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Featured Coffeehouse of the Month

The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse
At the First Universalist Society Meetinghouse
262 Chestnut St.
Franklin, MA 02038
Tickets: (508)528-2541

Most community coffeehouses are held in rooms not designed as concert spaces, usually in the sanctuaries or function halls of small churches.  Circle of Friends is unique in that a church was built around it.  For years, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Franklin did not have a permanent home, and the coffeehouse it sponsored was held at the old Masonic Hall.

In 2001, a permanent church was finally built, and the coffeehouse committee was able to offer suggestions for the design of the sanctuary.  As a result, it is now held in a superb concert environment, complete with built-in, state-of-the-art theatrical lighting and sound system.  Performers are raving about it; long known as one of the friendliest coffeehouses in New England, Circle of Friends is now also toasted as one of the finest small-concert spaces anywhere in the country.

"Our emphasis is on having a great listening room," said Jake Jacobson, chairman of the committee that runs the coffeehouse.  "So the sound is pretty wonderful, the lighting is great.  We actually have a lighting board, so the lights can change to mirror the mood of the music.  It’s very comfortable, with molded chairs, which are wider and more comfortable than the folding chairs we used to have.  We now have a beautiful, top-of-the-line grand piano that some performers take advantage of."

Parking is free in a large church lot, with plenty of on-street parking available for big shows. As at all BACHA coffeehouses, dress is casual - "come as you are" is the only dress code - and all ages are welcome.

Another way Circle of Friends differs from many coffeehouses is that it designs its schedule around the availability of the performers it most wants to feature every year.  Concerts are held on Saturdays, almost without exception, roughly every three weeks from October to May.  Jacobson said, "We mostly have contemporary singer-songwriters, and occasionally some bluegrass, blues and Celtic music."

Circle of Friends is also celebrated for the creativity of its cuisine.  The food volunteers engage in a friendly competition to bake extraordinary goodies for the audience, ranging from the standard cookies, carrot cake and brownies, to trifles, pies, and exotic cheesecakes, "Some fans describe us as a bakery with music," Jacobson says with a chuckle.

Audience ranges from 70-270, but Jacobson says the space is so well designed that the informal, convivial ambiance doesn’t change much from show to show.  "The way we have the room set up, in sort of a circular way, it's fairly intimate even if we have 300 people.  Everyone is close to the stage.  I think it's just a great place to hear music."