A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves various types of coffee, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caffeinated beverages. A coffeehouse may also serve food, such as light snacks, sandwiches, muffins, fruit, or pastries. In continental Europe, some cafés also serve alcoholic beverages. Coffeehouses range from owner-operated small businesses to large multinational corporations. Some coffeehouse chains operate on a franchise business model, with numerous branches across various countries around the world.
Barbara Dane is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer, guitarist, record producer, and political activist. She co-founded Paredon Records with Irwin Silber.
Jennifer Kimball is a singer and songwriter who formed the folk duo The Story with Jonatha Brooke.
Susan Tedeschi is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks’ band, and other musicians.
Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis, was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infancy, Davis first performed professionally in the Piedmont blues scene of Durham, North Carolina in the 1930s, then converted to Christianity and became a minister. After moving to New York in the 1940s, Davis experienced a career rebirth as part of the American folk music revival that peaked during the 1960s. Davis' most notable recordings include "Samson and Delilah" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy".
David Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. An eclectic artist, Bromberg plays bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the same time.
Club Passim is an American folk music club in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was opened by Joyce Kalina and Paula Kelley in 1958, when it was known as Club 47, and changed its name to simply Passim in 1969. The Donlins who ran the club during the 1970s pronounced the name PASSim. Bob Donlin said this pronunciation as he welcomed people to the shows with the always-out-of-adjustment mic stand microphone, but those who were unaware often said PassEEM. It adopted the present name in 1994; a combination of the earlier two names. In 1994 the venue also became a non-profit.
Jim Henry is an American folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He started out as a member of the Sundogs, a New England "swamp-boogie-swing" band, in the late 1980s. In 1993, he released his first solo album, Into the Blue. He has toured with Mark Erelli, Deb Talan, and The Burns Sisters, and has added instrumental parts to hundreds of albums. He toured for many years with Tracy Grammer and his accompaniment has appeared on both her solo albums. The two met for the first time at their first gig, unrehearsed. He is also a music producer and sound engineer.
The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Beacon, New York that seeks to protect the Hudson River and surrounding wetlands and waterways through advocacy and public education. Founded by folk singer Pete Seeger with his wife Toshi Seeger in 1966, the organization is known for its sailing vessel, the sloop Clearwater, and for its annual music and environmental festival, the Great Hudson River Revival.
Located in Saratoga Springs, New York, Caffè Lena is the oldest continually running coffee house in the United States. Founded in 1960 by William and Lena Spencer, it claims to be the oldest folk-oriented coffee house, in the U.S., featuring acoustic concerts and cultural events showcasing folk music, traditional music, and singer-songwriters of a wide range, including artist Bob Dylan, who performed for two consecutive nights at the cafè in 1961, a year prior to the release of his debut album.
Nick Katzman is an American blues musician. Katzman was born in New York City, and lives in both Manhattan and Berlin, Germany. He plays in a variety of musical genres, including Chicago blues, Mississippi blues, Texas blues, and ragtime.
Thomas Griffin Winslow was an American folk singer and writer known as a "disciple" of Reverend Gary Davis and a former member of Pete Seeger's band. He performed with his family as The Winslows and recorded with Al Polito. His career as a performing artist lasted over forty years. He was most notable as the composer of "Hey Looka Yonder ", a folk song that has been the anthem of the Sloop Clearwater.
Postcrypt Coffeehouse is an all-acoustic music venue in the basement of St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in New York City, run completely by students. Founded in 1964, Postcrypt has hosted many up-and-coming folk musicians, including Jeff Buckley, Dar Williams, Shawn Colvin, David Bromberg, and Ani DiFranco. Additionally, Suzanne Vega, a graduate of Barnard College, returns to Postcrypt each Spring to play one secret concert. The young folk singer Anthony da Costa performs there regularly, and Mary Lee Kortes, of the band Mary Lee's Corvette, has played there along with her husband, the guitarist and producer Eric Ambel.
Rita Corinne Hosking is an American composer and musician based in Davis, California. She plays Americana and bluegrass styles of music with both standards and original songs. Since the release of Are You Ready?, she has been performing around the country at concerts, festivals, and other venues.
Jeremy James is a singer/songwriter based in Albany, NY. He plays acoustic guitar and mandolin. Jeremy James' music has been featured locally on area radio stations, and on internet radio.
Mary Flower is an American musician and music educator on the independent Yellow Dog Records label. A blues and ragtime fingerstyle guitarist and vocalist, she combines intricate syncopated Piedmont style fingerpicking with lap-slide guitar.
Kid Bailey was a Mississippi Delta bluesman. His one known recording session occurred on September 25, 1929, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Rhiannon Giddens is an American musician known for her eclectic folk music. She is a founding member of the country, blues, and old-time music band the Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she was the lead singer, fiddle player, and banjo player.
Penny Lang was a Canadian folk music icon who earned a loyal following, influencing many artists. She performed at major folk festivals and clubs across North America.
Christopher Alden Shaw is a folk musician specializing in the music and folklore of the Adirondack Mountains, recognized nationally as a notable practitioner of this milieu. His first album, Adirondack, a collection of traditional and original tunes, was selected for inclusion in the folk music collection of the Library of Congress. "Shaw's new songs sound like ancient ones," said Geoffrey Himes of The Washington Post. The "Ambassador of the Adirondacks" frequently collaborates with his wife, fellow singer-songwriter Bridget Ball. Capital Region Magazine called him "a walking, talking, singing National Geographic Special."
