Celebrating our 40th Anniversary in 2025! The Folk Club is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to the appreciation of music and the preservation of folk traditions. Each Tuesday we host an open mic and/or special monthly events, including concerts and member showcases. Come join us any Tuesday. Whether you choose to listen, perform or both, you’ll find the Folk Club to be a friendly and enjoyable experience you’ll want to repeat.
Every Tuesday at 7:15 pm, Amphora Diner Deluxe, 1151 Elden St, Herndon, Virginia 20170
News, Notes & Quotes
***Effective June 3, 2025 – New Start Time: 7:00PM!***
New Open Mic Sign-Up rules:
- We will be starting the Open Mic at 7:00 PM instead of 7:15 PM.
- The Wish List will be eliminated.
- There will be 16 8-minute slots instead of 14.
- The “played last week” rule still applies, but the open period begins at 6:45 PM.
- There will still be two slots reserved until 6:45 PM for “1st Timers.”
- In addition, slots 15 and 16 will be generally reserved until 6:45 PM as well.
- Even though the reserved slots become “open” at 6:45 PM, those who played last week should still consider those who did not play last week and just arrived too late to get a general open slot.
Important Dates at a Glance
June 10: Showcase Night featuring Ryan Murphy!
June 17: Theme Night – “Sweet Summer Nights”
Tuesday, June 10th:
June Showcase featuring:
Ryan Murphy
A member of the Folk Club for the past three years, Ryan has been working on songwriting since joining. These efforts have resulted in introspective songs utilizing novel finger-picking patterns on acoustic guitar,and a vocal style reminiscent of the alternative rock and grunge music he grew up listening to. That style now falls somewhere between Cat Stevens and Dermott Kennedy. Ryan also plays bass with a classic-rock cover band called Center Point, the Band. Picking up the bass influenced his style largely in the past year with more intricate bass-lines and picking patterns overall.
Over the past six months Ryan has been working on recording his first album for release, tentatively titled The River, under the name Ryan Wake. This album will feature two cover songs, You Are So Beautiful, originally written by Billy Preston and popularized by Joe Cocker, and The Freshmen, by The Verve Pipe, as well as eight original songs.
Growing up, Ryan’s love of music was nurtured earlier than he can remember by his father, who sang classic country and folk songs at bedtime, and his mother, who had him sitting in a stroller while she taught aerobics classes to the latest pop music of the 1980s. As he grew up, the diversity of musical influences only increased as he listened to his parents’ records of Simon and Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot, and Led Zepplin, bought cassettes of Weird Al Yankovic, and then CDs of Bush, Soundgarden, The Offspring, and Tool. Many of these artists were storytellers in their songs, which influenced Ryan’s songwriting about his own life. Outside of music, Ryan is a psychologist who works to make sure that patients in clinical trials for new treatments are presented with questionnaires they understand, and which address what is important to them about their condition. He also enjoys meditation, trivia nights, and assembling wrist-watches.
Ryan has enjoyed serving as an MC for the Folk Club, listening to all of the incredibly talented members and performers, and playing whenever possible for the past three years. He is grateful for the welcoming atmosphere every Tuesday night, it’s an honor to play for people who care so deeply about music and song writing.
