Dave Fry returns to the Lehigh Valley and First Friday with his guitar, mandolin and banjo, his wry commentary on life as a working-class arts entrepreneur, and a bag full of audience-tickling shenanigans. Dave's First Friday shows pack the house so make a date to be there.


 

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Having wowed our audience as a soulful opener for David Jacobs-Strain, we decided immediately to invite Seth for his return to our stage. Bringing Rachael along was his idea, and we second that emotion! A delightful evening of folk-pop, we invite you to try something new, Folks. A broad range of sophisticated songwriting that we guarantee to delight.

$16.50 - Reservations

www.sethglier.com 

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www.rachaelsage.com

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Old-Time music is the real thing: music the way it is supposed to be, played for the sheer joy of swapping songs and having a good time. Come to our own back porch session and bring your guitar or banjo, fiddle or mando, bones, what have you. Just for the fun of it!

Traditional Irish and Celtic music session.

Come join us for an evening of jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas, and songs. All musicians, singers, dancers, and other lovers of Irish music welcome. Hosted by Ed Saultz and Fred Gilmartin.

Char and Robby Rothschild have been playing music together for most of their lives. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, their background ranges from Balkan and West African styles to traditional Appalachian music, from Irish ballads to klezmer. While they have played extensively together and separately in many ensembles and projects, including Ottmar Liebert, Thomas Mapfumo, Prince Diabate, Panjea, and the Old Moscow Circus, this configuration marks the crystallization of their own music using the traditions that have inspired them. Expect many extremes - beautiful acoustic numbers, wild bagpipes, trumpet and accordion played by one person at the same time, Bulgarian zydeco, klezmer, and Malian rhythms, to name a few.

Char, the elder of the two brothers, gives new life to the word multi-instrumentalist. In the course of a live performance, he plays trumpet, guitar, banjo, dobro, accordion, Irish whistle, gaida (Bulgarian bagpipes) and saz (a type of Turkish lute). In recordings he will often add ney (Turkish flute), clarinet, trombone, percussion, and more. Behind each of these instruments is a story and often a journey. He has played in Tokyo with the Old Moscow Circus, toured Australia with the Afro-funk band Panjea, recorded with Latif Bolat, and performed with countless other projects regionally. He is also a gifted songwriter and accompanist who has written music for many theatrical productions. Char graduated with a BFA in Contemporary Music from the College of Santa Fe.

Robby, the younger of the two, plays cajon (Peruvian/flamenco box drum), djembe, bouzouki, mandolin, kora (West African harp), as well as singing. He began playing piano and drums at an age of eight, and has never been the same since. As a percussionist, he has been deeply influenced by the rhythms of West Africa. He has studied djembe in Mali and the United States, and has performed and recorded with Ottmar Liebert, Thomas Mapfumo, Kip Winger, and Panjea. Robby is a talented composer - his places of study include the New England Conservatory of Music, the College of Santa Fe's Contemporary Music Program, and the University of New Mexico, where he is completing a Master’s in Composition.

Opener Joe Janci is a talented singer-songwriter who has been writing songs since the 1970’s. He’s a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association, and has written many great songs both solo and as part of thee Janci Brothers. Joe has appeared over the years in various Lehigh Valley and tri-state venues most notably Musikfest, Mayfair, Godfrey Daniels, The Other End in NYC, and the Mermaid Inn in Philadelphia. He has also appeared on TNN and The History Channel.
 
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We are always pleased to welcome back what could be called a one-act folk festival. Cindy, oft times appearing with Anne Hills, and Steve, a mighty songwriter, having been covered by John Denver, Ian & Sylvia, Garth Brooks and more, perform together in an evening of dynamic harmonies, beautiful songs and instrumental virtuosity.   This time with a brand-new CD from Steve, called "The Man".  Together since 1989, this husband and wife team “expresses a deep affection for traditional and contemporary folk music. Whether the song be a 500-year-old ballad, early blues, or an original composition, Gillette and Mangsen combine respect and intuition for a captivating performance." - Sing Out! Magazine.

Steve's new CD, "The Man" is midway between Huckleberry Finn and Holden Caulfield, Danny Murrow confronts coming of age in the early days of the jazz era. From battered street-waif to celebrated guitar savant our hero endures and abides in "The Man," newly released by Steve Gillette and Compass Rose Music.

