Rob Flax possesses a rare combination of skills: he is an award-winning violinist, classically trained 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.

Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio adds guitar, upright bass, and three-part vocals to the mix, elevating Rob’s eclectic originals with intricate instrumental interplay, tight vocal harmonies, and irreverent humor.

Rob Flax is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator whose musical talents know no bounds. 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. A graduate of the New England Conservatory, Rob’s mission is to spread joy and light, inspired by Fred Rogers and his playful, creative spirit.

We introduced you to Abby Posner as the opener for Jeff Daniels April 11th because we believed that once you got a small taste, you’ll want the full Abby: two feature-length sets May 2nd. She’s that good — a bundle of smart lyrics, winning stage presence, enormous talent, musical prowess on multiple instruments and joy.

Abby Posner is a “Genre Fluid” musical force in Los Angeles, captivating audiences with her unmatched versatility and soul-stirring performances. A virtuoso who can effortlessly switch between guitar, banjo, drums, mandolin, and bass, Abby’s live shows are a whirlwind of energy and passion, blending folk, roots, pop, and electronic sounds. Whether playing a bluesy guitar solo or a jaw-dropping banjo riff, her presence is magnetic. From TV shows like GLEE to films, commercials, and global radio hits, Abby’s talent knows no bounds. Her 2023 album Second Chances marks a new chapter, with the hit “Get Loud” charting internationally.

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 openstage@folkproject.org.

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.

The Brooklyn Invasion is Troubadour’s tribute to its flourishing music scene, comparable to Paris for Impressionists, Laurel Canyon for folk rock, and Silicon Valley for our current (*&^%^&$#). Four extraordinary artists will represent this talented borough.

Ilusha Tsinadze, a Georgian-born singer and guitarist, has captivated audiences worldwide with his heartfelt interpretations of Georgian folk music. Performing at iconic venues such as The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, Ilusha’s work reflects his multicultural identity, blending jazz, folk, rock and his Georgian heritage with contemporary sounds, earning praise from the New York Times for inviting listeners into a world that is both globally connected and deeply personal. Amidst his success internationally and on Broadway, Ilusha triumphantly returns to the Project stage

Video:  Adandali

Pete Galub, hailed as “the lyric-prince of dry wit” by the Village Voice, crafts songs that blend power-pop and country influences with unexpected melodic turns. His work has been featured in Hal Hartley’s Meanwhile, and his unique style has earned praise from Time Out NY, highlighting his ability to innovate within familiar genres.

Video:  Impossible Snowman  From Album: Boy gone Wrong

Matt Kanelos, a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, fuses jazz, classical, and experimental sounds with remarkable creativity. Known for his captivating live performances, he seamlessly shifts between piano, guitar, drums, and sampler, delivering performances filled with improvisation and crafted songs. He’s worked with a variety of artists and is celebrated for his versatility and genre-defying approach.

Video:  Sunset Song Matt Kanelos (w/ Kyle Sanna & Roland Satterwhite)

Dana Lyn, a celebrated Brooklyn-based composer, violinist, and visual artist, has collaborated with Tony Award-winning talents and performed at prestigious venues like BAM and The Public Theater. A recipient of numerous accolades, including the 2020 NYFA Women’s Fund Award and a 2021 Sundance Composer Lab Fellowship, Dana’s compositions span theater, film, and dance. Her music has garnered critical acclaim for its innovative fusion of jazz, chamber, and avant-garde influences.

Video:  The Coral Suite Live From Irish Arts Center | Dana Lyn & Kyle Sanna:

“If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might be something close to the great Vance Gilbert”, says Richmond Magazine.

Vance’s new album, “The Mother of Trouble”, features Grammy winner Lori McKenna on background vocals, Juno award recipient and Bonnie Raitt Grammy hit song co-writer Joey Landreth on guitars, and Americana-Roots master mandolinist Joe K. Walsh. With 4 bullies, 4 deaths (3 of them murders), 3 moms, 2 accidents, 2 Black people, 2 dogs, 1 dog ball, and 1 missed flight thanks to gas station sushi, this album benefits from the gifts of time and experience honing songwriting skills that put this most vital of acoustic storytellers at the top of the game.”

Get ready to experience the legendary Vance Gilbert, a trailblazer in the R&B/Folk/Jazz crossover scene! Hailing from Philadelphia, Vance’s unique blend of storytelling and musical mastery has earned him a devoted following. With a voice that will knock your socks off, and guitar skills likened to “a god,” Gilbert has dazzled audiences nationwide. From opening for icons like Arlo Guthrie and Anita Baker to stunning crowds at prestigious festivals worldwide, including Newport and Woodford Folk, Vance is a true force of nature. Don’t miss the chance to see this one-of-a-kind performer take the stage — it’s a musical experience like no other!

