor’s lean, poetic songs and expressive guitar playing are seasoned with jazz, pop, improvisational surprise, philosophy and social commentary.
Pat’s most recent CD, FLARE, a meditation on political division in America, was called “brilliant” by WFUV’s John Platt, and reached #1 on the Folk-DJ charts. Wictor currently tours solo and in a variety of duos, and is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on guitar, songwriting, body percussion, and vocal and instrumental improvisation.”
Comedy Song Night at the Troubadour is a spectacular spectacle where frivolity rules, decorum goes out the window, and laughter’s delivered by the barrel. Four national comedic treasures – David Roth, Rob Parvonian, Todd Chapelle and Host of Hilarity Carla Ulbrich – put their clever insights, playful parodies and laugh-out-loud observations to music. Come ready to laugh, sing along, and thoroughly enjoy this entertaining combination of melody and comedy.
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| Carla Ulbrich | https://www.carlau.com |
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Carla Ulbrich is a comical singer-songwriter who is often compared to Tom Lehrer or Weird Al. She has a love of the absurdities of ordinary life, and a way with words. She has performed her clever songs in 34 states and 3 countries. Carla’s 9 CDs have been featured on the BBC, Dr. Demento, Sirius XM Comedy Radio, the USA Network, PBS, and NPR’s Weekend Edition.
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| Video link: Carla Ulbrich live Demo 2025 | |
| David Roth | https://davidrothmusic.com |
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David Roth is a singer, songwriter, music educator, and recording artist whose songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, Peter, Paul, & Mary and Kingston Trio CDs, NASA’s Goddard Space Center (his song “Rocket Science” sailed on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009), the Rise Up Singing and Rise Again (sequel) songbooks, and 15 CDs on the Wind River and Stockfisch (Germany) labels. The Chicago native is also the Executive Director of SummerSongs songwriting camp (NY), the Cape Cod Songwriters Retreats, and host/founder of the Cape’s Full Moon Open Mic (entering its 21st year), providing a forum for community-building and raising money for local non-profits to help neighbors in need. |
| Video link: Practice makes Progress | |
| Rob Paravonian | https://robprocks.com |
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Rob Paravonian is a standup comedian known the world over for his Pachelbel Rant and viral videos which have been viewed millions of times. With the mind of a comedian and the soul of a musician, Rob Paravonian seamlessly fuses sharp comedy performances with top notch musicianship. Rob has opened for George Carlin and Lily Tomlin and has toured everywhere from Alaska to Afghanistan. His songs and performances have appeared on Comedy Central, VH1, SiriusXM, The Dr. Demento Show, and more. |
| Video link: Beep! Beep! Outta the Way! | |
| Todd Chappelle | http://www.toddchappelle.com |
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Todd Chappelle is a comedy songwriter who does a mix of funny original songs and parodies. His music is influenced by such artists as Weird Al Yankovic and Tom Lehrer. Todd’s music has been heard on The Dr. Demento Show, CNN Radio, the BBC and Good Day Philadelphia. He is a past winner of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest, and he appeared in the PBS programs “Dela-Where?” (2015), “Dela-Where? 2” (2015), “Dela-Where Else?” (2016) and “Counter Culture” (2019). With a quick wit and a powerful voice, Todd is a dynamic live act who has performed at the New York Funny Songs Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Chicago Comedy Rock Festival, along with numerous venues throughout the Northeast. |
| Video link: Go See Alice | |
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Spotlight Night at the Troubadour features four sets of stage-worthy artists from the Project’s roster of performing professionals, preceded by an hour (6:30 to 7:30) of exquisite hors d’oeuvres so our community can socialize with new friends and old. This is our Generations edition, pairing four fathers who raised their offspring in each family’s musical tradition.
It’s a night guaranteed to pull on your heart strings, tickle your ears, fill your belly, and grow your community.
********************************************************
Alan LeBoeuf and Elizabeth LeBoeuf
Alan LeBoeuf, as a member of RCA records trio ‘Baillie and the Boys’ had 6 top ten hits on the country charts, sang background vocals for Randy Travis, Marie Osmond, Marty Stewart, the Ramones, and many others. Alan portrayed ‘Paul McCartney’ more than 1000 times on Broadway in ‘Beatlemania’ (‘77-‘79) and ‘Rain’ (2010).
Elizabeth LeBoeuf is studying for her Masters degree in creative music technology at Ramapo College, in Mahwah, NJ, where she also studies, engineering, producing, and live performance.”
Andrew Dunn and Hannah Dunn
Andrew Dunn has been writing his own music for over 35 years. He discovered the Folk Project when he was 17 years old, and it shaped who he is. It’s only fitting that he would eventually introduce his family to the Folk Project as well.
And it obviously worked on Hannah. She started writing during the pandemic and has been steadily making a name for herself.
Dad just wants to drive her tour bus.
Sam Edelston and Teddy Parker
Sam Edelston grew up in the Folk Project, evolving from a young songwriter/fingerstyle guitarist to a prominent mountain dulcimer performer, teacher, and innovator. He plays anything from folk music to Tin Pan Alley to hard rock, around the country and online. He’s gone viral twice, with electric dulcimer covers of “Whole Lotta Love” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Sam was a Presenters Showcase artist at NERFA 2025. His groundbreaking 2024 CD, “MAKING WAVES,” is the first studio album to feature a mountain dulcimer fronting a Classic Rock band. He’s performed at Troubadour or Getaway in every decade since the ‘70s.
Teddy Parker is an even better musician than their father, but is still building their resume. Teddy is a lifelong Folk Project member and frequent Troubadour performer. They’re an award-winning songwriter who, along with piano, also plays mandolin, violin, and bass. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, they’ve been living in NYC, performing solo and with their theatrical pop rock band Teddy Hold On, teaching private music lessons, and songwriting professionally. They co-wrote 17 songs that appear in the popular PC video game “Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.” Teddy Hold On has released one EP, “Crying in Public.” ”
John Hone and Molly Hone
John Hone has been a member of the Folk Project for over ten years and is grateful for the friendships he’s made in this wonderful musical community. He performs solo and with fellow Folk Project member Diane Polledri in their Aloft Trio. John writes and performs original compositions as well and is working on his first CD.
Molly Hone has been playing music since her dad, John, gave her her first guitar for her sixteenth birthday. She has been writing her own songs for nearly as long.
John and Molly have performed together many times over the past 15 years.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
James Keelaghan, hailed by leading critics as Canada’s finest singer-songwriter, is a defining voice in folk and roots music. For nearly 25 years, he has crafted songs with passion, precision, and curiosity, earning a reputation as a poet laureate of the genre. Known for his distinctive craftsmanship and narrative depth, Keelaghan blends historical storytelling with deeply personal reflections on human experience. His nine recordings have captivated audiences worldwide, from Australia to Scandinavia, garnering awards and acclaim. A disciplined visionary with a love of language, history, and melody, Keelaghan connects powerfully with listeners through masterful storytelling and compelling live performances.
David Woodhead is a versatile musician deeply rooted in independent music, known for a distinctive melodic and textural style adaptable to many settings. With credits on nearly 300 recordings, he has collaborated with influential artists including Stan Rogers, Gil Scott-Heron, David Sanborn, and James Keelaghan, touring internationally and performing with ensembles ranging from jazz and classical-folk to global and improvisational projects. An experienced educator and Banff Centre resident artist, Woodhead’s own music blends folk intimacy, jazz harmony, and classical precision with space for improvisation. His projects range from the adventurous Confabulation ensemble to the folk-jazz chamber-focused Oriana Quartet.
Shanna in a Dress is your quirky best friend who refuses to wear pants. She says what everyone has felt but no one else will say and you’ll get an uncensored journey of clever humor and heartbreak, extreme candor, and a hefty side of entertainment at her shows. This witty wordsmith is known for taking you on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes within the same song. Think John Prine mixed with Ingrid Michaelson with a twist of Phoebe Buffay from Friends all wrapped up in a sweet voice accented by guitar, piano, and ukulele.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.