Assisted by a miraculous aggregation of masterful musicians on some newly-roasted chestnuts and a handful of inspired originals, the CD draws from the realms of roots-jazz, folk, and blues; romance and boogie woogie in a time of prohibition. Read all about it at www.AboutTheMan.com

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Also on hand signing copies of her latest book, Discovering Folk Music, will be award-winning author Stephanie P. Ledgin. In the book, Steve is interviewed and many Godfrey Daniels favorites are featured or mentioned, including not only Steve and Cindy, but Dave Fry (interview), Anne Hills, Sing Out! and so much more. XM's Mary Sue Twohy says 'strongly recommended'.

www.fiddlingwithwords.com/

Jeffrey Gaines is a rare item on the folk scene today. He has redefined the solo guitar and voice as a powerful pop sound that defies ordinary limitations. Raised in Harrisburg, PA, as a teen-ager, Jeffrey played guitar in garage bands covering The Who, The Kinks, and The Jam. He soon set out on his own, releasing his critically acclaimed, self-titled first album, garnering four stars from The Philadelphia Inquirer, describing Gaines as “…an ethereal soul...insistent, impassioned, full of self-knowledge.” Four albums since have solidified his reputation as a true artist. The Boston Globe declared that “Gaines’ soulful, wounded vocals make a case for his being one of pop’s finest singers…an artist who deserves far more attention than some of his more hyped, yet less talented peers.” Jeffrey’s spontaneity on stage has gained him a wonderfully loyal following, and we welcome him back to Godfrey’s. Don’t miss it!

www.jeffreygaines.com   -  Listen to sound clips

www.RebeccaPidgeon.com   -  Listen to sound clips

$19.50 plus $1 processing fee - Advance Sale

Lucky are we to add Bluegrass music to our monthly community jams! Join Fred Gilmartin and friends for a fine music circle in the tradition - bring your instruments and voice, or come just to listen and tap your feet.

Godfrey’s is pleased to present storytelling. Join us and the Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild for this special night. Bring a story to tell.

www.lvstorytellers.org/

Big band is coming to Godfrey Daniels! The highly acclaimed Easton High School Jazz band under the direction of Carol Lutte will be overflowing our stage and filling our club with the sounds of Cab Calloway and other greats from that era. Neil Wetzel, EdD. & Alan Gaumer, guest faculty from Moravian College, will be joining the band, making this one terrific show. If you like the sound of big band, we hope you will come out to support our effort to bring it to the community.

If you're familiar with the intricate Texas singer/ songwriter jigsaw puzzle, you probably already know a lot about Eric Taylor. If you're not familiar with Taylor by name, you've probably heard his songs performed by people such as Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett. He has created a multitude of fans and devotees that are legends themselves in the singer/songwriter realm, artists who have long considered Taylor to be a teacher and a lantern bearer whose time is long overdue.

Taylor grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and started playing soul music in his early years, steeping himself in the rich cultural heritage of the black South. "I've written poetry all my life," Taylor recounts. "When I learned how to play guitar, it was a natural progression to write songs." After high school, a brief stint at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, just "didn't work out," according to Taylor.

"Music lured me away," says Taylor. "I thought I'd make my way to California like everybody else back then but I ran out of money and ended up in Houston." It's a good thing he never made it to California, because the musical environment in Houston during the '70s was just what Taylor needed to inspire him.

Taylor learned intricate blues guitar stylings from music legends Lightnin' Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb and Mississippi Fred McDowell while working at the Family Hand club. Later, he developed his own unique guitar picking style, that would be imitated by many of his contemporaries from the early Houston days, such as Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle, and Nanci Griffith. "There were no lines drawn in the sand between musical genres in Houston back in those days," Taylor remembers. "You were just a musician. I believe so many great writers came out of that scene because you could learn from others. Isn't that the point of this whole thing?"

In 1977 Taylor was a winner of the "New Folk" competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival. Shameless Love, his first album, came out in 1981, and after a hiatus of almost 14 years, he returned with the self-titled Eric Taylor, released in 1995. His eponymous release was chosen as the 1996 Kerrville Folk Festival Album of the Year. Three years later he released Resurrect, and it was subsequently named one of the "100 essential records of all time" by Buddy magazine. Taylor has headlined the prestigious Newport Folk Festival, played National Public Radio's "Mountain Stage" and has appeared on both "Late Night With David Letterman" with Nanci Griffith and "Austin City Limits" with Lyle Lovett, Guy Clark, and Robert Earl Keen.

