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Common Ground was founded as an effort to build community and to support regional and national musicians and other artists. Since 2005, Common Ground has used its profits to operate the Common Ground Microcredit Fund. The fund raised has raised over $20,000 for local, regional and global community groups and organizations that provide either much needed social services or work toward progressive, nonviolent social change. For more information on Common Ground’s social justice mission, and to learn more about the Common Ground Microcredit Fund, please click here.

Now in our ninth year, Common Ground has hosted such beloved national and regional artists as Steve Forbert, Chris Smither, Susan Werner, Red Molly, Kimya Dawson, Jen Chapin, Guy Davis, Sloan Wainwright, The Kennedys, Vance Gilbert and many more. For many years, Common Ground was a regular stop on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s Annual Most Wanted Preview Tour. In addition to traditional and modern folk artists and singer-songwriters, we frequently feature other musical genres, such as jazz, blues, cajun-zydeco, popular song, R&B, and even the occasional evening of avant garde gamelan music!

Saturday, February 4th, 8 pm

Harry Bolick & Joel Wennerstrom

Venue: Common Ground Folk Series @ Lewisboro Library, 15 Main Street, South Salem NY

Tickets: $12 Advance/$15 Door for Adults; $12 at Door for Seniors; Kids Under 12 are free
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Saturday, February 11th, 7:30 pm

The Neel Murgai Ensemble

Venue: Common Ground @ South Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry NY

Tickets: $15 Advance/$18 Door; Kids Under 12 are free
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Saturday, February 25th, 7:30 pm

Common Ground Cabaret with Ralph Gunderman and Gail Joy Newman

Venue: Common Ground Coffeehouse @ The First Unitarian Society of Westchester, 25 Old Jackson Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson NY

Tickets: $12 Advance/$15 Door; Kids Under 12 are free
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Saturday, March 3rd, 7:30 pm

The Honeycutters

with RJ Storm and Old School

Venue: Common Ground @ South Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry NY
Tickets: $18 in advance, $20 at the door; kids under 12 are free
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Saturday, March 10th, 8 pm

The Clancy Tradition

Venue: Common Ground Folk Series @ Lewisboro Library, 15 Main Street, South Salem NY
Tickets: Adults – $12 in advance, $15 at the door; Seniors – $12; kids under 12 are free

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Saturday, March 24th, 8:00 pm

Nerissa and Katryna Nields

Venue: Common Ground Coffeehouse @ The First Unitarian Society of Westchester, 25 Old Jackson Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson NY
Tickets: $18 in advance, $20 at the door; Kids Under 12 are free

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Saturday, April 14th, 7:30 pm

Chris Smither, with very special guest Eliza Gilkyson

Venue: Common Ground @ South Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry NY
Tickets: Advance, $22.50/Door: $25; Kids Under 12 are free (space permitting)
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Saturday, April 21st, 7:30 pm

Atwater-Donnell

Venue: Common Ground Folk Series @ Lewisboro Library, 15 Main Street, South Salem NY
Tickets: Adults – $12 in advance, $15 at the door; Seniors – $12; kids under 12 are free

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Saturday, April 28th, 7:30 pm

The Mandingo Ambassadors

Venue: Common Ground Coffeehouse @ The First Unitarian Society of Westchester, 25 Old Jackson Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson NY
Tickets: $18 in advance, $20 at the door; Kids Under 12 are free

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Saturday, May 5th, 8 pm

Carolann Solebello and The YaYas

Venue: Common Ground Folk Series @ Lewisboro Library, 15 Main Street, South Salem NY
Tickets: Adults – $12 in advance, $15 at the door; Seniors – $12; kids under 12 are free

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Saturday, May 12th, 7:30 pm

Sloan Wainwright, with Sharon Goldman

Venue: Common Ground @ South Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry NY
Tickets: Adults – $18 in advance, $20 at the door; Kids Under 12 are free

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Saturday, May 19th, 7:30 pm

Driftwood, with South County

Venue: Common Ground @ South Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry NY
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door; Kids Under 12 are free

TICKETS ON SALE SOON!

