Matt Nakoa is an award-winning songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. A modern troubadour, he makes his home on the highways and concert stages of America, and appears regularly with folk music icon Tom Rush. The Boston Globe says of Nakoa, “Between his piano chops and heartfelt originals on guitar, he drops jaws.” His stage presence is electrifying, bringing audiences to their feet at concerts and festivals throughout the country. If you’ve not seen him, this will be an unforgettable show.

(Note from Troubadour Chair, Mike Agranoff: This guy is the real deal. In all departments: songwriting, instrumental virtuosity, vocal chops, and stage charisma, Matt scores off the chart! You gotta see this man.)

From its inception in the 90s, Mad Agnes (Margo Hennebach, Adrienne Jones & Mark Saunders) was a Folk Project favorite act. (Margo played for us in 1976 while still in high school.) After crisscrossing the country and four extended UK tours, they withdrew from performing in 2011, but we’re glad to say they’re back.

Hennebach and Jones write most of the songs, often drawing upon the British Revival sound of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span complete with “…three-part harmonies as tight as jeans from the dryer” (Rob Weir, The Advocate).  They play a bundle of instruments and the resulting sound is captivating, uplifting and rare.

The Folk Project Open Stage, North Jersey’s premier open stage, is back live 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: openstage@folkproject.org. Our beloved Terrace Room round robin led by Scotty and Glenn is back, too. Open Stage begins with a featured set by a performer from our Folk Project community.  We are once again live in Morristown!

Silk City is the high powered combination of three of the most accomplished musicians in the East. Danny Weiss’ blazing guitar and soaring tenor voice have led bluegrass-oriented bands from Bottle Hill to Skyline. For over a decade, mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff toured with Hot Tuna, and has recorded for countless prominent acts from Peter Rowan to John Gorka to Julius LaRosa. And Larry Cohen’s bass playing is sought after by musicians and recording studios around the country.

Deeper Than the Skin is a very special event presented by The Folk Project.  Its inclusion in our schedule was inspired by the very factors that influenced us in 2019 to change the name of our concert series from “The Minstrel” to “The Troubadour”.

This is not just a concert of songs that entertain.  This is an examination in song and story of the issue of race in America by two of our favorite artists who have lived that issue, and come to grips with it.   This is an evening of singing and listening; of experiencing a connection so deep that it moves us to laugh, cry, and reconsider what we  know about our history.

It is presented by two friends well known to the Folk Project community, Reggie Harris and Greg Greenway.  This pair, born 3 days apart, one Black and one White, one from the North and one from the South, are both musicians, storytellers, students of history and world travelers. Their two separate narratives are forged into one powerful presentation aimed at finding common ground and helping others to do the same.  This will be an event not to be missed, and long remembered by those who experience it.

Sally Rogers is one of the most recognized voices in the Folk world. She moves audiences to tears and laughter with her infectious energy and wicked sense of fun. Her songs, “Lovely Agnes”, “Circle of the Sun”, and “Love Will Guide Us” have come to be standards in the folk repertoire. And her crystal-clear voice paired with soul-stirring ballads, messages of hope and familiar folk classics are sure to please.

For just about as long as anyone currently involved in folk music can remember, Bill Staines is the archetypical contemporary folk singer. People have been singing his songs on stage, in recording studios, and around campfires for over 40 years.

He is responsible for such classics as “Roseville Fair”, “All God’s Critters Got a Place in the Choir”, and “River”, all with choruses that beg to be sung with. Come and see a true living legend.

Christine Lavin is the Folk World’s long-reigning Queen of the Intelligently Absurd. The title of one of her earlier albums, “I Don’t Make This Stuff Up, I Just Make It Rhyme” says it all.

She has an eye for the ironic and the absurd in the news and everyday life, and puts it into song. And dresses it all up in skillful guitar work, electronic loops, and wonderful gimmicks like baton twirling. She’s irrepressible, and ya gotta love her.

The Blues Revue summed it up neatly. Toby Walker is “…a brilliant remarkable guitarist. A pinch of Piedmont, a dash of Delta, a solid Chicago undercurrent minus the amplification, but not the electricity.” At home with both wooden and steel guitars, Toby plays the classics as well as his own songs with an open style and a dash of humor. And as an extra point of pride for us, this internationally celebrated master of the acoustic guitar is a Morris county resident and a Folk Project member.

• An evening of songs for the audience to sing, led by four experienced songleaders.  More details to follow.

Folk Project members present songs of the season.

