Great People. Great Music. 2nd Sat.
Atlanta's longest running monthly music coffeehouse and showcase!
What?
Since 1984, Lena’s Place Coffeehouse is a monthly opportunity to experience an eclectic mix of acoustic artists in a coffeehouse atmosphere. Lena’s is staffed by volunteers who love (and, in some cases, play) music and who take pride in a professional presentation.
When?
Second Saturday of each month.
Where?
We have a great space in Decatur at the Central Congregational Church, back in the woods about 1/3 mile south of I-85 at 2676 Clairmont Road, between LaVista & Briarcliff Roads.
Click here for map and directions.
What time?
8:00 ~ 10:00 pm
Doors open at 7:30 pm
How much?
Donations ($5 is suggested) are accepted to benefit Central’s “Lena Werking Fund” for local charities. All proceeds go directly to a different local charity each month. Charities are listed on the calendar page along with the performers for that month.
What else?
Candlelit coffeehouse setting. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, snacks, and yummy desserts available. Plenty of free parking. Wheelchair accessible. Great sound system. Wonderful, full audience of appreciative listeners.
Here are a few of the folks who have performed at Lena’s Place:
Allison Adams, Judy Austin, Bob Bakert, Jerry Brunner, John Cable, Kim & David Chamberlain, Ray Chesna, Don Conoscenti, Courthouse Creek, Cyndi Craven, Steve Cullen, Rick Diamond, The Dots, Ashley Filip, Juliana Finch, Jessica Fine, Elephants Gerald, Billy Gewin, Bruce Gilbert, Tom Godfrey, Tammy Fowler, Grubbs & Imes, Frank & Mary Hamilton, Chuck Henderson, Ron Hipp, Hot Club of Atlanta, Jim Infantino, Andy Offutt Irwin, Curtis Jones, Bill Kahler, Mick Kinney, Keren Leppo, Joyce & Jacque, John McNicholas, Moira Nelligan, Nonesuch, Pat Walsh, Over The Wires, Heidi Pollyea, Playin’ Possum, Queenie, Craig Rafuse, Mike Rayburn, Tim Reis, Louis Robinson, Ken Shearer, Sandra Sparks, Margie Swint, Pat Terry, The Good Graces, Carla Ulbrich, Ben Wakeman, The Well, Tom Wolf.
And here are a few of the charities you have helped with your attendance:
Decatur Cooperative Ministry, El Refugio, Plymouth Harbor, South GA Migrant Farm Workers, RRISA, Clifton Men’s Shelter, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Men Stopping Violence, Open Door Community, Toco Hills Community Ministry, Interfaith Children’s Ministry, Lena Werking Fund.
Get on the Email List and we’ll let you know who is playing each month!
And if you are a singer/songwriter, contact us here for more info.
Saturday, June 9
Supported Charity for the month- Clifton Men’s Shelter
8:00 :: Jerry Brunner and Cyndi Craven w/Bruce Gilbert
Cyndi Craven started playing guitar—well, she thought the baritone ukulele her dad gave her was a guitar—when she was six years old. By the time she turned eleven, she realized the ukulele was in fact not a guitar, so she gave her life savings to a man at a record store who took a six-string guitar down off the wall, put it in a pasteboard case, and out she walked, guitar in hand. It broke the bank, but she finally had a real guitar. Forty some years later, Cyndi is still singing, playing, performing, writing songs, and recording songs. She can’t think of any reason to stop now.
Jerry Brunner and Cyndi Craven have been sharing their music with Atlanta audiences and beyond since the ’60s and ’70s, respectively. They’ve been playing together since the ’80s.
9:00 :: The Good Graces
Local multi-instrumentalist Kim Ware has been writing blazingly honest songs since 2007 when she picked up a used guitar at the late Lakewood Antiques Market. Her early work began as an outlet after a relationship went sour, and the resulting first album fronting The Good Graces, 2008’s Sunset Over Saxapahaw (Eskimo Kiss), was understandably melancholy – “a blend of shoegaze and folk” as Ware herself has referred to it. The current Wildcat Creek EP (third release overall), displays a brightness and maturity, an upbeat awareness that things can, and should, be better.
Joining Kim will be the rest of The Good Graces, multi-instrumentalists John McNicholas and Jim Combs.
http://www.facebook.com/thegoodgraces
Saturday, July 14
Supported Charity for the month- Atlanta Community Food Bank (http://www.acfb.org/)
8:00 :: John McNicholas
John McNicholas is a singer/songwriter based in Atlanta, GA. John has honed his writing talents by writing, performing and releasing albums with alternative favorites Spiller, Lie, Misfortune 500 and most recently performing with indie-darlings Honeyrider, Dank and Sparkys Nightmare. He considers himself and unlikely songwriter in that his songs are character sketches of his life and the lives of people and friends around him. He doesn’t so much write, as he observes and records his thoughts with music. His songs can be as awkwardly personal as those by Juliana Hatfield, as tongue-in-cheek as those by Fountains of Wayne and Ben Folds and as vivid and descriptive as those by Pete Yorn and Dean Wareham (Luna).
http://www.facebook.com/johnmcnicholasmusic
9:00 ::
Saturday, August 11
Supported Charity for the month- Men Stopping Violence (http://www.menstoppingviolence.org/)
8:00 :: Chuck Henderson
“Chuck is best described as a traveling minstrel; bringing his guitar and harmonica from town to town, his music is elegantly simple and his ballads will touch your heart.” – Ed Ponopkin, Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall, Black Mountain, NC
“Music that is heavily influenced by the likes of Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeger…quite a crowd pleaser.” – Mountain X-Press, Asheville, NC
“He performs wherever music is allowed, telling stories through the songs he writes, in milieu as varied as street corners, coffee houses, campuses, and sanctuaries.” – San Francisco Free Folk Festival
9:00 :: Juliana Finch
Juliana Finch “sounds the way a good bourbon tastes.” A Georgia-based singer/songwriter with strong Americana roots, Juliana earns her spot in a long tradition of storytelling songwriters with a sultry, soothing voice and carefully crafted lyrics.
Above all, her music is about connection andsharing stories. She believes everyone has a story to tell and conveys that through her lyrics.
She loves playing music festivals and house concerts because of the strong sense of community and joy fostered there. Juliana has been featured at the Nashville Pride Festival, the Bele Chere Festival in Asheville, North Carolina, Ladyfest South, The Atlantis Music Conference, and was selected for the prestigious Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Showcase in 2008.
She has played songwriter showcases at such iconic venues as Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta, the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, and been featured several years in a row at 99x’s Unplugged In The Park Concert Series.
She’s a social media addict, as evidenced by her growing number of Twitter & Facebook followers and her bi-weekly online shows. Her current project is called “Songs for Fans”, where she writes & records a brand new song for every 100 Facebook fans.
She’s never met a pie she didn’t like.
Saturday, September 8
Supported Charity for the month- Open Door (http://opendoorcommunity.org/)
8:00 ::
9:00 :: Virginia Plane (tentative)
Saturday, October 13
Supported Charity for the month- Toco Hills Community Ministry
8:00 ::
9:00 ::
Saturday, November 10
Supported Charity for the month- Interfaith Children’s Ministry
8:00 ::
9:00 ::
Saturday, December 8
Supported Charity for the month- Lena Werking Fund
8:00 ::
9:00 ::
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Matthew Shelton (photo by Jim Combs)
Matthew Shelton (photo by Jim Combs)
Margie Swint (photo by Jim Combs)
Margie Swint & Ken Shearer (photo by Jim Combs)
Ken Shearer (photo by Jim Combs)