The first concert in the 2023-2024 Valley Folk Music Society season will feature popular local songwriter, painter, guitarist, slide player, fiddler and all-round ball of energy Joe Crookston. He will provide an afternoon of music plus his original paintings and sculpture for a very special afternoon of music, visual art and community.

From touring with Gordon Lightfoot, headlining major US festivals, receiving Folk Alliance International “Album of the Year,” releasing NINE BECOMES ONE (2023) to being named Folk Alliance International Artist-in-Residence, Joe is on fire. He is known for his heartfelt songs that touch on all aspects of the human experience, ranging from narratives to fantasy. His work includes a collection of original songs retailing stories of the Finger Lakes, with real-life protagonists including a drunken rooster, an escaped slave and a survivor of the concentration camps.

Joe's original artwork will be on display at the concert, making this an extra special event for us to have music, paintings and sculpture. His artwork has been shown at various venues including at the True North Gallery in Waterdown, Ontario. His paintings were installed in the gallery alongside paintings by other musicians, including Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, and Janis Joplin.

There is a free jam session on concert nights beginning 90 minutes before each concert when we get in the building to set up. Bring your folk instruments and songs and come jam together!

There is on street parking. Enter through the street level door on First Street. There is an internal flight of stairs and a chair lift for those who need it. Phone ahead and bring a helper if you need assistance.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program (SCR), a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes.