2013 — Concert Schedule — Final
Jan  9     Heath Village, Hackettstown NJ

Mar  1     Mayflower House, Hackettstown NJ

Mar  4     Glebe, Daleville VA

Mar  5     Deerfield, Asheville NC
Mar  6     Stewart Health Center, Charlotte NC
Mar  7     Springmoor, Raleigh NC

Mar  8     Cypress, Raleigh NC
Mar  9     Heritage, Raleigh NC
Mar 12     Arbor Acres, Winston-Salem NC
Mar 15     Country Meadows, Hershey PA
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Mar 16     Artists Series Concert — A Fine Romance
              7 pm, Nicarry Meeting House, 717-624-2161, www.crosskeysvillage.org
                  Cross Keys Village, 2990 Carlisle Pike, New Oxford PA 17350
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Mar 18     Lakewood Manor, Richmond VA
Mar 19     College Walk, Brevard NC
May  2     Arbors, Manchester CT

May  7     Kirkland Village, Bethlehem PA
May 14    SW PA Veterans Center, Pittsburgh PA
May 14    Laurel View Village, Davidsville PA
May 15    Springhill, Erie PA 
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May 22    Council on Aging Concert — Sunny Side of the Street
                 1 pm, Activity Room, 508-210-5570, www.holdenma.gov
              Senior Center, 1130 Main Street, Holden MA 01520
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May 23    Countryside Health Care, Milford MA
May 23    Overlook, Charlton MA
Jun   3     Shannondell-Ashcroft, Audubon PA

Jun   7     Mayflower House, Hackettstown NJ
Jun  13    Country Meadows, Hershey PA
Jun  14    Lake Prince Woods, Suffolk VA
Jun  15    Plantation Estates, Matthews NC
Jun  16    Bishop Gadsden, Charleston SC
Jun  17    Stewart Health Center, Charlotte NC
Jun  18    The Oaks, Orangeburg SC
Jun  30    Applewood Estates, Freehold NJ
Jly  19     Pleasant View, Manheim PA
Jly  22     WV Lakes Manor, Willow Street PA
Sep  4     Heath Village, Hackettstown NJ

Sep  6     Mayflower House, Hackettstown NJ
Sep 16     SW PA Veterans Center, Pittsburgh PA
Sep 17     St Barnabas, Gibsonia PA
Sep 18     Springhill, Erie PA
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Sep 20    Village Concert — Tin Pan Alley Cats
             1:30 pm, Club Encore, 732-657-1658, www.lvwa.net
             Leisure Village West, 3 Buckingham Drive, Manchester NJ 08759
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Sep 22     Public Library Concert — Folk Song Boomers
              3 pm, Community Room, 973-827-8095, www.sussexcountylibrary.org
              Dorothy Henry Branch Library, 66 Rt 94, Vernon NJ 07462
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Sep 26     Crane's Mill, West Caldwell NJ
Oct   3     Wellington, West Chester PA

Oct   4     Edenwald, Towson MD
Oct   5     Country Meadows, Hershey PA
Oct   7     Glebe, Daleville VA
Oct   8     Arbor Acres, Winston-Salem NC
Oct   9     Bermuda Village, Advance NC
Oct  10    Stewart Health Center, Charlotte NC
Oct  10    Springmoor, Raleigh NC

Oct  11    Cypress, Raleigh NC
Oct  12    Heritage, Raleigh NC
Oct  14    Lakewood Manor, Richmond VA
Oct  16    College Walk, Brevard NC
Oct  17    Plantation Estates, Matthews NC
Oct  22    Arbors, Manchester CT
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Oct  23    Greendale Mens Club — Tin Pan Alley Cats
              9:30 am, Gymnasium, 508-852-6694
              YMCA, 75 Shore Drive, Worcester MA 01605
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Oct  23    Community Concert — Big Band Idols
              7:45 pm, Performing Arts Center, 508-434-2317, www.overlookcharlton.com
              Overlook, Charlton MA 01507
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Oct  27    Public Library Concert — Vintage Guitars + Vintage Songs
              2 pm, Rotunda, 845-221-9943, http://eflibrary.org
              East Fishkill Community Library, 348 Rte 376, Hopewell Jnctn NY 12533
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Oct  29    Riddle Village, Media PA
Nov  4     Shannondell-Bradford, Audubon PA
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Nov  6    Public Library Concert — Tin Pan Alley Cats
             2:30 pm, Ayers Room, 732-388-5999, Clark Public Library
             Clark Public Library, 303 Westfield Ave, Clark NJ 07066
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Nov  7     Homewood, Frederick MD
Nov  8     Lake Prince Woods, Suffolk VA
Nov 11    The Oaks, Orangeburg SC
Nov 19    Pine Run, Doylestown PA
Nov 23    Monroe Village, Monroe Twp NJ
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Nov 24    Public Library Concert — Juke Joint Jive
             2 pm, Large Meeting Room, 732-329-4000, www.sbpl.info
             South Brunswick Public Library, 110 Kingston Lane, So Brunswick NJ 08852
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Nov 26    Country House, Wilmington DE

