TCAN Folk Open Mic Night Celebrates 20 Years

On Tuesday, April 11, The Natick Center for the Arts (TCAN) will host its Folk Open Mic Night. The monthly event is one of the most longstanding and renown open mics on the East Coast. After inviting members of the public to play, local musician Jenee Halstead will grace the stage as the featured performer of the evening.
Two Decades of Talent
This year, TCAN’s Folk Open Mic Night celebrates its 20th anniversary. Director Mark Stepakoff, an award-winning singer/songwriter himself, has been cultivating the open mic’s reputation as an inspiring musical experience where developing talent and seasoned artists come together.
One of the elements that set both the Folk Open Mic Night and TCAN as a whole apart is the goal of community involvement. “The open mic dates back to TCAN’s inception and is reflective of the concept of having events in which the community can participate,” Stepakoff explained.
Over its two decades, the open mic has had a variety of artists perform for the half an hour set that crowns the evening. Featured performers are often drawn from the local community, but nationally recognized and established artists have taken the stage as well.
“We have had an amazing array of performers feature at our open mic, often before they went on to much bigger things, including Grammy nominations and awards,” Stepakoff said. “Among the now well-known performers who have featured at our open mic are Lori McKenna, Josh Ritter and Regina Spektor.”
No credentials are necessary for open mic performers, however. “Our participants run the gamut from very experienced performers who are trying out new material, to performers who have never appeared on stage before.” Stepakoff said. Anyone is welcome to join in and play, or watch and be inspired by the other artists until they are ready to perform their own work.
This makes for a perfect environment to support and grow burgeoning talent in the Boston area. “It’s a great opportunity for fledgling performers to play to a warm and encouraging audience in a low-pressure setting, yet in a beautiful theatre with state-of-the-art sound support,” Stepakoff said.
Featuring Jenee Halstead
Boston-based musician Jenee Halstead will be the highlight of April’s event. She moved to the city in part to attend Berklee College of Music, where she quickly distinguished herself with the 2005 Berklee Entering Student Talent Scholarship.
Although the academic path was not for her, she rooted herself in the Boston music scene and developed her style. “My music is a mash up of all kinds of different genres. It’s a little bit rock n’ roll, folk, Americana and blues,” Halstead described. “Ultimately, I just see it all as the same genre: it’s American music.”
Clearly, playing American music works well for Halstead. In 2015, her “Edge of the World” EP was selected by “The Boston Globe” as a top local album of the year. Of her songwriting, she said, “I think what inspires me most are stories and healing. Telling someone’s story, or my own story, is healing even if it is tragic in places. I like to write songs that move emotion.”
Halstead had planned on making a full length album out of her lauded EP but was delayed because, as she described, “Life got in the way. It does that sometimes.” Despite life’s inevitable setbacks, she is working hard.
“I am in the process of writing the album, and hopefully will be in the studio starting mid-May,” she continued. “I will start to tour in support of it when it comes out, hopefully in the fall.”
In the interim, Halstead will treat the Natick community to a set that reveals both the beauty and skill of her craft as well as her heart for storytelling. Stepakoff knows the power of her music well.
“Jenee is incredible,” he praised. “She is definitely one of the finest singer-songwriters in the Boston area. Her voice is haunting and ethereal, she’s a fine guitarist and she’s a first-rate songwriter whose material is moving and evocative.”
Attending the Show
To see Jenee Halstead and other local artists perform, buy tickets on the evening of the show at the door ($5 for the public, free for TCAN members). For readers that are interested in playing during the open mic, performer sign-up begins at 7:30 p.m.
To learn more about The Natick Center for the Arts and the Folk Open Mic Night, visit www.natickarts.org.