Author: firstfridayconcerts_5z36p3

March 7th – Union Songs Sing-Along with Edwin Everhart

Special Participatory First Friday Event…
Union Songs Sing-Along led by Edwin Everhart, co-founder of the Pittsburgh Labor Choir.

No experience required!
Lead a song if you want!

Friday, 7 March 2025
7:00pm (doors 6:30pm)
First Friday Coho Concerts at Cherry Hill Co-Housing

120 Pulpit Hill Rd, Amherst 01002
Suggested donation:
$10-20 to Western Mass Bailout Project.
No one is turned away for lack of funds.
Edwin Everhart is a co-founder of the Pittsburgh Labor Choir and an experienced song leader. He believes in the collective power of getting everyone to sing together – whether it’s anti-fascist songs, union songs, or other movement songs.
edwineverhart.bandcamp.com
youtube.com/@edwinkeverhart

The Secret Chord (returns!)- Leonard Cohen Tribute – Friday, Feb 7

The Secret Chord returns to Cherry Hill!

The Secret Chord brings the magic of Leonard Cohen’s music to life. Their performance honors his poignant melodies and poetic lyricism, from the heavenly heights to the back alleys of human life.  The band’s repertoire includes classics like “Suzanne” and “Hallelujah” and gems from later in Cohen’s career like “Going Home”, ranging in style from the introspective “Famous Blue Raincoat”, to timely rockers like “First We Take Manhattan” and “Democracy”.
The Secret Chord features founder Gordon Kramer on guitar and vocals, with singers Ruth Critcher and Jody Spitz making up the “angel choir” that Leonard’s shows were famous for. Providing a solid instrumental core are Ray Grigonis on bass (formerly of Pink Floyd tribute band Crazy Diamond), classical pianist Jesse Sprole on keyboards, and veteran beat-keeper Patrick Kelley on drums.

To hear and see more of The Secret Chord in concert, visit https://www.youtube.com/@TheSecretChordBand

Hoping you’ll join us again for a night dedicated to “the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift…where there’s a blaze of light in every word, it doesn’t matter which you heard – the holy, or the broken, Hallelujah”

Rob

Series: First Friday Concerts at Coho
Venue: Great Room at Cherry Hill Cohousing, 120 Pulpit Hill Road in North Amherst.
Tickets: No advance registration. Seating simply first come, first served.
Doors open: at 6:30 PM, Concert starts at 7
Suggested Donation: $15-$25  (Please be generous, and help support live music)
Refreshments available.
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible
Vision Statement
First Friday Coho Concerts provides a creative forum for talented and visionary musicians to share their gifts and be supported by attendee contributions in a way that values their artistry and encourages their dedication to building a brighter world. Performances take place in the Common House “Great Room”: a space intimate enough to feel like a house concert but large enough to draw in the broader community. The series is a purely volunteer effort, organized by Co-Housing members who enjoy live music and want to share their delight with other music lovers in the Valley.
We hope you’ll join us in the audience, or as a volunteer. Please sign our mailing list on this page, and subscribe to the Facebook page here.

Friday January 3rd Wildcat O’Halloran Blues Band

What can I say?  It’s beginning to look a lot like HannuKwanaXmas.
Whether you celebrate one special holiday or are a solstice ‘equal opportunity enjoyer’, live Blues is bound to bring a joyful lift.
So get ready to ring in 2025 with no project beside sharing a rollickin’ good roll with the soulful guitar licks and sax solos that light up the Wildcat O’Halloran Blues Band. From Greg Allman to Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker to James Cotton, the Wildcat has shared stages with legends. In the process he’s become a force of nature in the valley, hosting weekly Noho Blues Jams, and featured in the Valley Advocate’s Sessions series. His talented bandmates/co-conspirators in rhythm and rhyme include: Will Smith on Sax, Phil Govan on Bass, George Perrault on Drums, (and perhaps a guest harmonica player) Please see below for list of CD’s, reviews, and links.
Full Fun Facts:
Date: Friday Jan 3rd

