PorchFest 2022 at Wethersfield Historical Society

PorchFest 2021 Audience impatiently waits for the next performance.

 

The Jolly Beggars performing on PorchFest 2021

11:00 am – The Jolly Beggars from their website:

The Jolly Beggars bring the rich tradition of Celtic folk music and storytelling to modern day audiences. Based out of Connecticut, their traditional songs and musical arrangements have exposed many to the joys of Celtic music. They tell traditional stories from Irish folklore and intersperse their musical arrangements with traditional reels and jigs. Characterized by their tight harmonies and use of guitars, mandolin, tin whistles, octave mandolin, mandola, tenor banjo, double bass, bodhran, spoons, and more, The Jolly Beggars have quickly built a solid following and continue to spread their music around the east coast.

The band performs music that is largely Celtic in origin (Irish and Scottish), with some pieces coming from an extension of that music in other cultures.

 

Don Sineti doing his thing in Mystic

2:00 pm – Don Sineti
from Crackerbarrel Entertainment:

Don Sineti , folksinger, songwriter, part-time sea chanteyman at historic Mystic Seaport Museum (with one of the most powerful voices on the Eastern Seaboard!), and long-neck, 5-string banjo picker, is also an award-winning marine mammal illustrator with a number of prestigious exhibitions and books to his credit. For over twenty years, he has combined his exhaustive knowledge of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) with his boundless energy, to deliver rousing renditions of songs from the days of wooden ships and iron men, alongside his own compositions dedicated to saving whales and the degraded marine environment. With a booming voice and a hearty laugh, he shares his music, his art, and his unrestrained love for the whale with audiences of all ages.

 

4:00 pm – Damn Good Duo from their website:

In the midst of the challenging year of 2020 Jeff Smallidge and Jeff Boratko set out to create a sound between the two of them that carried the excitement and energy of a full band. Jeff Smallidge alternates between playing drums with his feet and bass/guitar with his hands, and full cocktail kit at times,  while Jeff Boratko alternates between keyboards, guitar, and saxophones. At the same time they are doing that they both sing in beautiful harmony. Armed with an arsenal of covers that span a huge range of style, decade, and mood, they will be sure to entertain and amaze you and have your toes tapping – but not quite as much toe tapping as it takes Jeff Smallidge to play drums with his feet! The two Jeffs guarantee you have not heard or seen anything quite like this, and you will be left thinking “damn, that’s good”.