Author: MFS

☼ ☼ ☼ Tim Eriksen w/Peter Irvine | Nelson Town Hall | Friday, September 11, 2026

About

The Monadnock Folklore Society is excited to welcome back Tim Eriksen & Peter Irvine for a concert at the Nelson Town Hall on Friday, September 11 at 7:30 PM.

Admission is $25/$20(in advance). Children under 16 are admitted free with paying adult.

Tim Eriksen is an acclaimed singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, banjo, fiddle, bajo sexto, kaval, bansuri) from Amherst, Massachusetts. He is known for transforming American tradition with his startling interpretations of old ballads, love songs, shape-note gospel and dance tunes from New England and Southern Appalachia. He combines hair-raising vocals with inventive accompaniment on banjo, fiddle, guitar and bajo sexto – a twelve string Mexican acoustic bass – creating a distinctive hardcore Americana sound.

Peter Irvine is a founding member of legendary band Cordelia’s Dad. When he’s not playing drums and percussion or teaching, Peter runs his his successful Entertainment Law practice in Northampton, MA.

On their new album ‘Absence and her sister’ Tim Eriksen and Peter Irvine return to their roots in folk minimalism and gothic Americana- new and ancient songs of their native New England informed by the wide palette of their other collaborations. The two are probably best known for their musical contributions to films including the Oscar-winning Cold Mountain and cult horror phenomenon The Outwaters, and as founding members of the anomalous folk-noise outfit Cordelia’s Dad, “the only band to have performed with both Doc Watson and Nirvana.” But while echoes of punk-folk and “shapenote” music abound on Absence and her sister, so does the dissonance and rhythmic complexity of their Bosnian band Žabe I Babe, the deep groove they picked up from collaborators like banjo master Dwight Diller and East African gospel singers the Naamaara sisters, and the love of experimentation and power of repetition celebrated in Terry Riley’s “In C,” the first piece the two ever played together as teenagers.

This promises to be a night you won’t easily forget. One listener describes one of their concerts as sounding “like it could have come from any time in the last five thousand years, or the next five thousand. My son, the Ursula Le Guin fan, thinks they sound like a pair of bards from one of the more remote islands in Earthsea. I leave their shows with my senses fully activated in a way that rarely happens at my age.” Dr. Ethan Hein – ‘Ethan teaches you music’

“One of the best singers in music” 
-T Bone Burnett 

“otherworldly” 
-Barbara Kingsolver 

 



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☼ ☼ ☼ Cosy Sheridan & Sloan Wainwright w/Charlie Koch & Glen Roethel | Nelson Town Hall | September 18, 2026

About, Concerts, Events, Songs, Workshops

 

Cosy Sheridan & Sloan Wainwright will appear in concert at the Nelson Town Hall on Friday, September 18 at 7:30 PM. ‘Pay what you can’, suggested Admission is $20 and children under 16 are admitted free with a paying adult.

 

Join two master performers, singers and songwriters Cosy Sheridan and Sloan Wainwright for the opening night concert for The Song Sessions workshops. Add in Charlie Koch on bass and Glen Roethel on lead guitar and you have a night of uplifting and joyous songs. They will each be performing separately and together as a quartet.

Sloan Wainwright has played the great concert halls, the most storied listening rooms and top music festivals while also teaching at the nation’s leading music retreats. As a member of an acclaimed family of artists (brother Loudon Wainwright, sister-in-law Kate McGarrigle, nephew Rufus Wainwright and nieces Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche), Wainwright has charted an artistic path all her own. A unique hybrid of pop, folk, jazz and blues, Sloan’s music is unified by her melodious tone and rich, powerful contralto. She will be backed up by Glen Roethel on guitar and harmonies.

Cosy Sheridan has been called “a buddhist monk in a twelve-step program trapped in the body of a singer-songwriter” and also one of the era’s finest and most thoughtful songwriters. She has performed at Carnegie Hall and The Cowgirl Hall of Fame, as well as coffeehouses, festivals and concerts throughout the country.* “*An unapologetically tuneful writer with sticky lyrics,*” *wrote* Sing Out Magazine. *Backed by the rhythms and harmonies of bass player Charlie Koch, she is a top shelf guitarist with
a distinctive percussive right hand technique* .“*You can’t make it into double digits, and continue touring for twenty or so years, unless you know what you’re doing, and do it well*,”* wrote *The Chicago Examiner. *Cosy is the founder and director of The Song Sessions, and also Moab Folk Camp in Moab, Utah.



