The Folk Collective Performs At CranFest In The Courtyard

Music lovers are in for a special treat on Thursday, Aug. 8. Five members of The Folk Collective will perform as part of CranFest in the Courtyard’s season six concert series in the courtyard of The 204 (the Harwich Cultural Center at the former middle school).

The Folk Collective is an artist-led, multigenerational group of 12 select musicians, teachers, artist-activists and cultural thought leaders supported and hosted by the legendary Club Passim in Cambridge. Through an active exchange of ideas and conversations, The Folk Collective challenges Club Passim and the wider folk community to reconsider their perceptions of folk music. The cohort aims to present inclusive and equitable events that welcome and invite diverse audiences and artists at Passim and beyond.

The five members of The Folk Collective who will perform at The 204 are multi-instrumentalist Maxfield Anderson, multitalented singer-songwriter Lydia Harrell, recording artist and arts educator Stephanie McKay, award-winning artist and songwriter Kim Moberg and award-winning singer-songwriter Alastair Moock. The group will perform and share their unique perspectives on where folk music is heading in the 21st century.

Moock explained that The Folk Collective started two years ago.

“The board members of Club Passim were looking for ways to deepen their commitment to diversity, equity and especially inclusion and belonging in the club,” Moock said. “Club Passim is a historic club, and folk music in New England has become associated over the years with whiteness, even though we all know the traditions and roots come from a diverse cross section of American demographics. Musicians like me are steeped in blues music, which comes from African American traditions, but we are also very aware that we can go into any folk club in Boston and find predominantly white audiences, and white lineups of musicians. Club Passim, being a leader and a premiere folk venue in Boston, has been looking for ways to address this for years, as most groups in the folk community have, but many have been spinning wheels not making progress.”

Moock said the board of Club Passim hired a consultant to work with them and help figure out how to address issues of diversity within the folk music community.

“The club really lucked out when they hired Shea Rose as curator of music and culture,” Moock said. “She doesn't have a folk music background, but she had successfully worked with the Gardiner Museum, which was trying to diversify their music series. She also teaches at Berklee College of Music, and has had her own very successful music career.”

Rose organized The Folk Collective, a group intended to advise her, as well as to model what inclusion at Club Passim could look like, and to build a community of people she could lean on to help do this work.

“A big part was bringing in other Black musicians with expertise in different areas,” Moock said. “Shea was really intentional.”

Through a nomination process, musicians were found to form the first 12-member cohort of The Folk Collective. Lydia Harrell recalled being nominated by Club Passim board member and friend Kemp Harris.

“It was nice of him to do that, and I got the message from Shea Rose — any time I can be around her is a blessing,” Harrell said. “I was excited to have this unique opportunity to meet people I wouldn't normally meet. I like that they put us in a room with so many types of people, and we all learned so much. Parents, nonparents, old, young, nonbinary, the whole spectrum of the queer community. It was so cool to have that level of diversity in such a small number of people.”

Kim Moberg was a longtime fan of Club Passim and had performed there a number of times when she received a letter inviting her to participate in The Folk Collective.

“I was so excited! It’s been such a positive and enlightening experience for me,” Moberg said. “It takes an immense amount of work, patience and persistence to chip away at systemic walls that we sometimes don’t even realize exist. Shea Rose, curator of music and culture and founder of The Folk Collective, is masterful at steering transformation towards true inclusion through enlightenment and respect. I’ve never met anyone like her, and I hold a great deal of respect for her.”

The current 12-member cohort of The Folk Collective will soon pass the torch to a new cohort. The members expressed their eagerness to meet the new group of musicians, as well as their intention to remain engaged and involved with the new cohort as time goes on.

“It was always intended to continue to move forward and rotate,” Moock said. “Our time in the cohort will come to an end but it will continue to grow. At some time they will begin on the next cohort. Those of us who want to will certainly continue to be involved with them, which is really exciting.”

The concert will take place rain or shine, and will move into the auditorium in case of rain. Doors open at 5:45, with the music starting at 6:30 p.m. Bring your own blanket or lawn chair to get comfortable on the grass. Picnic suppers or takeout food is welcome. Please note: soft drinks will be available to purchase, but alcoholic beverages will not be available. All CranFest in the Courtyard shows are $25 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.harwichcranberryartsandmusicfestival.org/.

To learn more about The Folk Collective visit www.passim.org/mission/folkcollective/. For more on the five members who will be performing at CranFest in the Courtyard visit maxfieldanderson.com, lovelysinger.com, stephaniemckay.com, kimmobergmusic.com and moockmusic.com.