Pioneer Valley Folklore Society Happenings

Please come share in an evening of music and stories at the Pioneer Valley Folklore Society Song & Story Swap.

Saturday, March 7, 7:00 p.m. at The Nacul Center, 592 Main St., Amherst, Mass (see map).

The featured performer at the March 7 Song & Story Swap will be folk musician Matt Stamell.

From the Pioneer Valley to the Hudson Valley, Matt Stamell is renowned as a maker and restorer ofmusical instruments, through his Stamell

Musician-songwriter Matt Stamell will join March 7 Song & Story Swap in Amherst

Stringed Instruments shops in Amherst and Poughkeepsie. Perhaps lesser known are his extraordinary talents as a musician and songwriter.

Matt has played guitar and been writing songs since he was 14 years old. He established a folk festival while at Hobart College in the 1970s and was an active performer on the folk scene for many years.

Matt Stamell recently released a CD of mostly original material that spans his lifetime, entitled Hello Old Friend. He recorded it in Los Angeles with his old friend Craig Eastman, a superb mandolinist and fiddling genius with roots in Northampton and Hampshire College. Craig has worked in Los Angeles for many years, contributing to the scores of films such as Pirates of the Carribean, Black Hawk Down, The Alamo, and Rango. Craig enlisted several LA musicians to play on Hello Old Friend, including David P. Jackson, Blair Sinta and Matt Cartsonis.

This month's opening round theme is Crime and Punishment.

Looking ahead to next month, the Song & Story Swap guest for April 4 will be folksinger-songwriter Pat Lamanna and the opening round theme will be "female power."

The Song & Story Swap is held on the first Saturday of each month, excepting July and August, and is jointly sponsored by the Pioneer Valley Folklore Society and the Nacul Center. Visit the Folklore Society website at http://www.filbert.com/pvfs.

The Song & Story Swap is open to the public, free of charge with donations accepted ($5 - $10 is suggested). People of all ages gather to share stories and songs that are traditional, newly written, or of personal experiences. You can tell, sing, or lead everyone in singing, or request a song or story. Listeners are welcome.

3/7 - Matt Stamell. PVFS Song & Story Swap, Nacul Center, 592 Main St., Amherst, MA. 7:30pm.

3/14 - Zydeco Connection. Wendell Full Moon Coffeehouse. Wendell Town Hall, Wendell, MA. 7:30pm.

3/19 - Craig Eastman with Jim Henry and Guy DeVito. House concert. Stamell Strings, 18 Kellogg Ave., Amherst, MA. 7:00pm. Info: (800) 766-0936.

3/21 - Joe Jencks. Mt. Toby Concerts. Mt. Toby Friends Meeting House, 194 Long Plain Road, Leverett, MA. 7:30pm. Info: 413-336-2589.

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