Too tough for folk and too blues-influenced for country, LYNNE HANSON’s brand of porch music with a little red dirt can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full on thunderstorm of gritty Americana swamp from one song to the next. Her hard living music has garnered her the nickname “Canada’s own Queen of Americana,” and she has an uncanny way of connecting with her audience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming. And while her deep, bluesy croon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, it’s the poetry of her lyrics that really sets her apart.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Rob Flax is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, classically trained at the New England Conservatory but known for his jazz and improvisational pyrotechnics and irresistible grooves, plus a deep knowledge of American fiddle traditions. He’s also a powerhouse vocalist, capable of silky crooning a la Nat King Cole or visceral Chicago blues shouts, and a consummate songwriter with lyrical depth to complement the instrumental virtuosity.
From performing with icons like B.B. King and Tower of Power to collaborating with Jacob Collier and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rob’s versatility shines across genres. As a composer, he’s contributed to film, choreography, and original projects. In his “One Man Band” shows, Rob uses a looper pedal to transform his violin into a symphony, alongside guitar, piano, and percussion
Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio consists of Rob Flax, Slava Tolstoy, and Chris Sartori. They Bring together energetic virtuoso violin, guitar, upright bass, plus three part vocals, elevating Rob’s eclectic originals with intricate instrumental interplay, tight vocal harmonies, and irreverent humor.
Slava Tolstoy studied guitar performance at St. Petersburg Jazz School and earned a BA from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He founded the “International String Trio”.
Chris Sartori is the upright bass which anchors everything with an undeniable, articulate groove. He is a member of Twisted Pine and a graduate of the Jazz program at Umass, Amherst.
Jesse Ruben is a singer/songwriter best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows. He’ll make you feel a lot of feelings.His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows. He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. After dealing with a four-year battle with Lyme disease, he is touring in support of his new album, Belong. The powerful lyrical storytelling of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Jesse Ruben has been described as “a cup of hot cocoa for your ears…his music does more than inspire, it comforts.” He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows, but it is his standout live performances that will capture your heart.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
“Extraordinary English acoustic guitar virtuoso Chris Newman and legendary Irish harpist and tradition-bearer, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, are internationally celebrated icons of Celtic folk music. Expect a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, played with dazzling virtuosity and spellbinding lyricism.
Chris has toured with many luminaries of the folk and jazz worlds and his recent groundbreaking solo album, ‘Breaking Bach’, was “Dazzling… utterly breathtaking… a triumph” * * * * * FOLK WALES Máire is “an absolute legend” THE IRISH ECHO and a recipient of Irish traditional music’s most prestigious award, Musician of the Year (Gradam Ceoil TG4).
Spencer LaJoye is making queer indie folk music for everyone. They are a coast-to-coast singer/songwriter and vocal loop artist with Midwest roots, a classically-trained violinist with an inner theater kid’s love of group choreography, and a student of Americana music with a theology degree hanging in their studio. The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition winner and 2024 Songwriter Serenade winner has been writing and touring their autobiographical folk songs for over a decade, but their viral 2021 anthem “Plowshare Prayer” secured them a permanent place in hearts and households across the world, as well as a peculiar career as a veracious songsmith with an unshakeable pastoral presence. Charming and banter-heavy, Spencer’s performances keep audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next.
*** Admission: $35/$30 (FP members)***
Richard Shindell lives as both an immigrant and emigrant, crossing thresholds, that informs his illumination of the human experience through narrative song. Shindell has inhabited a Zen Buddhist monastery and busked in the streets of Paris.
Originally from New York, now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. Meticulously recorded over three years in New York and Buenos Aires, his most recent release, Careless, offered an ambitious, luxurious, full- length statement. Shindell immersed himself in the studio, allowing the time and latitude to explore, experiment, take risks—to play as each of these eleven songs was given form and substance. While his signature acoustic guitar style is used to good effect, Careless also found Shindell plugging in more.
“The wider sonic and dynamic range of the electric has been a real inspiration.
Rejuvenating.””
North Carolina singer-songwriter Jess Klein performs her Americana/folk-rock originals with a “voice of unblinking tenacity” (New York Times). Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience. Hailed as “a major talent” (Billboard), Jess has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR’s All Things Considered, performed at the Newport, Winnipeg, Falcon Ridge and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, and shared stages with Arlo Guthrie, Josh Ritter, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Alejandro Escovedo. Jess’s live shows are known for their intimate and soulful atmosphere; her emotive vocals and poignant storytelling invite her fans on a journey through themes of love, loss, and resilience.
Jess Klein came to this world to pull firebrand power and childlike joy from our darkest shadows. Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Dan Rodriguez is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in hard work, open roads, and deep love of home. Raised in the suburbs of Detroit, he moved to Minneapolis at 18 to study music and stayed, embracing the snow, the seasons, and the sturdy Midwestern spirit that now shapes his sound.
A whiskey-and-beer-drinking, fishing-and-hunting-loving, motorcycle-riding, good-food-appreciating family man, Rodriguez shares his life with his wife and their two sons, Oak and Alder. That grounded, back-to-basics lifestyle runs through his songwriting, where blue-collar grit meets heartfelt reflection.
Music is his trade and performing is his calling. Whether he’s in the studio crafting songs, out on the road bringing them to audiences, tending backyard chickens, tapping city maples for syrup, or pulling vegetables from his wife’s thriving garden, Rodriguez lives the kind of life he writes about: honest, rooted, and real.
Danielle Miraglia hits the stage with a strong, steady thumb on her old Gibson and an infectious stomp-box rhythm, delivering songs that range from deeply heartfelt to fiercely socially conscious. Her performances are equal parts grit and groove, moving both your heart and your hips.
Her latest release, Bright Shining Stars, debuted at #15 on the Billboard Blues Chart. The Cascade Blues Association praised it as “…tough as rawhide, but smooth as blended whiskey.” Released on the Vizztone Label Group, the album captures the powerful one-woman-band sound Miraglia has honed over years of live performance. This solo acoustic folk-blues recording features guest appearances by Laurence Scudder, Peter Parcek, and Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt.
Alongside her compelling originals, Miraglia includes select covers from her live repertoire, paying homage to influences such as Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin. The title track, “Bright Shining Stars,” was written by her husband, Tom Bianchi, adding a personal touch to an album that reflects both her roots and her evolution as an artist.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Claudia Schmidt brings her exuberant music and love of humanity back to the Troubadour! With her multi-octave voice, 12 string guitar and mountain dulcimer, she weaves together song, story and spoken word in a one-of-a-kind presentation that will fill your heart and refresh your soul. After more than 50 years of writing and performing, she is as strong as ever, sharing her wonder and amazement at the world and all the creatures, including us, who inhabit it. She recently released her 22nd album, Reimagining, and is working on new material for yet another release in the not-too-distant future. Come and get energized, humorized and harmonized!
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Pat Wictor makes his home in many musical worlds. Grounded in rural blues and gospel traditions, Wictor’s lean, poetic songs and expressive guitar playing are seasoned with jazz, pop, improvisational surprise, philosophy and social commentary.
Pat’s most recent CD, FLARE, a meditation on political division in America, was called “brilliant” by WFUV’s John Platt, and reached #1 on the Folk-DJ charts. Wictor currently tours solo and in a variety of duos, and is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on guitar, songwriting, body percussion, and vocal and instrumental improvisation.”
Comedy Song Night at the Troubadour is a spectacular spectacle where frivolity rules, decorum goes out the window, and laughter’s delivered by the barrel. Four national comedic treasures – David Roth, Rob Parvonian, Todd Chapelle and Host of Hilarity Carla Ulbrich – put their clever insights, playful parodies and laugh-out-loud observations to music. Come ready to laugh, sing along, and thoroughly enjoy this entertaining combination of melody and comedy.
