It's Not Really A Coffeehouse

Julie and Josh Kinn as Kinnfolk played last Friday night

3rd Street Coffeehouse.   It’s not really a “coffeehouse”, at least not in the sense that people come for over-priced latte's and plug on a laptop or chat with friends while music plays in the background.  At 3rd Street Coffeehouse, the songs and songwriters are what matter the most. We're a throwback to the coffeehouses of Greenwich Village, back in the early 60’s, where folks like Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton and Joni Mitchell started their musical careers.  A lot of others too.  Like days of old, incredibly talented songwriters and performers grace our stage every Friday night, laying their souls bare for all to see and hear.  Some of my best friends are these traveling troubadours, folks like Julie and Josh Kinn, Shawn Byrne, Scott Cook and Pamela Mae, Roy & Kim Schneider and dozens more.  They live their lives creating unbelievably great original music and doing everything they can to share it at places like 3rd Street Coffeehouse.  It’s not an easy life. It's generally not financially lucrative, but it's a calling - one that won't be denied or surpressed.

The people who sit at the tables are often other songwriters.  They know what it takes to create an interesting verse, wrap it in a melody and travel from city to city, hoping to make a few dollars and continue on in a quixotic pursuit of sharing their creativity.  Sometimes, there are folks who don’t fit in at the bars or other social venues.  They are drawn to 3rd Street to share with others who, like themselves, enjoy and appreciate the magic feeling that occurs when a songwriter carries them away to a place where songs free the mind and spirit.  It is magic indeed, and it happens more than you would think possible.  It’s like the spirit of John Prine and all the songwriters of past, present and future inhabit the walls and stage. It's very real and will make your skin tingle.

Quite often, 3rd Street Coffeehouse is a place of small miracles, where extraordinary things happen on a regular basis.  A senior couple, who meet there by chance, and wind up sharing their lives together.  People overcoming everything from major medical issues to broken hearts on a regular basis.  A hastily contrived COVID plan to raise a few bucks for Feeding Southwest Virginia on Tuesday nights by LiveStreaming local songwriters that raises over $32,000 and provides over 160,000 meals.  A young woman escapes Russian occupied Ukraine with her son and finds a community of love, acceptance and support in the darkest time of her life.  Quiet, yet undeniable miracles built on the love of musicians and music lovers.  You can almost feel the spirit of love from generations gone for over a hundred years that the room has existed.  Miracles happen frequently within these walls.

Since 1987, 3rd Street Coffeehouse has provided a place for songwriters and road-weary musicians to find a loving and accepting audience that values what they bring. We’ve survived through thick and thin, with the help of Trinity United United Methodist Church, our great volunteers and even greater fans.  In 2017, I accepted the sacred honor and privilege of guiding our extraordinary volunteer team and keeping the music, and the miracles, alive.  It is an honor to be a part of such a community of faith, love and respect, but there is no doubt a greater power at work than I could ever command or summon.  I accept that as fact and don’t question it.  Somehow, by the grace of God and the support of live / original music fans, we’ve kept it going for 37 years.

If you’ve ever been to 3rd Street Coffeehouse, you get it.  You’ve seen and felt the magic. You've seen miracles and heard great music. If you’ve never been, I invite you to drop by.  If you’re inclined to support the cause, please know that we very much appreciate it. Our PayPal address is gramps1842@gmail.com. 

What's your favorite memory at 3rd Street Coffeehouse? Please let me know in the comments section and be sure to like and share the post with your friends.

Jenya and Egor Shulym (foreground) are proud Ukrainians

Folk icon Tom Paxton and other songwriters helped raise
over $32,000 for Feeding Southwest Virginia over 18 months

We're located at 305 Mountain Avenue SW, Roanoke, VA 24016

Tribute To A Master - The Passing Of Gordon Lightfoot

 

I was going to write about a hockey game tonight.  The game I saw last night in Roanoke was maybe the greatest game I’ve ever seen live.  But on the way home, I heard the news that Gordon Lightfoot had passed away.  I wasn’t shocked or surprised, but I sure was bummed out to hear that news. He deserves some thoughts and maybe a few comments on how he affected my life, and probably yours as well.

Gordon Lightfoot was the Mount Rushmore of modern songwriting.  Put another way, he was the guy that John Prine and Bob Dylan looked up to.  I once saw a video of John playing a club in Canada with Gordon sitting in the front row.  You couldn’t miss how John was just over the moon because his hero was there to hear him.   Dylan said that his fellow singer died “without ever having made a bad song”, and every time he listened to one of them, he “wished it would last forever”.  I couldn't agree more.

Every song I've ever heard Gordon play was an absolute jewel in every respect.  His lyrics painted images that one could see, feel, hear and touch.  Who hasn’t felt a chill up their spine when listening to “The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald” or felt the pain of a lost love listening to “If you Could Read My Mind”?  His composition, arranging and production were second to none.  Listen to the way the orchestral strings come in on “If You Could Read My Mind” or how the crash of the drums create the crash of the storm on “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”.  He released a dozen or more other major hits across Canada, America and the rest of the world over the years, every one a masterpiece.  My personal favorites are “Canadian Railroad Trilogy” and “Song For A Winter’s Night”.  

I had tickets to see Gordon at the Berglund Center in Roanoke in 2020, which was postponed due to COVID until August of 2021.  I was all set to go to the rescheduled show in August of 2021, but Gordon broke his wrist and the show was again postponed to February of last year.  On the night that he was to play, I had a gig so I missed out and gave the tickets to a friend.  Gordon had scheduled another U.S. tour for later this year, but canceled it just a few short weeks ago.  Gordon died peacefully on Monday, May 1, 2023 at 730 p.m. at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto. He died of natural causes. He was 84 years old.  He may have passed, but his music will last forever. He'll remain as the Mount Rushmore of songwriting long after I'm gone.

Thanks to those who followed my blog in April.  I hope to make it worth your while.  If you enjoy my little musings, I hope that you too will hit the follow button.  This month, for every new “Follow”, I’ll be donating $10 to an organization I love to support, Feeding Southwest Virginia.  Hit that button and help us feed our less fortunate neighbors and friends.