Contemporary folk-music groups, singer-songwriters and an acclaimed blues guitarist will be featured as the Fanwood Performance Series presents its spring season of live music at the Carriage House.
The series returns from its winter break on Saturday, April 5, with folk trio Lara Herscovitch & The Highway Philosophers, in a double-bill with The Honey Badgers. Herscovitch is a singer-songwriter-poet who brings authenticity, integrity, humor and heart to her music. Sound Waves Magazine called her work “songwriting at its best… good for your ears and your soul.” The Honey Badgers are a folk/Americana duo from Delaware, formed in 2011 by Michael Natrin and Erin Magnin. They’re known for intense, sparkling harmonies, honest lyrics and melodies, and captivating onstage chemistry.
Debra Devi, named by American Blues Scene as one of “today’s top female blues/rock guitarists,” brings her Jersey City-based band to the Carriage House on Saturday, May 10. New Jersey Stage compared Devi to “a cross between Bonnie Raitt, Joan Jett and Pat Benatar.” Devi is also the author of “The Language of the Blues.” Opening the show with an acoustic set will be singer-songwriter Cassidy Rain, lead singer of The Outcrops, which played in the Fanwood Performance Series in 2023.
Also returning to the series is another New Jersey musician, Michaela McClain, who will perform on Saturday, June 14, along with Cleveland indie-rock band Vanishing Shores. McClain brings her powerful and expressive voice to her heartfelt original songs. Vanishing Shores isled by singer-songwriter Kevin Bianchi, who draws inspiration from artists such as Elvis Costello, Ray Davies, Tom Petty and Lindsey Buckingham.
All shows start at 7 p.m. at the Kuran Cultural Arts Center (a.k.a. the Carriage House), on Watson Road just west of Martine Avenue, next to Fanwood Borough Hall. Admission is $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors – cash at the door. Reservations are strongly suggested and can be made by emailing fanwoodperformance@gmail.com.
The Fanwood Performance Series is a presentation of Mayor Colleen Mahr and the Fanwood Borough Cultural Arts Council. It is made possible in part by a HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.
The series will continue with three more shows in the fall; dates and performers to be announced. Music fans can find more information and updates at the series website (https://
