South Shore Folk Music Club

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South Shore Folk Music Club A non-profit organization consisting of members dedicated to bringing acoustic music to the So. Shore

OPEN MICS are held once a month (with some exceptions) throughout the South Shore Folk Music Club at First Parish Duxbury season. Performers of all genres are welcome – poets, musicians, writers, comedians, etc. – if you want an audience, it’s yours. Signing up: On coffeehouse/open mic nights, sign ups begin when the doors open at 6:30 PM. There are no early sign-ups and you must sign up in person on a first come, first served basis. Format: On coffeehouse nights, we book two paid sets – an opener starts the show at 7 PM and a featured act closes out the night. The Open Mic takes place in between, before the break and after the break. Open mic performers are each allotted up to an 8-minute set – ( a two (2) song maximum). Time limits must be strictly adhered to in order to give as many participants as possible a chance to perform. Sound: We have a great sound crew who will help you hook up and set up. If you have any special or unusual needs, talk to them before the show to find out what’s available.

Ho! Ho! Ho! I've been in Maine without a computer for most of the summer so I'm just getting back to the Hurdy Gurdy hi...
08/24/2026

Ho! Ho! Ho! I've been in Maine without a computer for most of the summer so I'm just getting back to the Hurdy Gurdy history.
This newsletter is from December 1983. The month started off with David Mallett and Band on the 2nd. David was a prolific songwriter from Maine and the dad of two of the Mallett Brothers. Who hasn't heard The Garden Song? "Inch by inch, Row by row . . ."
On Dec. 3rd, it was time for a contradance. This time Acres of Clams provided the music for the dancers.
On the 16th and the 30th there were two open mikes. The first featured guitarist/singer Gail Rundlet and "strolling musician" John Vorhaus and the second open mic featured singer/songwriter Jim Palana. Of course, there were a variety of open mikers who took to the stage for those shows.

It’s Hurdy Gurdy time again. This issue is from September of 1983.The first show on the 9th was a great one to kick off...
06/21/2026

It’s Hurdy Gurdy time again. This issue is from September of 1983.
The first show on the 9th was a great one to kick off the new season: A concert with Tom Paxton and Bob Franke. I remember Tom singing a satirical song about Lee Iacocca and Chrysler’s bailout titled “I’m Changing My Name to Chrysler.” My favorite lines were: “I will tell some power broker, What they did for Iacocca, Will be perfectly acceptable to me.” Bob Franke played his signature song, “Alleluia, the Great Storm Is Over,” and everyone sang along.
Next up on the 10th, the monthly Contradance featuring Caller Susan Elberger with Carol Kaufman on fiddle and Roberta Sutter on piano. Then, on the 16th, another concert with Clair Seach, a traditional Irish band with Philip & Ann Heywood from Chicago. And finally an Open Mike night featuring more Irish music with Diane Whiting, David Whiting, and Robin Gregory and various and sundry open mikers.
If you recall any of these shows or musicians, feel free to tell us your memories.
Questions: What is Eistedfodd? And did anyone participate in Contradancing?

This Hurdy Gurdy is from June of 1983. On June 3rd, Lui Collins and Sally Rogers kicked off the month with a concert. ...
06/04/2026

This Hurdy Gurdy is from June of 1983. On June 3rd, Lui Collins and Sally Rogers kicked off the month with a concert. Unfortunately, this was the day after Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers died in a flash fire inside a plane headed for Toronto when it made an emergency landing in Kentucky.
Both women played songs that memorialized Stan (no relation to Sally). I remember Lui Collins singing a Jackson Brown song, "For a Dancer." It was sad, but beautiful night. Was anyone else there?

The rest of the month there was the regular Contra Dance with Acres of Clams; a Coffeehouse on June 10th (and open mike) featuring Michael Holmes and the Generic String Band; and a concert with the Passim All Stars with Bill Staines, Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl, Guy Van Duser & Billy Novick, and Stuart Schulman.
And last, but not least, another Coffeehouse/Open Mike with Larry Unger and Mustard Seed, plus a variety of open mikers, It was the last show before the summer break.
All memories are welcome.

Well, it’s time for another HURDY GURDY from the club’s archives. This particular newsletter memorializes the music fro...
05/05/2026

Well, it’s time for another HURDY GURDY from the club’s archives. This particular newsletter memorializes the music from May of 1983 at the Beal House.
The May 6th concert was band Solomon’s Seal featuring Rick & Lorraine Lee (banjo, piano and dulcimer), Sarah Bauhan (tin whistle), and Jane Orzechowski (fiddle). If you attended, please tell us about them.
The May 7th Contra Dancing was accompanied by Jacki Spector & Friends. Next, on May 13th the club featured a Coffeehouse/Open Mike with the Dennis Pearne band and Hazelgreen plus open mikers doing their things.
Another concert on May 20th featured the famous fiddler and Celtic music man Johnny Cunningham, a founding member of Silly Wizard. That must have been great!
Ending the merry month of May, on the 27th the club hosted another Coffeehouse/Open Mike featuring Jim and Dan Donnelly plus Brian and Lindsey O’Donovan of WGBH’s Celtic Sojourn radio show AND, of course, more open mikers.
If you remember any of these musicians or the shows, please share your memories or thoughts. ❤

Better late than never . . . here's the next Hurdy Gurdy. It's from March of 1983. Kicking off on the 4th were Guy Van...
04/09/2026

Better late than never . . . here's the next Hurdy Gurdy. It's from March of 1983. Kicking off on the 4th were Guy Van Duser and Billy Novick - with Van Duser on acoustic guitar and Novick on clarinet, alto sax, and pennywhistle. Sounds like something different. The contradance band on March 5th was Acres of Clams - who made regular appearances at the dances. Next up, on March 11th, an Open Mike featuring Anne English with Jack Vensinger & Ray Miller and, of course, a variety of open mikers. Anne was a local who played a lot around the area.
The concert on March 18th Joel Mabus and Caryl P. Weiss. Don't know much about them but they seem to have played together at folk music festivals around that time. If you saw the show at the Beal House, tell us more.
Last, but not least, March 25th Coffeehouse/Open Mic featuring Brown Creek (Bob Deane, Rich Hardy, and Bill Hardy) along with folk singers Mark Endresen and Allan Schlingenbaum . . . and, of course, open mikers.
Per usual, if you recognize any of these people or their appearances, tell us more.

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842 Tremont Street
Duxbury, MA
02332

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