***********************************************************************************
| Carla Ulbrich | https://www.carlau.com |
|
Carla Ulbrich is a comical singer-songwriter who is often compared to Tom Lehrer or Weird Al. She has a love of the absurdities of ordinary life, and a way with words. She has performed her clever songs in 34 states and 3 countries. Carla’s 9 CDs have been featured on the BBC, Dr. Demento, Sirius XM Comedy Radio, the USA Network, PBS, and NPR’s Weekend Edition.
|
| Video link: Carla Ulbrich live Demo 2025 | |
| David Roth | https://davidrothmusic.com |
|
David Roth is a singer, songwriter, music educator, and recording artist whose songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, Peter, Paul, & Mary and Kingston Trio CDs, NASA’s Goddard Space Center (his song “Rocket Science” sailed on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009), the Rise Up Singing and Rise Again (sequel) songbooks, and 15 CDs on the Wind River and Stockfisch (Germany) labels. The Chicago native is also the Executive Director of SummerSongs songwriting camp (NY), the Cape Cod Songwriters Retreats, and host/founder of the Cape’s Full Moon Open Mic (entering its 21st year), providing a forum for community-building and raising money for local non-profits to help neighbors in need. |
| Video link: Practice makes Progress | |
| Rob Paravonian | https://robprocks.com |
|
Rob Paravonian is a standup comedian known the world over for his Pachelbel Rant and viral videos which have been viewed millions of times. With the mind of a comedian and the soul of a musician, Rob Paravonian seamlessly fuses sharp comedy performances with top notch musicianship. Rob has opened for George Carlin and Lily Tomlin and has toured everywhere from Alaska to Afghanistan. His songs and performances have appeared on Comedy Central, VH1, SiriusXM, The Dr. Demento Show, and more. |
| Video link: Beep! Beep! Outta the Way! | |
| Todd Chappelle | http://www.toddchappelle.com |
|
Todd Chappelle is a comedy songwriter who does a mix of funny original songs and parodies. His music is influenced by such artists as Weird Al Yankovic and Tom Lehrer. Todd’s music has been heard on The Dr. Demento Show, CNN Radio, the BBC and Good Day Philadelphia. He is a past winner of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest, and he appeared in the PBS programs “Dela-Where?” (2015), “Dela-Where? 2” (2015), “Dela-Where Else?” (2016) and “Counter Culture” (2019). With a quick wit and a powerful voice, Todd is a dynamic live act who has performed at the New York Funny Songs Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Chicago Comedy Rock Festival, along with numerous venues throughout the Northeast. |
| Video link: Go See Alice | |
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Spotlight Night at the Troubadour features four sets of stage-worthy artists from the Project’s roster of performing professionals, preceded by an hour (6:30 to 7:30) of exquisite hors d’oeuvres so our community can socialize with new friends and old. This is our Generations edition, pairing four fathers who raised their offspring in each family’s musical tradition.
It’s a night guaranteed to pull on your heart strings, tickle your ears, fill your belly, and grow your community.
********************************************************
Alan LeBoeuf and Elizabeth LeBoeuf
Alan LeBoeuf, as a member of RCA records trio ‘Baillie and the Boys’ had 6 top ten hits on the country charts, sang background vocals for Randy Travis, Marie Osmond, Marty Stewart, the Ramones, and many others. Alan portrayed ‘Paul McCartney’ more than 1000 times on Broadway in ‘Beatlemania’ (‘77-‘79) and ‘Rain’ (2010).
Elizabeth LeBoeuf is studying for her Masters degree in creative music technology at Ramapo College, in Mahwah, NJ, where she also studies, engineering, producing, and live performance.”
Andrew Dunn and Hannah Dunn
Andrew Dunn has been writing his own music for over 35 years. He discovered the Folk Project when he was 17 years old, and it shaped who he is. It’s only fitting that he would eventually introduce his family to the Folk Project as well.
And it obviously worked on Hannah. She started writing during the pandemic and has been steadily making a name for herself.
Dad just wants to drive her tour bus.
Sam Edelston and Teddy Parker
Sam Edelston grew up in the Folk Project, evolving from a young songwriter/fingerstyle guitarist to a prominent mountain dulcimer performer, teacher, and innovator. He plays anything from folk music to Tin Pan Alley to hard rock, around the country and online. He’s gone viral twice, with electric dulcimer covers of “Whole Lotta Love” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Sam was a Presenters Showcase artist at NERFA 2025. His groundbreaking 2024 CD, “MAKING WAVES,” is the first studio album to feature a mountain dulcimer fronting a Classic Rock band. He’s performed at Troubadour or Getaway in every decade since the ‘70s.
Teddy Parker is an even better musician than their father, but is still building their resume. Teddy is a lifelong Folk Project member and frequent Troubadour performer. They’re an award-winning songwriter who, along with piano, also plays mandolin, violin, and bass. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, they’ve been living in NYC, performing solo and with their theatrical pop rock band Teddy Hold On, teaching private music lessons, and songwriting professionally. They co-wrote 17 songs that appear in the popular PC video game “Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.” Teddy Hold On has released one EP, “Crying in Public.” ”
John Hone and Molly Hone
John Hone has been a member of the Folk Project for over ten years and is grateful for the friendships he’s made in this wonderful musical community. He performs solo and with fellow Folk Project member Diane Polledri in their Aloft Trio. John writes and performs original compositions as well and is working on his first CD.
Molly Hone has been playing music since her dad, John, gave her her first guitar for her sixteenth birthday. She has been writing her own songs for nearly as long.
John and Molly have performed together many times over the past 15 years.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
James Keelaghan, hailed by leading critics as Canada’s finest singer-songwriter, is a defining voice in folk and roots music. For nearly 25 years, he has crafted songs with passion, precision, and curiosity, earning a reputation as a poet laureate of the genre. Known for his distinctive craftsmanship and narrative depth, Keelaghan blends historical storytelling with deeply personal reflections on human experience. His nine recordings have captivated audiences worldwide, from Australia to Scandinavia, garnering awards and acclaim. A disciplined visionary with a love of language, history, and melody, Keelaghan connects powerfully with listeners through masterful storytelling and compelling live performances.
David Woodhead is a versatile musician deeply rooted in independent music, known for a distinctive melodic and textural style adaptable to many settings. With credits on nearly 300 recordings, he has collaborated with influential artists including Stan Rogers, Gil Scott-Heron, David Sanborn, and James Keelaghan, touring internationally and performing with ensembles ranging from jazz and classical-folk to global and improvisational projects. An experienced educator and Banff Centre resident artist, Woodhead’s own music blends folk intimacy, jazz harmony, and classical precision with space for improvisation. His projects range from the adventurous Confabulation ensemble to the folk-jazz chamber-focused Oriana Quartet.
Shanna in a Dress is your quirky best friend who refuses to wear pants. She says what everyone has felt but no one else will say and you’ll get an uncensored journey of clever humor and heartbreak, extreme candor, and a hefty side of entertainment at her shows. This witty wordsmith is known for taking you on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes within the same song. Think John Prine mixed with Ingrid Michaelson with a twist of Phoebe Buffay from Friends all wrapped up in a sweet voice accented by guitar, piano, and ukulele.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.
Too tough for folk and too blues-influenced for country, LYNNE HANSON’s brand of porch music with a little red dirt can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full on thunderstorm of gritty Americana swamp from one song to the next. Her hard living music has garnered her the nickname “Canada’s own Queen of Americana,” and she has an uncanny way of connecting with her audience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming. And while her deep, bluesy croon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, it’s the poetry of her lyrics that really sets her apart.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Rob Flax is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, classically trained at the New England Conservatory but known for his jazz and improvisational pyrotechnics and irresistible grooves, plus a deep knowledge of American fiddle traditions. He’s also a powerhouse vocalist, capable of silky crooning a la Nat King Cole or visceral Chicago blues shouts, and a consummate songwriter with lyrical depth to complement the instrumental virtuosity.
From performing with icons like B.B. King and Tower of Power to collaborating with Jacob Collier and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rob’s versatility shines across genres. As a composer, he’s contributed to film, choreography, and original projects. In his “One Man Band” shows, Rob uses a looper pedal to transform his violin into a symphony, alongside guitar, piano, and percussion
Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio consists of Rob Flax, Slava Tolstoy, and Chris Sartori. They Bring together energetic virtuoso violin, guitar, upright bass, plus three part vocals, elevating Rob’s eclectic originals with intricate instrumental interplay, tight vocal harmonies, and irreverent humor.
