Folk Music Society of Huntington Showcases Talented Members

Eli Maniscalco of Merrick will be among the artists performing during the Folk Music Society of Huntington's Members Showcase Concert on Saturday, June 2 at the Congregational Church of Huntington in Centerport.

The Folk Music Society of Huntington showcases some of its talented members in a special concert set for Saturday, June 2, at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (off Route 25A), Centerport.  Since this concert, for which tickets are $12 for members and $17 for non-members, begins at 7:30 p.m., there will not be an open mic preceding it. 

As a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization, the Folk Music Society of Huntington is supported in large part through memberships. Although the organization’s First Saturday Concerts series usually features national and international touring artists, one evening each season is devoted to a Members’ Showcase Concert to enable some of its own talented members to showcase their musicianship, singing and songwriting skills.  “The evening is a win-win for all – our featured FMSH members get to hone their performance skills before a large audience, and the proceeds go toward replenishing the society’s coffers,” says Lee Ann Rush, one of the organization’s co-vice-presidents. “This year’s show, “she notes, “will feature a wide variety of performers and musical styles – from roots, rock-tinged original numbers and lush lyrical ballads to urbane and articulate patter-style songs accompanied by keyboard, along with both instrumental and vocal covers of songs you’re sure to recognize.” 

A group of FMSH board members selected 10 artists and acts to perform short musical sets. Becca Hasselbrook of Huntington is a young singer-songwriter whose music fuses folk with jazz and pop influences. Bill Scorzari, also from Huntington, bases much of his original material on personal experiences and accompanies himself on guitar. Eli Maniscalco of Merrick is a young musical storyteller in the folk tradition with a gift for melody; he is also a multi-instrumentalist. Jesse Oelbaum from Syosset grabs people’s attention with his guitar arrangements of familiar tunes. Lois Morton is a satirical songwriter in the tradition of Tom Lehrer, whose lyrical observations about subjects as mundane as diets, driving, pharmaceuticals and psychotherapy routinely delight audiences. J. Michael Doherty of Hauppauge is a veteran songwriter whose haunting material and gravelly-voiced delivery first caught FMSH’s attention when he recently began playing its open mics. Rick Cashman of Smithtown is an eclectic singer-songwriter who will be accompanied by musicians on violin, bass, Irish flute and vocals. Rough Folk is a trio comprised of singer-songwriter Hank Stone of Patchogue, guitarist-vocalist Todd Evans of Remsenberg and multi-instrumentalist Mike Christian of North Babylon, whose repertoire includes many originals penned by Stone. Steve Vitoff is a Huntington-based multi-instrumentalist and performer who puts his own spin on cover songs of all genres. Walt Sargent of Huntington Station, who leads the Island Songwriters Showcase, is a singer-songwriter whose eclectic compositions combine folk, reggae and jazz influences into what he likes to call FRAZZ. 

Now in its 43rd year, the Folk Music Society of Huntington presents two monthly concert series, a monthly folk jam and sing-along, and an annual folk festival in conjunction with the Huntington Arts Council. Next up following the Members’ Showcase concert is the Hard Luck Café at the Cinema Arts Centre on Thursday, June 21, featuring Nashville-based singer-songwriter Louise Mosrie and Long Island’s own James O’Malley. For more information, visit www.fmsh.org or call 631-425-2925.