Deni Bonet is a dynamic, classically trained violinist who would rather strut around a stage than sit in an orchestra chair. Her style ranges from pop to roots-rock to new folk. She has recorded with Pete Seeger and was a founding member of the house band for National Public Radio’s “Mountain Stage,” where she backed renowned artists as diverse as the Indigo Girls, Richard Thompson, and Allen Toussaint. But Bonet also has performed at the White House and the Great Wall of China, and toured in Cyndi Lauper’s backup band. The Wall Street Journal once described her singular sound as “Sheryl Crow meets The B-52s.” Her musical partner, guitarist Chris Flynn, has accompanied Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Ronnie Spector, Garland Jeffreys, Willie Nile, and numerous other notable performers, and he has performed in top venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.

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.””

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.

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.

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!

The Black Feathers—Irish and English-born singer-songwriters Ray Hughes and Sian Chandler—are partners in music and in life, known for their haunting harmonies and natural onstage chemistry. Blending Americana, folk, and acoustic indie rock, their songs feel both timeless and contemporary, with expressive guitar work supporting richly layered vocals.

They have toured extensively across the UK, US, and Canada, appearing at festivals including Philadelphia Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge, and Mile of Music, as well as on NPR’s Mountain Stage. Their performances draw listeners in quickly, with an emotional depth and connection that lingers well beyond the final note.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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