Slava Tolstoy studied guitar performance at St. Petersburg Jazz School and earned a BA from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He founded the “International String Trio”.
Chris Sartori is the upright bass which anchors everything with an undeniable, articulate groove. He is a member of Twisted Pine and a graduate of the Jazz program at Umass, Amherst.
Jesse Ruben is a singer/songwriter best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows. He’ll make you feel a lot of feelings.His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows. He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. After dealing with a four-year battle with Lyme disease, he is touring in support of his new album, Belong. The powerful lyrical storytelling of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Jesse Ruben has been described as “a cup of hot cocoa for your ears…his music does more than inspire, it comforts.” He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows, but it is his standout live performances that will capture your heart.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
“Extraordinary English acoustic guitar virtuoso Chris Newman and legendary Irish harpist and tradition-bearer, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, are internationally celebrated icons of Celtic folk music. Expect a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, played with dazzling virtuosity and spellbinding lyricism.
Chris has toured with many luminaries of the folk and jazz worlds and his recent groundbreaking solo album, ‘Breaking Bach’, was “Dazzling… utterly breathtaking… a triumph” * * * * * FOLK WALES Máire is “an absolute legend” THE IRISH ECHO and a recipient of Irish traditional music’s most prestigious award, Musician of the Year (Gradam Ceoil TG4).
Spencer LaJoye is making queer indie folk music for everyone. They are a coast-to-coast singer/songwriter and vocal loop artist with Midwest roots, a classically-trained violinist with an inner theater kid’s love of group choreography, and a student of Americana music with a theology degree hanging in their studio. The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition winner and 2024 Songwriter Serenade winner has been writing and touring their autobiographical folk songs for over a decade, but their viral 2021 anthem “Plowshare Prayer” secured them a permanent place in hearts and households across the world, as well as a peculiar career as a veracious songsmith with an unshakeable pastoral presence. Charming and banter-heavy, Spencer’s performances keep audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next.
*** Admission: $35/$30 (FP members)***
Richard Shindell lives as both an immigrant and emigrant, crossing thresholds, that informs his illumination of the human experience through narrative song. Shindell has inhabited a Zen Buddhist monastery and busked in the streets of Paris.
Originally from New York, now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. Meticulously recorded over three years in New York and Buenos Aires, his most recent release, Careless, offered an ambitious, luxurious, full- length statement. Shindell immersed himself in the studio, allowing the time and latitude to explore, experiment, take risks—to play as each of these eleven songs was given form and substance. While his signature acoustic guitar style is used to good effect, Careless also found Shindell plugging in more.
“The wider sonic and dynamic range of the electric has been a real inspiration.
Rejuvenating.””
North Carolina singer-songwriter Jess Klein performs her Americana/folk-rock originals with a “voice of unblinking tenacity” (New York Times). Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience. Hailed as “a major talent” (Billboard), Jess has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR’s All Things Considered, performed at the Newport, Winnipeg, Falcon Ridge and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, and shared stages with Arlo Guthrie, Josh Ritter, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Alejandro Escovedo. Jess’s live shows are known for their intimate and soulful atmosphere; her emotive vocals and poignant storytelling invite her fans on a journey through themes of love, loss, and resilience.
Jess Klein came to this world to pull firebrand power and childlike joy from our darkest shadows. Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Dan Rodriguez is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in hard work, open roads, and deep love of home. Raised in the suburbs of Detroit, he moved to Minneapolis at 18 to study music and stayed, embracing the snow, the seasons, and the sturdy Midwestern spirit that now shapes his sound.
A whiskey-and-beer-drinking, fishing-and-hunting-loving, motorcycle-riding, good-food-appreciating family man, Rodriguez shares his life with his wife and their two sons, Oak and Alder. That grounded, back-to-basics lifestyle runs through his songwriting, where blue-collar grit meets heartfelt reflection.
Music is his trade and performing is his calling. Whether he’s in the studio crafting songs, out on the road bringing them to audiences, tending backyard chickens, tapping city maples for syrup, or pulling vegetables from his wife’s thriving garden, Rodriguez lives the kind of life he writes about: honest, rooted, and real.
Danielle Miraglia hits the stage with a strong, steady thumb on her old Gibson and an infectious stomp-box rhythm, delivering songs that range from deeply heartfelt to fiercely socially conscious. Her performances are equal parts grit and groove, moving both your heart and your hips.
Her latest release, Bright Shining Stars, debuted at #15 on the Billboard Blues Chart. The Cascade Blues Association praised it as “…tough as rawhide, but smooth as blended whiskey.” Released on the Vizztone Label Group, the album captures the powerful one-woman-band sound Miraglia has honed over years of live performance. This solo acoustic folk-blues recording features guest appearances by Laurence Scudder, Peter Parcek, and Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt.
Alongside her compelling originals, Miraglia includes select covers from her live repertoire, paying homage to influences such as Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin. The title track, “Bright Shining Stars,” was written by her husband, Tom Bianchi, adding a personal touch to an album that reflects both her roots and her evolution as an artist.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Claudia Schmidt brings her exuberant music and love of humanity back to the Troubadour! With her multi-octave voice, 12 string guitar and mountain dulcimer, she weaves together song, story and spoken word in a one-of-a-kind presentation that will fill your heart and refresh your soul. After more than 50 years of writing and performing, she is as strong as ever, sharing her wonder and amazement at the world and all the creatures, including us, who inhabit it. She recently released her 22nd album, Reimagining, and is working on new material for yet another release in the not-too-distant future. Come and get energized, humorized and harmonized!
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Pat Wictor makes his home in many musical worlds. Grounded in rural blues and gospel traditions, Wictor’s lean, poetic songs and expressive guitar playing are seasoned with jazz, pop, improvisational surprise, philosophy and social commentary.
Pat’s most recent CD, FLARE, a meditation on political division in America, was called “brilliant” by WFUV’s John Platt, and reached #1 on the Folk-DJ charts. Wictor currently tours solo and in a variety of duos, and is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on guitar, songwriting, body percussion, and vocal and instrumental improvisation.”
Comedy Song Night at the Troubadour is a spectacular spectacle where frivolity rules, decorum goes out the window, and laughter’s delivered by the barrel. Four national comedic treasures – David Roth, Rob Parvonian, Todd Chapelle and Host of Hilarity Carla Ulbrich – put their clever insights, playful parodies and laugh-out-loud observations to music. Come ready to laugh, sing along, and thoroughly enjoy this entertaining combination of melody and comedy.
***********************************************************************************
| Carla Ulbrich | https://www.carlau.com |
|
Carla Ulbrich is a comical singer-songwriter who is often compared to Tom Lehrer or Weird Al. She has a love of the absurdities of ordinary life, and a way with words. She has performed her clever songs in 34 states and 3 countries. Carla’s 9 CDs have been featured on the BBC, Dr. Demento, Sirius XM Comedy Radio, the USA Network, PBS, and NPR’s Weekend Edition.
