Keeping the Folk Tradition Alive

It's been 25 years since Dave Hurd attended his first folk club event at the Acorn Restaurant, located in the Tall Oaks Center in Reston.

The breadth of talent and experience displayed by the open mike performers each week never ceased to amaze him, he said.

As a result both he and his wife became a part of what is known today as the Folk Club of Reston-Herndon.

"We had raised the kids with music and I played guitar and sang folk songs a lot at that time so we just sort of fit into what we were already very happy to do," said Hurd, who is the only person left who originally joined the organization in May 1985.

The Folk Club of Reston/Herndon, an all-volunteer organization dedicated to the appreciation of music and the preservation of folk traditions, was the outcome of Rose Haskell, of Reston. She wanted to emulate the folk club tradition she experienced in Britain while located there with her husband in the early 1980s, Hurd said.  

"Her dream, and the stated purpose of the Folk Club, is to 'preserve and present folk traditions' in the Northern Virginia area," Hurd said. "To the extent that the pub environment and small neighborhood community of Britain can be emulated we have lived up to that tradition here in Northern Virginia."

The club, which previously met at The Red Caboose Restaurant and the community room of Jonathon's Keep Cluster, both in Reston, soon began meeting at the Tortilla Factory, located in Herndon, in August 1987.

The club's original name, Reston Folk Club, was changed two years later to The Folk Club of Reston-Herndon to honor both the roots of the club and the support of the communities, Hurd said.

Hurd said he is proud that the Folk Club has existed and thrived for so long. He said it is one of the longest surviving venues of its type in the country.

"The fact that many people have been coming for 10, 15, 20 years or longer and helping keep it going is a testament to the meaning of 'community,'" Hurd said. He said he and his wife drive all the way from Stephenson, VA to experience music and performances every Tuesday night. "After all these years, the 50-mile drive seems but a brief moment for all of the joy we receive."

Chris Kramer-Harnage joined the club 14 years ago and said the milestone is an amazing achievement.

"As you progress through life, you realize more and more of these treasures that time delivers," Kramer-Harnage said. "In this case, the familial relationships are strong and new blood is always a welcome treat."

Kramer-Harnage said the camaraderie, diversity and the flavor of music, spread through so many interpretations and voices, are just a few reasons she keeps coming back for more.

"It's a pleasure to watch and listen to the gems of genius which sometimes materialize in the room," she said. "My husband says it's like fishing. 'Sometimes you cast your line in and nothing bites and sometimes you reel in a heck of a whopper.'"

"It's great to realize how long this gathering has been going on, and how well its founding ideas have held up," said board member Bob Hampton. "There are so many transient aspects of our existence and the club grants us a sense of perspective on the continuity of life."  

One of the longest living folk clubs on the East Coast, board member Sue Schier said she thinks it's terrific that the club has had the opportunity to celebrate it's silver anniversary.

"For us to be thriving for 25 years in this area is just terrific," Schier said. "From time to time I do run into other musicians and it seems like everybody has heard of us."

Schier said the club is a great source of friends to play music with while being a kind and loving community, she said.

"Some of us are performers, some of us just go to listen," Schier said. "But it is a creative, wonderful community of people. Anybody and everybody is welcome to come. We welcome anybody that walks through the door."

In conjunction with Arts Week in Herndon, the folk club will present a special concert of the Alt-Nashville Songwriters in the Round in October. 

There are also four upcoming concerts scheduled for the remainder of the year including The Steel Wheels who will perform at Tortilla Factory on Sept. 21.

The Folk Club of Reston-Herndon meets every Tuesday evening, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Tortilla Factory. A $1 donation is suggested to all audience members.

To learn more about the Folk Club of Reston-Herndon or how to become a part of the group visit http://www.restonherndonfolkclub.com/.