After a limited opening last year, the Wendell Full Moon Coffeehouse, held at the Wendell Town Hall, is ready to return to a full schedule. Briezyjane and the Hurricane will kick off the 2024/2025 season in fine style on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 7:30 p.m. The band, fronted by guitarist/fiddler/vocalist Brie Green of the Green Sisters, plays a dynamic mix of folk, swing, soul, blues, and old-time fiddle music. The band’s lively mix of styles makes them the perfect band to launch the new season.

The Hurricane consists of Rob Griffin (guitar, fiddle, and vocals), Rick Green (guitar and vocals), Dan Grip (upright bass and vocals), and Myron Becker (harmonica). In addition to fronting her own band, Green continues working with her sisters and plays upright bass in the bluegrass band, The Silk Pickers. She released a solo album, “On the Path You Walk,” earlier this year.

Briezyjane and the Hurricane have been busy lately. They have some lost time to make up for since Green was away from late March to late August hiking the Appalachian trial. (You can learn about her incredible journey on her website: Briegreen.com.)

Now that she’s back, Green and the band are ready to light up the Full Moon Coffeehouse with their first ever show at the historic venue.

Our area has seen its share of coffeehouses close their doors over the years, but the Full Moon has endured, thanks to the many volunteers committed to keeping it going. In fact, the coffeehouse remains the longest-running non-profit coffeehouse in New England, and it will celebrate its 40th anniversary in February.

Like other music venues, COVID knocked them down, and it was a struggle to get back up. They opened for a limited schedule last fall, and the response was positive. They are now back on track.

Another aspect of the Full Moon Coffeehouse is that each show benefits a local environmental or service organization. This Oct. 19 show will benefit the Wendell Historical Society. They also have an open mic, two slots reserved for those who sign up in advance, and one slot for walk-ins.

One of the bands that will be playing the open mic on Saturday is Little Wild Bouquet. The group features Gordon Kramer (guitarist and vocals) and Ruth Critcher and Jody Spitz (vocals) — all three are members of The Secret Chord. This six-member band performs the music of Leonard Cohen. So expect a few Cohen tunes to crop up at this show. If you want to see The Secret Chord, they will perform at the Wendell Town Hall on Nov. 1 and at Hawks & Reed on Nov. 22.

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Two Gardner residents killed in three-vehicle crash in New Salem

Benefit to be held this weekend for Northfield fire victim

Franklin County, North Quabbin students honored for success in, out of class

Bulletin board: Day 5 Massachusetts Shotgun Deer Hunting Season

State climate law leaves locals uneasy

Bulletin board: Day 4 Massachusetts Shotgun Deer Hunting Season

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

Rounding at the Full Moon Coffeehouse lineup for the fall is:

Nov. 16: RaniArbo & daisy mayhem

Dec. 14: StompBoxTrio

Doors open at 7 p.m., and the open mic begins at 7 :30 p.m.

There are no advance tickets. Admission is on a sliding scale from $7 to $20, cash only. Remember to bring some extra cash to treat yourself at the dessert-o-rama table. The funds raised from the sale of desserts will go to the evening’s beneficiary, Wendellfullmoon.org.

Imagine taking two of the finest singer-songwriters from the Valley and teaming them up with a couple of equally talented women from the Boston area. This unique collaboration is what the Lady Hang is all about. The Lady Hang will take place at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 8 p.m. and feature Shelburne Falls native Wallace Field, Kimaya Diggs from Easthampton, and Rachel Sumner and Emily Haviland from Boston.

I asked Diggs about out the format of the show.

“We will be playing a combination of songs on our own and songs with everyone else in the group,” Diggs said. “Between us, we will have guitar, banjo, fiddle, and maybe even clarinet! Plus four-part harmonies.”

Chances are that you know Kimaya Diggs and Wallace Field, as they have both made a strong impact on the local scene. Diggs received an incredible response to her most recent album, 2023’s “Quincy,” and this summer released her soulful single, “Everything is Not Lost.”

Wallace Field creates folk rock music that is marked by her distinct, powerful voice and honest lyrics. Her debut album, “No Costs,” was a powerful look forward from loss.

Emily Haviland is a fiddler, vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, and music therapist. For years, she provided fiddling and background vocals for a host of artists but more recently stepped out on her own as a solo artist, winning over fans with her powerhouse voice and interesting melodies.

You may remember Rachel Sumner from her days with the band Twisted Pine. She was a founding member of that bluegrass group but has now moved on to concentrate on her career as a singer-songwriter. She is known for creating haunting melodies and lyrics rich in storytelling.

Sumner, who is also the director of the music school at Club Passim in Cambridge, has a long history with the Lady Hang shows.

“There have been three Lady Hang shows, and I’ve been in them all. It’s had a rotating cast of incredible songwriters,” she wrote in a recent email. “Two of them were for Passim’s campfire. festival (Memorial Day and Labor Day 2016), and then there was a show at Club Passim for International Women’s Day in 2017 that was a benefit for Planned Parenthood.”

After a long hiatus, Emily Haviland decided it was time to rekindle the Lady Hang and include some artists from western Mass.

”Kimaya and [Wallace Field] were both musicians who I had long admired,” said Sumner. “We thought it would be a really wonderful collaboration — so nice, it had to happen twice! Once in Greenfield and once in Cambridge.” (The Cambridge show will be at Club Passim on Nov. 5.)

Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 day of show, and are available at Hawksandreed.com.

There are a couple of shows this weekend that are working taking the drive to get to.

On Saturday, Oct. 19, it’s SparkleTown II, a tribute to the life and music of the late Kate Lorenz, that will be held at the Stone Church in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Lorenz, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 42, was a huge presence on the local music scene. She started with the band Rusty Belle, which included her brother Matt Lorenz (The Suitcase Junket) and their friend Zak Trojano, and later played in various bands and worked as a solo artist. She also recorded and performed on her brother’s Suitcase Junket projects.

Performing Lorenz’s music and more will be a group of collaborators and or close friends of the Lorenz family, including Session Americana with Kris Delmhorst, The Winterpills, The Suitcase Junket, Caitlin Canty, Zak Trojano, the Rear Defrosters, The Break Maids, and others.

The first SparkleTown show was held at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls last year.

This show is a fundraiser for the Kate Lorenz Community Fund, which supports the causes and ideas Kate held dear: children and early literacy, women’s rights, visual and performing arts, social justice, environmental education, and music.

Door open at 6 p.m and the show is at 7 p.m. Tickets are $27 at available at StoneChurchVT.com.

We mentioned the band Twisted Pine earlier because original member Rachel Sumner is part of the upcoming Lady Hang show. Although she left the band years ago, these longtime local favorites have continued evolving their sound. They will release a new album on the local Signature Sounds label, “Love Your Mind,” on Friday, Oct. 18, and will celebrate with a release show at the Iron Horse in Northampton at 7 p.m.

“Love Your Mind” showcases the quartet’s innovative approach to bluegrass music, incorporating elements of pop and funk to create a unique and appealing sound that will resonate with a diverse audience. The album even includes a cover of a Frank Zappa tune. Ali McGuirk, who plays on a track on the album, will open the show.

Tickets are $18 to $36 at ironhorse.org.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.