|
| Video link: Carla Ulbrich live Demo 2025 | |
| David Roth | https://davidrothmusic.com |
|
David Roth is a singer, songwriter, music educator, and recording artist whose songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, Peter, Paul, & Mary and Kingston Trio CDs, NASA’s Goddard Space Center (his song “Rocket Science” sailed on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009), the Rise Up Singing and Rise Again (sequel) songbooks, and 15 CDs on the Wind River and Stockfisch (Germany) labels. The Chicago native is also the Executive Director of SummerSongs songwriting camp (NY), the Cape Cod Songwriters Retreats, and host/founder of the Cape’s Full Moon Open Mic (entering its 21st year), providing a forum for community-building and raising money for local non-profits to help neighbors in need. |
| Video link: Practice makes Progress | |
| Rob Paravonian | https://robprocks.com |
|
Rob Paravonian is a standup comedian known the world over for his Pachelbel Rant and viral videos which have been viewed millions of times. With the mind of a comedian and the soul of a musician, Rob Paravonian seamlessly fuses sharp comedy performances with top notch musicianship. Rob has opened for George Carlin and Lily Tomlin and has toured everywhere from Alaska to Afghanistan. His songs and performances have appeared on Comedy Central, VH1, SiriusXM, The Dr. Demento Show, and more. |
| Video link: Beep! Beep! Outta the Way! | |
| Todd Chappelle | http://www.toddchappelle.com |
|
Todd Chappelle is a comedy songwriter who does a mix of funny original songs and parodies. His music is influenced by such artists as Weird Al Yankovic and Tom Lehrer. Todd’s music has been heard on The Dr. Demento Show, CNN Radio, the BBC and Good Day Philadelphia. He is a past winner of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest, and he appeared in the PBS programs “Dela-Where?” (2015), “Dela-Where? 2” (2015), “Dela-Where Else?” (2016) and “Counter Culture” (2019). With a quick wit and a powerful voice, Todd is a dynamic live act who has performed at the New York Funny Songs Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Chicago Comedy Rock Festival, along with numerous venues throughout the Northeast. |
| Video link: Go See Alice | |
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Spotlight Night at the Troubadour features four sets of stage-worthy artists from the Project’s roster of performing professionals, preceded by an hour (6:30 to 7:30) of exquisite hors d’oeuvres so our community can socialize with new friends and old. This is our Generations edition, pairing four fathers who raised their offspring in each family’s musical tradition.
It’s a night guaranteed to pull on your heart strings, tickle your ears, fill your belly, and grow your community.
********************************************************
Alan LeBoeuf and Elizabeth LeBoeuf
Alan LeBoeuf, as a member of RCA records trio ‘Baillie and the Boys’ had 6 top ten hits on the country charts, sang background vocals for Randy Travis, Marie Osmond, Marty Stewart, the Ramones, and many others. Alan portrayed ‘Paul McCartney’ more than 1000 times on Broadway in ‘Beatlemania’ (‘77-‘79) and ‘Rain’ (2010).
Elizabeth LeBoeuf is studying for her Masters degree in creative music technology at Ramapo College, in Mahwah, NJ, where she also studies, engineering, producing, and live performance.”
Andrew Dunn and Hannah Dunn
Andrew Dunn has been writing his own music for over 35 years. He discovered the Folk Project when he was 17 years old, and it shaped who he is. It’s only fitting that he would eventually introduce his family to the Folk Project as well.
And it obviously worked on Hannah. She started writing during the pandemic and has been steadily making a name for herself.
Dad just wants to drive her tour bus.
Sam Edelston and Teddy Parker
Sam Edelston grew up in the Folk Project, evolving from a young songwriter/fingerstyle guitarist to a prominent mountain dulcimer performer, teacher, and innovator. He plays anything from folk music to Tin Pan Alley to hard rock, around the country and online. He’s gone viral twice, with electric dulcimer covers of “Whole Lotta Love” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Sam was a Presenters Showcase artist at NERFA 2025. His groundbreaking 2024 CD, “MAKING WAVES,” is the first studio album to feature a mountain dulcimer fronting a Classic Rock band. He’s performed at Troubadour or Getaway in every decade since the ‘70s.
Teddy Parker is an even better musician than their father, but is still building their resume. Teddy is a lifelong Folk Project member and frequent Troubadour performer. They’re an award-winning songwriter who, along with piano, also plays mandolin, violin, and bass. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, they’ve been living in NYC, performing solo and with their theatrical pop rock band Teddy Hold On, teaching private music lessons, and songwriting professionally. They co-wrote 17 songs that appear in the popular PC video game “Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.” Teddy Hold On has released one EP, “Crying in Public.” ”
John Hone and Molly Hone
John Hone has been a member of the Folk Project for over ten years and is grateful for the friendships he’s made in this wonderful musical community. He performs solo and with fellow Folk Project member Diane Polledri in their Aloft Trio. John writes and performs original compositions as well and is working on his first CD.
Molly Hone has been playing music since her dad, John, gave her her first guitar for her sixteenth birthday. She has been writing her own songs for nearly as long.
John and Molly have performed together many times over the past 15 years.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
James Keelaghan, hailed by leading critics as Canada’s finest singer-songwriter, is a defining voice in folk and roots music. For nearly 25 years, he has crafted songs with passion, precision, and curiosity, earning a reputation as a poet laureate of the genre. Known for his distinctive craftsmanship and narrative depth, Keelaghan blends historical storytelling with deeply personal reflections on human experience. His nine recordings have captivated audiences worldwide, from Australia to Scandinavia, garnering awards and acclaim. A disciplined visionary with a love of language, history, and melody, Keelaghan connects powerfully with listeners through masterful storytelling and compelling live performances.
David Woodhead is a versatile musician deeply rooted in independent music, known for a distinctive melodic and textural style adaptable to many settings. With credits on nearly 300 recordings, he has collaborated with influential artists including Stan Rogers, Gil Scott-Heron, David Sanborn, and James Keelaghan, touring internationally and performing with ensembles ranging from jazz and classical-folk to global and improvisational projects. An experienced educator and Banff Centre resident artist, Woodhead’s own music blends folk intimacy, jazz harmony, and classical precision with space for improvisation. His projects range from the adventurous Confabulation ensemble to the folk-jazz chamber-focused Oriana Quartet.
Shanna in a Dress is your quirky best friend who refuses to wear pants. She says what everyone has felt but no one else will say and you’ll get an uncensored journey of clever humor and heartbreak, extreme candor, and a hefty side of entertainment at her shows. This witty wordsmith is known for taking you on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes within the same song. Think John Prine mixed with Ingrid Michaelson with a twist of Phoebe Buffay from Friends all wrapped up in a sweet voice accented by guitar, piano, and ukulele.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.
Too tough for folk and too blues-influenced for country, LYNNE HANSON’s brand of porch music with a little red dirt can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full on thunderstorm of gritty Americana swamp from one song to the next. Her hard living music has garnered her the nickname “Canada’s own Queen of Americana,” and she has an uncanny way of connecting with her audience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming. And while her deep, bluesy croon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, it’s the poetry of her lyrics that really sets her apart.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Rob Flax is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, classically trained at the New England Conservatory but known for his jazz and improvisational pyrotechnics and irresistible grooves, plus a deep knowledge of American fiddle traditions. He’s also a powerhouse vocalist, capable of silky crooning a la Nat King Cole or visceral Chicago blues shouts, and a consummate songwriter with lyrical depth to complement the instrumental virtuosity.
From performing with icons like B.B. King and Tower of Power to collaborating with Jacob Collier and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rob’s versatility shines across genres. As a composer, he’s contributed to film, choreography, and original projects. In his “One Man Band” shows, Rob uses a looper pedal to transform his violin into a symphony, alongside guitar, piano, and percussion
Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio consists of Rob Flax, Slava Tolstoy, and Chris Sartori. They Bring together energetic virtuoso violin, guitar, upright bass, plus three part vocals, elevating Rob’s eclectic originals with intricate instrumental interplay, tight vocal harmonies, and irreverent humor.
Slava Tolstoy studied guitar performance at St. Petersburg Jazz School and earned a BA from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He founded the “International String Trio”.
Chris Sartori is the upright bass which anchors everything with an undeniable, articulate groove. He is a member of Twisted Pine and a graduate of the Jazz program at Umass, Amherst.
Jesse Ruben is a singer/songwriter best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows. He’ll make you feel a lot of feelings.His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows. He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. After dealing with a four-year battle with Lyme disease, he is touring in support of his new album, Belong. The powerful lyrical storytelling of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Jesse Ruben has been described as “a cup of hot cocoa for your ears…his music does more than inspire, it comforts.” He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows, but it is his standout live performances that will capture your heart.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
“Extraordinary English acoustic guitar virtuoso Chris Newman and legendary Irish harpist and tradition-bearer, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, are internationally celebrated icons of Celtic folk music. Expect a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, played with dazzling virtuosity and spellbinding lyricism.
