Bring a chair and a picnic lunch to the Shirley Center Common in front of the Shirley Meeting House and enjoy the music of local musicians performing in our Music on the Porch series. All performances are rain or shine. We will move inside the Meeting House if it rains.
Music on the Porch programs are free of charge but we welcome and appreciate donations to the Shirley Meeting House.
Nancy Beaudette – Sunday, June 21st, 1:00 pm
Nancy Beaudette is a Canadian singer-songwriter with a gift for storytelling and a lifelong devotion to her craft. Raised near Cornwall, Ontario, where farming and millwork shaped the rhythms of daily life and French and English lived as friendly neighbours, her songwriting reaches back to those roots. Her songs explore family, memory, humor, and the tender complexities of love, life, and loss.
Alongside her work as a singer-songwriter, Nancy is also the Producer of the Shirley Film Festival, in Shirley, MA, extending her passion for story, craft, and creative community beyond the stage.
To learn more about Nancy please visit her website at http://nancybeaudette.com/
Ellsworth & Hicks – Sunday, July 19th, 1:00 pm
Ellsworth & Hicks have played nightclubs, bars, cafes, coffeehouses, backyards, libraries, bookstores and barges throughout the land, sharing a stage or two with Leon Russell, Jonathan Richman, Graham Parker, Levon Helm, Maria Muldaur, Ronnie Earl, Bill Kirchen, “Spider” John Koerner, Bill Morrissey and Mary McCaslin to name a few. And it shows in their relaxed onstage banter and tight arrangements of their highly original songs, some of which have been featured on radio, internet and film. “The Moon is a Faithless Lover” was in the movie Ghetto Dawg with Drena DeNiro and Gianna Palminteri. “The Things I Gotta Do to Stay Alive – Are Killing Me” was in The Clinic, an independent film which won Best Screenplay in the NYII Film Festival. In 2000, their debut CD, “Ask Around” was a finalist in the Crossroads Music Awards for Contemporary Folk. Click here to read more about Ellsworth & Hicks.
Pat Kenneally – Sunday, August 9th, 1:00 pm
Pat Kenneally, a Massachusetts native, is an award winning singer-songwriter who plays an eclectic mix of swing, country, folk, blues, and original story songs.
Pat’s love of singing and performing began at the age of three, when she refused to relinquish the microphone while singing Bye Bye Love on her Dad’s reel to reel tape recorder.
Pat exudes warmth, humor, and a joy that puts audiences at ease with her relaxed, rich vocals and guitar playing.
Pat, along with Rick Cooper, has opened for Buskin and Batteau, Ronnie Earle, and Ernie and The Automatics. Their songs can be found on Cooper & Kenneally’s CD “Off Our Rockers”.
Bob Morse – Sunday, September 20th, 1:00 pm
Bob Morse has been living in Shriley for over 30 years. He plays blues, American folks songs, and some originals. You might hear Robert Johnson, Bob Dylan and George Harrison songs all in the same set, showcasing his fine fingerstyle playing and appealing vocals. His sense of humor and genial personality always draw in his audiences.
The Shirley Meeting House programs are sponsored in part by a grant from the Shirley Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.