Contra Dance as part of Nelson’s Old Home Day
7:30 PM in the Nelson Town Hall FREE Admission (donations welcome)
Full schedule of events for Old Home Day at https://nelsonincommon.org/nelson-old-home-day/
Author: MFS
☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough First Saturday Contra Dance | Saturday, August 2, 2025
Peterborough, NH First Saturday Contra Dance on Saturday, August 2. Tod Whittemore will be calling with music from the Sugar River band.
This yearly legacy dance will use the older role terms of “ladies and gents” instead of “larks and robins.”
Contra dance is a fun, relaxed 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.
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.
Tod Whittemore has been calling dances for forty years, having been lucky enough to begin his career at the time when famous callers Ralph Page and Duke Miller were still active in the Monadnock Region. He helped start the Peterborough first Saturday and NEFFA Thursday night dances. Tod has called dances all over the world, and is known for his humor, energy, and infectious love of dancing. He is known for his singing squares, and sometimes yodeling squares.
Joining Tod on stage is the Sugar River Band. The Sugar River Band is a family band (all now adults) led by fiddler Jane Orzechowski. Sarah Bauhan will join the band on flute and whistle.
The dancing begins at 8:00 PM.
Workshop for new dancers and all interested at 7:30 PM.
Admission is sliding scale $12-20, $30 family, or pay what you can.
The Monadnock Folklore Society presents this dance in the historic Town House in Peterborough, NH at 1 Grove Street.
For more information call 603.547.5831.
The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.
☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough First Saturday Contra Dance | Saturday, July 5, 2025
Saturday, July 5, 2025
Steve Zakon-Anderson calling with Good Company, Rohan Weeden (fiddle), Helen Kuhar (guitar), and Cecily Mills (cello)
First Saturday of every month
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.
This is a mask-optional event.
Open music jam 6-7:30 in the lobby.
Contra dance is a fun, easy style of folk dance which 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.
☼ ☼ ☼ Lui Collins & Anand Nayak | Nelson Town Hall | June 1, 2025
Lui Collins and Anand Nayak will appear for a concert on Sunday, June 1 at 3:00 PM in the afternoon at the Nelson Town Hall. Admission is $20/$25(day of show).
Folk singer/songwriter Lui Collins has been performing, writing and recording for 50 years, earning international acclaim for her music. Her clear voice and engaging presence on stage remain to this day as vibrant as ever. Her repertoire, accompanied on tenor ukulele and banjo, ranges from original and traditional folk songs and American standards to bossa nova in the original Brazilian Portuguese. Lui has shared the stage with such notables as Tom Rush, Bonnie Raitt, and Stan Rogers. Renowned guitarist Dave van Ronk called her “one of the best guitarist-arrangers I have heard in years.”
Lui will be joined by guitarist/Grammy-nominated producer and longtime
collaborator, Anand Nayak. Immersed in music at an early age, and building on
years of classical piano, Anand turned to the guitar as a teenager, teaching
himself to play anything and everything he could. An equal love for acoustic and
electric music kept him stylistically open in those formative years, creating a
foundation for a unique ability to play with and enhance the music of a wide
variety of musicians.
Lui and Anand’s nearly two decades of creative collaboration are evident in the
fluid musical dialogue and joy of their live performance.
☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough Contra Dance | June 7, 2025
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Annie Kidwell calling with
Thunderwing: Cedar Stanistreet (fiddle), Donal Sheets (cello and guitar), and Amy Englesberg (piano and accordion)
First Saturday of every month
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.
This is a mask-optional event.
Open music jam 6-7:30 in the lobby.
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.
☼ ☼ ☼ Special May Dance | Peterborough | May 24, 2025
First Annual Spring Blossom Ball
Saturday, May 24
5:30 PM – 11:30 PM
Adina Gordon with Northwoods (Molly Tucker, Casey Murray & Sam Zakon-Anderson)
Lisa Greenleaf with The Star Charters (Cecilia Vacanti, Jess Newman & Mark Price)
$25
Under 25 years old, pay your age
Larks and Robins
This is a fragrance-free and alcohol/substance-free event.