Vance Gilbert Video: A Change is Gonna Come

Vance Gilbert Website: https://blackoakartists.com/artist/vance-gilbert/

Jesse Ruben is a singer/songwriter who recently moved to Atlanta after spending the last 15 years in Brooklyn. Best known for his lyrical storytelling and engaging live shows, his songs have been heard on more than a dozen TV shows in the US and abroad including Teen Mom, Switched at Birth, The Bachelor (Germany), and the recent Disney+ series Diary of a Future President. His most recent single “This Is Why I Need You” reached the top 10 in 12 different countries and has been streamed more than 65 million times across all platforms. He has recorded live sessions for NPR and MTV Asia and has been featured on CNN and in Esquire Magazine.

Beyond his music career, Ruben is highly active in philanthropic endeavors. He has run the NYC Marathon three times for The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the largest non-profit devoted to spinal cord injuries, and five times to raise money for Lyme disease research. He is also the founder of “The We Can Project”, an initiative for young students designed to help them discover their passions and give back to their communities. To date, more than 500,000 young people have participated. To promote the program, he was personally invited by Hoda Kotb to perform live on The Today Show.

A heart on his sleeve singer/songwriter with a combination of emotional songs and witty banter. A true artist with a heart for change, Jesse Ruben, is an undeniable force in both music and social impact.

Jesse Ruben Video: This is why I need you

Jesse Ruben Website: https://www.jesseruben.com/

Garnet Rogers has established himself as ‘One of the major talents of our time”. Hailed by the Boston Globe as a “charismatic performer and singer”, Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence – close to six and a half feet tall – with a voice to match. With his “smooth, dark baritone” (Washington Post) his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere. His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, and deeply purposeful. Cinematic in detail, his songs “give expression to the unspoken vocabulary of the heart” (Kitchener Waterloo Record). An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over-the-top humor and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again.

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 openstage@folkproject.org.

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.

The Project kicks off every summer with a tribute to rock, our Classic Rock Party. It’s a play-along, sing-along, and dance-along night at the Troubadour, where Project members sign up to be lead vocalist on stage, fronting our all-star, electric Broadway Boogie Band.

Imagine yourself fronting an all-star Rock/Broadway Band!

It’s a party, with an awesome band!  It’s an evening full of music, friends, playing, listening, singing, dancing and rocking together.

**For half of the evening members sign up beforehand to lead a song, no originals, backed by our spectacular rock band!  So, join us and sing your heart out!

**The other half of the evening will be performed by whomever wants to accompany themselves. 

**Attendees are encouraged to bring their instruments and play along from the audience.

Lyrics and chords are projected on-screen so audience members can sing along or play along from their seats on acoustic instruments. If you attended last year’s rock party, you’ll be back. The music and the spirit are over-the-top fun.

The Broadway Boogie Band is composed of the following Musicians.

Alan LeBoeuf: Singer, Songwriter, RCA Recording Artist, Bass Guitarist, performing and recording with the Wrecking Crew and Actor who played Paul McCartney in Beatlemania, member of Baillie & The Boys – charted ten Top-40 singles.

Steve Gibb: Award winning guitarist who has played in Broadway shows; Jersey Boys, Dear Evan Hansen, Beautiful – The Carole King Musical and School of Rock – a true internationally renowned musician.

Ted Brancato: A fantastic jazz pianist and accomplished composer, arranger and recording artist who has performed and recorded with Houston Person, Ron Carter, Christian McBride, Milt Jackson, Ernestine Anderson and Paquito D’Rivera among others. Tonight he’s all rock ’n’ roll.

John Hone: Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist and Drummer who is the Folk Project’s favorite percussionist and a major talent in the field of ass-kicking rhythms.

To sign up to play a song with the band, no originals:

If playing with the band we need:

1. Song Choice
2. Key
3. Chart – a Word document if possible
4. YouTube link for a version of the song you want to sing.

To sign up to play with the band or on your own:

Email:

Tina Ross – Tina.Ross@FolkProject.org

Alicia Weimer – Alicia.Weimer@FolkProject.org

2024  Video featuring Jean Scully: Hollywood Nights 

Award-winning and Billboard-charting artist Flamy Grant is a shame-slaying, hip-swaying, singing-songwriting drag queen from western North Carolina. Her 2022 debut record, Bible Belt Baby, reached the #1 spot on the iTunes Christian Charts (the first drag performer to achieve this feat), was nominated for Best Pop Album at the San Diego Music Awards, and was named one of the Top Ten Queer Country Albums of 2023 by Rainbow Rodeo Magazine. Her single “Good Day” also debuted at #20 on the Billboard Christian digital sales chart. Flamy is a winner of the 2023 Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition and a 2023 QueerX Award nominee for Best Drag Artist and has been featured in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, People, and more. Her music has over 750,000 streams on Spotify, Apple, and Amazon music. A powerhouse vocalist and intrepid songwriter who blends folk, gospel, and roots, Flamy drags you into a therapeutic, theatrical mix of storytelling and song.