Chris has toured with many luminaries of the folk and jazz worlds and his recent groundbreaking solo album, ‘Breaking Bach’, was “Dazzling… utterly breathtaking… a triumph” * * * * * FOLK WALES Máire is “an absolute legend” THE IRISH ECHO and a recipient of Irish traditional music’s most prestigious award, Musician of the Year (Gradam Ceoil TG4).
Spencer LaJoye is making queer indie folk music for everyone. They are a coast-to-coast singer/songwriter and vocal loop artist with Midwest roots, a classically-trained violinist with an inner theater kid’s love of group choreography, and a student of Americana music with a theology degree hanging in their studio. The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition winner and 2024 Songwriter Serenade winner has been writing and touring their autobiographical folk songs for over a decade, but their viral 2021 anthem “Plowshare Prayer” secured them a permanent place in hearts and households across the world, as well as a peculiar career as a veracious songsmith with an unshakeable pastoral presence. Charming and banter-heavy, Spencer’s performances keep audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next.
*** Admission: $35/$30 (FP members)***
Richard Shindell lives as both an immigrant and emigrant, crossing thresholds, that informs his illumination of the human experience through narrative song. Shindell has inhabited a Zen Buddhist monastery and busked in the streets of Paris.
Originally from New York, now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. Meticulously recorded over three years in New York and Buenos Aires, his most recent release, Careless, offered an ambitious, luxurious, full- length statement. Shindell immersed himself in the studio, allowing the time and latitude to explore, experiment, take risks—to play as each of these eleven songs was given form and substance. While his signature acoustic guitar style is used to good effect, Careless also found Shindell plugging in more.
“The wider sonic and dynamic range of the electric has been a real inspiration.
Rejuvenating.””
North Carolina singer-songwriter Jess Klein performs her Americana/folk-rock originals with a “voice of unblinking tenacity” (New York Times). Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience. Hailed as “a major talent” (Billboard), Jess has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR’s All Things Considered, performed at the Newport, Winnipeg, Falcon Ridge and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, and shared stages with Arlo Guthrie, Josh Ritter, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Alejandro Escovedo. Jess’s live shows are known for their intimate and soulful atmosphere; her emotive vocals and poignant storytelling invite her fans on a journey through themes of love, loss, and resilience.
Jess Klein came to this world to pull firebrand power and childlike joy from our darkest shadows. Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Dan Rodriguez is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in hard work, open roads, and deep love of home. Raised in the suburbs of Detroit, he moved to Minneapolis at 18 to study music and stayed, embracing the snow, the seasons, and the sturdy Midwestern spirit that now shapes his sound.
A whiskey-and-beer-drinking, fishing-and-hunting-loving, motorcycle-riding, good-food-appreciating family man, Rodriguez shares his life with his wife and their two sons, Oak and Alder. That grounded, back-to-basics lifestyle runs through his songwriting, where blue-collar grit meets heartfelt reflection.
Music is his trade and performing is his calling. Whether he’s in the studio crafting songs, out on the road bringing them to audiences, tending backyard chickens, tapping city maples for syrup, or pulling vegetables from his wife’s thriving garden, Rodriguez lives the kind of life he writes about: honest, rooted, and real.
Danielle Miraglia hits the stage with a strong, steady thumb on her old Gibson and an infectious stomp-box rhythm, delivering songs that range from deeply heartfelt to fiercely socially conscious. Her performances are equal parts grit and groove, moving both your heart and your hips.
Her latest release, Bright Shining Stars, debuted at #15 on the Billboard Blues Chart. The Cascade Blues Association praised it as “…tough as rawhide, but smooth as blended whiskey.” Released on the Vizztone Label Group, the album captures the powerful one-woman-band sound Miraglia has honed over years of live performance. This solo acoustic folk-blues recording features guest appearances by Laurence Scudder, Peter Parcek, and Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt.
Alongside her compelling originals, Miraglia includes select covers from her live repertoire, paying homage to influences such as Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin. The title track, “Bright Shining Stars,” was written by her husband, Tom Bianchi, adding a personal touch to an album that reflects both her roots and her evolution as an artist.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Claudia Schmidt brings her exuberant music and love of humanity back to the Troubadour! With her multi-octave voice, 12 string guitar and mountain dulcimer, she weaves together song, story and spoken word in a one-of-a-kind presentation that will fill your heart and refresh your soul. After more than 50 years of writing and performing, she is as strong as ever, sharing her wonder and amazement at the world and all the creatures, including us, who inhabit it. She recently released her 22nd album, Reimagining, and is working on new material for yet another release in the not-too-distant future. Come and get energized, humorized and harmonized!
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Pat Wictor makes his home in many musical worlds. Grounded in rural blues and gospel traditions, Wictor’s lean, poetic songs and expressive guitar playing are seasoned with jazz, pop, improvisational surprise, philosophy and social commentary.
Pat’s most recent CD, FLARE, a meditation on political division in America, was called “brilliant” by WFUV’s John Platt, and reached #1 on the Folk-DJ charts. Wictor currently tours solo and in a variety of duos, and is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on guitar, songwriting, body percussion, and vocal and instrumental improvisation.”
Comedy Song Night at the Troubadour is a spectacular spectacle where frivolity rules, decorum goes out the window, and laughter’s delivered by the barrel. Four national comedic treasures – David Roth, Rob Parvonian, Todd Chapelle and Host of Hilarity Carla Ulbrich – put their clever insights, playful parodies and laugh-out-loud observations to music. Come ready to laugh, sing along, and thoroughly enjoy this entertaining combination of melody and comedy.
***********************************************************************************
| Carla Ulbrich | https://www.carlau.com |
|
Carla Ulbrich is a comical singer-songwriter who is often compared to Tom Lehrer or Weird Al. She has a love of the absurdities of ordinary life, and a way with words. She has performed her clever songs in 34 states and 3 countries. Carla’s 9 CDs have been featured on the BBC, Dr. Demento, Sirius XM Comedy Radio, the USA Network, PBS, and NPR’s Weekend Edition.
|
| Video link: Carla Ulbrich live Demo 2025 | |
| David Roth | https://davidrothmusic.com |
|
David Roth is a singer, songwriter, music educator, and recording artist whose songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, Peter, Paul, & Mary and Kingston Trio CDs, NASA’s Goddard Space Center (his song “Rocket Science” sailed on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009), the Rise Up Singing and Rise Again (sequel) songbooks, and 15 CDs on the Wind River and Stockfisch (Germany) labels. The Chicago native is also the Executive Director of SummerSongs songwriting camp (NY), the Cape Cod Songwriters Retreats, and host/founder of the Cape’s Full Moon Open Mic (entering its 21st year), providing a forum for community-building and raising money for local non-profits to help neighbors in need. |
| Video link: Practice makes Progress | |
| Rob Paravonian | https://robprocks.com |
|
Rob Paravonian is a standup comedian known the world over for his Pachelbel Rant and viral videos which have been viewed millions of times. With the mind of a comedian and the soul of a musician, Rob Paravonian seamlessly fuses sharp comedy performances with top notch musicianship. Rob has opened for George Carlin and Lily Tomlin and has toured everywhere from Alaska to Afghanistan. His songs and performances have appeared on Comedy Central, VH1, SiriusXM, The Dr. Demento Show, and more. |
| Video link: Beep! Beep! Outta the Way! | |
| Todd Chappelle | http://www.toddchappelle.com |
|
Todd Chappelle is a comedy songwriter who does a mix of funny original songs and parodies. His music is influenced by such artists as Weird Al Yankovic and Tom Lehrer. Todd’s music has been heard on The Dr. Demento Show, CNN Radio, the BBC and Good Day Philadelphia. He is a past winner of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest, and he appeared in the PBS programs “Dela-Where?” (2015), “Dela-Where? 2” (2015), “Dela-Where Else?” (2016) and “Counter Culture” (2019). With a quick wit and a powerful voice, Todd is a dynamic live act who has performed at the New York Funny Songs Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Chicago Comedy Rock Festival, along with numerous venues throughout the Northeast. |
| Video link: Go See Alice | |
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Spotlight Night at the Troubadour features four sets of stage-worthy artists from the Project’s roster of performing professionals, preceded by an hour (6:30 to 7:30) of exquisite hors d’oeuvres so our community can socialize with new friends and old. This is our Generations edition, pairing four fathers who raised their offspring in each family’s musical tradition.
