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PFMS Board Members and volunteers stuffing envelopes for our fund raising mailing. They are (l to r) Bill Goodwin (BM), Ramona Branch (Vol), Kathy LaRiviere (Vol), Diana Jacobs (BM), Vance Finch (BM), Dorine Ryner (BM). Photo by Deb McWethy (BM).

The Peterborough Folk Music evolved out of the well known Folkway, a wonderful coffee house founded in 1975 and unfortunately permanently closed its doors on January 1, 1996. At that time Deb McWethy, a board member, announced her vision to keep the Folkway's legacy alive and to continue bringing folk music to the Monadnock Region. The new Society made up of some Folkway members, got busy acquiring a non-profit status, looking for new board members, corporate sponsors, web and graphic designers, volunteers, and looking for a good place to hold folk concerts. We landed in the Unitarian Universalist Church on Main St. which was a wonderful venue for us for the first few years.  Our first concert, only 7 days after the closing of The Folkway, was Dar Williams and Peter Mulvey. Attendance was beyond our expectations and so it has continued since 1996. We moved our location to the Peterborough Players for many years where each of the 235 comfortable seats has excellent acoustics and a great view of the stage.

 

 

In order to promote the desire to present more intimate concerts along with the ability to introduce the Monadnock Region to musicians who may not have played in our area and are also very talented musicians we began using smaller venues for many concerts such as Bass Hall at the Monadnock Center in Peterborough and The Spinning Room in the Granite Mill in Harrisville. Beginning in 2022 we began presenting larger concerts, in the new, state of the art Park Theater in Jaffrey, NH.

In 2002 Deb McWethy also started her house concert series in order to also provide a venue for rising musicians. After playing many times in her living room or outdoors in her yard, those musicians started drawing larger audiences and performed at The Peterborough Players. 

Since 2022 PFM has started renting the new, state of the art Park Theater in Jaffrey, NH which seats 330 for many concerts.

We continue to live by our mission statement:
The Peterborough Folk Music is an all-volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the most innovative, entertaining and diverse musicians to the Monadnock Region.

Musicians who have appeared on our stage over the many years are: Loudon Wainwright III, Greg Brown, Richie Havens, Cheryl Wheeler, Lori McKenna, Janis Ian, Richard Shindell, Dar Williams, Lucy Kaplanski, Jonathan Edwards, Bill Staines, Aztec-Two-Step, Le Vent Du Nord, Battlefield Band, Tom Rush, Trout Fishing in America, The Nields, Christine Lavin, Garnet Rogers, Patty Larkin, Tony Bird, Ellis Paul, Martin Sexton, Dave Mallett, Harvey Reid and Joyce Anderson, Bill Morrissey, Tricket, Bok and Muir, Susan Werner, Connie Kaldor, The Kennedys, Karen Savoka, Chris Smither, Gary Rosen, Ferron, the Burns Sisters, Northern Lights, Chris Williamson, Rolling Crones, Lui Collins, Robin and Linda Williams, John McCutcheon, Mark Erelli, Kris Delmhorst, Brooks Williams, Cliff Ederhardt, Peter Mulvey, Odetta, David Surette and Susie Burke, David Roth, Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, Darrel Purpose, Carol Noonan, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, Rory Block, Jennifer Kimball, Eddie From Ohio, The Mammals, April Verch, The Glengarry Bhoys, Kenny White, Colleen Sexton, Tom Paxton, Lisa McCormick, Deb Pasternak, The Thompsons, John Schindler, Rachael Davis, Lisa Bigwood, Ray Bonneville, Diane Ziegler, Stephen Kellogg, Flora Reed, Jess Klein, Mustard's Retreat, Jim Henry, Pamela Means, Tret Fure, Kelly Joe Phelps, Cormac McCarthy, Herdman, Hill and Mangsen, Chuck Brodsky, Erica Wheeler, Bob Martin, Maria Sangeolo, Don White, Femme m'aime, Devonsquare, Suzanne McGettigan, Red Molly, among others.

Our Board of Directors

  • Deborah McWethy: President/Program Director
  • Kate Coon: Vice President
  • Bill Goodwin: Co-Treasurer
  • Diane Goodman: Secretary
  • Jim VanValkenburgh: Co-Treasurer
  • Yvonne Gifford: Volunteer Coordinator
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  • Thank you to our VOLUNTEERS:
  • Ruth Benedict - PFM Social Media.
  • Greg Scerbinski - Website Master
  • Jill Shaffer-Hammond - Graphic Designer
  • To Harlow's Pub for donating meals to our musicians
  • Riverhouse By Weekender donates rooms to our musicians.