Get ready for the second of two summer concerts in the collaboration between Clark Farm and Forest of Bliss, which is just Laurelyn and me, and you, too!
Pot Luck Picnic* & Barn Concert
Catfish in the Sky
Supper: 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Concert: 6:00 – 8:30 pm-ish
* Weather permitting, we’ll eat outdoors. If rain is certain, we’ll all move into the barn.
Clark Farm is located at 185 Concord Street, Carlisle MA 01741
Round out the summer with dinner, music, neighbors, and friends!
We heard Catfish in the Sky at the Fresh Grass festival in 2024, where they won the band competition. And wow! They are full of unexpected, powerful music. Read more and hear an example below.
Tickets
Please consider making an additional donation to support Clark Farm to thank them for the time and effort that the whole staff contributes to our community – you, me, neighbors and new friends – in events like this. You can add that donation at ticket checkout.
Ticket income goes to the artists. We direct small portion of the proceeds to Clark Farm for their hospitality. We chose this ticketing service because of its competitive, low fees.
Pot Luck: We need you
This is an experiment, friends and neighbors. You are the key to its success. Please, sign up, commit to attend, bring (or make) something that you’re happy to share.
When you buy a ticket, I’ll send you an online form. Let us know what you’re bringing. We’ll aim for a balance of foods and and hope to address some dietary preferences.
Get to know Catfish in the Sky
This quartet – fiddle, cello, cajon, and ukulele – play “upbeat Americana folk-grass for all ages.” When we saw them on a little stage a festival, we couldn’t pass them by. What they were doing was just too hot to miss. You’ll hear traditional music, but not like you’ve ever heard it before. You’ll hear new songs, too, some written by their percussionist and sometime guitar player, Owen Miller. They don’t have a lead singer because each of the four can and do take the spotlight: Ruth Shumway, fiddle, vocals; Sho Humphries, ukulele and guitar and vocals; Sammy Wetstein, cello and vocals (yes, a carbon fiber cello). Recent Berkeley College of Music graduates, they’ve already played Dee’s Lounge in Nashville and many of your favorite venues nearby.
Answers to Questions… you haven’t asked yet
Parking: In the farm lot. If the lot is full, park on the farm side of the street only. Do not park across the street. Be respectful of neighbors and other parkers.
Seating: For dinner, we’ll eat at some picnic tables and wherever we can find seats. If you want to be sure you have a comfortable chair, feel free to bring your own. For the concert in the barn, chairs will be set up for you. You may not use your own chair in the barn.
Tickets: We’re managing ticket sales using an online platform. See the link above. All tickets are one price, regardless of age.
Refunds: All sales are final. If you can’t attend, give them or sell them (at face value) to a friend. Try offering them on City in the Woods or Carlisle Connected (a Facebook group). If you can’t get them to someone else, the artists will appreciate your donation.
Prepare for summer outdoor conditions: Dinner will be outdoors, weather permitting. Bring your own bug spray, sun screen, sun glasses, and maybe a hat as suits your needs. It may be hot when we sit down and cool by the time we leave. Keep in mind that dusk is the mosquito hour. Be prepared.
Pot luck: what to bring. Plan to bring a dish to pass. When you buy a ticket, I’ll send you a link to an online form to make it as easy as possible to sign up and tell us more.
Everyone: Bring your own dishes and silverware. Consider bringing a full water bottle, too. See also, BYOB below. This cuts down on waste and trash.
You could also bring some extra plastic utensils, cups, and paper plates. Most of us have a stash left over from birthday parties, etc. If you are willing to share, let us know and bring them with you. Thanks in advance.
BYOB: Yes, you can. Really. Don’t forget to bring your own unbreakable glasses, corkscrew, or bottle opener.
Farm and Forest? Tell me more
You can thank Amanda Leahy, Clark Farm CSA Manager, for these concerts. After hearing musicians in our living room, she asked if we thought we could offer concerts at the farm together. We loved the idea from the start.
What’s so generous about Andrew and Amanda’s offer is the intention to give folks like you and me a place to gather. So we urge you to do anything you can to support the farm: a CSA membership, donation, patronize the farm shop (different from the store down the road), sign up for a workshop or kids program. Just imagine what Carlisle would be like without Clark Farm.
In 2024, Laurelyn and I started hosting house concerts. All of the proceeds go to the artists. They are intimate, often thrilling afternoons with outstanding musicians. Our idea simple: this is one way we can support musicians who are some of the hardest working people we know. But we think we get much more from our time together than they do.
The most satisfying feature of the day is the company – musicians, of course, but also friends, neighbors, music lovers, open-minded listeners, and amateur musicians who come to hear and be inspired. But our living room limits the size of the group that can gather, so we’re happy to go bigger thanks to Clark Farm this summer.
If you think an outdoor meal with good company and good music is your idea of a fine summer night, we’re happy to call you neighbors no matter where you come from.
We are happy to acknowledge our fellow townspeople.
This program is sponsored in part by the Carlisle Cultural Council.
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