September 6, 2024: Julie Gold

Yes, THAT Julie Gold, the Greenwich Village Fast Folk songwriting legend, whose “From a Distance,” as recorded by Bette Midler, won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 1991 and has been played on the radio close to 5 million times!  Besides the Divine Miss M, the song has been recorded by Nancy Griffith, Jewel, Cliff Richard, The African Children’s Choir, Judy Collins, The Byrds and Donna Summer.

Other artists who have recorded Julie Gold songs include Patti LaBelle, Patti LuPone, Lea Salonga, Andrea Marcovicci, Carol Woods, Sinead O’Connor and Kathie Lee Gifford, and her jingle “We’re 4 New York” was used by WNBC TV for years. She’s also written books enjoyed by children and adults.

Through it all, she is still a down-to-Earth songwriter from Philadelphia with great stories to tell, songs to sing, who hasn’t let it all go to her head.

 

June 14, 2024: Mad Agnes

 

Mad Agnes, Stuart Markus likes to say, is what happens when 3 incredibly creative, talented, classically trained musicians devote themselves to folk music. It ain’t your typical 3-chord songs!

 

Mad Agnes has won hearts on two continents with their signature intricate harmonies and compelling songwriting. The genre-bending trio—Margo Hennebach, Adrienne Jones and Mark Saunders—weaves contemporary folk with a nod to Celtic, an element of vocal improv and top-notch arrangements into an exciting, inclusive performance.

 

Lately using only one microphone, early-radio style, they transport and tickle audiences using guitars, mandolin, percussion, an inventive keyboard and three-part harmonies as tight as jeans from the dryer.

Their 5th and most recent album, Likely Story – An Eclectic Collection of Songs for the Soul, hit the Top-10 on the Folk Alliance International Radio Chart this past February. Check out their website here.

 

The Ethical Humanist Society was thrilled to revive the Our Times Coffeehouse on May 3, 2024, with folk songwriting legend Christine Lavin!

One of the most beloved talents to emerge from the Greenwich Village/Fast Folk scene of the 1980s, Christine Lavin has been putting audiences in stitches, bringing them to the edge of tears, then back to hysterical laughter with her incredible songwriting wit. Among the topics she’s tackled are doing things one doesn’t particularly enjoy for the sake of a relationship, misplacing one’s glasses, the downgrading of Pluto’s planetary status, and the kind of love one never recovers from.

Christine Lavin has been called “a fearless folk-zinger” by the Orlando Sentinel, “wildly entertaining” by The New Yorker, and “a fresh kick in the pants!” by the late Paul Newman. She is currently working on her 26th solo album, “On My Way to Hooterville,” and has produced a dozen compilation albums with other songwriters whose artistry she admires.

Unfamiliar with Christine? Check her out at: https://christinelavin.com/