Robinson & Rohe is the duo of Brooklyn songwriters, Liam Robinson (banjo & accordion) and Jean Rohe (guitar, and Folk Project member since she was eight years old.) Liam’s production and arrangement talents were displayed as the music director of Anais Mitchell’s smash hit Broadway musical, Hadestown.

And Jean’s vocal and writing skills are well known to Folk Project regulars. They have just released their second duo recording, Wait and See in 2021, which features some of their favorite NYC musicians, and displays their insightful writing and impeccable harmonies

Folk Project members sing songs of love (of all persuasions)

Tom Chapin‘s music spans generations from the heady Greenwich Village days when he performed with his brothers Harry, and Steve, and dad Jim, through to today. He serves up a tasty mix of story songs, ballads, comedic and political songs, family music, sing-alongs, old-time folk classics and a favorite song or two of his late brother Harry’s. With an agile fingerstyle guitar, gentle humor, audience inclusiveness, and a concern for the Earth and its resources, Tom puts on a memorable show.

In 1957, teens Phil and Don Everly supercharged the vocal sound of Rock’n’Roll with “Bye Bye Love” and “Wake Up Little Susie”, unleashing the sparkling vocal harmonies that would influence The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, The Hollies, The Eagles, Peter Paul & Mary, and the Bee Gees. The Everly Set brings this music back to life for all those who remember it fondly from their youth, as well as to new audiences.

Trout Fishing in America is the long-standing, and yet seemingly unlikely musical partnership of Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. As individuals, they are about as different as one could imagine. But together, they blend seamlessly in a way that has captured audiences of all ages for over three decades.

A willingness to at once make fun of our most annoying daily habits, and then to touch our hearts with tender and passionate images of family life is what makes the connection between the Trouts and their audiences so compelling and poignant.

Beppe Gambetta, the Italian bluegrass flatpicking champion. Sounds like an ethnic joke, but Beppe is no joke. Early in life he was captured by the music of such greats as Doc Watson and Tony Rice, and soon got to the point where he was sharing festival stages as an equal with his heroes.

Equally adroit on mandolin, he can blaze through a hot bluegrass tune or croon a lovely Italian traditional ballad. And all with an elegant continental charm that is a joy to witness.

To say that Máire Ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman play the Celtic Harp and guitar is like saying Earl Scruggs and Bill Monroe pick out tunes on the banjo and mandolin. These two are past masters of their craft, and their craft is virtuoso performance on their chosen instruments. “Awesome” is a word overused these days, but I was drop-dead awe-struck by their performance.

Their forte is the Irish and Scots repertoire, but they take detours into old-time American tunes and swing (!!) This is a must-see show even for people who are not into harp music. They are jaw-dropping mind-bending out-freaking-standing.

Watch this space

A Joe Jencks concert is an occasion for singing; a contagious rising up of voices, an act of joy and defiance. Joe’s animating purpose runs deep, tapping into the latent, nearly mystical beauty that a roomful of people can unleash by singing together. His songs touch on social justice and community building. He has been favorably compared to songwriters such as John McCutcheon, Holly Near, Fred Small, Tracy Chapman, and James Keelaghan.

Chosen as Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s “Most Wanted Band” of 2016, Low Lily plays acoustic music that is deeply rooted in tradition yet sounds refreshingly contemporary.

The players are Lissa Schneckenburger (Solas, Long Time Courting) on fiddle, Flynn Cohen (John Whelan Band) on mandolin and guitar, and Liz Simmons (backing Livingston Taylor & Tom Chapin) on guitar. All three sing as well in harmonies that have drawn raves from dozens of reviewers and thousands of fans.

You may have seen Carla Ulbrich back in March when she opened for Trout Fishing in America.  And that’s probably why you’re here now checking her out for her headline show.  Carla is a comical singer-songwriter and guitarist with a rapier wit and a keen observational eye for the absurdities of everyday living.

With a love of wordplay and some pretty fancy guitar chops, she creates songs on topics as diverse as wedgies, Waffle House, Klingons, and how rich she would be if she had the copyright on the ‘F’ Word. She is a longtime favorite on the Dr. Demento show, and puts on an utterly hilarious live show.

Dead to the Core is a collective of singer-songwriters and acoustic musicians, assembled by Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, a music journalist and accomplished performer in his own right.  The band pays tribute to the Grateful Dead, illuminating the masterful song craft of one of America’s most original bands. Interspersed with the music are clips from Rodgers’ own interviews with Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, in which they reflect on the roots and evolution of the music.

This will be an experience unlike any other Grateful Dead tribute: a night of deeply personal performances that illuminate the masterful song craft and storytelling of one of America’s most original bands.