Join host Nancy Walker at Coffee Planet's first Tuesday acoustic open mic. Musicians - Poets - Spoken Word and more Sign up at 6:30 pm
Tuesday June 4th7-9pm
Join host Sam Sarsalari at Coffee Planet's acoustic open mic. Musicians - Poets - Spoken Word and more. 6-8pm every Friday.
Friday May 24th. 6-8pm
Artist Statement: " Ever since returning to New York from Kentucky, to live in the same area I had been for many years prior, I wondered how I could find anything new to photograph. After asking myself that question, I decided to turn it into a challenge. Since then, I haven't left my house without taking a camera. I look for images that might otherwise go unnoticed in an ordinary day. My goal with these images is to prove that with a different perspective, there is often more to appreciate about every day than we typically notice. Form follows function, but art follows perspective.
Opening: Friday February 1st.
Gayle and Dave: ReUnion is an acoustic duo playing music with a soft touch. Like fine wine , music gets better with age. The duo consists of Gayle on acoustic guitar and lead vocals and Dave on acoustic guitar and vocals. We are committed to soothing your gentle side with music from the 1960's to todays hits.
Gayle Girvin - Lead Vocals / Acoustic Guitar
Started a professional music career as lead singer in Gayle & Company in the Albany area during the early 1970’s. During mid 1970’s, lead singer for Sugar & Spyce in the Tri-City Area. 1979, migrated to the West Coast for studio recording, mostly working with local musicians and songwriters for demo recordings in Los Angeles and Venice CA area, as well as show cases in Hollywood, CA, performing at such venues as the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. ReUnion is a breath of fresh air after a long hiatus from my musical roots
Dave Jones - Acoustic Guitar and Vocals
Veteran of the Albany ,NY music scene playing in bands, Sunday News 1968-1970 , Urge 1972-1974 , Tangerine 1974- 1976 , Sugar and Spyce 1976-1979. After a short recess and brushing up on his licks started the TROUBLE band in 2007. TROUBLE enjoyed a successful tenure playing many local clubs and venues around Albany. Having played many different genres of music one can blend a special tapestry to incorporate into Reunion's music.
Saturday February 23rd. 11 am - 1pm
Raised in the Schoharie Valley, Durfee's songs reflect his rural upbringing. Leaving pretense and posturing behind, Durfee performs with an aching honesty, pushing his picking capabilities to the limit. Story songs, breath-taking instrumentals, and truly original works dominate Durfee's playing, with suprising covers and moments of lightness and laughter keeping listeners engaged.
He won the Lark Tavern songwriting contest this spring, and we have to agree with the judges—Matt Durfee's enchanting, reflective songs are drawn around complex, finger-picked acoustic-guitar lines, like a cross between American Beauty (Grateful Dead) and Nick Drake's Five Leaves Left. Too interesting to be lumped into the pop category, too smart for the freak-folk boom, Durfee is in a category all his own. Listen
Sunday February 24th. 11am-1pm.
Nancy Walker is first and foremost a performing songwriter with a message that is compelling and inviting. She possesses a strong, distinctive alto voice that peals 'like a bell' (Dirty Linen) through any musical arrangement. As a former member of the Chicago-based trio 'Sons of the Never Wrong,' Nancy has shared stages with the likes of John Gorka and Livingston Taylor.
Sam Zucchini loves to sing and play his drums 24-7. He studied jazz music and found it to be a worthy challenge as well as inspirational.
New York native Larry Clyman recently returned to the Capital Region after enjoying a strong foothold in the Chicago music scene for almost fifteen years. Shortly after graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Folklore and Jazz Studies, Larry migrated west to study at the prestigious Musicians Institute. After months spent refining his chops and teaching, Larry was ready to head back to the mid-west where he went on to tour and record with Chicago blues legend Lonnie Brooks and the Americana band, 'Big Shoulders.' Visit Nancy Walker Trio
Friday March 1st 6pm-9pm
Saturday March 2nd 11am-1pm
Jeanine Ouderkirk's soaring and effortless vocals dare to enthrall listeners of every generation - a heightened sense of harmony gives way to effervescent improvisation and melodic reinterpretation. Jeanine draws from such influences as Blossom Dearie, Kurt Elling, Jane Monheit, Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald. A passionate educator as well as performer, Jeanine holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Business, a NY State Teaching Certificate, and a Master of Music in Music Education from The Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY. She currently teaches music at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Waterford, NY and resides in Ballston Spa, NY.
