Geoff Bartley's Monday Night Open Mic at the Cantab Celebrates 20 Years

Geoff Bartley may or may not be a national treasure, yet, but he has been instrumental to the careers of many "FOLKSINGERS, singer-songwriters, finger-style guitar players, flatpickers, bluesmen, blueswomen, traveling minstrels, balladeers, acoustic rockers, touring and recording artists, traditional and contemporary solos, duos and trios, a cappella singers, musicians and instrumentalists of all styles!" over the years.  On Monday, December 12 Geoff Bartley's Monday Night Open Mic at the Cantab will enter into its third decade, celebrating (with cake, I hear) 20 years!!! Congratulations, Geoff!



Don't believe me, read the words of Tom Paxton and Brad Paul:


"So you've been looking for real. You like it with the bark still on it, doncha? Look no further: Geoff Bartley's Put the Big Stone Down is right in the middle of the tradition (and) classy all the way. I love it." 
~ Tom Paxton (January 26, 2010)
“Geoff is an amazing player, he writes wonderful songs that speak to the heart and if that weren’t enough, he is a great person who really cares about folk and roots music and the people who make it.” 
Brad Paul – Former Producer/Host "Folk on WGBH"

...and specific to the 20th anniversary:

"Wow! Congratulations. The same job for 20 years, some 500 shows, around 2,000 opening songs. Heroic!"
~David Fishken


....all this reminds me I need to settle with the Republic of Cambridge for a parking ticket I got the night I brought David Massengill to the Cantab as the Monday night featured artist and the back lot had just been converted from parking meters to a computerized zone system. As Bob Dylan had warned, "don't follow leaders, watch your parking meters." How true.

If you want to see what makes Geoff the real deal, get to the CanTab about 4pm. That's the time Geoff arrives to load in and set up his personal sound equipment used for not only the Monday night open mic, but also the Tuesday night pickin' party, now in its 18th(?) year. But don't get in his way, he has his methods, carefully refined over 20 years. 

And remember, watch the parking meters!

-------------------------

This is the notloB Music Blog, I would be remiss to remind the reader that Geoff has graced notloB stages not once, not twice but thrice:
August 18, 2007 Loring-Greenough House (Eliza Blue opened)
November 15, 2008   Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church  (co-feature with Mary McCaslin)
March 10, 2010   Jackson Homestead   (solo Feature)

Maybe it's time to ask for another performance before his booking calendar is filled by venues just catching on to this national secret (and his fees go up), a wonderful artist and man.

Barnes is Back, Ramblin' Jack, Silver Spoon, Ladies of the Blues, Geoff Bartley, Si Kahn again and Spider John Koerner

There are not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but six news items / concerts notloB finds to be of significance this weekend through Tuesday and beyond and urges you to lend your ears and support:


1.  Saturday and ongoing ~ BARNES NEWBERRY is back on the radio!

This was received from Barnes earlier today:

Okay folks, looks like it is ON tomorrow at 8 am for the debut of My Back Pages with Barnes Newberry. Please join us online at mvyradio.com to pre-celebrate the 70th birthday of His Bobness! Thanks for all your early good wishes (to us both!) and of course, a big thanks to MVY.

The new program is scheduled at the same time as Barnes' former "Highway 61 Revisited" on "public" radio WUMB.  Without Barnes, the current version being a mere shadow of its former self.

More about WMVY, its broadcast frequency and internet stream athttp://www.mvyradio.com

2. Ongoing through June ~ SI KAHN'S "Silver Spoon" at the Nora Theater, Central Square, Cambridge.  notloB attended last nights' premier and gives the musical two claws up!

Begins May 19!
World Premiere Musical

 

More info at http://www.centralsquaretheater.org/

And read Playwright, folkie find kinship in musical theater

By Joel Brown in today's Boston Globe

3.  FRIDAY ~ 

RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOT with Special Guest: Kate Taylor Prospect Hall at Lesley University (Former Congregational Church) 1801 Mass Ave, Porter Square Cambridge, MA    Venue Information Friday May 20, 2011 8:00 PM

Ramblin' Jack ~
Received the National Medal Of The Arts, 1998;
Five Time Grammy-Award Nominee;
Grammy-Award Best Traditional Blues Album, 2009;
Grammy-Award Best Traditional Folk Album, 2005

When Dylan and Joan Baez were still in the audience, it was often Ramblin' Jack onstage. He was the vital link between the Woody Guthrie folk era and The Dylan era. Check out Jack's first appearance on Johnny Cash's TV show: Click here 

Ramblin' Jack is the proud recipient of the highly prestigious NATIONAL MEDAL OF THE ARTS awarded to Jack by President Clinton in 1998. He is a two-time GRAMMY WINNER: For Best Traditional Blues Album, 2009 and Best Traditional Folk Album, 1995. He has received three additional Grammy nominations.