"To say that Eric Taylor is one of the finest writers of our time, would be an understatement," Nanci Griffith says. "If you miss an opportunity to hear Eric Taylor, you have missed a chance to hear a voice I consider the William Faulkner of songwriting in our current time." Griffith has recorded several of Taylor's songs, including "Deadwood," "Storms," "Dollar Matinee" and "Ghost in the Music," which they wrote together. Lyle Lovett, who recorded Taylor's "Memphis Midnight/Memphis Morning," and with whom Taylor co-wrote the immensely popular "Fat Babies," compares Taylor's narrative voice to that of Bruce Springsteen. Iain Matthews claims, "Once you become a Taylor fanatic, it gives one immense joy and pride to be able to enlighten others to the man's work."

2001 brought forth Scuffletown, and shortly following its release, Taylor was a featured artist on "Austin City Limit's" and NPR's "Morning Edition." The Kerrville Tapes (2003) is his first live album, recorded during three years of appearances at the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival.

In 2004, heeding repeated requests by fans and media, Taylor re-mastered the vinyl Shameless Love and reissued it as a CD with 2 never-released-before bonus tracks.

In the spring of 2005, Taylor returned to Rock Romano's Red Shack in Houston to record his 5th studio album, The Great Divide. Garnering rave reviews at home and abroad, The Great Divide quickly reached #3 on the Euro Americana Chart and in 2006 was named one of the Top Releases Most Played by Folk Radio.

And now we have Hollywood Pocketknife, a 10-song collection that shows Taylor in his prime as a writer and performer, with his exquisite narrative style, his keen, studied observation of the human spirit, and his intricate, roots-driven guitar work. Produced by Taylor, Hollywood Pocketknife also features a stellar cast of musicians, including Eric Demmer (saxophone), David Webb (keyboard, Hammond organ), Mathias Schneider (lap steel), James Gilmer (percussion), Vince Bell (vocals), Steven Fromholz (vocals), and Susan Lindfors (vocals).

In January 2008, Eric Taylor and Hollywood Pocketknife were nominated for FolkWax's Artist Of The Year and Album Of The Year.

A mesmerizing performer, Taylor has toured extensively in the United States and Europe, playing notable venues such as Club Passim, The Bottom Line, Caffe Lena, The Bluebird Cafe, Eddie's Attic, The Ark, CSPS, Freight & Salvage, Paradiso (Amsterdam), Theatre Kikker (Utrecht), The Real Music Club (Belfast), Hotel du Nord (Paris), Grey's Pub (Brighton), and The Bein Inn (Perth). Festival appearances include Kerrville, Newport Folk Festival, Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, Take Root (The Netherlands), and Roots of Heaven Festival (The Netherlands).

He has taught at the Kerrville Song School, and has conducted songwriting workshops at the Fulston Manor Performing Arts Centre (Sittingbourne, England), CARAD (Rhayader, Wales), and the Plowshares Coffeehouse (Pennsylvania).

www.bluerubymusic.com

Alexis P Suter is a solid Blues belter with a killer voice and a hot 7-piece band, with backup singers and the whole bit! Her larger-than-life stage presence radiates with the power of a white-hot super nova to the farthest niche of performance space - think of what that means in our intimate room! Your chance to experience the thunder rolling, lightning bolts, and sparks flying...don’t miss it!
 

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$19.50

The spawning ground for new artists! Open Mike features a grab bag of regional talent. During each 3-song/15-minute set, you may hear anything from guitar pickers and budding singer-songwriters to pianists, fiddlers, comedians, poets, and storytellers. Many a notable act started here. Watch history in the making! Sign-up is just before 7:00 p.m.

Swing is back - big! This is the night: Western swing, big band Dixieland, and more. Bring sheet music. All instruments welcome.