The Jeanine Marie Quartet performs every 3rd Friday from 6:00pm – 9:00pm at Aperitivo Bistro (426 State Street, Schenectady, NY).
Sunday March 3rd 11am - 1pm
Dave has played three times in Harlem's Apollo Theater, did a residency at the Cheetah in New York City, played guitar for Patti Labelles girl group LABELLE and appeared on local television in New York City, Philadelphia and Albany.
During the early 90s Dave recorded and performed regularly in the Capital region with The Weasels and Medusa Pleasureworks. He has been performing as a soloist in the Capital Region since the mid 90s. His work includes weddings, special events, restaurants and coffee houses. He regularly appears at The Coffee Planet in Ballston Spa
Sunday March 24th. 11am-1pm.
When a boy grows up in an Italian family in Schenectady, NY, struggling to find his identity through music in a family of 11 children, the result is not your average singer songwriter. His vocal ability is compared to that of Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder , Darius Rucker and Barry white. The way he assassinates his acoustic, it is rumored he inherited the percussiveness of Ritchie Havens creating sounds that groove and grind dynamically with his not so pure technique.
Friday April 5th. 6pm-9pm
L.B.Walker will keep Your feet tappin' and your fingers snappin' as he celebrates the spirit of the Blues. A one-man band and a Coffee Planet favorite, L.B. soulfully performs classic acoustic blues and great old standards on guitar, harmonica, and foot stompin' tambourine.
Sunday April 14th. 11am-1pm.
L.B.Walker will keep Your feet tappin' and your fingers snappin' as he celebrates the spirit of the Blues. A one-man band and a Coffee Planet favorite, L.B. soulfully performs classic acoustic blues and great old standards on guitar, harmonica, and foot stompin' tambourine.
Friday May 3rd. 6pm-9pm.
Rob Adkins and Phil Drum are two fine Fingerstyle /Acoustic Blues guitar players and songwriters from Saratoga Springs, NY. As Low 'N Lonesome, they join forces and blend their talents to produce some of the finest old time Blues & Ragtime to be heard anywhere. They perform top-notch originals, as well as Blues-based versions of tunes from old school jazz, rock, folk, and country music, covering great artists from Robert Johnson and Louis Armstrong to Hank Williams and Bob Dylan.
Friday June 7th. 6pm-9pm
Chicago-based singer-songwriter Laura Joy has been known to quell dark, angry bars full of ornery old Irishmen. Drawing comparisons that range from Joni Mitchell to Alison Krauss, Laura's percussive finger picking and buoyant voice have graced audiences from as far as the Sun Belt to the streets of Manhattan. She is currently touring the nation, taking song requests from toddlers, petting puppies, and making newlyweds smile all across this great country.
Friday July 5th 6pm-9pm.
“Songs can present themselves anywhere from conversation to contemplation in every aspect of experience one might encounter on any given day. Recognizing such moments as inspiration and the ammunition to write something poignant and cohesive is half the battle. I write simple yet vulnerable melodies about the experiences of life, love, and perspective in the 21st century. I enjoy writing from a title that hands me a topic allowing me to color in the blanks. Other than that I’m just an average minded goofball.”
“I’ve played drums for most of my life in and around my hometown of Albany, NY – touring nationally with Felix Caveliere’s Rascals (The Young Rascals) 88′ through 96′, presently with Columbia recording artist Franklin Micare and Irish folk artist Kevin Mckrell. In 2003 I decided to start performing solo (guitar/vocal). I was the winner of the 2005 “Music For Miracles” Songwriting Contest with the title ” All Over The World”, was voted Metroland Magazine’s “Best Male Vocalist 2006”, and “Best Drummer 2007”. I hope you enjoy my music.”
Friday August 2nd 6pm-9pm.