By Larry Claflin Jr.
Even though John Kane was born almost two years after Woodstock, the Salem resident draws a lot of inspiration from the 1969 music and arts festival.
Each year in mid-August, around the anniversary of the historic, three-day concert, Kane listens to his original Woodstock albums, thumbs through the jackets and pores over autographs he's collected over the years, from performers like Arlo Guthrie, Joe Cocker, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, members of Jefferson Airplane and others.
"I keep them tucked away," Kane, 38, said of his cherished live records. "When I play them, I think of the connection between music and arts."
It's always been a dream to merge the two on a large scale, similar to the festivals of the '60s," continued Kane, a doctoral student in arts leadership at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire.
Kane's dream will be realized Saturday at the inaugural North Shore Folk Festival, inside Old Town Hall in Derby Square, Salem. The all-day concert will feature performances by folk musicians from around the region, and area artisans will display and sell their work.
The musicians — who have all donated their time — cover several musical genres.
Artists like Thea Hopkins will represent traditional folk, while Treebeard should please folk-rock fans. Also, the Dirt Naps (bluegrass), 10-foot Polecats (Delta blues) and Shoheen (singer-songwriter) will play. A local singer-songwriter, Peter Mercier of Salem, will also perform.
The festival will be acoustic or with minimal amplification, according to Kane, who said he is amazed with the acoustic quality of Great Hall, on the second floor of Old Town Hall. Also, the fact the hall has been used as a public space since it opened in 1817 is fitting.
"The structure and (its) history I felt complemented music itself," Kane said. "Seventy-five years ago, people would gather at meeting places and town halls to sing about labor issues and union issues. I felt Old Town Hall was an appropriate venue for this genre of music."
Besides securing the room, Kane — the festival's founder — also serves as its booking agent, graphic designer, promoter and ticket-sales agent.
"I'm my own street team, basically," said Kane, who has distributed posters and cards from Cambridge to Portland, Maine.
Depending on the folk festival's success, Kane said it could evolve into a nonprofit organization supporting local, community-based charities like food pantries, for example.
"If we merge arts, music and community ... who knows where it will go?" he said.
Like the musicians, Kane is also donating his time. He said he'd be lucky if the show breaks even.
"I'm in this to pull together artists and musicians for a one-day, fun event," Kane said. "I'm not in this for any money."
