Uggh. Monday. Back to work. With a hint of spring in the air, and a lack of sleep due to the time change, it was tough getting to work today. I hope you are doing better than I am!!

Well, we carry on. Below are a few items of note –

The Bergen Record ran an interesting article by Jim Beckerman on house concerts yesterday. (If you are out of the area, or missed it, you can read it online by clicking here .) Yours truly was quoted along with our good friends John Dull and Amy Blake, two individuals that are running wonderful house concert series. Another good friend, Wanda Fisher of WAMC in Albany, was also mentioned in the article.

Folk music fans are probably familiar with the concept of house concerts. One of the finest series was the Cabin Concert series that was run for many years by Tim & Lori Blixt before they moved from our area. Even though their series is no longer in operation, there are some wonderful house concert series in our area including the aforementioned John Dull concerts, Amy Blake’s “The Place” series from her home in Livingstone, plus the Borderline Concerts in Spring Valley (a resurrection of the wonderful Borderline Coffeehouse that was in operation a number of years ago), and there are others cropping up all the time.

Be sure to check this websites concert listing page (click here) for more information. A house concert represents a wonderful opportunity to “visit” with an artist for an “up close and personal” concert. Don’t be bashful about going into a strangers home for such a show – when you go to a club you probably don’t know the owner either! House concerts are keeping folk and acoustic music alive and represent an opportunity for artists to travel and share their music. With the sparsity of opportunities at commercial venues, house concerts have grown in stature and offer great entertainment in a cozy environment. Don’t miss them!!

Speaking of opportunities, I can’t tell you all our plans – but the Hurdy Gurdy staff has been busy planning for our 2007-2008 season. We have an exciting lineup in store and a few surprises – so please be sure to sign up for our e-mail list (at the top right hand column of this page). While it is premature to divulge our plans, I can tell you that there will be some interesting changes and additions in our series that will be sure to please our longtime supporters as well as new audience members who have not visited us yet! Stay tuned for details….

While we are on the subject of the Hurdy Gurdy, don’t forget our next show – Aztec Two-Step performing the Simon & Garfunkel Songbook on Saturday April 14th! Tickets are on sale now at Briar Rose Books in Teaneck, as well as through our website – www.hurdygurdyfolk.org . It will be a memorable evening!!