The Folk Project’s Annual 4th of July Music Picnic & Barbecue is always a big hit — filling and fulfilling.

For the exact time and place, see your members newsletter.

Questions? Email concerts@folkproject.org.

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 openstage@folkproject.org.

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.

Grover Kemble‘s unique and colorful interpretations of jazz, Latin, R&B and original compositions have garnered him considerable attention and acclaim from music connoisseurs and critics for well over four decades. Grover toured nationally with Sha-Na-Na, fronted the highly popular New Jersey band Za Zu Zaz,  showcased and recorded jazz material with the quartet Blow Daddyo, and played Carnegie Hall with jazz great John Pizzarelli.

Elaine Silver is a soulful folksinger and highly acclaimed musician, as well as a touring, performing and recording artist. She has created 22 CDs and counting of mostly original music.

Well-known in her original home state as “The Folk Music Queen of New Jersey” in the ‘80s and ‘90s, she has opened for many of the Folk World’s stars including, Doc Watson, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, The Kingston Trio, Willie Dixon, Tom Paxton and many many others.

Elaine is also a Certified Beatleologist through Beatleology University in the UK, due to a life-long study and passion for the Fab Four.

She will be sharing some of their wonderful music, along with favorites and some original song with the inimitable Grover Kemble.

Elaine Silver Video Link: Welcome to the Garden

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 openstage@folkproject.org.

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.

Campfire Night at the Troubadour features three outstanding performers, Sam Robbins, Ernie Sites, and Ken Galipeau, singing from the middle of a darkened audience, lit only by warm light of an electric campfire, with make-believe stars across the sky. The only amplified sound will be the croaking of frogs and chirping of crickets played softly in the background. S’mores with marshmallows and hot cocoa, will be served. No bugs invited.

Sam Robbins is an internationally touring singer songwriter, in the vein of classic writers like James Taylor and Jackson Browne, with an upbeat side. He’s the 2021 Kerrville Folk Fest New Folk winner and he was the first to sing a Jim Croce song on The Voice. Sam loves playing listening rooms – they’re his favorite kind of shows to play! Sam’s big on storytelling, audience interaction, etc. Sam will be releasing his third album, “So Much I Still Don’t See” in March of 2025. Video: Bigger Than In Between

A western entertainer and an experienced cowboy, Ernie Sites. Among his many talents, he is a western performer, songwriter, cowboy poet, trick roper, bull rider, rodeo clown, bareback rider, team roper and a calf roper. He has traveled the world over, using his gifts to teach people about cowboys and the west. Western author, Corinne J. Brown, has dubbed Ernie “the urban cowboy troubadour.” Along the trail, he has performed with such luminaries as Riders in the Sky, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, Gene Autry, and the Sons of the Pioneers. He has been a guest on CBS, PBS, TNN, the BBC, and Good Morning, America. Along with these accomplishments, he is also a playwright and has created a fun filled songbook for kids. Video: Happy Yodeling Hoe Down

Contagious energy, sincere enthusiasm, and an eclectic repertoire make Ken Galipeau a singer and storyteller unlike any other. Drawing from both time-tested tradition and his own experiences, Ken’s songs will touch your heart and tease your soul. No matter whether he’s playing for world-weary adults, parents or excited kids, Ken knows just what songs are right for his audience.  Video: The Garden Stage Song

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 openstage@folkproject.org.

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.

A Stephen Kellogg performance is like watching Ted Lasso live. Whether he’s playing music or doing stand-up, his shows leave people inspired and restored. For more than two decades, this wordsmith, TEDx speaker, stand-up comic, author and troubadour, has delighted audiences around the world. Planet Bluegrass calls him “a first-class songwriter with a poet’s gift for fresh imagery,” and Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz says of Kellogg, “there are few people in rock n’ roll who are just so great.” He has received the Armed Forces Entertainer of the Year award and has had his work nominated for a Grammy. Rolling Stone magazine describes his sound as “John Prine fronting the Heartbreakers.” The recent “Sit Down & Stand Up” Tour was a one man show that opened to rave reviews from fans and critics alike. A mix of music, humor and storytelling, each performance paints a unique canvas that covers the full spectrum of human emotions. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll go home with a full heart.