Cheryl Hennessey was a long-time Folk Club member, served on the Board of Directors and was also our Webmaster for many years. She is also a single parent, raising her grandson, Jackson. She recently moved to Florida last year for health reasons. Unfortunately, she and Jackson have suffered the loss of all their belongings and extensive damage to their new home in New Port Richey, Florida from hurricane Helene. She has established a GoFundMe and you can use this link – https://gofund.me/266573fc to make a donation to help her and Jackson recover.

On October 1st, I held an emergency meeting of a quorum of the Board of Directors, and the board members present passed and voted approval on several motions to help Cheryl and Jackson. We will be sending the proceeds of Oct 1 and Oct 8 door donations to her GoFundMe account and the Folk Club will match any donations in the basket. On Oct 1 we raised 281.00. If we can raise another 250.00 on Oct 8, we will send 1000.00 to her GoFundMe account. Please help in any way you can. Remember, even small donations add up to a significant amount when many give.

-Al Hobson, President FCRH

JRobert’s musical journey began as a baby when his mom suggested his dad play music to try and stop him from crying when he held him. That seemed to do the trick, and he was quickly exposed to his dad’s favorite bands such as Alabama, Van Halen, Def Leppard, and Dire Straits. As he got a little older his mom tried to balance out his dad’s 80s music with classics such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and Elton John on car rides. Unlike most kids who turn away from their parent’s music, all those artists remain in Robert’s listening rotation today.

In the 4th grade he began playing trombone, once again inspired by his dad, and he played until he quit in high school. Even though he was first chair, it got way too boring for his as-of-then undiagnosed ADHD brain (rumors that the trombone will be appearing at the showcase are at this time unsubstantiated). So, he started playing guitar on his own, eventually forming a garage band with a friend.

Once he went to college, he became obsessed with songwriters such as Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, and Bob Dylan, who helped form the core of his current musical influences. Those influences showed up on his debut album, Ashton Odyssey, which was released this summer to occasional critical acclaim, yet commercial indifference. The album was recorded with his full-on rock n’ roll backing band, the Goodfellas (movies have also been a key point of inspiration), but he decided to perform this showcase by himself. He would tell you this was so you can pay better attention to his lyrics, but the reality is most likely the guys weren’t available amidst contract negotiations surrounding their retainer. Ashton Odyssey can be streamed on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/yyds7pcy

Robert first came to the Folk Club in June 2022, not knowing what to expect or that he would almost always be the youngest performer on the list. But the music and friendship developed there gives him the energy to keep driving over from Maryland, and he looks forward to his first showcase.