Brooks Williams hails from Statesboro, Georgia, the town made famous by country-blues legend Blind Willie McTell. Not one easy to pigeon-hole, Williams’ music is a roots music love-child. “Soulful Americana, full-on blues and tasty rootsy grooves. He really rocks!” writes fRoots. Fellow guitar-wizard Martin Simpson calls Brooks Williams the “Real Thing!” Williams got his start in the clubs and bars around Boston, the same music scene that years earlier sparked the careers of Bonnie Raitt and Chris Smither. There, playing five to six nights a week, he developed his signature sound. He’s a mean finger-picker and a stunning slide guitarist and is ranked in the Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists. Plus, “he has a beautiful voice that you just melt into,” says AmericanaUK. In fact, in 2013 Williams was nominated “best male vocalist” by the UK’s foremost roots-music mavens, Spiral Earth.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Brooks Wiliams, Jim Trick opens

Ryan McKasson and Eric McDonald are masters of tradition who purposefully explore the dark corners floating on its edges.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about McKasson & McDonald, Evan Murphy opens

Massmouth is a non-profit organization that promotes the timeless art of storytelling in Massachusetts. Since our founding, Massmouth, Inc. has changed the way Greater Boston and the surrounding communities tell and listen to stories.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Massmouth: Story Slam Audience Choice Semi-Finals

A night of Stevie Nicks songs covered by many local artists. Lineup TBA.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Songwriter Tribute Night: A Tribute to Stevie Nicks

Lloyd Thayer puts the ‘multi’ in multi-instrumentalist, playing a mind boggling assortment of stringed instruments including but not limited to: Dobro and Weissenborn lap steel guitars, Turkish Oud, Saz and Cumbus, Indian Chaturangui and Mohan Veena, Ragmakamtar, Ukulele and more. A recovering street performer and determined songwriter, his indoor shows combine a mixture of American folk and blues with elements of Indian, Arabic, Turkish, and Southeast Asian musical ideas, often all in the course of the same son.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Lloyd Thayer, Candy Mountain Stringband opens

 

Sam Amidon is a folk artist with eight albums to his name. His albums All is Well and I See the Sign were met with critical acclaim; The New York Times chose I See the Sign as a top-10 album of 2010. He has toured throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Japan, performing at notable venues including the Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall. In addition to being a singer and songwriter, Amidon is also a self-published author.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Sam Amidon, Sam Gendel opens

Sam Amidon is a folk artist with eight albums to his name. His albums All is Well and I See the Sign were met with critical acclaim; The New York Times chose I See the Sign as a top-10 album of 2010. He has toured throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Japan, performing at notable venues including the Sydney Opera House and Carnegie Hall. In addition to being a singer and songwriter, Amidon is also a self-published author.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Sam Amidon, Sam Gendel opens

Sam Baker’s music and story have been shared by some of the most prestigious media outlets in the world-NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and numerous others. He is a true artist in every way, sharing amazing life experiences through music, story, and art.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Sam Baker

Rosie & the Riveters’ vintage-inspired folk anthems paint a portrait of a woman’s voice in a man’s world. The Canadian trio’s unmistakable red lipstick and pin curls may be deceiving, but don’t be fooled – this not a throwback band.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Rosie & The Riveters

Eleanor Buckland is a songwriter, singer, and fiddler, but not always in that order.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Eleanor Buckland and Aurora Birch

REVMA passionately displays the living art of traditional Greek music (“Dimotika”), to listening and dancing audiences. Gogofski plays music of the Balkans. Not the loud and fast brass of Goran Bregović. Not the massive thirty-voice choir of Mystère des Voix Bulgares. We bring you other great music from the Balkans, from the complex dance rhythms of Macedonia to the heart-wrenching Sevdah song tradition of Bosnia.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Small World - Big Ears: Revma and Gogofski

Witness history by attending The Boston Cypher! In Hip-Hop music a cypher is when a group of rappers come together and take turns freestyling over instrumentals.

Presented by: Harvard, Berkley, and BU Artists... Read more about The Boston Cypher

Guitarist David Gilmore will join Harvard Jazz Bands, led by Yosvany Terry, for a magical evening concert 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 27 under the tent on the Science Center Plaza. The event is free and open to the public. All (and all ages) are welcome. Come early and enjoy the food trucks on the Plaza. Find out more about ARTS FIRST (April 26-29) -- Harvard's annual celebration of student and faculty creativity. 

David Gilmore has performed and recorded with many of today’s most influential artists including Wayne Shorter, Steve Coleman, Christian McBride, Cassandra Wilson, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Randy Brecker, Lenny White, Stanley Clarke, Sam Rivers and many others. His latest release, Transitions (2017 Criss Cross Records) was one of Downbeat Magazine’s top CDs of 2017. He was also voted into the both the Critic’s Poll and Reader’s Poll of 2017.

Gilmore’s playing has been compared to guitarists as diverse as George Benson and Jimi Hendrix. Gilmore has been the recipient of numerous grants, including two Chamber Music of America, New Jazz Works Composer Grants, and nominated for the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award. Committed to an improvisational approach that reflects a global awareness, he conducts master classes around the world, and is a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston.... Read more about Jazz on the Plaza with Harvard Jazz Bands, directed by Yosvany Terry, with guest jazz guitarist David Gilmore

A concert featuring pianist André Watts, with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, conducted by Federico Cortese.

Presented by: Office for the Arts as part of the ARTS FIRST festival (April 26-29)

Admission: Free and open to the public. Tickets available at 3:30 pm at the door on April 27.

Legendary pianist and professor of music André Watts is the recipient of the 2018 Luise Vosgerchian Teaching Award, Harvard’s highest music award recognizing an outstanding educator. Watts will receive the award during a free concert and ceremony 5:30 p.m. April 27 at Sanders Theatre, where he will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major (Emperor Concerto) with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra under the director of Federico Cortese, senior lecturer on music at Harvard University.... Read more about Pianist André Watts to perform Beethoven with Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra

The New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA) is a non-profit educational and cultural organization. Our mission is to encourage, sponsor, and preserve the traditional folk arts in New England and beyond. NEFFA produces the annual New England Folk Festival every April. It is currently held in Mansfield, MA.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about NEFFA Preview Show with Danse Cafe, The Mood Elevators, Joy Compass, and The Oshima Brothers