Venue: Great Room at Cherry Hill Cohousing, 120 Pulpit Hill Road in North Amherst

Time: Doors open at 6:30 PM, Concert starts at 7 (Note no advance registration. Seating strictly first come, first deserved)

$15-$25 suggested donation
(Facility is wheelchair accessible)

Guitar-slinger Wildcat O’Halloran has been thrilling audiences in Western Massachusetts for over thirty years, and is currently promoting his 18th album- Lead Me Not Into Temptation … I Can Find It Myself.
Building on the success of Here Lies A Fool and Party Up In Heaven, Wildcat’s latest creation has been played on over 200 stations; receiving rave reviews:
 The Boston Blues Society  called it “A Masterclass in tone and grit”
The UK’s Blues Matters  says “Lead Me Not Into Temptation… I Can Find It Myself is crazy-fun  and a great release”
Living Blues Magazine wrote: “Wildcat emerges as one of the most entertaining songwriters in contemporary blues…and his band doesn’t know the meaning of dull!”
Hear them for yourself gettin’ down and lightin’ it up live-https://www.facebook.com/wildcat.ohalloran/videos/791226235399929/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
Hope you can join us and/or forward this to a friend,
Rob

Saturday Dec 7 – Charlie King and Rick Burkhardt

Charlie King is a musical storyteller and political satirist. He has been at the heart of American folk music for 60 years, his songs having been recorded and sung by Pete Seeger, Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, John McCutcheon, Arlo Guthrie, and Chad Mitchell. In recognition of his activism for social and political justice, in 2017 he received the annual Phil Ochs Award. Other honors include: the War Resisters League’s 1998 Peacemaker Award & the 1999 Sacco-Vanzetti Social Justice Award for which he was nominated by Pete Seeger.

Rick Burkhardt is an Obie-award-winning performer, composer, and playwright, touring nationally with the satirical political cabaret duo, The Prince Myshkins. His songs have been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, Pacifica Radio, and Democracy Now. Rick Burkhardt’s works have been performed in Europe, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Taiwan and New Zealand. He has done national tours as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and accordionist, and his plays have been produced by New York Theater Workshop, LaMama, PS122, JACK, and the American Repertory Theater.

Together King & Burkhardt blend an evening of edgy harmonies, incendiary lyrics, powerful instrumentation and theatrical hijinks. Trust me, a show not to be missed!

Series: First Friday Saturday Concerts at Coho
Venue: Great Room at Cherry Hill Cohousing, 120 Pulpit Hill Road in North Amherst.
Doors open at 6:30 PM, Concert starts at 7 PM.
$15-$25 suggested donation
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible

Friday Nov 1st – Emma’s Revolution: Pat Humphries & Sandy Opatow, w/ special guest Annie Patterson

Known for fearless, truth-telling lyrics and melodies you can’t resist singing, Emma’s Revolution is the dynamic, award-winning activist duo of Pat Humphries & Sandy O. The duo are in their 20th year performing together. Emma’s Revolution’s songs have traveled around the world and have been sung for the Dalai Lama, praised by Pete Seeger and covered by Holly Near.

“Fervent and heartfelt” ~ The New York Times

With one eye on the news, Emma’s Revolution consistently writes songs about critical issues happening in the world and enthusiastically lends their voices to the movements those issues inspire. “Our House is on Fire” was selected as the opening track for Hope Rises, a compilation CD from a national nonprofit co-founded by Noel (Paul) Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary. “Keep on Moving Forward” opened the UN’s Committee on the Status of Women’s Bejiing+25 Conference. The song originally opened the NGO Forum of the 4th UN World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, becoming its unofficial anthem. Emma’s Revolution are winners of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize and the first Phil Ochs Award. 