Sponsored by the Monadnock Folklore Society
☼ ☼ ☼ Pine Tree Flyers | Nelson Town Hall | May 9, 2025
We managed to snag the Pine Tree Flyers en route to a festival in Burlington, VT for a concert at The Nelson Town Hall on Friday, May 9 at 7:30 PM. Admission is $20/$25 (day of show).
Four of the finest voices in New England’s traditional music scene shine a renewed light on the tunes of the Northeast with excitement and respect. From festival stages and concert halls to raucous August nights at fiddle camp, the Flyers are here to make sure New England music has a seat at the table as a distinct and vital American tradition. All residents of the great state of Maine, Katie McNally (fiddle), Emily Troll (accordion), Benjamin Foss (guitar), and Neil Pearlman (piano) cut their teeth playing for contra dances and learning from the greats. Individually, they’ve toured the world playing Irish, Scottish, and Quebecois music and they bring this wellspring of knowledge and technical prowess to the American music that was born from these traditions.
Each member of the band brings years of experience and dedication to their craft: Foss and Pearlman have taught at Maine Fiddle Camp since they were teens, Troll plays in the acclaimed contra dance band Anadama, and McNally performed for over a decade with New England supergroup Childsplay. The Flyers have toured internationally and domestically, gracing the stages of festivals such as Celtic Connections, Celtic Colours, Festival of Small Halls, Ossipee Valley Music Festival and playing concerts and dances across the Northeast. They released their self-titled album in May 2024 and appear on the Celtic Colours Live, Vol. 10; both recordings feature founding band member Owen Marshall on guitar.
In the liner notes of their debut album, Amelia Mason writes “Practically every aesthetic choice the Pine Tree Flyers make is in service to New England music’s fundamental accessibility and appeal. In essence, they are repaying the music for its gift to them: a sense of joy, communion, and one’s place in the world.” While New England tunes may not be well known outside of the Northeastern United States, the Flyers are proving that their musical heritage is as vibrant and vital as any American folk tradition. Make way for…THE PINE TREE FLYERS!
“Inspirational” (The Strad)
“Infectious” (Strings Magazine)
“a lightness of being, a sweet soulful exuberance and palpable delicacy” (Songlines)
“…delightful speed and ferocity.” (Kithfolk)
“Striking” (Boston Irish Reporter)
☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough Contra Dance | Saturday, April 5, 2025
Contra Dance in Peterborough NH on Saturday, April 5.
This dance features Andrew Stout calling with music from Sycamore – Cedar Stanistreet (fiddle), Michael Sokolovsky (guitar) and Samuel Foucher (accordion).
– The dancing begins at 8:00 PM.
– Workshop for dance basics at 7:30 PM.
– Admission is sliding scale $12-20. $30 family, or pay what you can.
– Gender-neutral roles will be used for this evening, Larks and Robins
– This is a mask-optional event.
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, or www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.
☼ ☼ ☼ Peterborough Contra Dance | Saturday, March 1, 2025
Contra Dance in Peterborough NH on Saturday, March 1.
This dance features Liz Nelson calling with music from Cojiro – Jess Newman (fiddle) and Mark Price (guitar).
– The dancing begins at 8:00 PM.
– Workshop for dance basics at 7:30 PM.
– Admission is sliding scale $12-20. $30 family, or pay what you can.
– Gender-neutral roles will be used for this evening, Larks and Robins
– This is a mask-optional event.
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, or www.monadnockfolk.org. The Monadnock Folklore Society has presented contra dances and concerts of traditional music since 1982.
☼ ☼ ☼ Garrett Cameron & Natalie Backes | Nelson Town Hall | February 23, 2025
Natalie Backes and Garrett Cameron will present an afternoon concert on Sunday, February 23 at 3:00PM. Admission is $10 in advance/$12 day of the show.
We’re excited to see these talented musicians from our Monday night contradances show us what they’ve got outside the structure of dance music!
Natalie and Garrett together create a sound, rooted in the Celtic traditions, that branches out in unexpected directions. Garrett’s mandolin can sparkle in the upper octaves above Natalie’s guitar, or blend in rich harmonies or percussive force with Natalie’s fiddle- a stripped down sound from the contra dances which are their common ground.