It’s a night guaranteed to pull on your heart strings, tickle your ears, fill your belly, and grow your community.
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Alan LeBoeuf and Elizabeth LeBoeuf
Alan LeBoeuf, as a member of RCA records trio ‘Baillie and the Boys’ had 6 top ten hits on the country charts, sang background vocals for Randy Travis, Marie Osmond, Marty Stewart, the Ramones, and many others. Alan portrayed ‘Paul McCartney’ more than 1000 times on Broadway in ‘Beatlemania’ (‘77-‘79) and ‘Rain’ (2010).
Elizabeth LeBoeuf is studying for her Masters degree in creative music technology at Ramapo College, in Mahwah, NJ, where she also studies, engineering, producing, and live performance.”
Andrew Dunn and Hannah Dunn
Andrew Dunn has been writing his own music for over 35 years. He discovered the Folk Project when he was 17 years old, and it shaped who he is. It’s only fitting that he would eventually introduce his family to the Folk Project as well.
And it obviously worked on Hannah. She started writing during the pandemic and has been steadily making a name for herself.
Dad just wants to drive her tour bus.
Sam Edelston and Teddy Parker
Sam Edelston grew up in the Folk Project, evolving from a young songwriter/fingerstyle guitarist to a prominent mountain dulcimer performer, teacher, and innovator. He plays anything from folk music to Tin Pan Alley to hard rock, around the country and online. He’s gone viral twice, with electric dulcimer covers of “Whole Lotta Love” and “I Wanna Be Sedated.” Sam was a Presenters Showcase artist at NERFA 2025. His groundbreaking 2024 CD, “MAKING WAVES,” is the first studio album to feature a mountain dulcimer fronting a Classic Rock band. He’s performed at Troubadour or Getaway in every decade since the ‘70s.
Teddy Parker is an even better musician than their father, but is still building their resume. Teddy is a lifelong Folk Project member and frequent Troubadour performer. They’re an award-winning songwriter who, along with piano, also plays mandolin, violin, and bass. Since graduating from Berklee College of Music, they’ve been living in NYC, performing solo and with their theatrical pop rock band Teddy Hold On, teaching private music lessons, and songwriting professionally. They co-wrote 17 songs that appear in the popular PC video game “Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.” Teddy Hold On has released one EP, “Crying in Public.” ”
John Hone and Molly Hone
John Hone has been a member of the Folk Project for over ten years and is grateful for the friendships he’s made in this wonderful musical community. He performs solo and with fellow Folk Project member Diane Polledri in their Aloft Trio. John writes and performs original compositions as well and is working on his first CD.
Molly Hone has been playing music since her dad, John, gave her her first guitar for her sixteenth birthday. She has been writing her own songs for nearly as long.
John and Molly have performed together many times over the past 15 years.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
James Keelaghan, hailed by leading critics as Canada’s finest singer-songwriter, is a defining voice in folk and roots music. For nearly 25 years, he has crafted songs with passion, precision, and curiosity, earning a reputation as a poet laureate of the genre. Known for his distinctive craftsmanship and narrative depth, Keelaghan blends historical storytelling with deeply personal reflections on human experience. His nine recordings have captivated audiences worldwide, from Australia to Scandinavia, garnering awards and acclaim. A disciplined visionary with a love of language, history, and melody, Keelaghan connects powerfully with listeners through masterful storytelling and compelling live performances.
David Woodhead is a versatile musician deeply rooted in independent music, known for a distinctive melodic and textural style adaptable to many settings. With credits on nearly 300 recordings, he has collaborated with influential artists including Stan Rogers, Gil Scott-Heron, David Sanborn, and James Keelaghan, touring internationally and performing with ensembles ranging from jazz and classical-folk to global and improvisational projects. An experienced educator and Banff Centre resident artist, Woodhead’s own music blends folk intimacy, jazz harmony, and classical precision with space for improvisation. His projects range from the adventurous Confabulation ensemble to the folk-jazz chamber-focused Oriana Quartet.
Shanna in a Dress is your quirky best friend who refuses to wear pants. She says what everyone has felt but no one else will say and you’ll get an uncensored journey of clever humor and heartbreak, extreme candor, and a hefty side of entertainment at her shows. This witty wordsmith is known for taking you on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes within the same song. Think John Prine mixed with Ingrid Michaelson with a twist of Phoebe Buffay from Friends all wrapped up in a sweet voice accented by guitar, piano, and ukulele.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.
Too tough for folk and too blues-influenced for country, LYNNE HANSON’s brand of porch music with a little red dirt can turn on a dime from a sunshine, blue sky ballad to a full on thunderstorm of gritty Americana swamp from one song to the next. Her hard living music has garnered her the nickname “Canada’s own Queen of Americana,” and she has an uncanny way of connecting with her audience with an authenticity that is as entertaining as it is disarming. And while her deep, bluesy croon has drawn comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch, it’s the poetry of her lyrics that really sets her apart.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Rob Flax is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator, classically trained at the New England Conservatory but known for his jazz and improvisational pyrotechnics and irresistible grooves, plus a deep knowledge of American fiddle traditions. He’s also a powerhouse vocalist, capable of silky crooning a la Nat King Cole or visceral Chicago blues shouts, and a consummate songwriter with lyrical depth to complement the instrumental virtuosity.
From performing with icons like B.B. King and Tower of Power to collaborating with Jacob Collier and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rob’s versatility shines across genres. As a composer, he’s contributed to film, choreography, and original projects. In his “One Man Band” shows, Rob uses a looper pedal to transform his violin into a symphony, alongside guitar, piano, and percussion
Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio consists of Rob Flax, Slava Tolstoy, and Chris Sartori. They Bring together energetic virtuoso violin, guitar, upright bass, plus three part vocals, elevating Rob’s eclectic originals with intricate instrumental interplay, tight vocal harmonies, and irreverent humor.
Slava Tolstoy studied guitar performance at St. Petersburg Jazz School and earned a BA from Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He founded the “International String Trio”.
Chris Sartori is the upright bass which anchors everything with an undeniable, articulate groove. He is a member of Twisted Pine and a graduate of the Jazz program at Umass, Amherst.
Jesse Ruben is a singer/songwriter best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows. He’ll make you feel a lot of feelings.His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows. He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. After dealing with a four-year battle with Lyme disease, he is touring in support of his new album, Belong. The powerful lyrical storytelling of Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Jesse Ruben has been described as “a cup of hot cocoa for your ears…his music does more than inspire, it comforts.” He has performed live on The TODAY Show and MTV Asia, and has been featured on NPR, and PBS. His songs have been streamed more than 75 million times and have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows, but it is his standout live performances that will capture your heart.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
“Extraordinary English acoustic guitar virtuoso Chris Newman and legendary Irish harpist and tradition-bearer, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, are internationally celebrated icons of Celtic folk music. Expect a breathtaking blend of traditional Irish music, hot jazz, bluegrass and baroque, played with dazzling virtuosity and spellbinding lyricism.
Chris has toured with many luminaries of the folk and jazz worlds and his recent groundbreaking solo album, ‘Breaking Bach’, was “Dazzling… utterly breathtaking… a triumph” * * * * * FOLK WALES Máire is “an absolute legend” THE IRISH ECHO and a recipient of Irish traditional music’s most prestigious award, Musician of the Year (Gradam Ceoil TG4).
