In the fall of 1978 I was helping out with the logistics of a folk festival that the Folkway was putting on at Crotched Mountain ski area in Greenfield, New Hampshire. One of my assignments was to go to the Jack Daniels Motel in Peterborough and pick up one of the weekend’s headliners, Odetta.  I knocked nervously on the door, As I expected, her presence was instantly intimidating (though she was perfectly polite), and I also realized that her ample physical presence would be somewhat intimating to the front seat of my little Datsun sedan.  I took my place behind the wheel  and by way of making conversation asked her how she was doing this day. She was silent for a short time and then said sternly, “My father died yesterday.” “I’m sorry,” I said, and then – “will you be able to sing today?” She practically glared at me (though I later learned Odetta’s glare could have a certain warmth to it) and said, “I have to sing today!”

Odetta fell in love with Peterborough, and I don’t recall if it was that year or the following, but she rented a house one winter and just hung out. She soon became a fixture at the Folkway, visiting often and performing occasionally. Others will remember better than I whether she engaged in many return visits, but I will never forget my initial encounter. Continue reading »

In some respects November conjures up an image of things winding down. At least here in New England, the earth is getting ready for a long winter’s nap, and outside chores that did not get done are mostly going to wait til spring. But though we might wish to slow down a bit, perhaps even hibernate, most of us remain busy.  To balance our work, we find comfort in cozy gatherings of friends, and in the warmth of music and dance.

The activities of the Monadnock Folklore Society represent just a small part of the region’s rich cultural environment, but we are quite proud of the quality of what we do in helping to uncover and present diverse entertaing and enriching events. A recent example was the October 19th  Coffeehouse, which featured The Cold River Ranters. The Ranters have been playing together for just a couple of years, though they convey an ease of performing that might fool you into thinking it had been decades. I was immediately struck by their expressiveness, and over the course of several songs found myself enriched by the energy of their performance and the diversity of their repertoire. Continue reading »

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Imagine that you’re singing with a group of people, and you’re channeling a unique and exquisite harmony. You pause, just to breathe, but you hear your voice continue. You look around and discover the person that will be one of your band mates for the next thirty years. That’s precisely what happened to Kim Wallach when she was spending a year at Wesleyan. It was a case of a Wellesleyan going to Wesleyan.  Kim had gone there in part to study under Jean Redpath who was doing a residency there. The synergistic voice she heard belonged to Kate Seeger.

Back at Wellesley College, Kim met Fay Baird, who produced a linoleum engraving for a broadside in an antique printing class (this later became the logo for Kim’s “Black Socks” music label). Their acquaintance was renewed later when Fay walked into a music store where Kim was working. Fay had taken up the banjo and cultivated an interest in Shape Note singing. Their friendship was renewed and they began exploring common musical interests.

Another customer at the store was Lorraine (then Lee) Hammond. Kim didn’t have enough time off to go home to New Jersey for Thanksgiving, so she ended up at Lorraine’s, which proved to be a sort of musician’s center of the universe. The circle that Kim came into was enriching and influential to her musical journey. Continue reading »

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