Our audience of folk music lovers has been so loyal over the years, and so patient as we revive our series after the interruption of the pandemic period, and we appreciate you! We are excited to let you know that we are planning seven concerts this year with artists we think you will enjoy, and we are working toward increasing our offerings in 2026.
We would also like to share a frank explanation of some of the challenges we’ve had as we
build our series back. You will have noticed that we are scheduling some concerts at other
venues, and for the first time, with our March 1 st concert, we are using a new ticketing system. You will find our ticket prices to be a little higher than they were in previous years. We are still committed to bringing the best in folk music for live performance in Pasadena at affordable prices.
To be honest our ticket prices in years past have been artificially low because we were not
charged for the use of Beckman Institute Auditorium or for custodial fees there, and Beckman Institute bore the associated costs. That has changed. It now costs us significantly more to use the venue, and any other venue we use will have costs. Our margins have been very thin on recent concerts even when we have great attendance and ticket sales. We need to price our tickets so that we don’t lose money, and we believe our prices are still typically less than comparable shows in the area.
Due to policy changes which affect the use of Beckman Institute Auditorium, scheduling our concerts there has not been as simple as in the past. It’s been hard to schedule concerts months in advance, something we need to be able to do, especially with foreign artists who must get visas well in advance. We are working with the Caltech folks on these matters, and we plan several concerts at our usual venue this year. We also plan to have at least one at Knox church, and we’re open to trying other affordable and suitable venues to continue bringing you the great folk music you love.
Advance ticketing is through Eventbrite now because the cost of ticketing through Caltech has risen substantially, and they will no longer offer ticketing services when we use off-campus venues. Eventbrite costs less and can deliver our concert proceeds quickly. We also think there are advantages for our audiences. Besides low fees, tickets are emailed to you so you can print them or just show the ticket from your smartphone. You can still pay at the door when we are not sold out, and our Eventbrite concert list will show you if the event has sold out.
For those who don’t know, we are all volunteers. The only personnel who are paid for bringing you this music are the artists themselves and our sound technicians. We do it because we want to keep the music coming. We can use more help, but we are not starting a big campaign now because we honor the need in our community for volunteerism directed at helping those who have lost their homes, businesses, and church buildings in the fires. Even among our board of directors and key volunteers, more than one have lost their homes, but we are carrying on.
We hope to see very many of you at our upcoming concerts, and we hope the music will bring respite from the exhaustion of regathering and starting fresh. Feel free to come up and say “Hello”. Our board members and volunteers will be wearing name tags, and we’d love to meet you!