Spencer LaJoye is making queer indie folk music for everyone. They are a coast-to-coast singer/songwriter and vocal loop artist with Midwest roots, a classically-trained violinist with an inner theater kid’s love of group choreography, and a student of Americana music with a theology degree hanging in their studio. The 2021 Kerrville Songwriting Competition winner and 2024 Songwriter Serenade winner has been writing and touring their autobiographical folk songs for over a decade, but their viral 2021 anthem “Plowshare Prayer” secured them a permanent place in hearts and households across the world, as well as a peculiar career as a veracious songsmith with an unshakeable pastoral presence. Charming and banter-heavy, Spencer’s performances keep audiences laughing one moment and weeping the next.
*** Admission: $35/$30 (FP members)***
Richard Shindell lives as both an immigrant and emigrant, crossing thresholds, that informs his illumination of the human experience through narrative song. Shindell has inhabited a Zen Buddhist monastery and busked in the streets of Paris.
Originally from New York, now living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Shindell is a writer whose songs paint pictures, tell stories, juxtapose ideas and images, inhabit characters, vividly evoking entire worlds along the way and expanding our sense of just what it is a song may be. Meticulously recorded over three years in New York and Buenos Aires, his most recent release, Careless, offered an ambitious, luxurious, full- length statement. Shindell immersed himself in the studio, allowing the time and latitude to explore, experiment, take risks—to play as each of these eleven songs was given form and substance. While his signature acoustic guitar style is used to good effect, Careless also found Shindell plugging in more.
“The wider sonic and dynamic range of the electric has been a real inspiration.
Rejuvenating.””
North Carolina singer-songwriter Jess Klein performs her Americana/folk-rock originals with a “voice of unblinking tenacity” (New York Times). Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience. Hailed as “a major talent” (Billboard), Jess has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR’s All Things Considered, performed at the Newport, Winnipeg, Falcon Ridge and Philadelphia Folk Festivals, and shared stages with Arlo Guthrie, Josh Ritter, Ani DiFranco, Steve Earle and Alejandro Escovedo. Jess’s live shows are known for their intimate and soulful atmosphere; her emotive vocals and poignant storytelling invite her fans on a journey through themes of love, loss, and resilience.
Jess Klein came to this world to pull firebrand power and childlike joy from our darkest shadows. Her acoustic-driven, hook-laden story songs revel in the polychrome of human experience – joy, rage, sensuality and resilience.
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.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Dan Rodriguez is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter whose music is rooted in hard work, open roads, and deep love of home. Raised in the suburbs of Detroit, he moved to Minneapolis at 18 to study music and stayed, embracing the snow, the seasons, and the sturdy Midwestern spirit that now shapes his sound.
A whiskey-and-beer-drinking, fishing-and-hunting-loving, motorcycle-riding, good-food-appreciating family man, Rodriguez shares his life with his wife and their two sons, Oak and Alder. That grounded, back-to-basics lifestyle runs through his songwriting, where blue-collar grit meets heartfelt reflection.
Music is his trade and performing is his calling. Whether he’s in the studio crafting songs, out on the road bringing them to audiences, tending backyard chickens, tapping city maples for syrup, or pulling vegetables from his wife’s thriving garden, Rodriguez lives the kind of life he writes about: honest, rooted, and real.
Danielle Miraglia hits the stage with a strong, steady thumb on her old Gibson and an infectious stomp-box rhythm, delivering songs that range from deeply heartfelt to fiercely socially conscious. Her performances are equal parts grit and groove, moving both your heart and your hips.
Her latest release, Bright Shining Stars, debuted at #15 on the Billboard Blues Chart. The Cascade Blues Association praised it as “…tough as rawhide, but smooth as blended whiskey.” Released on the Vizztone Label Group, the album captures the powerful one-woman-band sound Miraglia has honed over years of live performance. This solo acoustic folk-blues recording features guest appearances by Laurence Scudder, Peter Parcek, and Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt.
Alongside her compelling originals, Miraglia includes select covers from her live repertoire, paying homage to influences such as Big Bill Broonzy, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin. The title track, “Bright Shining Stars,” was written by her husband, Tom Bianchi, adding a personal touch to an album that reflects both her roots and her evolution as an artist.
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***
Claudia Schmidt brings her exuberant music and love of humanity back to the Troubadour! With her multi-octave voice, 12 string guitar and mountain dulcimer, she weaves together song, story and spoken word in a one-of-a-kind presentation that will fill your heart and refresh your soul. After more than 50 years of writing and performing, she is as strong as ever, sharing her wonder and amazement at the world and all the creatures, including us, who inhabit it. She recently released her 22nd album, Reimagining, and is working on new material for yet another release in the not-too-distant future. Come and get energized, humorized and harmonized!
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Pat Wictor makes his home in many musical worlds. Grounded in rural blues and gospel traditions, Wictor’s lean, poetic songs and expressive guitar playing are seasoned with jazz, pop, improvisational surprise, philosophy and social commentary.
Pat’s most recent CD, FLARE, a meditation on political division in America, was called “brilliant” by WFUV’s John Platt, and reached #1 on the Folk-DJ charts. Wictor currently tours solo and in a variety of duos, and is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on guitar, songwriting, body percussion, and vocal and instrumental improvisation.”
Comedy Song Night at the Troubadour is a spectacular spectacle where frivolity rules, decorum goes out the window, and laughter’s delivered by the barrel. Four national comedic treasures – David Roth, Rob Parvonian, Todd Chapelle and Host of Hilarity Carla Ulbrich – put their clever insights, playful parodies and laugh-out-loud observations to music. Come ready to laugh, sing along, and thoroughly enjoy this entertaining combination of melody and comedy.
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| Carla Ulbrich | https://www.carlau.com |
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Carla Ulbrich is a comical singer-songwriter who is often compared to Tom Lehrer or Weird Al. She has a love of the absurdities of ordinary life, and a way with words. She has performed her clever songs in 34 states and 3 countries. Carla’s 9 CDs have been featured on the BBC, Dr. Demento, Sirius XM Comedy Radio, the USA Network, PBS, and NPR’s Weekend Edition.
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| Video link: Carla Ulbrich live Demo 2025 | |
| David Roth | https://davidrothmusic.com |
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David Roth is a singer, songwriter, music educator, and recording artist whose songs have found their way to Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, several Chicken Soup for the Soul books, the Kennedy Center, Peter, Paul, & Mary and Kingston Trio CDs, NASA’s Goddard Space Center (his song “Rocket Science” sailed on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2009), the Rise Up Singing and Rise Again (sequel) songbooks, and 15 CDs on the Wind River and Stockfisch (Germany) labels. The Chicago native is also the Executive Director of SummerSongs songwriting camp (NY), the Cape Cod Songwriters Retreats, and host/founder of the Cape’s Full Moon Open Mic (entering its 21st year), providing a forum for community-building and raising money for local non-profits to help neighbors in need. |
| Video link: Practice makes Progress | |
| Rob Paravonian | https://robprocks.com |
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Rob Paravonian is a standup comedian known the world over for his Pachelbel Rant and viral videos which have been viewed millions of times. With the mind of a comedian and the soul of a musician, Rob Paravonian seamlessly fuses sharp comedy performances with top notch musicianship. Rob has opened for George Carlin and Lily Tomlin and has toured everywhere from Alaska to Afghanistan. His songs and performances have appeared on Comedy Central, VH1, SiriusXM, The Dr. Demento Show, and more. |
| Video link: Beep! Beep! Outta the Way! | |
| Todd Chappelle | http://www.toddchappelle.com |
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Todd Chappelle is a comedy songwriter who does a mix of funny original songs and parodies. His music is influenced by such artists as Weird Al Yankovic and Tom Lehrer. Todd’s music has been heard on The Dr. Demento Show, CNN Radio, the BBC and Good Day Philadelphia. He is a past winner of the Delmarva Folk Hero contest, and he appeared in the PBS programs “Dela-Where?” (2015), “Dela-Where? 2” (2015), “Dela-Where Else?” (2016) and “Counter Culture” (2019). With a quick wit and a powerful voice, Todd is a dynamic live act who has performed at the New York Funny Songs Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival and the Chicago Comedy Rock Festival, along with numerous venues throughout the Northeast. |
| Video link: Go See Alice | |
*** Admission: $20/$15 (FP members); 12 and under free with adult.***