APRIL 2026
SET LIST
“Stand!” (Sly and the Family Stone), Barrence Whitfield and Sal Baglio
“The Whole World’s Upside Down,” Barrence Whitfield and Sal Baglio
“White Man’s World” (Jason Isbell), Emily Grogan
“Day Off,” Emily Grogan
“(I Don’t Want to Be a) Billionaire” (Theo Katzmann), Chris Walton
“Do Something,” Chris Walton
“Freedom Highway” (Staple Singers), Mercedes Escobar
“La Cumbia del Que Diran,” Mercedes Escobar
“Territorial Pissings” (Nirvana), George Danahy
“Toying With the Devil,” George Danahy
“It Ain’t Gonna Be in Vain,” Merrie Amsterburg
“This Land Is Your Land,” Merrie Amsterburg
Poster Design: Joanne Kaliontzis
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Between them, BARRENCE WHITFIELD and SAL BAGLIO have enlivened the Boston music scene for more than nine decades. After Barrence came to Boston in the late 1970s to attend Boston University, he and his band, the Savages (led by Peter Greenberg of the Lyres), released their debut album in 1984. While continuing to churn out hot vinyl, Barrence has also immersed himself in a tribute project to Sun Ra and the “sci-fi rock opera” called “Beasties,” among many other things. l Baglio, meanwhile, played his first gig as the leader of the long-running band the Stompers in 1977. At its height, the group earned national recognition, touring with the Beach Boys and the J. Geils Band. In recent years, Baglio has focused his energy on his latest band, the Amplifier Heads. He was inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame in 2025.
Both a classically-trained pianist and punk rock drummer, the songwriter and guitarist EMILY GROGAN is one of Boston’s best examples of “full-spectrum musicianship.” Once featured on a reality TV series called “Rocker Moms,” she recently produced a benefit show that raised over $10,000 for the Boston Immigration Justice Accompaniment Network.
Berklee educator CHRIS WALTON grew up in Iowa thinking he might become a classical composer. Instead, he discovered popular songwriting. Calling his style of music “off-jazz,” or “jazz-adjacent,” he released his debut album, “Ruminating Thoughts,” in 2023.
Originally from Guatemala, MERCEDES ESCOBAR blends blues, country storytelling, and Latin rhythms. Calling her style “Latin Americana,” she is a past member of the Folk Collective cohort at Club Passim.
GEORGE DANAHY is the frontman for the rambunctious Lowell rock band the Ghouls, who won the Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble in 2024. Most recently, the Ghouls paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne with an all-Black Sabbath set at the 2026 edition of Lowell’s The Town and the City Festival.
MERRIE AMSTERBURG has won two Boston Music Awards and a WFNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll award. She has performed on PRI’s Mountain Stage and NPR’s World Cafe, and she has been invited to sing at Fenway Park multiple times.
THE KOSSOY SISTERS are the traditional folk-singing identical twins Irene Saletan and Ellen Christenson. At age 15, they attended an activist summer camp, where they met Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger. They soon began singing in their close-harmony style in New York City’s Washington Square Park. The sisters released their debut album, “Bowling Green,” featuring instrumentation by Erik Darling, in 1956. That year they performed at the “Bound for Glory” tribute concert for an ailing Woody Guthrie. In 1959, the sisters performed at the first Newport Folk Festival. They waited nearly 50 years to release a second album, “Hop on Pretty Girls,” in 2002. Having lived in Guatemala for years, they still sing like angels.
Special thanks to this month’s Paid Protesters:
Magen Tracy (Music Director)
Paul Gallo
Mike Oram
Michelle Paulhus
Eric Salt
And additional musicians:
Paul Ahlstrand
Michele Cavalari
Kameelah
Peter Linton
Elizabeth Steen