Saturday, June 2th, 7:30 pm

The Rock & Soul Revue

Venue: Common Ground Coffeehouse @ The First Unitarian Society of Westchester, 25 Old Jackson Avenue, Hastings-on-Hudson NY
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door; Kids Under 12 are free

TICKETS ON SALE SOON!

presents

Harry Bolick and Joel Wennerstrom

Harry Bolick and Joel Wennerstrom combine hard driving southern fiddle tunes, lyrical blues, and tight harmony singing to weave a spellbinding performance interlaced with a bit of history, a flavor of southern culture, and the joy of music. A thirty year veteran of the New York ‘Oldtimey’ music scene, fiddler Harry Bolick has mastered a variety of local fiddling styles from the southern states in a multitude of differing tunings, and has collected and composed a large number of contemporary fiddle tunes in traditional styles.

Born in Mississippi, he has focused on, recorded, and taught workshops in the classic fiddle tunes from Carroll County, Mississippi. He has 5 recordings to his credit and performs in the “Wahoo String Band”, as well as leading duos and bands under his own name.

Reflecting on his background, he explained: “My mother was born in Carrollton, Carroll County, and I was born in the nearest hospital in the next county. I spent summers in the County as a child and have been visiting relatives there ever since.  I remember playing for my grandfather [on one visit] and being surprised when he volunteered that he knew “Carroll County Blues.” I had thought him oblivious to music. I later found out that before he married he was quite the dancer! He did not talk about it around his church-going wife! Avalon, the home place of ‘Mississippi’ John, Narmour, and Smith, is only about 5 miles from my grandfather’s farm.” Harry went on to college in Alabama, where he recalls “I was lucky to meet and study with folklorist Beatrice McClain. Her family’s band, the McClain Family, toured for the Department of State and played Carnegie Hall. She inspired me to learn square dancing, to learn my first fiddle tunes, to go to fiddle contests, and when I moved to Manhattan in my 20′s, to search out the folk music community.”

Harry actually mastered the fiddle in Brooklyn, playing with the local accomplished players there: “I am almost totally self taught, learning ‘on the job’ while I played, as well as from the classic recordings of the 1920′s-30′s…The Brooklyn players were inspired by regular sessions with the Red Clay Ramblers from North Carolina, who were in town for an extended run in the play “Diamond Studs.” In addition to the many house parties and sessions, playing on the streets, public regular jam sessions, coffeehouse concerts and square dances, we would all go to many southern fiddle festivals.”

Recently Harry has put his focus on the Carroll County tunes that he learned from recordings made in the 1920′s by musicians William Thomas Narmour, Shell Smith, and “Mississippi” John Hurt. During the two years before recording the “Carroll County, Mississippi”,  Harry had visited Carroll County and elsewhere in Mississippi to do fieldwork, interviewing musicians to more fully understand this music. While other states share many tunes and approaches to playing, the Mississippi tradition stands out for its unusual melodies and rhythms.

Clawhammer banjo has been a main focus for Joel Wennerstrom since moving from Ohio to NYC in 2001. He performs with numerous old-time and contra dance musicians in the area, and was a founding member of Two Lost Turkeys old time string band (formerly The Moonshiners). When not playing music, he makes his living designing things and teaching design and drawing at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. “As an educator, I am surrounded by young, creative, energetic people who have a profound affect on me and my attitude towards life, and help me learn about myself,” he says. “As a musician I am surrounded by talented friends who pour their hearts out through their hands and voices. As a designer, I discover other’s needs and strive to make a difference in their lives any way I can.”

Tickets: Adults -  $12 in advance, $15 at the door; Seniors – $12 at the door

The Neel Murgai Ensemble

Neel Murgai is a multi-instrumental performer, composer and teacher from New York City. He is a graduate of Goddard College’s MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts program. His life long journey into the depth and beauty of sitar and Indian classical music began with Ravindra Goswami in Banaras, 14 years ago. For the past 8 years Neel has studied with his guru and mentor, Pundit Krishna Bhatt. His interest in music began at a young age with trombone and guitar. While obtaining a degree in Civil Engineering, Neel worked as a radio DJ, hosting an international music program. This fostered in him an abiding interest in music from around the world. He went on to live in India, immersing himself in the music and culture of his parent’s homeland. Upon returning to the U.S. Neel began a career in music. In addition to sitar, he has since learned to play daf (Persian frame drum) with Soheil Zolfonun and kanjira with V. Nagarajan in Chennai. He has studied overtone singing with the Buriyat performance group Uragsha and Harmonic Choir member, Timothy Hill. Neel has also learned Western composition with Edgar Grana.

