4/6/24 @ The Linden Tree Coffee House
Wakefield, MA
4/20/24 @ Pathway Arts Center
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
6/15/24 @ Waltham Riverfest
Waltham, MA
“On August 31st, I recorded a
segment at The Wang/Boch Center’s Ghost Light
Series to 3,500 empty seats in that beautiful
theater, to be aired in this fall. ”
Kemp Harris @ ‘The Ghost Light series” The Boch Center
Friday, October 9, 2020
Boch Center shines a light on struggling music venues with a series of shows.
In theater culture, a “ghost light” is a single lamp left burning when everyone has left.
In a time when many venues have gone dark, the Boch Center is reviving live music with “The Ghost Light Series” at the Wang Theatre, televised half-hour shows that will feature artists playing to an empty house, illuminated only by one ghost light. No amps. No spotlights.
The series premieres Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. on NECN with the Mammals. It will air every other week in the same time slot, through at least Dec. 18. The lineup includes Chris Smither, Keb’ Mo’, Lori McKenna, Tom Rush, Noel Paul Stookey, Jonathan Edwards, Will Dailey, Livingston Taylor, Restless Age, Jay Psaros, Kemp Harris, Alice Howe, and Freebo.
“I wanted to do something in this beautiful theater to raise awareness about what independent theaters are going through right now,” said Joe Spaulding, president and chief executive officer of the Boch Center. “[W]e were the first industry to close, and we will be the last to open.”
Episodes will stream on the Boch Center’s website and Facebook after they have aired on NECN. Viewers can donate via bochcenter.org/donate.
"We are using this as a way to raise awareness that we are shut down with no way to earn a penny, but the lights will never go off, and we will be back,” Spaulding said.
One series highlight: Rush, Edwards, and Stookey (Paul from Peter, Paul & Mary) will share a bill for the episode airing Nov. 6. The show will benefit the Boch Center’s Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame.
“Venues are struggling these days, along with the rest of us,” said Rush, 79, who is now virus-free after contracting COVID in March. (“I don’t recommend it,” he quipped.)
“My fear is that some [venues] won’t survive this pandemic if we, the audience, don’t support them as they search for innovative ways to connect musicians with their audiences,” he said.
Western Massachusetts folk and blues troubadour Smither shares the same concern: “If we don’t support the venues and the venues can’t make it through the pandemic, then music lovers won’t have a place to hear music in person,” he said.
The key to music’s survival right now is adaptation.
“A few venues are starting to have reduced-capacity shows,” Rush said, adding that his 80th birthday show next February may be virtual via the Boch Center. “And I’ve started doing many more private shows than in the past.”
In the long run, though, “We need, first, a vaccine and, second, confidence in that vaccine to get live concerts back to normal,” he said.
The exact origin of the “ghost light” in theater culture is fuzzy to trace — there are safety reasons and superstitions involved, but according to the Boch Center: “The legend is that this light protects actors, patrons and theatres from bad luck and ghosts.”
“Live music, and the arts in general, are under threat, and with it our humanity,” said Boston singer-songwriter Dailey. Without a healthy arts scene, “You can feel us slipping away with each passing day. This series is a way to counter that atrophy.”
RECENT PERFORMANCES
Club Passim, Cambridge MA (Alice Howe & Freebo March 15, 2024
Club Passim, Cambridge MA December 15, 2023
The Scandinavian Center, Newton, MA November 6, 2023
Alastair Moock's Pastures of Plenty, Cambridge, MA November 4, 2023
The Music Hall (Co-bill with Rebecca Loebe) November 2, 2023
Portsmouth, NH
The Center for Arts (TCAN) (w/ Livingston Taylor) October 28, 2023
Natick, MA
BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity (w/ Livingston Taylor) October 27, 2023
Northampton, MA
Lexington’s Voices on the Green Presents “Home” October 20, 2023
Merriam-Gilbert Public Library, West Brookfield, MA October 19, 2023
First Friday Vineyard Haven October 6, 2023
Harmony on the Green Coffeehouse Concerts, Lexington, MA September 30, 2023
The Riverfest at Assembly Row, Somerville, MA September 16, 2023
Cultural Center of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, MA August 12, 2023
2nd Friday Concerts @ First Church Belmont June 9, 2023
(Belmont, MA)
atac, Framingham MA June 3, 2023
Fallout Shelter (Norwood, MA) April 29, 2023
Club Passim, Cambridge, MA April 8, 2023
Old Sloop Presents (Rockport, MA) April 1, 2023
Winchester Unitarian Society (Winchester, MA) March 31, 2023
John Platt's ‘On Your Radar’ March 14, 2023
(Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY)
A Celebration of the Music Of David Crosby February 27, 2023
(City Winery, Boston, MA)
Pathways ARTS (Chilmark, MA) February 11, 2023
The Fallout Shelter (Norwood, MA) February 4, 2023
“Blue Sunday” at The Red Parka (Glen, NH) January 29, 2023
