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Jamaica Plain Unplugged Acoustic Music Series
at the Loring-Greenough House
12 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA

Folks, kick back and enjoy
Music series makes a house a village home

By Richard Thompson, Globe Correspondent | March 4, 2007

Denise Barbarita wrote what she thought would be a perfect theme song for the TV show "Dawson's Creek," she told an audience of about three dozen as she tuned her guitar at the historic Loring-Greenough House last month.
But the catchy acoustic number was never picked up, since the show was canceled "long before they ever had a chance to hear the song," she said. Chuckling, she seemed to assume that everyone would know quite well that the show about teen angst ran its course nearly four years ago.

Judging by the looks of the crowd, however -- a mostly older group, decked out in warm sweaters, sipping hot chocolate, and nibbling on brownies and chocolate chip cookies -- it's hard to know if they understood the reference.

The performance was at the top of a triple bill kicking off the inaugural show of a new local music series, "JP Unplugged," which has a lineup of monthly shows, aimed largely at the over-40 crowd, scheduled through June.

"The idea that we're able to host the series in a house is an important thing," says its founder, Jess Yoakum , a Jamaica Plain resident who spent years booking acts for the Midway Cafe on Washington Street .

Hosting shows in the historic landmark, set in the center of the neighborhood, follows a growing trend in the folk music scene: bringing locally and nationally recognized musicians together to play for smaller crowds in private homes.

"I think people want to come out and see singer-songwriters in a more intimate space than in a noisy bar where people aren't really paying attention," says Carlyn Hutchins, one of seven people who helped get the series off the ground. She said the group is hoping "to make it a big community thing in Jamaica Plain, because we really have nothing like this here."

British naval officer Commodore Joshua Loring , who built the country estate and farmstead in 1760 , appeared to keep a watchful eye from a portrait above the fireplace in the front of the room, which was filled by four rows of folding chairs and sets of antique couches and chairs.

As they waited for the show to begin, Nancy Kohn and Elise Pechter, both of Jamaica Plain , sat on a gold-trimmed loveseat in the back of the room, discussing how the series could find a niche in the neighborhood.

Kohn used to be a regular at Gladly's Coffee Cabaret at St. John's Episcopal Church in JP, but she said the series was halted more than a year ago.

"It's the sign of a lively community, a new opportunity to hear live music," Pechter says.

"That's part of why I live here, because it's like a village within a bigger city."

Kohn echoed her sentiment, saying, "I was just feeling like it was time to come hear music again in a low-key environment."

Tickets $10, call 617-524-3158 to reserve seats. For a full schedule of events, check out jpunplugged. org.