Showings
Event Details
The Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame, in partnership with the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music, will present a collaborative symposium on September 27, 2025 at the Arrow Street Arts Center in Cambridge. This will be the first in a series of events between the affiliate organizations as we honor the past, celebrate the present, and nurture future artists and academics.
Boston has always been a music town and was at the epicenter of the Folk Revival during the 1950s and '60s. The symposium, entitled Wasn’t That A Time: The Boston Folk Revival, 1958-1965, shines a light on that history through discussions with artists, academics, and those who were there.
TOPICS ADDRESSED DURING THIS DAY-LONG SYMPOSIUM INCLUDE:
- Club 47: Hear about the impact of Cambridge’s legendary listening room from musicians that played there
- Joan Baez is an icon whose career started in Boston. This panel will chronicle her start in Cambridge and meteoric rise
- When Bob Met Woody: The true story told by Guthrie’s granddaughter Anna Canoni
- A conversation with former J. Geils lead singer and songwriter Peter Wolf about his new book WAITING ON THE MOON: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters and Goddesses
- Dylan Goes Electric at Newport: The single set that transformed the scene
- Post-Revival Folk: How Boston’s scene continues to evolve
- Keynote address from Noel Paul Stookey, member of the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS: NOEL PAUL STOOKEY (FROM PETER, PAUL & MARY) & PETER WOLF
PANELISTS INCLUDE:
Anna Canoni: Woody Guthrie's granddaughter and President of Woody Guthrie Publications.
Betsy Siggins: Founding member of Club 47, Executive Director of Club Passim, and long-time friend of Joan Baez.
Bob Santelli: GRAMMY Award-winning music historian, producer, and educator; Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music.
Douglas Brinkley: Prominent presidential historian, author, and Bob Dylan biographer.
Ellis Paul: Singer-songwriter, author, and artist; recipient of 14 Boston Music Awards.
Jeannie Brand: Daughter of Oscar Brand and representative of his estate.
Jim Brown: Documentary film producer and recipient of four Emmy Awards.
Jim Rooney: Producer, performer, writer, and pioneer in Americana music.
Tom Paxton: Folk singer-songwriter, educator, and advocate for over 60 years; recipient of the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tom Rush: Folk and Blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter for over 60 years.
Thank you to 
for your support!
Schedule of Events
8:00 AM – DOORS OPEN; CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
9:00 AM – “Origins of Boston and Greenwich Folk Scenes”
Discussion about the folk revival origins, why Boston and Greenwich Village were such significant hubs for the music, and how the scenes were alike and different.
Speakers: Melissa Ziobro, Mitch Greenhill, Jim Brown, Jim Rooney, Tom Paxton
10:00 AM – “Club 47”
During the Folk Revival era, Club 47 in Cambridge emerged as one of the most significant venues for artists to gather and share music. What was so special about this venue, how did it evolve over the years, and why is it seen as a pivotal part of the folk revival scene?
Speakers: James Sullivan, Betsy Siggins, Jim Rooney, Tom Rush, Ken Irwin, Matt Smith
11:00 AM - MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION “WHEN BOB MET WOODY”
Woody Guthrie’s granddaughter, Anna Canoni, will share family images and video to tell the full story of how Bob Dylan met Woody Guthrie, and the later years of Woody’s life with Huntington’s Disease when Dylan would visit his musical idol in the hospital.
Noon – “Joan Baez in Cambridge and Beyond”
Joan Baez first played Club 47 when she was 17 and performed there every Tuesday night until her career took off at Newport Folk Festival. How did this shift from local coffee house performer occur, who and what were the pivotal influences on Joan and her career, and how do music archaeologists study her career?
Speakers: Aimee Zoeller, Betsy Siggins, Mitch Greenhill, Douglas Brinkley, Mitch Blank
12:50 PM – LUNCH BREAK
1:30 PM – KEYNOTE
Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul & Mary) discusses the importance of the folk revival and the trio’s part in the movement.
2:30 PM – Conversation with Peter Wolf
Music historian Bob Santelli leads a discussion with Peter Wolf about his career, the folk revival, and Wolf’s recently published book Waiting on the Moon.
3:30 PM – “Dylan Goes Electric at Newport ‘65”
When Bob Dylan traded his acoustic guitar for electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, he ushered in a shift to the traditional folk scene. How did the audience and his fellow performers respond, and why? How did this change folk at the time and continue to influence the genre?
Speakers: Bob Santelli, Elijah Wald, Douglas Brinkley, Jeannie Brand, Court Carney
4:30 PM – “Post-Revival Folk”
After the folk revival era, how has “folk” changed? What were the pivotal moments and artists who influenced these changes, while continuing the traditions of folk? What do you see as today’s folk scene, and why is it still relevant?
Speakers: Deana McCloud, Tom Paxton, Ralph Jaccodine, Ellis Paul, Jim Brown
5:30 PM – COCKTAIL RECEPTION