From south of the border (in Massachusetts), folk singer-songwriter Mary Maguire will appear as featured performer on the Highland Lake Grange Hall stage at the monthly Andover Community Coffeehouse on Friday evening, April 15, beginning at 7 PM. The event is open to the public at no charge. Donations are gratefully accepted.

Maguire’s work has been described as featuring “magnificent vocals propelled by sure-fingered picking and rock-solid rhythms that get folks off their seat and onto their feet – weaving American roots of swing, western swing, bluegrass, folk, and country.” In performances around the country and beyond, she has shared stages with John Sebastian, Tom Rush, Livingston Taylor, Christine Lavin, and Dave Mallett, among others.

Also appearing onstage will be up to a dozen open-microphone performers, whose contributions in previous months have ranged from the spoken word to show-business, jazz, folk, bluegrass, and country-and-western tunes.

Doors to the Grange Hall will open at 6 PM for food purchases offered by the Andover Congregational Church and for open-mic sign-ins on a first-come, first-serve basis. Sponsor for the evening is Andover’s own Ragged View Farm, whose donation covers rental of the Grange Hall.

Coming up on Friday, May 20: Virtuoso guitarist and impassioned vocalist Joel Cage, whose music “is both evocative and raucous. He spans the gamut from sounding like a full rock band to ‘hear your own heartbeat’ intimacy.” Cage is also a master interpreter of other people’s music, spanning a wide field of musical genres, garnering him the oft-used moniker “Acoustic Rock Song Stylist.” He has five CDs to his credit. For more information, visit JoelCage.com.