Mare Wakefield & Nomad at the BFC

The Broward Folk Club had a wonderfully successful Open Mic and Concert this past Friday night (January 3rd), and we thank all of you who attended. What a wonderful way to start the New Year (and a precursor of great music yet to come!) The incredibly talented duo of Mare Wakefield and Nomad kept the audience spellbound. Mare’s beautiful voice accompanied by Nomad’s harmonies, her guitar playing accompanied by Nomad’s versatile keyboard playing, their energy, and their wonderful songs, made for a night to be remembered. We were fortunate to be able to be the first audience to hear songs from their new CD, “Poet on the Moon,” which was released earlier this week. Congratulations to Nomad for obtaining U.S. citizenship (a proud achievement), and thanks to both for coming to South Florida and sharing their enormous talent with all of us.

Although the house was “packed,” there was plenty of room for all of us at our new venue, the Sample Road Tavern. The stage is large, the food is delicious (I ate some absolutely delectable grilled shrimp and Cajun style rice), and the room is private and comfortable. What a great place to be holding our monthly concert series!

Photos from the evening are posted on Facebook. (I usually try to get photos of the open mic performances as well, but alas was too preoccupied to do so. I apologize that I missed it this time.)

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.714076331950627.1073741852.216145698410362&type=3

As always, we had terrific talent for the open mic, including newcomer Terry Glynn with his Neil Young style songs, Joanne Tramonte, Randy “Rusty Rock” Rodriguez, Boomslang (who will be performing at the upcoming South Florida Folk Festival), Martyn Wylde and his beautiful traditional/Celtic melodies, and Larry Benson. Thanks to all the talented musicians who shared the evening with us.

We are so gratified to see our audience steadily growing as more and more people learn about our Club and our wonderful events. It is great to always see so many new faces. We extend a special welcome to the following individuals, who attended the evening and became the newest members of the Broward Folk Club: Terry Glynn, Sheryl Wolfman, Stephen and Lorette Dietch, and Jill Hall and Allie.

And of course, none of this is ever possible without the hard work of our volunteer helpers. So… many thanks to Larry Benson (who served as Emcee for the evening), Janis Rubel (who covered the front door), and Neil Leibowitz (who got a crash course in setting up and running a sound system, and did a terrific job). These hard workers are the people who make these events possible.

We look forward to having you join us for next month’s concert at Sample Road Tavern, with featured artist Andrew McKnight (who many of you may remember from the 2008 South Florida Folk Festival). And speaking of the SFFF… REMINDER. TODAY, JANUARY 6th, IS THE LAST DAY TO GET ADVANCE TICKET PRICING FOR SOUTH FLORIDA FOLK FESTIVAL SEATS. BUY YOUR TICKETS BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE DISCOUNT, WHICH ENDS AT MIDNIGHT.

Here’s to the music, and see you all at the Festival.

Arlene Boumel

President – Broward Folk Club

Co-Director (with Bob Singer) – 2014 South Florida Folk Festival