Our Opener, Kate Taylor, is a proud member of America's most prominent musical family which includes her brothers, James and Livingston.

A note: This beautiful 19th century church will soon be renovated into a library. So, please join us in our farewell to this beautiful landmark...It is easy to find and minutes away from both the Porter Sq. T and commuter rail stations.

Ticket Information: Please present e-receipt for admission. This venue is general admission seating.

NOTE: TICKETS MAY BE PICKED UP AND DOORS OPEN BEGINNING ONE HOUR BEFORE PERFORMANCE. 

Source 

4.  The Boston Blues Society presents "Ladies of the Blues"

at the Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Road, Shirley MA

The Boston Blues Society presents "Ladies of the Blues",
a fabulous cast of eight guest stars backed up by
Lydia Warren, Diane Gateley and Susan Goldberg.
The Ladies of the Blues are:
Toni Lynn Washington: Nominated for seven Blues Music Awards, including three for best female soul-blues performer, the legendary Ms. Washington received the 1999 Boston Blues Festival lifetime achievement award, among numerous other accolades. Her powerful voice, with its soulful romanticism, is not to be forgotten.
Shirley Lewis: Described as Boston's "Regal Queen of the Blues," singer-songwriter Shirley Lewis has been bowling over audiences since the age of 4 performing blues, Gospel, jazz and soul. With her superb voice, along with a sense of humor, warmth, and grace, the charismatic Ms. Lewis has performed at clubs and festivals all over the U.S and Canada.
Cheryl Aruda: With her smoky voice, the Weymouth-born Aruda, and her own band, Dirty Blonde, has been a premier Boston music scene front-woman for years.
Diane Blue: A soulful, sassy performer, Diane was the winner of the Massachusetts Blues Society's 2010 blues challenge. She delivers the goods vocally - along with her harp playing - putting her own spin on blues, soul, and R&B.
Gracie Curran: Gracie has a silky smooth voice with a thick timbre that recalls women singers from a bygone era of great music. She sounds as vintage as her 1950s-style microphone. She is usually backed by her High Falutin' band, a Boston-based blues band with mucho soul.
Cindy Daley: Just back from the International Blues Competition in Memphis where she was half or the Boston Blues Society's duo entry, Cindy has been singing and playing the blues, and rock, since the 1980s. With a powerful voice reminiscent of Janis Joplin, Cindy has opened for some of the best in the business.
Erin Harpe: Hailed as an authentic blues chanteuse, Erin Harpe has earned a reputation for her raw style and total, selfless and compelling immersion in the music. An accomplished finger-picking guitarist, she is often compared to Memphis Minnie, Rory Block, or early Bonnie Raitt.
Carolyn Waters: A relative newcomer to the stage, her powerful, riveting voice has already gained her a wonderful reputation as a crowd pleaser as she moves effortlessly from folk, gospel, jazz, to the good old fashioned foot stomping blues.
Lisa Marie: Captivating audiences for years, Lisa Marie is a versatile singer-songwriter with loyal fans running the age gamut of 21 to 71. This powerhouse, winner of the 2008 Outstanding Female Singer award from The Blues Audience, belts out everything from roots, blues, rockabilly, jazz, swing and funk, with an incredible vocal sound. And she’s not too shabby on harp, either. 


Guitarist and vocalist Lydia Warren tours internationally from Brooklyn to Beirut, whipping audiences into a frenzy at each stop.

5.  Monday ~ Si Kahn and Geoff Bartley.  Due to the small space of the venue we'll leave you on your own to do some research, hint, start at the venue where Geoff hangs every Monday and Tuesday.

6.  Tuesday ~ Spider John Koerner at Johnny D's.

Biography

Well known to New England audiences as either a solo artist or part of the immortal, Koerner, Ray and Glover, Spider John Koerner continues to exemplify the classic folk-blues singer guitarist. Dropping out of the Univ. of Minn. nearly 40 years ago to pursue a life in music and coming of age in the Dylan era of "the green pastures of Harvard University" Koerner forged an indelible mark on both the Cambridge folk scene as well as the world stage. For five years Koerner, Ray and Glover made LP's that are still revered as the genres finest. In the decades that followed Spider John has carried on the folk blues in the truest tradition, issuing releases that will surely stand the test of all time. Johnny D's is honored to present the classic artistry of Spider John Koerner.

Links

Artist Website

Artist MySpace (listen here)

Facebook Event (RSVP)

Thank you for supporting live music!