“Our work has always been about building connection, love and justice through song,” the duo says. “During this pandemic, we have moved much of our work online, creating opportunities for people to sing together (Zoom-style), use songwriting as a way to process emotions in an unsettled era, and attend concerts where they can have a sense of connectedness, solace and even joy in this challenging time.” 

As independent artists and queer and non-conforming women, Emma’s Revolution has a national presence among communities, organizations and venues that share the duo’s vision of valuing people over profit, choosing compassion over violence, demanding accountability, and building a more just and sustainable world. 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emmasrevolution 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmas_revolution/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/emmasrevolution

 

Series: First Friday Concerts at Coho
Venue: Great Room at Cherry Hill Cohousing, 120 Pulpit Hill Road in North Amherst.
Doors open at 7 PM, Concert starts at 7:30.
$15-$25 suggested donation
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible

Masks encouraged.

Friday October 18th – Dean Stevens (special 3rd Friday concert)

From Jay Mankita: Dean is a musical friend who I’ve known for 30 years. I admire him greatly for his guitar skills and songwriting. He even sings some of my tunes, so maybe I’m biased, but what if I am – he’s a fantastic performer!

Dean’s played for us a couple of times over the years, to rave reviews, but if you don’t already know it, this is sure to be an unforgettable evening!

Dean Stevens playing guitar by a treeDEAN STEVENS

Dean Stevens playing guitar next to a clapboard homeFor decade after decade, Dean Stevens has delighted audiences of all ages throughout the Americas. An exuberant performer of distinctive style and wit, he combines an intricate, self-taught guitar style with a versatile and expressive singing voice. He has established himself as a formidable creator and interpreter of a wide spectrum of songs in English and Spanish. His own material explores a variety of personal and social topics, paints sketches of people and places, celebrates the Earth, and annoys the narrow minded.

Born and raised in Costa Rica, Dean Stevens is a lifelong student of Latin America. He learned Spanish at an early age, and readily absorbed the musical and topical influences of the region. He travels frequently to Central America, and has become known for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of war refugees returning to rebuild their villages..Dean leads frequent trips to villages in El Salvador, and has become an importer of fine coffee from Izotalillo, one of these mountain communities.

He’s got four highly acclaimed recordings to his credit. He’ll have these, and his newest album, Arise, has finally arrived!

 

Dean’s Site:
http://www.deanstevens.com/

VIDEOS

Dean Stevens – Old Man in his garden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgmUE7wgO_o

Dean Stevens: Let Justice Roll Down
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6CAkNbg8I0

Dean Stevens sings I Am A Dolphin (by Jay Mankita)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcSU35z6r6c

Dean Stevens: Cuida El Agua
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD_e7N16cX4

Dean Stevens: Salmon River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AokKt3z5bJA

Dean Stevens: Love Comes to the Simple Heart
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPCqztbIIA

Series: First Friday Concerts at Coho
Venue: Great Room at Cherry Hill Cohousing, 120 Pulpit Hill Road in North Amherst.
Doors open at 7 PM, Concert starts at 7:30.
$15-$25 suggested donation
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible

Alice Howe and Freebo return to First Friday Concerts at COHO Friday, 10/4/24

Alice Howe and Freebo

Alice Howe and Freebo form a dynamic duo blending Americana, folk, blues, and country, showcasing a mix of fresh talent and veteran expertise. Alice, with her rich, emotionally resonant voice, has been described as an “old soul” in the folk world, drawing inspiration from classic roots music. Her recent album Circumstance, recorded at the legendary FAME Studios, channels the spirits of artists like Etta James and Wilson Pickett, reflecting her personal and musical journey. Freebo, a renowned bassist known for his work with Bonnie Raitt and other legendary artists, has evolved into a singer-songwriter, bringing deep lyrical insight and musicianship to their collaboration. Together, they deliver a heartfelt and harmonically rich performance, captivating audiences with their chemistry both on stage and in the studio​

photo by Robert M. Ring

Alice Howe

With her soulful, impeccably tuned voice and crafted poetry, Boston singer-songwriter Alice Howe is “at once of the moment and timeless, personal and universal” (Mark Walton, Americana UK).  Her pure, distilled sound reflects a musical sensibility rooted in ’60s folk and ’70s Southern California songwriters. Credit is due to Alice’s parents for raising her on a steady diet of Taj Mahal, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Jackson Browne, and Joan Baez. As a performer, she is sure-footed and captivating, familiar to her audience from the very first song.