While dedicated to Indian classical music, Neel is also interested in creating an original music that is rooted in his many influences and studies. The Neel Murgai Ensemble is a product of many years of thought about the ideal instrumentation to advance his compositions.

Neel has toured around the world with the Bill T. Jones Dance Company, performing and collaborating in their multi-media show, “Blind Date”. Other artists Neel has worked with include Dr. Lonnie Smith, Wyclef Jean, Cyndi Lauper, Samir Chatterjee, Daniel Bernard Romain, Ellen Stewart, Laraaji, Yuerba Buena, Baba Israel, Raz Mesinai, Mission on Mars, Akim Funk Buddha, Loren Conners, Louis Bellogenis and Cosmo Vinyl. He has performed at venues ranging from the Lincoln Center and Kennedy Center to the David Letterman Show to jazz clubs such as the Blue Note and at festivals around the U.S including Art Wallah, Arts Plosure, Masala! Mehndi! Masti! and many others.

Neel has composed music for numerous film, TV, video, theater and dance projects including the recent feature length documentary, “The Yes Men Fix the World”, which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. His music has been featured in the BBC series, “Holiday’s in the Danger Zone”, and TBS programs, “Women of the Ink”, and “Spotlights”.

Tonight, Neel will be accompanied by Arun Ramamurthy on violin, Sameer Gupta on tabla and Marika Hughes on cello.

Tickets: $15 in advance, $18 at the door

with Ralph Gunderman and Gail Joy Newman

Ralph Gunderman has had a long successful career as a voice actor, including announcer on Dateline NBC, countless commercials, and, these days, many voice-overs for David Letterman spoofs.  He has done numerous cabarets in NYC.  His shows embrace an eclectic mix from Harold Arlen to Tom Waits to Spike Jones.  From the sublime to the ridiculous. This will be his third appearance at Common Ground Coffeheouse.  On piano will be David Lahm, a jazz pianist and composer as well as an accomplished accompanist.  He has recorded 2 CD’s of his jazz interpretations of Joni Mitchell songs.  Opening the evening is Gail Joy Newman, a singer/actor/comic, who performs “rock, blues, jazz, southern rock, opera, Broadway showtunes, cabaret, rap, Yiddish songs, commercial jingles, TV show theme songs, and cell phone ring tones”.

TICKETS:  Advance, $12/At the Door, $15

presents

The Honeycutters

with R.J. Storm and Old School

In a world that is becoming increasingly digitalized and impersonal, the Honeycutters are building a reputation based on live performance and songs that tend to stick with you. Their first full length studio release “Irene” (May ’09) has landed them in Iaan Hughes’ (No Depression Podcast) top twenty of 2009, Fret Knot Radio Hour’s “Nine you need to know from ’09″, and number 32 in WNCW’s listener voted top 100. Singer/songwriter Amanda Anne Platt has been hailed as “one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC these days” by WNCW programming director Martin Anderson, and her voice has been described as “perfectly unadorned” and “recklessly beautiful”. Lead guitarist and Producer Peter James compliments Platt’s vocals with seamless harmonies and tasteful instrumentation. Spencer Taylor on mandolin, Ian Harrod on bass, and Richard Foulk on the drums effortlessly round out the Honeycutters sound, creating an original brand of americana that has proved equally appealing to both the musician and the music lover, the country and the city, and the old and the young.

Opening the evening will be the noted Hudson Valley-based bluegrass trio R.J. Storm and Old School. The group, which frequently accompanies the legendary Pete Seeger, are R.J. Storm (banjo); Tony Nelson (bass); and Joe Kaminsky (Guitar).

