MAY 2026
SET LIST
“War Pigs” (Black Sabbath), The Bags
“Believer,” The Bags
“Pearls” (Sade), Safiya
“Mr. Prez,” Safiya
“Conservative, Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males” (Todd Snider), Brendan Murphy
“If This Keeps Up,” Brendan Murphy
“Last Train to Clarksville” (Monkees), Joan Anderman
“Finished With You,” Joan Anderman
“Juicy” (Notorious B.I.G.), Najee Janey
“Brown Sugar,” Najee Janey
“Almost Alright,” Mark Erelli with Dinty Child
“People Have the Power” (Patti Smith), Mark Erelli
Poster Design: Joanne Kaliontzis
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
THE BAGS marked their 40th anniversary with an exuberant show at the Crystal Ballroom in early 2025. Guitarist Crispin Wood and drummer Jim Janota met while attending Lexington High School; before forming their maniacally fun power trio, they played with the former frontman of La Peste in the Peter Dayton Band. With another Lexington native, Jon Hardy, on bass, the Bags won the Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble in 1989. They released their latest album, “The Bags Go Deep,” earlier this year.
A daughter of Caribbean heritage, SAFIYA is the founder of a unique business called Travel Through Music, which delivers subscription boxes filled with curated music and artifacts from around the globe. She has expanded the concept to include cultural education workshops and travel groups.
BRENDAN MURPHY is the lead singer of the Autumn Hollow, which earned multiple Boston Music Awards nominations for their debut EP, “Throw the House.” The band dropped their latest full-length release, “Say No More,” in May 2025.
JOAN ANDERMAN quit her longtime job as a rock critic for the Boston Globe to pursue her dream of making her own music. She started a writing project called Middle Mojo about her midlife pivot. With her former Globe colleague Dan Zedek, they formed the band Field Day. The group released their latest album, “Start at the End,” in 2024.
NAJEE JANEY is a fast-rising rapper and songwriter from Roxbury. He has showcased his work with HBO, BET, and the production companies of Issa Rae and Tyler Perry. He’s also a new father.
MARK ERELLI is a longtime mainstay of the Boston music scene who won the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Award upon his debut in 1999. With the proceeds from the fellowship he was awarded by Club Passim, Erelli built his home studio outside Boston. Erelli has played as a sideman in bands with Josh RItter and Lori McKenna, performed with the roots group Barnstar!, written songs with San Francisco’s Chuck Prophet, and recorded a tribute album to the late Bill Morrissey among more than a dozen solo releases to date.
Guest speaker LEWIS RANDA is the founder of the Life Experience School and the Peace Abbey Foundation, a long-term project that grew out of Randa’s experience as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. At the Peace Memorial Park in Sherborn, MA, Randa, his wife Meg, and their team have honored such notable pacifists as Mother Teresa, Muhammad Ali, Thich Nhat Hahn, and many others.
Special thanks to this month’s Paid Protesters
Magen Tracy (Music Director)
Paul Buckley
Anthony Kaczynski
Mike Oram
Michelle Paulhus
Eric Salt
And additional musicians
Paul Ahlstrand
Dinty Child
Kameelah
Erica Mantone
Stud Green