Rockport New Year's Eve (Rockport, MA) December 31, 2022
Open Book Coffeehouse (Canton, MA) November 19, 2022
NERFA showcase (Northeast Regional Folk Alliance) November 10-13, 2022
Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club (Fair Lawn, NJ) November 5, 2022
Common Ground Coffeehouse (Dobbs Ferry, NY) October 22, 2022
The Currier Museum of Art (Manchester, HN) October 20, 2022
Steam Kettle Music Festival by Hale Education, Inc. September 10, 2022
Music Mondays, Scandinavian Center (Newton, MA) July 18, 2022
Vinegar Hill Music Theatre (Arundel, ME) June 24, 2022
Boston Harbor Distillery (Boston, MA) May 13, 2022
Old Sloop Presents (Rockport, MA) April 30, 2022
Cultural Center of Cape Cod (Yarmouth, MA) April 16, 2022
Bull Run (Shirley, MA) April 3, 2022
Rex Theatre (Manchester, NH) April 2, 2022
WGBH’s Stories from the Stage “Sips and Stories” February 12, 2022
Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) December 3, 2021
Somerville Theatre Private (Somerville, MA) October 27, 2021
Majestic Theatre (North Conway, NH) October 14, 2021
Sanctuary (Maynard, MA) October 2, 2021
Rex Theater (Manchester, NH) September 25, 2021
Spire Center (Plymouth, MA) September 23, 2021
Extended Play Sessions (Norwood, MA) September 18, 2021
WUMB Member Festival (Boston, MA) August 21, 2021
RiverFest (Waltham, MA) August 7, 2021
Rex Theatre (Manchester, NH) August 1, 2021
Cabot Theatre (Beverly, MA) July 3, 2021
Narragansett House (Oak Bluffs, MA) June 18, 2021
Caffe Lena (Saratoga Springs, NY) June 5, 2021
Caffe Lena (Saratoga Springs, NY) June 4, 2021
WUMB’s Blues Weekend April 30 - May 2, 2021
Winchester Unitarian Society (Winchester, MA) April 17, 2021
Amazing Things (Framingham, MA) March 20, 2021
Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) February 20, 2021
Folk DJ Emerging Artists Showcase January 23, 2021
2nd Shift Music Series @ Charles River Museum (Waltham, MA) November 12, 2020
Jonathan’s (Ogunquit, ME) October 10, 2020
The Ghost Light Series (Boch Center, Boston MA) October 9, 2020
Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) September 19, 2020
Amazing Things Arts Center (Framingham, MA) March 7, 2020
Bird School of Music (San Francisco, CA) February 29, 2020
Lakeview House Concerts (Sharon, MA) January 26, 2020
Sugar Ray & The Bluetones @ Spire Center (Plymouth, MA) January 25, 2020
Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) January 24, 2020
Rockwood Music Hall (New York, NY) January 4, 2020
New Year’s Needham (Needham, MA) December 31, 2019
PathwaysARTZ (Chilmark, MA) December 14, 2019
Opening for Roomful of Blues @ Narrows Center (Fall River, MA) November 29, 2019
UUC Bedford (Bedford, MA) November 16, 2019
NERFA (Stamford, CT) November 9, 2019
Book & Bar (Portsmouth, NH) November 2, 2019
Extended Play Sessions (Norwood, MA) November 1, 2019
Can’t Stop Singing That Show - Aline Shader Tribute(Boston, MA) October 20, 2019
Al Hospers & Friends @ Fryeburg Arts Academy (Fryeburg, ME) October 18, 2019
Opening for C.W. Stoneking @ City Winery (Boston, MA) September 23, 2019
Cambridge Arts Council’s Summer in the City (Cambridge, MA) August 27, 2019
Amazing Things Arts Center (Framingham, MA) June 8, 2019
Club Passim Campfire Festival (Cambridge, MA) May 25, 2019
The Other Sessions April 14, 2019
Opening for Q Parker @ City Winery (Boston, MA) March 30, 2019
Rockwood Music Hall (New York, NY) January 19, 2019
Steve Katsos Show (Arlington, MA) January 14, 2019
Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) January 12, 2019
Book & Bar (Portsmouth, NH) December 29, 2018
Pathways Arts Center (Martha's Vineyard, MA) December 20, 2018
Featherstone Art Gallery (Martha's Vineyard, MA) December 19, 2018
Buzz Ball 2018 @ Capitol Center for the Arts (Concord, NH) December 13, 2018
Aretha Franklin Tribute @ Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) December 4, 2018
Atlantis Charter School (Fall River, MA) November 29, 2018
City Winery (Boston, MA) November 23, 2018
Extended Play Sessions (Norwood, MA) November 10, 2018
Opening for Kandace Springs @ City Winery (Boston, MA) October 24, 2018
Artists as Activists Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) September 26-27, 2018
Elijah Pilt Memorial Concert (Vineyard Haven, MA) September 16, 2018
Beat Brasserie (an AirBnB show in Harvard Sq) June 1, 2018
Club Passim (Harvard Square, Cambridge) April 6, 2018
The Fallout Shelter (Norwood, MA) February 3, 2018
Club Passim (Harvard Square, Cambridge) November 25, 2017
The Lizard Lounge (Porter Sq, Cambridge) September 23, 2017
The Lizard Lounge (Porter Sq, Cambridge) June 27, 2017
Zuzu (Central Square, Cambridge) June 15, 2017
Club Passim (Harvard Square, Cambridge) June 7, 2017
Star Island (private event) June 3, 2017
The Lizard Lounge March 7, 2017
EXPOSURE Art Opening & Performance January 16, 2017
The Lillypad (Inman Square) November 25, 2016
Star Island September 9, 2016
Club Passim September 2, 2016
O'Brien's (with Rollover Baby) August 24, 2016
Johnny D's May 15, 2016
Club Passim April 7, 2016
Joe's Pub (New York, NY)
The Mercury Lounge (New York, NY)
The Knitting Factory (New York, NY)