Schedule: Folk & Roots Stage
Organized by Club Passim
12 p.m. - Cliff Notez
1 p.m. - Almira Ara
Columbus, Ohio-raised, Boston-based Frankenstein of genres Almira Ara uses elements of folk, rock, and rnb to create music that is most honest to their soul. They look into their emotions & experiences, those of others, and the going ons of the world cultivate a musical experience that is moving and can resonate not only with their community of trans queer people of color who influence their music, but with anyone who listens. Ara’s goal through their music is to be a mirror for listeners as well as the world.
2 p.m. - Gabriella Simpkins
Gabriella Simpkins is an award-winning singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist hailing from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Informed by her vast experiences across genres and performance settings, her music exists at the intersections of folk, classical, jazz, and indie rock. Her work explores the nuances of interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships, as well as how those interactions can shape the world around us. She values music as a tool for community connection, conversation, and activation. She performs her singer-songwriter material regularly in the Boston area, leads workshops and classes, teaches private lessons, and hopes to establish herself further as a freelance composer in the coming years.
3 p.m. - Grace Givertz
Boston-based indie-folk artist Grace Givertz captivates audiences by blending earworm melodies with heartfelt storytelling. As a multi-instrumentalist, she infuses her music with a diverse array of sounds, weaving folk, Americana, and indie rock into a tapestry uniquely her own. Drawing inspiration from her personal journey living with chronic
illness, Givertz's music resonates with raw emotion and introspection. Her experiences infuse her songs with depth and authenticity, inviting listeners to explore themes of
resilience and vulnerability.
4 p.m. - Naomi Westwater
Naomi Westwater (they/them/she) is a queer, Black-multiracial singer-songwriter from Massachusetts. Their work combines folk-rock music, poetry, and spirituality. Their hope is that through ritual and storytelling they can aid nature in the end of capitalism and the return to community, creativity, and collective joy. Naomi holds a Master of Music in Contemporary Performance and Production from Berklee College of Music, and they are a part of The Club Passim Folk Collective, where they produce Re-Imagining Lilith Fair: a tribute to the feminist music scene of the 1990s with an intersectional lens for today. Naomi was nominated for four Boston Music Awards, and featured in The Boston Globe, Under The Radar, WBUR, GBH, and The Bluegrass Situation. They made the WBUR’s 2024 Makers list, and in November 2024 the musician-in-residence at Château d'Orquevaux in France.
5 p.m. Pamela Means
Easthampton, Massachusetts-based, singer-songwriter and jazz musician Pamela Means is “one of the fiercest guitar players and politically-rooted musicians in the industry today" (Curve Magazine), with her "mad guitar-and-vocal skills” (Time Out New York), and, "insanely brilliant" (Press Herald, Portland, Maine) and “stark, defiant songs” (New York Times).