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Drawing of humans in different stages of life against a blue to white gradient

☼ ☼ ☼ Crankies and Puppetry Slam | Friday, July 10, 2026

Concerts

The Monadnock Folklore Society presents a Crankies and Puppetry Slam on Friday, July 10. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. with performances by Storm Welch, Madison J. Cripps, Mackenzie Doss, Kay Kinderman, Garrett Cameron, Natalie Backes.


Drawing of humans in different stages of life against a blue to white gradient
Hand drawn image by Storm Welch

What is a crankie? It’s an old storytelling art form. An artist makes a long illustrated scroll that is wound onto two spools. The spools are loaded into a box which has a viewing window. The scroll is then hand-cranked while the story is told, a song is sung or a tune is played.

Admission is $20 in advance or $25 at the door. A child age 16 or younger is free with a paying adult.

  • Mackenzie Doss is a Southwest-born writer, director, educator, fabricator and puppeteer. She received her MFA from the University of Connecticut Puppet Arts Program in 2022 and is the current Managing Director for Sandglass Theater in Putney, VT.
  • Madison J. Cripps is a puppeteer whose talent has captivated audiences for almost two decades. Through his meticulously crafted marionettes and storytelling, he creates a unique connection that transcends time and space, leaving spectators spellbound and their imaginations ignited.
  • Kay Kinderman has a special place in her heart for the detailed and the small and the intimate, dancing with the notion of grief and love being inseparable.
  • Storm Welch is the visual artist, illustrator, vocalist, writer, and shadow puppeteer of the Crankie “Hares on the Mountain” as well as many other Crankies. A traveling artist, Storm originally hails from the Monadnock Region of NH and currently resides in Brattleboro, VT. They take inspiration from living folk traditions across the northeast and adapt and arrange Appalachian and European folk ballads to visualize stories about loss, queerness, change, and most importantly, more than human brethren — flora and fauna. “Welcome Home” is a puppet slam organized by Storm with a traveling circus tent proscenium built in collaboration with Hannah Ellingwood of Gnome Studio.

The event takes place in the historic Nelson Town Hall in Nelson at 3 Nelson Common Road. For more information, call 603-762-0235 or visit www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982. This Crankie project is supported by a grant from Arts Alive.

☼ ☼ ☼ Aurora Nealand & the Royal Roses | Dublin School | July 3, 2026

About, Concerts, Events, Songs

 

 

Join us for a special evening of traditional New Orleans jazz with Aurora Nealand and the Royal Roses at the Dublin School in Dublin, NH. This will be an outdoor event, weather permitting, Friday, July 3, 7:30 pm at the Fountain Arts Building on the Dublin School campus.

 

The concert is co-sponsored by The Walden School  and the Monadnock Folklore Society and is FREE and open to the public.

The Royal Roses grew out of the rich resurgence that traditional jazz is seeing in New Orleans amongst the younger generation of musicians today. Saxophonist/vocalist Aurora Nealand has been playing in various groups in New Orleans since 2005, and the Royal Roses, founded in 2010, is her first venture as a bandleader. The Royal Roses draw their repertoire heavily from Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhart and traditional jazz of New Orleans. Comprised of some of the finest young players on the New Orleans music scene today, the Royal Roses are seeking to breath new energy, arrangements and compositions into this genre of music while exploring and learning from its rich history and tradition. They’ve performed in New Orleans at the French Quarter Festival, Satchmo Festival and Preservation Hall, as well as in NYC at Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival. In the Spring of 2018 The Royal Roses were voted “Best Traditional Jazz Band”  at the Big Easy Awards!! Their first album “A Tribute to Sydney Bechet: Live at Preservation Hall” was released in 2011 to national acclaim. Their second album “The LookBack Transmission” was released in 2014 and includes original and traditional compositions including one Ms. Nealand wrote for the HBO series “Treme”. Inn 2016 they released a third album, “Comeback Children”.

This year’s line up: Aurora Nealand (Vocals, saxophone, clarinet), Dave Boswell (Trumpet), Aani Kisslinger (Trombone), Josh Dunn (Guitar), Jared Engel (Bass), and Tanner Gus s(drums).

