New Moon Folk Club to fill music void
Non-profit society plans concerts appealing to a wider audience
A group of volunteers wants to fill the void left by the impending closure of the Full Moon Folk Club.
After hosting more than 400 shows at various venues since 1985, the Full Moon will cease operations in October.
In its place, a new club and non-profit society will rise, known as the New Moon Folk Club. Three concerts in winter 2016 and a full season (of eight to 10 shows) in 20162017 are in the works.
Joe Duperreault, a management consultant and music fan, is one of four main volunteers behind New Moon. He’s taking on the role of artistic director.
“We decided that somebody had to step up and keep the club running because of the value that it brings to the Edmonton folk music scene and the live music scene,” he says.
The new club will be based out of St. Basil’s Cultural Centre, which was also Full Moon’s headquarters.
“The venue holds 350 people, so there’s not a bad seat in the house,” says Duperreault. “You get a really intimate connection with the performers. The performers that Full Moon brought were always engaging and the connection with the audience created this positive energy. It was a unifying experience.”
The new club is trying to raise $14,000 to cover startup costs, including equipment, deposits for musicians, and marketing campaigns on social media. Fans can donate via gofundme.com/newmoon until June 21. As of 2 p.m. Thursday, the crowdfunding campaign was up to $2,735.
New Moon hopes to reach a wider demographic of music fans than the original club. Full Moon did showcase a range of genres — country, folk and blues — and bigname acts, including Odetta, Chip Taylor, Jesse Winchester and Danny Michel.
Duperreault, who attended Full Moon shows, wants to continue this kind of programming but appeal to younger fans, too. “Directionally, we’ll go more contemporary with the music, generally speaking,” he says. “We want to appeal to broader audiences, and part of it isn’t just the music, it’s how the club is promoted.”
(New Moon, for example, already has a Twitter account, @newmoonfolkclub.)
Duperreault says Full Moon’s founder is helping with the transition. Peter Pirquet initially launched the club in 1985 with fellow musicians Andy Donnelly and Steve Poole. In January, Pirquet announced his intention to close Full Moon, despite attracting its best attendance in recent years — 200 people per show.
“It’s just time to go,” he told the Journal. “We’re getting on and our audience is getting on.”
Full Moon wrapped up its 29th season in March, but still has three bonus shows planned: Dala (Sept. 11), Del Barber (Oct. 2) and Steve Pineo (Oct. 23). Tickets are available via tixonthesquare.ca or Acoustic Music Shop.