Claudia Schmidt’s 8th First Friday Coho Concert!

 

Hey everyone, we’re baaaack!

Friday September 1st marks Claudia’s 8th First Friday Coho Concert, a series she kicked off 11 years ago, and a series she is helping us revive after a long hard Pandemic shut down. This year is also the start of “Claudfest” celebrating 50 years of Claudia’s musical magic on stage (along with 22 recordings… and counting.) Scroll down for additional details/photos/links etc.
Opening for Claudia is Matt Goulet- a local treasure, gifted guitarist and artful arranger.  Below are the fun facts. Please share with your friends and family and help us spread the word.
With equal parts eager anticipation and earnest appreciation,
Rob Peck
Series: First Friday Concerts at Coho
Venue: Great Room at Pioneer Valley Cohousing, 120 Pulpit Hill Road in North Amherst.
Tickets: No advance registration. Seating simply first come, first served.
Doors open: at 6:30 PM, Concert starts at 7
Suggested Donation: $10-$20  (Please be generous, and help support live music)
Refreshments available.
This is a smoke and fragrance-free venue.
Facility is wheelchair accessible
Vision Statement
First Friday Coho Concerts provides a creative forum for talented and visionary musicians to share their gifts and be supported by attendee contributions in a way that values their artistry and encourages their dedication to building a brighter world. Performances take place in the Common House “Great Room”: a space intimate enough to feel like a house concert but large enough to draw in the broader community. The series is a purely volunteer effort, organized by Co-Housing members who enjoy live music and want to share their delight with other music lovers in the Valley.
We hope you’ll join us in the audience, or as a volunteer. Please sign our mailing list on this page, and subscribe to the Facebook page here.

CLAUDFEST! What is it? This year marks the 50th year that Claudia Schmidt has been weaving her musical magic for countless delighted audiences. It begins with her multi-octave voice, 12 string guitar and mountain dulcimer. But then the language leaps in, and it all comes together. Her love of language is obvious from the moment she opens her mouth. Her songs are pure poetry, and along her way she began adding spoken word and story,  so that her listeners get to go on a deep journey with her, returning refreshed and replenished from the experience. She has recorded 22 albums and there is much more to come. Why don’t you come and help this amazing performer celebrate as she begins her 6th decade of  composing and performing?! CELEBRATE CLAUDFEST!

John Coster Songwriter, with Jim Matus, Fri, March 6th!

John Coster is our guest artist on the first Friday in March – one of America’s most eloquent songwriters and a longtime contributor to the revival of traditional music. He is a distinctive singer and guitarist and a true pioneer among Celtic harmonica players. And he’s a local musical treasure that you may not yet know about.

“A songwriter of unusual eloquence and sensitivity who could become a national figure.”

— Boston Globe

His earliest performing experiences included a tour across Canada in an old time music and magic show featuring Walt Koken of the legendary Highwoods Band and Ricky Jay the magician. During time spent In Canada, he was influenced greatly by Cape Breton’s fiddlers and the guitar playing of John Allen Cameron, the “Godfather of Canadian Celtic music”. As a songwriter and bandleader, he has recorded seven albums and regularly performed  with some some of America’s best folk and roots rock musicians, including veterans who’ve worked with Dylan, Leonard Cohen, the Allman Brothers and Crosby Stills and Nash.  John’s music blends an edgy but refined song writing style with deep roots in traditional music. 

John is currently performing solo and with Jim Matus, master of the laoutar, an eight stringed deeply resonant instrument similar to a  mandocello. The two achieve a rich powerful sound, often blending Jim’s laoutar with John’s 12 string guitar and harmonicas. This enables them to create rich textures for John’s songs and explore traditional music  with an instrumental combination not heard before. The video below of Old Stones and Broken Bones was taken at the first gig John did with Jim.

We’re looking forward to this concert, and hope you’ll join us!

John Coster
John Coster