2017 was the year that Alice began making big waves in the folk world. Her EP You’ve Been Away So Long debuted on the April Folk-DJ charts with a #1 song – “Homeland Blues” – and #11 album. “Homeland Blues” went on to become the #7 song for all of 2017. Alice has been touring consistently in support of the EP, playing at such venerable Northeast venues as Club Passim, Caffe Lena, and Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. All in the last year, she was a Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist, an Official Showcase Artist at FAR-West, and a Formal Showcase Artist at NERFA.

Freebo

Review Paul Zollo

Something to Believe

Freebo is more than a beloved musician, he’s an institution. Most famous for the funkified precision and fluid soul of his bass playing for Bonnie Raitt, he’s also a longtime beloved studio cat, a musician’s musician, sought out for his greatness in the studio by everyone from Ringo and Dr. John to CSN, Aaron Neville, Marie Muldaur and the late great Willie DeVille.

But Freebo is more than one of this town’s best players, as those in the know have known for a long time: he’s also a richly gifted and distinctive songwriter.  Like other famous musicians most often linked in the public’s mind with artists they’ve supported onstage and on recordsers, his own voice as a singer-songwriter hasn’t received the attention it’s been due. But the guy is a seriously good writer, as expressive in his writing as on a bass. If anyone has written a more poignant song about homelessness than “Where There’s No Place Like Home,” I haven’t heard it yet, but I hope someone tries. Because it’s aiming high, to write a song about a subject so hopeless without being hopelessly maudlin or cliché, so most songwriters don’t even try.  Freebo does it with easy grace, as simple and right as the beautifully understated arrangement.  [Read More]

Review Folkworks.org

Something to Believe

Freebo is best recognized for the decade or more that he recorded and toured with Bonnie Raitt. In fact, Freebo is a genuine folk, rock and blues icon. For more than 30 years, Freebo has played bass and tuba on recordings and toured with some of the great artists of our time: Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, Crosby Stills & Nash, Maria Muldaur, Ringo Starr, Michelle Shocked, Neil Young, Loudon Wainwright III, Dr. John, and many others. He has also appeared on Saturday Night Live, Midnight Special, Muppets Tonight, and in concert with the legendary Spinal Tap.

When I first met Freebo back in 1997, he had just released his debut solo album, The End Of The Beginning, and was just learning to step into the spotlight as a headliner after decades as a consummate side- man. That CD featured appearances by many of his talented friends including Bonnie Raitt, Paul Barrere, Catfish Hodge, Albert Lee, Sam Clayton and others. That CD has a variety of styles and showed great promise for Freebo’s future solo career including some clever song writing, good rock and pop sensibilities developed over decades of working with some of the best artists around, and fine production by Freebo and Michael Jochum. [Read More]

Review John Shelton Ivany

Something To Believe is a great album that sounds as if Freebo is not really singing to you; he’s talking to you. One of the best albums of the year. www.jSITop21.com

Review Janet Goodman

Freebo’s intimate and go-down-easy personable vocals are at times reminiscent of vintage Cat Stevens. It’s a voice that can tie in light-hearted fare, social commentary and spiritual quest with love-sweet-love, and make it sound seamless. —Janet Goodman, Music News Nashville