A consummate musician, Jack Wilkins has been an important member of the international jazz scene for more than four decades, and has been featured at most of the major jazz festivals in the world. His flawless technique and imaginative chordal approach have inspired collaborations with Ray Charles, Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Charles Mingus, Tal Farlow, Bill Evans, Lionel Hampton, and many other legendary artists. Jack is at the top of every list of the finest jazz guitarists currently performing. He is a both skilled accompanist and experienced bandleader, moving from blistering solos to emotive chord melodies. However there is no more exciting setting to enjoy Jack's playing than in this duo concert with Frank DiBussolo, as the sympathetic interplay between these two masters is evident as they spontaneously improvise on standards from the great American songbook.

www.frankdibussolo.net

Are you ready for some funky jazz fusion? We present the acclaimed PF and the Flyers, a band that lets you relive great tunes from the seventies (e.g. Pick up the Pieces) along with their originals in the same style. This ensemble consists of the very talented saxman Pete Fluck, most notably part of Zen for Primates, along with Alan Gaumer on trumpet, Tom Kozic on guitar, keyboard wizard Craig Kastelnik, and John Sproat on drums. They’ve been performing together since the 1970’s, so they hum like a well-oiled machine. It’s high-energy soulful music that will make you want to get up and dance.

Every now and then an artist comes along whose music reaches out and touches the soul of all who hear them…virtuoso guitarist, singer and composer Vicki Genfan is among those artists… Drawing from folk, jazz, pop, soul and world music, Vicki is redefining ‘singer/songwriter culture.’ With a mastery of the acoustic guitar that borders on pure alchemy, audiences are mesmerized by the waves of sound Vicki creates with just two hands and her voice. Using 29 alternate tunings and the percussive technique she calls 'slap-tap', you'll find the addition of her pure, expressive vocals that dig deep and stir the heart to be the perfect accompaniment on many of her songs. An evening with Vicki is far more than a concert; stories, warmth and humor come gift wrapped in an unforgettable evening of music – come, welcome Vicki in her Godfrey’s debut.

Vicki has been recognized among the world’s greatest guitarists and musicians at festivals such as The International Montreal Jazz Festival, Germany’s Open Strings Guitar Festival, Italy’s Soave Guitar Festival, as well as at venues and Performing Arts Centers across the US and abroad. In 2005 she was one of the featured artists on 'La Guitara', the first compilation CD featuring female guitarists from around the globe, released by Vanguard Records. With several additional ground-breaking recordings behind her, recent acquisitions of the 6 string banjo, 12 string and baritone guitars, high demand at clinics and music camps and an ongoing European presence, Vicki continues to reach beyond musical borders and into new territory. Find out more about Vicki.

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Join a friendly group of Songwriters in the Round, be inspired and turn your works in progress into polished gems. If you're an experienced writer or have just always wanted to write a song, come share the craft of songwriting. Hosted by Steve Walker.

A low-volume get-together for swapping songs and riffs with other blues players. Hosted by Tavern Tan featuring Doug Ashby, Tom Axcel, Andrew Brubaker, and Dave Joachim.

"Anne Hills is such an exquisite singer that it’s understandable that people might be swept up in the pure beauty of her voice and thereby overlook her writing. That would be a mistake. For me, Anne’s writing, in songs like ‘Follow That Road’ and many others, is as direct, melodic and deep as any work being done today. She is quite simply one of my absolute favorite songwriters." — Tom Paxton 

www.annehills.com -  Listen to sound clips - Click on Discography

David Roth strikes many chords, hearts, and minds with his unique songs, offbeat observations, moving stories, sense of the hilarious, and powerful singing and subject matter. As singer, songwriter, recording artist, keynote speaker, workshop leader, and instructor, David has earned top honors at premier songwriter competitions - Kerrville (TX) and Falcon Ridge (NY) - and taken his music, experience, and expertise to a wide variety of venues in this and other countries full-time for more than two decades. 

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Join us and these three friends for a special evening of music and entertainment.

The highly anticipated return of our neighboring Berks County songsmith and his musical cohorts Karl Frick, Alan Landes, and Ellen Houle! Jack was a founding member of country-rock band “Golden Rocket” in the late 70s, virtually defining the “Americana” classification a decade or two before the term was adopted - with a unique mix of folk, blues, “roots” rock & roll, and country music.  He’s played in countless other musical combinations while successfully writing for Nashville recording artists and providing his various bands with strong and witty original material. This is music you can dance to, Folks – don’t miss it!

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