The residency takes place in the week leading up to the New Jersey Folk Festival on Saturday, April 27. All events are free and open to the public on a first-come, first seated basis. On Monday through Friday, Spook Handy will present lunchtime concerts from 12:00 to 12:45 at the Livingston Student Center.
On Monday, Spook will conduct an interactive workshop and song circle entitled “Folk Music’s Role in Social Change” from 8:00 to 10:00 pm at Hickman Hall, Room 210, on the Douglass Campus. Musicians, songwriters, and singers are encouraged to bring their instruments for this event that explores songs from Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, and Bob Dylan. The idea is to share songs from past folk music masters and to hear new ones that are being written today.
On Tuesday, there will be “An Evening with Spook Handy” with refreshments at the Red Lion Café of the Rutgers Student Center on College Avenue from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm. Spook has four full length CDs to his credit with a fifth on the way. His songs have charted as high as #10 on the Folk Radio Charts. He has toured throughout North America playing over 3,000 concerts. He has performed dozens of times with Pete Seeger and has shared the stage with the likes of Peter Yarrow and Donavan.
On Wednesday, there will be a “Songs of the People Workshop” from 8:00 to 10:00 pm at Hickman Hall, Room 210, on the Douglass Campus. Musicians, songwriters, acoustic groups, and guitar players are invited to bring their songs and music to this clinic and learn new ideas of how to better reach and connect with audiences. Participants will get to share their songs and learn some of the secrets that can make their music, lyrics, and performances resonate with an audience.
Finally, on Saturday, Spook Handy will be featured at the 39th Annual New Jersey Folk Festival to be held from 10:00 am to 6:00 p.m. on the Douglass Campus. There will be festivities throughout the day with traditional music, song, dance, food, and crafts. Spook Handy will be performing at the Shore Stage from 4:15 to 5:00 pm.
For more information about the New Jersey Folk Festival visit www.njfolkfest.org or call 732.445-INFO (4636). The New Jersey Folk Festival is presented by the Department of American Studies at Rutgers, with additional support from the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission, the Middlesex County Improvement Authority, the Assistant VP for Academic Engagement and Programming, the Tulip Foundation, the City of New Brunswick Department of Parks, the Committee to Advance our Common Purposes, and the BP Fabric of America Fund.