Review Roy Trakin

Freebo has more than proven his songwriting chops, but outdoes himself here with the potent “When There’s No Place Like Home,” a tale of a veteran who returns stateside, “had my job and I had my pride/but they shipped them both to China,” leaving him homeless, a plaintive Chris Gage accordion subtly bringing home the point. It is the title track, though, co-written with Eric Lowen (of Lowen and Navarro), who suffers from the debilitating disease ALS, that is the emotional center of the album, a vow “And when it’s finally time for me/To leave this life behind/Sooner than I might wish it would be/Will I hear the angels sing/Will it stop my wondering/Will I finally feel like I am free?” It is what everyone hopes for, sweet release. Freebo’s music provides it in timeless fashion, proving those ideals of peace and love still have currency some 50 years later. —Roy Trakin, Hits Magazine

THE FULL FUN FACTS:

Date: Friday October 4
Venue: Cherry Hill Cohousing 120 Pulpit Hill Rd N. Amherst
Tix: $15-25 Sliding Scale
Note:
No advance reservations. Seating strictly first come, first served. Doors open 6:30
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible
Vision Statement:
First Friday Coho Concerts provides a creative forum for talented and visionary musicians to share their gifts and be supported by attendee contributions in a way that values their artistry and encourages their dedication to building a brighter world. Performances take place in the Common House “Great Room”: a space intimate enough to feel like a house concert but large enough to draw in the broader community. The series is a purely volunteer effort, organized by Co-Housing members who enjoy live music and want to share their delight with other music lovers in the Valley.

First Friday Coho Concerts kicks off our fall series Sept 6, with the double delight of Lui Collins with Anand Nayak

Renowned musicians, Lui Collins and Anand Nyack’s nearly two decades of creative collaboration, are happily evident in the fluid musical dialogue and joy of their live performance.

Lui Collins has been performing, writing and recording for 50 years, earning international acclaim, along with reviews from the Boston Globe and Hartford Courant who called her “one of New England’s first and brightest stars… the clearest and most distinctive folk voice, with unusually piercing lyrical insight” .

Over the course of her long career, Lui has shared the stage with such notables as Tom Rush, Bonnie Raitt, Dave van Ronk, and Stan Rogers (who said  “Lui sings my songs better than I do.”) Lui’s clear voice and engaging stage presence remain as vibrant as ever. Her repertoire, accompanied on tenor ukulele and banjo, ranges from original and traditional folk songs and American standards, to bossa nova in the original Brazilian Portuguese.

Lui will be joined by stellar accompanist, guitarist/Grammy-nominated producer and longtime collaborator, Anand Nayak  Immersed in music at an early age, and building on years of classical piano, Anand turned to the guitar as a teenager and it has allowed him to explore a variety of electric and acoustic styles, creating a foundation for a unique ability to play with and enhance the music of a wide variety of musicians (notably his duo with his wife Polly, and his decades long key role as lead guitarist, singer, and arranger with local legends Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem).

Together on stage, Lui and Anand exude a joyful teamwork and lyrical chemistry that lives up the review Lui got from the Champlain Valley Folk Festival Newsletter- “capturing the hearts of the audience and having what amounts to a musical conversation with them that weaves a spell”

Join us for the dialogue- and let your soul be spellbound!

THE FULL FUN FACTS:

Date: Friday September 6th, 7 PM. (Doors open 6:30)
Venue: Cherry Hill Cohousing 120 Pulpit Hill Rd N. Amherst
Tix: $15-25 Sliding Scale.
No advance reservations. Seating strictly first come, first served.
Accessibility: Facility is wheelchair accessible.
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
PLEASE help us pass the word and forward this far and wide.
Injoy,
Rob
Vision Statement:
First Friday Coho Concerts provides a creative forum for talented and visionary musicians to share their gifts and be supported by attendee contributions in a way that values their artistry and encourages their dedication to building a brighter world. Performances take place in the Common House “Great Room”: a space intimate enough to feel like a house concert but large enough to draw in the broader community. The series is a purely volunteer effort, organized by Co-Housing members who enjoy live music and want to share their delight with other music lovers in the Valley.

