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.
Join us on Facebook and 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.
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, Jason Luckett, 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 August, 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.
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 :: Jason Luckett
Singer-songwriter Jason Luckett has released his newest album, The Second Half Of The Bet (Hope Again). Moving organically through folk, jazz, rock and world rhythm influences, the album retains the strong personality of what Jason irreverently calls “groovy acoustic soul.”
Luckett is a singer, songwriter, guitarist and essayist based in Los Angeles. He’s released six full-length independent albums on his Lucky Masala Head label, toured the United States and Europe at such venues as Austin’s South by Southwest and the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, and shared the stage with such artists as Tracy Chapman, the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, jazz guitarist Kenny Burrell and members of Bauhaus and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His summer 2011 tour includes headlining at Germany’s Mannifest and the Copenhagen Songwriters Festival.
“He uses his guitar as an accompaniment to his stellar, expressive voice as well as his intriguing love songs and mesmerizing essays. . . . He’s a little Sam Cooke, a little Lenny Kravitz, and a little Neil Young.” (Music Connection)
“Luckett is a charismatic, romantic poet who wields lyrical dexterity in his heartbreaking yet inspirational narratives.” (HITS Magazine)
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 :: The August
The August are clearing their own path of music that runs between American roots and American pop music. Determined in their approach to define a strong musical identity, the august, put on a charging live show that is reminiscent of 70s era country rock infused with the pop sensibilities of today. Led by the soulful vocals of Jacky Dustin, drummer Tim Good and multi instrumentalist Wojtek Krupka, these three strong willed musicians desire to leave an indelible mark on each listener they come across.
It is their collection of musical personalities that renders itself into their identity as the august: Jacky’s sweet-tooth for Mariah coupled with a fascination of Janis Joplin, Wojtek’s affection for all things quirky and anything Neil Young, besides that Tron album, and Tim’s quest within himself to find the backbeat of ‘The Big Pink. ’Yet, all three members share a relentless and uncompromising love of music, the music they play together, and is indicative in their uprooting from hometown Chicago to Nashville, where they made the leap to further focus on a life of music, away from the comforts of friends and family.
However, Chicago did treat the august quite dearly while living there. They played to sell out crowds at known city clubs Schubas and Martyrs, a number of street festivals, most notably Chicago Country Music Fest and Taste of Chicago, and released two albums during their stay which received local and national acclaim. Yet, the august of then was plagued by the industry’s inability to place a label on the band, making them difficult to market, ultimately tarnishing their outlook on success, in which case the august felt if they were to survive, they needed some change of scenery. The august moved to Nashville in early 2009 and took an intermission from touring, deciding it best to use their time reworking and redeveloping their songwriting.
Their diligence proved successful and the band found their work to be more sophisticated in arrangement, much leaner lyrically without sacrificing content, and they also embraced their ranging musical choices as a creation of their own sound. As a result, established industry songwriters and producers took notice, becoming believers of a group that display a resilience and passion behind their music. Now well-endowed with stronger songs, swagger and a confidence in what is different may not be so bad, the august believe it’s time to present their sound, once again, to those willing to listen.the august is a band to watch and a band to follow.
They have recently opened for Toby Keith and Lionel Ritchie.
http://www.facebook.com/theaugustmusic
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)