Cosy Sheridan has always considered Concord home.
Even though she’s lived many other places, whenever she returns to the city it brings up all kinds of memories. And as a musician, Sheridan will never pass up the opportunity to play a show. So it was an easy answer when she was asked to be the first repeat performer at the N.H. Audubon’s Birds and Beans Coffeehouse.
“I’ve been in and out of Concord for most of my life,” Sheridan said. “And it’s a community I feel I’m still a part of.”
For the first coffeehouse of 2019, Sheridan will take to the small stage set up in the front room of the Audubon’s McLane Center on Thursday at 7 p.m., joined by her husband Charlie Koch and their friend Kent Allyn.
Sheridan helped launch Birds and Beans Coffeehouse in July 2016 as the very first performer and couldn’t be more appreciative of a return visit.
She’s played at venues all over the city, like the Audi as part of the Walker Lecture series and the Concord Community Music School. But the Audubon holds a special meaning for her, as Susan McLane was her neighbor growing up.
“Often times there are people who knew me when I was a little girl at the shows,” Sheridan said.
The married team of Koch and Sheridan have been playing together since 2014, but Allyn is her longest musical partnership, dating back to the late 1980s.
The trio will play an upbeat style of folk, with songs about Sheridan’s parents, and satirical originals.
“My writing is definitely about my experiences,” Sheridan said.
Ruth Smith had thought about doing a coffeehouse-style series at the Audubon for a while, but the timing had never been right. Finally, she just decided to give it a shot and the response was more than she could have asked for.
“We tried it and it was successful, so we kept it going,” she said.
Smith, who spent more than two decades as an employee at the Audubon and has stayed on to run the coffeehouse, she had some experience after starting a student coffeehouse during her time at UNH, and said it’s been a fun couple years of booking musicians and watching the crowds grow.
“They’ve been really great so far,” Smith said. “It’s a nice intimate setting.”
Birds and Beans is held four times a year with Ed Gerhard on deck for the March 28 show. All the acts are in the folk genre, but Smith really likes to try to bring in a variety of styles. She’s had local favorites likes Susie Burke and David Surette, Peggo and Paul Hodes with Allyn, and the Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio.
“I’ve tried to mix it up with younger folks and old timers,” Smith said. “And everybody’s got their own take on what folk music is.”
Depending on the size of the crowd and the style of music, Smith said the room will be set up differently. Sometimes its just chairs for a more listening room feel, while if the audience is smaller, they will put tables out too. Plus there always has to be room for a little moving and grooving.
“I’m a lover of folk music and have been my whole life,” Smith said. “It’s always been a passion of mine.”
The performances include two, 45-minute sets, and are always held on a Thursday night. The day of the week makes it easier to book the popular musicians the coffeehouse wants to attract, which usually book up to a year in advance for weekend shows.
Smith said the audiences range from 70 to 90 people and that she will see plenty of familiar faces at all the shows.
“We have some regular followers who come to all the shows,” Smith said.
Birds and Beans comes from a bird-friendly coffee sold in the Audubon’s Nature Store. It is produced by Central American farmers with a bird-conscious approach, which fits perfectly with the organization’s mission. The coffee is sold during the shows, as are cookies from Crust & Crumb.
Tickets are $15 for Audubon members and $20 for non-members and available at the door. Shows starts at 7 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
For more information, visit nhaudubon.org/events-and-news/birds-and-beans-coffeehouse.