Early in the new year The Coffee House celebrates the musicians and songwriters who passed away in the previous year. This year's Memorial Show will occur on January 25th, and feature three acts: Dan Geddes, Don Starr, and the trio of Jerry Danks, Jonnie Guernsey and George Kidera. Come celebrate the lives of the musicians who died in 2024 in this benefit show for NourishMKE, Saturday, January 25th, 7:30-9:30 PM. 

Dan Geddes retired and moved from Appleton to Milwaukee in 2020 and is still learning about all the great music opportunities the city has to offer. He was a founding member of the folk group Laughing Whitefish and performed and recorded with that band for many years. He is a past president and currently on the board of the Green Apple Folk Music Society and is also on the board of the MOO Music Gathering organization.

Don Starr began playing at 14. He studied Classical and American Finger Style Guitar and continues playing to enrich his retirement years.

Jerry Danks found a whole new fingerstyle world, hearing Leo Kottke's A Good Egg twice on WBAY-FM out of Green Bay the summer of '74. 

Jonnie Guernsey discovered harmony in her childhood, thanks to intensive exposure to barbershop rehearsals in the living room. After 100+ performances with the Moxie Chicks, she is delighted to have discovered George on her patio, and our collaboration with Jerry began.

George Kidera started playing guitar and singing when he was ten and joined his brother’s band. He enjoys playing all kinds of music with friends.

Folks would walk under the old Coffee House sign to enter a welcoming world of music and poet friends to talk about peace and justice, reminisce, and share their stories and songs. Tonight we invite everyone to join in on an old Coffee House tradition. Bring an instrument, a song or your own book of poems. You can come just to listen or join in yourself. - The Coffee House Friends Gathering and Open Jam is a time to gather together listen, appreciate everybody's contribution, and have fun singing -- that's what it's all about. In a jam session or song circle just try to be observant and feel your way gently. Each person who wants to can take a turn playing a song and they lead the group. The idea is that no one plays louder than the person leading the song. Depending on the size of the group you may be able to lead multiple songs when the circle comes around as each person takes a turn. We love if people just want to come to listen too. Wonderful time to visit with friends.

Led by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Gary Kitchin, the Dirty Dishes gather again to bring Americana, blues, bluegrass, and joyous early rock to our stage! Joining Gary are John Granzow (guitar and vocals), Bob Estes (fiddle, mando, guitar), and Ives Iverson (banjo, harmonica). Expect a night of high energy — these Dishes may be dirty but their audiences always leave feeling clean and refreshed!

Eccentric Acoustic is a trio featuring Ruth Williams on mandolin, Sandy Stehling on guitar, and Scott Emmons on bass. They perform a wide variety of music, ranging from swing era jazz and country blues to more contemporary country, folk, and Americana. Ruth Williams started singing harmony while doing the family dishes with her sister. She currently sings with Milwaukee’s Bel Canto Chorus. Ruth forsook the autoharp for the mandolin some years ago and has been a stalwart member of the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra for more than twenty years.Sandy Stehling began playing guitar as a way to avoid studying while attending UW-Madison. His transcript shows the success of this strategy. The lively folk music scene on campus at the time was a major influence. He has been heard playing as a soloist and in various groups in the Milwaukee area for many years. Scott Emmons, a multi-instrumentalist, is dean of the UW-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts. He performs in a classical guitar quartet, plays mando-cello in the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra, and is the director of the New Horizons Band in Waukesha. Ruth and Sandy have been making music together since they first met some thirty years ago. They have played with Scott informally in various musical gatherings in the Milwaukee area, and have enjoyed collaborating with Scott seriously for the past five years. The process of combining three individuals’ musical tastes into an ensemble repertoire yields the serious fun that is Eccentric Acoustic.

Paul Smith & Andy Jehly come from very different musical backgrounds. Paul’s most significant musical influences are 1960’s psychedelic and folk rock, including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Arlo Guthrie, Jorma Kaukonen, the Beatles, Larry Campbell, the Byrds, and Buffalo Springfield. Andy’s are old traditional folk, R&B, and country, including Pete Seeger, Doc Watson, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Aretha Franklin, and Otis Redding. What they share is a passion for music with history, great harmonies, and evocative lyrics.