Butterfly Swing Band Coho Concert-Dance on June 7

Help us jump start June – on Friday, June 7, listen to The Butterfly Swing Band jive n’ croon from 8-10…prefaced with an hour of free instruction from 7-8 courtesy of superb Swing Dance teachers Mark and Christine.

Here’s hopin’ a night of dancing and/or listening to live music lifts your spirit in a way that’s the best of both worlds, Rob

THE FULL FUN FACTS:

Friday June 7
7-8 Swing Dance Lesson
8-10 Butterfly Swing Band in Concert

Venue: Cherry Hill Cohousing 120 Pulpit Hill Rd N. Amherst
Tix: $15-25 Sliding Scale
Note:
No advance reservations. Seating strictly first come, first served. Doors open 6:30
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible
PLEASE help us pass the word and forward this far and wide.
Injoy,
Rob
Vision Statement:
First Friday Coho Concerts provides a creative forum for talented and visionary musicians to share their gifts and be supported by attendee contributions in a way that values their artistry and encourages their dedication to building a brighter world. Performances take place in the Common House “Great Room”: a space intimate enough to feel like a house concert but large enough to draw in the broader community. The series is a purely volunteer effort, organized by Co-Housing members who enjoy live music and want to share their delight with other music lovers in the Valley.

Fiddle Hill in Concert May 3rd

 Quick question- what’s the next best thing to Cinquo de Mayo?

Answer:

Fiddle Hill

on May 3rd featuring a trio of versatile and virtuoso musical talents: Chris Devin… Brian Bender… Steve Benson…

From the top-
Chris Devine (aka Ian Anderson in the terrific Jethro Tull tribute band Minstrels in the Gallery) is a flat out masterful musician- equally extraordinary on electric and acoustic violin/guitar, mandolin, concert flute, soprano saxophone, keyboards and vocals (in his other life he’s a skilled actor and comic who has appeared on Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and PBS) At last count Chris has topped the century mark,as a session musician appearing on over a hundred CD’s ranging from jazz to classical to country.
Brian Bender is also a multi-instrumentalist: piano, trombone, melodica, accordion, percussion- who plays in and/or leads more ensembles than I can count on both hands; including the Klezmer-African-Latin-Caribbean fusion band… wait for it… LITTLE SHOP OF HORAS. Credits include Carnegie Hall & The Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton (In his spare time he operates Face The Music Recording Studio in Shutesbury and works as a freelance sound engineer)
Grounding out the trio is Steve Benson on vocals, guitar, and mandolin. Steve is a skilled string player who sings Irish Pub songs with such charisma and style it’s like “bottling a Nor Easter and uncorking it on St. Pats!” (He’s also toured with several bands, and opened for Little Feat, and The Spin Doctors among others)
Bottom line- an amazing line up sure to delight your ears and warm your heart.
But wait… there’s more.  Bouncing back from an illness that caused him to cancel treating us at April’s Cindy Kallet & Grey Larson Coho Concert  to a sneak peak of his Let It Rain band at Hawks & Reed, Eric Phelps is all set to open for Fiddle Hill (two-thirds of which he’s performed and recorded with- and could jump up and join him… just sayin’)
PLEASE help us pass the word and forward this far and wide.
Grazzi,
Rob
THE FULL FUN FACTS:
Date: Friday April 5
Time: 7pm
Venue: Cherry Hill Cohousing 120 Pulpit Hill Rd N. Amherst
Tix: $15-25 Sliding Scale
Note:
No advance reservations. Seating strictly first come, first served. Doors open 6:30
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible
Vision Statement:
First Friday Coho Concerts provides a creative forum for talented and visionary musicians to share their gifts and be supported by attendee contributions in a way that values their artistry and encourages their dedication to building a brighter world. Performances take place in the Common House “Great Room”: a space intimate enough to feel like a house concert but large enough to draw in the broader community. The series is a purely volunteer effort, organized by Co-Housing members who enjoy live music and want to share their delight with other music lovers in the Valley.