(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- The Folk Project's Golden Jubilee will take place Friday and Saturday, May 19 & 20 in Morristown featuring Frank Vignola with Vinnie Raniolo, The Robinson & Rohe Band, plus a Cavalcade of Folk Project Luminaries. The event takes place at the Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. The Folk Project is celebrating with a selection of performers that spans the 50 years – from its founding to the latest crop of talented contributors. It’s a fabulous musical legacy, and you’ll enjoy this two-day musical immersion whether you’re brand new to the community or have enjoyed it from the beginning.
Friday Evening Concert: The celebration starts the evening of Friday, May 19th with a concert featuring The Robinson & Rohe Band and opening with songs by a dozen select member performers representing 50 years of great member music. Pre-concert hors d’oeuvres, mocktails and conversation will be enjoyed in The Terrace Room to the background music of The Folk Project Jazz Quartet under the direction of Frank Sole.
Saturday Afternoon Activities: Festivities resume Saturday afternoon, May 20th, with some of their long-time favorite activities and workshops. Chorus Songs hours will feature their favorite sing-alongs. The Story Slam will be a participatory collection of your favorite music-related stories. In their On-and-Off the Charts hour, you can sing your favorite songs that we all know or don’t know and should. Beginning Guitar Workshops are a staple of and two Advanced Guitar Workshops led by Frank Vignola and Vinnie Raniolo.
Saturday Dinner: Afternoon activities conclude with a celebratory sit-down dinner, included in the full-weekend package of activities.
Saturday Evening: The celebration ends Saturday evening with a concert featuring Frank Vignola with Vinnie Raniolo, and opening with a different dozen performing members, who also represent the entire history of this amazing musical community.
Frank Vignola is one of the most extraordinary guitarists performing before the public today. His stunning virtuosity has made him the guitarist of choice for many of the world’s top musicians, including Ringo Starr, Madonna, Donald Fagen, John Lewis, Tommy Emmanuel, Lionel Hampton, the Boston Pops, the New York Pops, and guitar legend Les Paul, who named Vignola to his “Five Most Admired Guitarists List:” for the Wall Street Journal.
Robinson & Rohe have created a distinctive repertoire that draws on the roots music they hold dear, and engages their versatile musical and literary sensibilities as arrangers, improvisers, poets, and producers. The duo delivers a powerful live show replete with effortless harmony singing, soulful grooves, playful humor, and razor-sharp lyrics. They’ve toured all over the US, Europe, UK, and Ireland, lighting up venerable folk venues and festivals from Club Passim to The Green Note, and opening for Tom Paxton and Anaïs Mitchell along the way. Both accomplished artists in their own right, Liam is music director/vocal arranger of the Tony Award-sweeping musical Hadestown on Broadway, and is an original member of the Becca Stevens Band. Jean’s songwriting has won honors from the Kerrville Folk Festival (2022 New Folk winner), the Brooklyn Arts Council (2022 grant recipient), and The Independent Music Awards, among many. She is perhaps best known for her oft-covered video single, “National Anthem: Arise! Arise?”, a stirring alternative to the Star Spangled Banner, and for her Kerville award-winning song, Animal.
Tickets for the 2-day Golden Jubilee are $65 and available for purchase online. Tickets for the individual concerts on Friday and Saturday night are also available for $20 each.
Morristown Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is located at 21 Normandy Heights Road in Morristown, New Jersey.
The Folk Project is New Jersey’s leading acoustic music and dance organization. It is a community of over 400 music lovers, musicians and dancers. Our member volunteers have been showcasing acoustic and traditional music in North Jersey for over 40 years. We invite you to join our audiences, enjoy our shows, and become a part of our dynamic, nonprofit organization.
