Folk Week 2025
The Cape Ann Guitar Society is excited to announce four nights of music where we showcase some of our area’s most unique musical voices in a variety of venues on Cape Ann. Our diversity is our strength - get to know the folk music of the Puerto Rican countryside, Jewish celebrations, the Emerald Isle, Cape Ann maritime tradition, and modern Americana.
Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band
Wednesday, August 27th, 7:30 pm at MAGMA
Boston based internationally-acclaimed Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band brings passion, virtuosity, and contagious energy to every performance. The Wheels improvise with the intimacy of chamber music and the intensity of a rowdy dance band. Klezmer is a Hebrew word, a combination of the words "kley" (vessel) and "zemer" (melody) that referred to musical instruments in ancient times. It became colloquially attached to Jewish folk musicians sometime in the Middle Ages. Working under various restrictions in different centuries and cultures, Jewish musicians (klezmorim) developed their own unique style out of a variety of local musical styles. Figuring most prominently are Ottoman Turkish modes and Balkan gypsy and clarinet stylings. While "klezmer" referred originally only to instrumental music, it has come to mean Yiddish vocal music as well, encompassing both folk songs and music from the Yiddish theater, which thrived in the early 20th century in both Warsaw and New York.
Jug of Punch and Michael O’Leary
Thursday, August 28th, 4-7 pm at Rocky Neck Cultural Center
This event is free to the public as a part of Culture Splash.
Jug of Punch puts a modern twist on traditional Celtic music, with lush vocal harmonies and a driving folk beat. The band, in one form or another, has played up and down the east coast from Canada to the Virgin Islands but makes its home around Boston.
A Gloucester resident of 35 years, Michael O’Leary is a singer and song-searcher of Celtic and Maritime songs. He has performed extensively on Cape Ann and strives to share the historical and cultural background of songs. His Fisherman’s Ballads project works with the 1874 Gloucester publication 'Fishermen's Ballads and Songs of the Sea', a collection of 120 pieces by a wide array of authors, including many who were local. This summer Michael is hosting weekly Celtic music sunset sails on the Schooner Ardelle, and performed in Cape Ann Guitar Society’s inaugural concert last year.
Fabiola Mendez Trio
Friday, August 29th, 8 pm at The Cut Live
Tickets: $15-25 available here
Fabiola Méndez is an Emmy-nominated composer known for her unique blend of genres, including folk, jazz, and Afro-Caribbean influences. Her music takes listeners on a journey through various identities, cultures, and roots. As a Puerto Rican cuatrista, Fabiola Méndez showcases the rich musical traditions of her homeland. Her mastery of the cuatro, a traditional Puerto Rican instrument, adds a unique and authentic sound to her compositions. Fabiola’s music is a 21st century version of music that originated in the mountains of Puerto Rico, where the tradition of the Jíbaro (country folk) was to celebrate the coffee harvest with joyful music and dance.
The Clements Brothers Band
with Night Owls
Saturday, August 30th, 6:30 pm at Windhover
The Clements Brothers are George and Charles Clements, identical twins from New England. They’ve been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember and ‘The Clements Brothers’ marks their first project together since playing in the internationally touring grass-roots band, ‘The Lonely Heartstring Band’ with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records. With roots, rock, bluegrass, jazz, and classical influences, George (on guitar) and Charles (on bass) aim to capture their singer-songwriter sensibilities in a unique blended voice, at once enthralling and intimate, groovy and serene. The duo is a fusion of each brother's unique musical journey, and the result is a music all its own, filled with vocal harmonies, instrumental virtuosity, and a genuine love of song.
Night Owls, formed in 2022, brings together the musical talents of guitarist Brendan Evans, vocalist Ben Blanchard, and Daniel Palmer, a songwriter turned mystery/suspense novelist. The group performs mostly original material blending classical guitar with three part harmonies to create a unique sound for their indie-folk infused songs.