At Passim, the Folk Collective is making room for diverse voices
Every three months since October, a dozen musicians have descended into Passim’s basement-floor listening room — not to jam, but to discuss a diverse future for the Cambridge institution.
“There’s been a real whitening of what folk music is, and that’s truly not what it’s born of,” said Matt Smith, Passim’s managing director.
After hosting thousands of troubadours and storytellers for over 50 years, the folk music venue and nonprofit organization is making room for even more voices via the Folk Collective, a cohort of 12 artists selected to help expand and diversify Passim’s music and cultural offerings. In those listening-room meetings, the group has discussed representation, community outreach, and folk music’s complex and often misrepresented roots.
“The same thing happened with rock and roll,” Smith explained. “There was a reason that Elvis was a much bigger star than Little Richard was. We wanted to bring more voices into the conversation of what does folk music look like, now and moving forward?”
“It’s more about representation — what’s onstage reflecting who’s in the audience, and who feels that their voice is being represented on the stage.”
After months of planning and development within the Folk Collective, Passim’s programming is expanding with a series of events centered on the cohort’s inaugural members: Alastair Moock, Almira Ara, Anju, Audrey Pearl, Cliff Notez, Gabriella Simpkins, Kim Moberg, Lydia Harrell, Maxfield Anderson, Naomi Westwater, Peter Mulvey, and Stephanie McKay. Through open mics, featured artist performances, and rich discussions, the series is designed to welcome new guests with genres and artists they might not typically expect from Passim.
This week’s offerings set the stage for enriching audiences’ vision of folk music. On Thursday the venue presented its first hip-hop-centric show with a set from artistic multi-hyphenate Cliff Notez. Following the performance with their live band, Notez led a conversation about bending genres, collaboration, and their artistic process with Boston music veteran Will Dailey.
The series continues on Saturday night with an inaugural celebration curated and produced by the entire group of 12. Members will take turns performing in trios that celebrate different facets of their identity, split into groups of parents, activists, emerging artists, and established artists.
A dozen additional Folk Collective events are on the calendar through October, offering each member a showcase. Most months feature two to three solo shows, such as Ara and Anderson’s upcoming June performances; other events embrace a more collaborative spirit, like Anju and Simpkins’s joint show scheduled for late August.
The cohort’s eclectic participants — Moock performs children’s music, McKay works with funk, soul, and hip-hop, Harrell fuses jazz with R&B — span state lines, genres, ages, and experience levels. A Vermont indie-folk performer can exchange ideas with a Boston artist who bridges rock and R&B. Some members have 30 years of experience under their guitar strap; others have yet to graduate from college.
The energy around the Folk Collective is exciting for Boston artist and voice coach Shea Rose, hired in June as Passim’s first curator of music and culture.
Passim created the role last summer to build bridges in its programming, audiences, and community development. Yet Rose knew it would take more than one person to create lasting change within the organization.
Her suggestion? Tap into the minds of local artists.
“They are the innovators and change agents,” Rose said. “Artists and musicians have unique perspectives on what is going on in the world, and they have the creative impulse and tools to express it with compassion, courage, and thought. Since artist development is such a big part of Passim’s core values, why not deepen the relationships with the artists and invite them to lead in this way?”
Her vision for an artist-driven cohort came to fruition within months, as Passim’s staff, board members, and committee members nominated and selected the first 12 musicians for the Folk Collective. The current cohort will serve through 2024, followed by a fresh group of artists.
Over time, Rose hopes the Folk Collective will present a template for other venues in Greater Boston — and beyond.
“Passim genuinely aspires to transform and welcome new artists and audiences holistically,” Rose said. “The organization is well-positioned to impact the folk world by leading the way with successful models that build bridges and connect communities.”