calendar of events
Concerts & Music Classes: Virtual & In-Person.
Weekly Newsletter
March 18 – 24
“As a violinist, Lena Jonsson is hard to beat. She swings the bow like a magic wand.” Our Nordlys Global Voices Series continues this Sunday with the tradtional and contemporary music of Sweden’s Lena Jonnson Trio. Sparkling joie de vivre and the charisma of a rock-star have made Jonnson one Scandinavia’s most exciting musicians. She merges traditional Swedish dance music with rock, pop, funk and American old-time and bluegrass. She’s Sweden’s current Folk Artist of the Year, and is in heavy rotation on European folk radio. Joined by guitarist Erik Ronström and bassist Krydda Sundström.
March 11 – 17
Armed with a guitar, a deadpan sense of humor, killer songs, and a voice that makes tough guys cry, Lucy Wainwright Roche is the daughter of Suzzy Roche (The Roches) and multiple Grammy-winner Loudon Wainwright III. Her music is gentle, well-crafted contemporary folk that eases us in with flat-footed authenticity, and then lets loose with beauty and drama. For fans of Bon Iver and Sheryl Crow.
March 4 – 10
This Sunday, Steve Poltz (above) and Paul Thorn will give us a wild, joyful, poignant and brilliant night to remember! Singer-songwriter Thorn has jumped out of airplanes, boxed four-time world champion Roberto Duran on national TV, performed with Raitt, Knopfler, and Prine, and charted multiple times on the Billboard Top 100. Poltz co-wrote Jewel’s multiplatinum “You Were Meant For Me”and continues to work with her. “Part busker, part Iggy Pop and part Robin Williams, a freewheeling folkie with a quick wit and big heart.” (AP)
Caffè Lena: The Story of the Longest Running Coffeehouse in America
Caffè Lena In the News
Eight Remarkable Artists That Played at Caffè Lena Before They Hit It Big
Pretty much every Saratogian knows that Bob Dylan performed at Caffè Lena back in the early ’60s, just as he was beginning to kick off his legendary folk career. But Bob wasn’t the only one.
According to Sarah Craig, Executive Director of Caffè Lena, most of the now famous musicians who have performed at the club weren’t famous when they first started performing there. “This was an important building block in their career and in building their skills, and that’s what Caffè Lena is really for,” she explains. “The shows are always great regardless of whether that person becomes a household name later down the line. That’s just a matter of lightning striking or not.”