TICKETS: $18 in advance, $20 at the door; kids under 12 are free

presents

The Clancy Tradition

The Clancy Tradition’s origins are found in Ireland in the 1950s when the Clancy family of Moy, County Tyrone formed a Ceili Band, playing at Irish country dances and concerts throughout Ireland. In 1960, three Clancy brothers — Pat Clancy, Eugene Clancy and Brendan Clancy — left Ireland to tour the United States as The Irish Ramblers. The Irish Ramblers, Pat Clancy, Eugene Clancy and Brendan Clancy toured for a period of three years, playing at clubs like Gerde’s Folk City & Carnegie Hall(!), and in 1963 recorded the album, The Patriot Game, on Electra Records. Their musical tradition is currently being passed to the next generation with The Clancy Tradition: Eugene on guitar & vocals, daughter Rosemary Clancy on fiddle & mandolin, son John Clancy on bass, Pat on piano & accordion, daughter Liadain Clancy singing and Mike Melanophy on button accordion. “Ordinary music for ordinary people,” Eugene likes to say of The Clancy Tradition’s playing and singing, but the listener will find it anything but ordinary. From those Sunday afternoons in Armagh many years ago, to the Wednesday night sessions at Eugene and Cecilia’s home, their music keeps faith with the past and rouses the soul of all who hear them.

TICKETS: Adults, $12 in advance/$15 at the door; Seniors (60+)/Students (12+): $12 at the door

presents

Nerissa and Katryna Nields

Nerissa and Katryna Nields are sisters, just two years apart, born at the tail end of the sixties in Manhattan. Nerissa and Katryna Nields have been the darlings of the coffeehouse/festival scene since 1991, with tunes ranging from off-the-hook idiosyncratic to kicking to heartbreaking. They first sang together in the back of their parent’s ’67 Barracuda convertible, and the rest is history. “Our parents were total folkies,” says Nerissa. “Their first date was a Pete Seeger concert and their second was a Harry Bellefonte concert. We used to go to a family camp in the Adirondacks every summer where people sat around a fire. That’s where I learned how to finger pick. The music teacher at our school, Jack Langstaff, was more of the English tradition of folk music than the American, and his legacy was really strong. We grew up on simple folk songs.”They have been performing for twenty years with their band The Nields and also as a duo, with 15 CDs, three books and seven songbooks to their credit. They have performed with James Taylor, The Band, Dar Williams, Ani DiFranco, Dan Zanes, 10,000 Maniacs and most recently with their four kids and a townful of toddlers in their HooteNanny classes in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. They love nothing more than a room full of moms, dads, grannies and grandaddies singing together at the top of their lungs.

TICKETS: $18 in advance, $20 at the door

presents

Chris Smither

with very special guest

Eliza Gilkyson

Common Ground is honored to present two of America’s pre-eminent singer-songwriters — Chris Smither and Eliza Gilkyson — in an extremely rare double bill.

Chris Smither is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who has released 13 albums since the early ‘70s. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and humanist philosophers. Reviewers praise his dazzling guitar work, gravelly voice and sophisticated songwriting. He may be best known for writing “Love You Like A Man” which Bonnie Raitt and Diana Krall have covered. Always a solo performer, Chris tours year ’round, performing nationally and internationally at clubs, theaters and festivals. Chris recently published a short story entitled, “Leroy Purcell,” to AMPLIFIED, a collection of stories by performing songwriters.

Smithers’ most recent album, Time Stands Still is just the eleventh studio album of a career that now spans over four decades. Time Stands Still (Signature Sounds/Mighty Albert) is both pensive and visceral – an album whose songs alternately ponder life’s mysteries in some moments, and let them lie undisturbed in others. Featuring eight new original compositions and a song apiece from Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, and 1920s country-blues songster Frank Hutchison, Time Stands Still’s immediate, intimate sound is the direct result of one gig, and the challenge it presented.

“This is the most stripped-down record I’ve made in a long time,” Smither explains. “That came about thanks to a trip to the Netherlands.” Invited to perform at the Americana-centric Blue Highways Festival in Utrecht, Smither was told he had to bring a band over with him. “I usually perform solo,” he continues, “but they said ‘We don’t hire solo acts.’” He reached out to producer and guitarist David “Goody” Goodrich, who produced Smither’s last two studio albums. “Goody said, ‘Let’s get you, me, and a drummer,” Smither says. “So I called and asked if a trio would be okay, and the festival agreed. So Goody, the drummer Zak Trojano, and I went there, and we killed them!”