This is the first in a series of FREE concerts that the Walden School offers. Click here for a complete look at their 2026 concert series.

☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough First Saturday Contra Dance | May 2, 2026

Contra Dance

Saturday, May 2, 2026

Steve Zakon-Anderson calling with Springtide (Elsie Gawler cello & fiddle, Ethan Tischler guitars, Willy Clemetson fiddle & foot percussion).

The dancing from 8:00 PM until 11 PM. 

Optional workshop for dance basics at 7:30 PM.

Admission is sliding scale $5-25. $30 family, or pay what you can.
Gender-free roles will be used for this evening: Larks and Robins.

Contra dance is a fun, easy style of folk dance that has flourished in New England since the 1700s. Partners form lines and dance a short sequence of steps with their neighbors. Over the course of the dance, each couple travels the length of the line and dances with every other couple. Dancers are welcome to bring a partner or a group of friends but it’s not necessary – traditionally, dancers are encouraged to change partners throughout the evening.

The dance takes place in the historic Town House in Peterborough, NH at 1 Grove Street. For more information, call 603-547-5831 or visit www.facebook.com/peterboroughcontra.

The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.

☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough First Saturday Contra Dance | Saturday, March 7, 2026

Contra Dance

Saturday, March 7, 2026

Steve Zakon-Anderson calling with Noah VanNorstrand on fiddle and Amy Englesberg on keyboard.

The dancing from 8:00 PM until 11 PM. 
Workshop for dance basics at 7:30 PM.
Admission is sliding scale $12-20. $30 family, or pay what you can.
Gender-free roles will be used for this evening: Larks and Robins.

Contra dance is a fun, easy style of folk dance that has flourished in New England since the 1700s. Partners form lines and dance a short sequence of steps with their neighbors. Over the course of the dance, each couple travels the length of the line and dances with every other couple. Dancers are welcome to bring a partner or a group of friends but it’s not necessary – traditionally, dancers are encouraged to change partners throughout the evening.

The dance takes place in the historic Town House in Peterborough, NH at 1 Grove Street. For more information, call 603-547-5831 or visit www.facebook.com/peterboroughcontra.

The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.

☼ ☼ ☼ Lissa Schneckenburger Trio | Nelson Town Hall | February 27, 2026 – 7:30 PM

About, Concerts, Dance Music, Events, Songs

On Friday, February 27 join Lissa (fiddle and vocals), Rachel Aucoin (piano), and Samuel Foucher (accordion) for a night of traditional fiddling, folk songs, and more! The concert begins at 7:30 PM. Admission is $25/$20 (in advance).

Over the last several decades Schneckenburger has made music that showcased everything from traditional New England dance tunes, to original songs inspired by her experience as a foster and adoptive parent. Her new album, Falling Forward, has blended her love of traditional music with her love of writing, in her first fiddle forward album in over a decade. Raised in a small town in Maine, Schneckenburger grew up with music. She began playing fiddle at the age of six, inspired by her parent’s interest in folk music. In 2001 she graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a degree in Contemporary Improvisation. She has been writing, performing, and teaching music around the world ever since.

“To me, music creates community,” Schneckenburger says. “Music is what people sing along to, dance to, fall in love to… music brings people together. These songs are part of all of us, and it’s an honor to have had the chance to record them.”

Rachel Aucoin – “I have been playing and writing music since I was a child growing up in Southern Maine and wrote my first song about my dog, Red, at the age of seven . Recently I have been compelled to share my music and hopefully others will enjoy listening as much as I enjoy writing. My style is alternative rock, pop, instrumental rock, and singer/songwriter to folk.”  

Samuel Foucher – “I grew up in the Monadnock region of southern New Hampshire. My love for the accordion began at a new years’ eve concert at a young, impressionable age. Bob McQuillen, Jimmy Keane and Jeremiah McLane were some of my mentors and sources of inspiration on this versatile instrument. Contra dancing was a frequent and beloved part of my childhood, and I have a deep appreciation for music and dance traditions of all sorts. I also love song, especially songs about the land and local history. While not playing my instrument, I enjoy woodworking and carpentry, riding bicycles, growing food, making useful and beautiful items, and anything that can serve as a catalyst for building community.”

For Advance Reservations, Click Here.