Wow! I have been attending the Folk Club for more than 17 years and this will be my second showcase ever. Where to begin with this write up, I wonder, and how to say it all? To start, I guess I would say that I feel Grateful.  Folk Club is a joy and a blessing, and it is a pleasure to get to do a showcase here. (Shout-out to Rose Haskell for being the coolest and getting this whole thing started, and to all the dedicated volunteers who make it possible week after week and year after year!)

Delightful and Enlightening are two words which definitely apply to the Folk Club. I have personally had several revelations while listening to songs here… Imagine my surprise as a 30-something person to discover that “Plastic Jesus” was not just a silly song made up by my Dad during my childhood…. Or finally solving the mystery of why my beloved Aunt always declared, “He loves his damned old rodeo as much as he loves me,” whenever she took her Moluccan Cockatoo out for a joyride in her Red Isuzu Rodeo.

To say the Folk Club is a special place is an understatement. The Folk Club a unique spot where local songwriters get to share their original creations and where the audience is blessed to hear renditions of a curated collection of cover songs that the musicians themselves clearly cherish. It is a place where collaborations and creativity blossom. Way back when, you could find me sitting at a corner table at the Tortilla Factory each week with Connee Chandler, Ed Surma, and Kate Hannigan, enjoying the magic of live music and finding the fun. On the first night I ever attended Folk Club, I remember being mesmerized by the amazing harmonies of the Zen Gospel Trio (Sue Schier, Kathleen Farrar, and Diane Lafleur) as they performed “Zen Gospel Singing,” and in the months and years that followed I have continued to be ‘wowed’ by the music stylings of so many talented musicians and delightful songs, all of which are memories forever in our hearts and add to the soundtrack of our lives. I could go on a REALLY long time recounting all the great songs, musicians, voices and souls that have enriched our lives at the Folk Club, but in the interest of Time and Space, I will just sum up to say…

to all the pillars and performers of the Folk Club… Thank you! You are dearly appreciated!  

Decades since the Folk Club was started, old friendships have deepened, and the circle of friendships continue to expand as the artists and appreciators ebb and flow with the chapters of life and time. My FOAT (Favorite of All Time) Folk Clubber is, of course, the incomparable TM Hanna. Well before I knew him personally, I admired TM’s beautiful songwriting and musical talents. So, it will be my great pleasure in this showcase to cover several TM Hanna original songs in addition to covering my own songs — some of which have been requested and one of which is very old to me but will be completely new to you! Special thanks to TM Hanna, Jim Nagle, Niels Jonker, and Maggie Dodd for lending their musical magic to this showcase!