“Playing with just the three of us was a lot of fun,” Smither reflects. “At first it scared me, but we did a few rehearsal dates before we left. We booked them under a pseudonym, so there was no pressure. Right after our set at the festival, the soundman gave me a CD he made off the board. I put it away for a while, then listened to it one day. It sounded so good to me, I called Goody up and said ‘I’m sending you a CD. This is how we should do the next record.’ And that’s what we did…”

The songs on Time Stands Still are somehow both vivid and mysterious, evoking contemporary culture and circumstance while remaining touchingly timeless. Smither’s concerns – personal and political – are wed to music that, while stripped down in terms of arrangement and presentation, is among his most intricate, melodic, and challenging. The stark settings only serve to throw the album’s themes into higher relief. “I’m still talking about what I think of as nitty-gritty questions…” Smither says, “…essential questions, existential questions.”

Joining Smither this evening is Eliza Gilkyson, a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and activist who is known for her insightful storytelling and politically relevant songs. She has appeared on National Public Radio, Austin City Limits, Mountain Stage, etown, XM Radio, Air America Radio and has toured worldwide both as a solo artist and in support of Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin and Mary Chapin Carpenter. In 2003 Eliza was inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame alongside such legends as Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Nanci Griffith.

Eliza is the daughter of legendary songwriter Terry Gilkyson, whose hit songs include “Green Fields,” “Memories Are Made of This” and “The Bare Necessities” (from the Disney film Jungle Book). As a teenager she recorded demos for her father, and she has been writing and recording her own music ever since. She is an active member of the Austin music community, and is involved specifically with water conservation issues and The Worker’s Defense Project, which advocates rights for undocumented workers in the USA.

Her songs have been recorded and performed by Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bob Geldof (a cowrite on his current release), Tom Rush and Rosanne Cash, and her song “Requiem” has twice been nominated for a Grammy and won the Edison Award, the oldest and most prestigious Dutch Music prize for a choral recording by the Conspirare Choir.

In May  2011, Red House Records released Gilkyson’s first solo studio album in three years, Roses at the End of Time. This long-awaited sequel to 2008’s highly-acclaimed Beautiful World reveals a songwriter at the height of her story-telling powers.

Note: Advance tickets for this concert are highly recommended

TICKETS: Advance, $22.50/Door: $25

Atwater-Donnelly

The highly acclaimed husband-wife duo, Aubrey Atwater and Elwood Donnelly, present delightful programs of traditional American and Celtic folk songs, a capella pieces, old-time gospel songs, dance tunes, and original works. Elwood and Aubrey blend gorgeous and unusual harmonies and play guitar, Appalachian mountain dulcimer, mandolin, tin whistle, harmonica, banjo, bones, spoons, limberjacks, and other surprises including Appalachian clog dancing, French Canadian footwork, and Tap.

Their performance is appealing to all ages, and with humor, audience participation, and a relaxed stage presence, Aubrey and Elwood explain song origins to create a deeper understanding of the music and its cultural history.

Aubrey and Elwood met as volunteers at the Stone Soup Coffeehouse in Providence in early 1987. Within just a few months these self-taught musicians from Rhode Island formed a duo. Married since 1989, Aubrey and Elwood perform throughout the United States and, on occasion, abroad. Their ten recordings receive international airplay. Highlights include airplay on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” Fiona Ritchie’s “Thistle and Shamrock,” and the nationally syndicated “Midnight Special” out of Chicago.

Atwater and Donnelly have performed and researched traditional folk music and dance in Appalachia, the Ozarks, New England, and other key places in the United States, as well as Ireland, England and Prince Edward Island. They have performed with or shared festival billing with folk legends Jean Ritchie, Pete Seeger, and Doc Watson. The Atwater-Donnelly Duo won Motif Magazine’s Music Awards in the following categories:  “Best Local Folk Act” award in 2006, three awards in 2007: “Best Folk Act” for the Atwater-Donnelly Band, “Album of the Year” for “The Halfway Ground”, and “Best Female Vocalist” for Aubrey Atwater, which Aubrey won again in 2009.  Atwater~Donnelly also won Best Folk Act for 2010 and Folk Act of the Year for 2011.