Dec  6     Mayflower House, Hackettstown NJ
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  ©  2013 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

NORTHJERSEY.COM : NEWS
Vintage guitars, vintage songs
at Vernon library performance

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013

BY JANET REDYKE
CORRESPONDENT — AIM VERNON

                                                                                                       PHOTO/JANET REDYKE
Ken Lelen strums and sings the folk song, "If I Had a Hammer."

The Friends of the Library of Dorothy Henry Library in Vernon sponsored a vintage guitar and music concert called Folk Song Boomers at the library on Sunday, September 22, featuring singer and guitarist Ken Lelen.

     The performer was introduced by Friends’ president Eleanore O’Mara,who told the audience of 40 people to be prepared to "go back in time."

     "Folk songs have always been a part of America’s history," she said. "These songs have announced social change, paid tribute to the civil rights movement and denounced war."

     Guitarist Ken Lelen began playing the guitar in 1963 as a teen to "get girls to notice him." Lelen later realized it’s drummers who really attract girls.

     Fifty years later Lelen has perfected his talent, collecting amazing mahogany-and-spruce constructed guitars dating from 1908 to 1952 and made by companies like Gibson, Martin and Washburn. He actually has collected several dozen vintage guitars, which age well and have beautiful tones. His wife insists Lelen has GAS, or Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. 

     "You cannot get this sound out of a box with plastic knobs," Lelen joked.

     Playing his folk boomer music, Lelen sang "Blowin’ in the Wind," "If I Had a Hammer" and other favorites that brought smiles to the faces of the audience as they recognized the tunes. Lelen also offered impressive tidbits on folk artists like Bob Dylan, Richard Farina, Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie.

     After an afternoon of reflective music, Lelen concluded the concert by playing and singing "Good Night, Irene," with the appreciative audience joining in the sing-along.

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© 2013 — northjersey.com/Vernon

northjersey.com/news/vintage-guitars-vintage-songs-at-vernon-library-performance-1.577412

Concert Themes
Every song tells a story ™

Program directors who plan concerts say they want variety in their musical programs so they can appeal to a range of tastes, ages and backgrounds in their audiences. So I've fashioned Vintage Music Concerts with program ideas that employ clever intros, amusing anecdotes and wry comments to illustrate romantic, historic or musical themes.
     Audiences love them because they're entertained and educated. When you're planning a Vintage Music Concert with one of my program themes listed here, it's easy to promote the event and fill the room.

Ragtime Rascals

Offers syncopated hit songs (1912 – 1929) with clever lyrics and the jazz precursors popular with doughboys, flappers and speakeasy crooners.

Tin Pan Alley Cats

Includes hits (1912 – 1955) by such witty lyricists and clever musicians as Arlen, Berlin, Fields, Carmichael, Gershwin, Porter, Rodgers and Styne.

Big Band Idols

Features hit songs (1925 - 1955) immortalized by vocalists who fronted big bands, society orchestras and jazz combos in the 1930s and 1940s.

Sunny Side Of The Street
Features mirthful songs (1930 - 1939) that eased the Depression's bite, offered pithy personal advice or poked fun at society's upper crust.

Jazzman's Journey

Offers hot, sweet jazz tunes of the 1920s that were mined for their content or sentiment and turned into standards by the swing musicians or big band singers of the 1930s and 1940s.

Legendary Love Songs

Offers songs (1926 – 1946) with memorable melodies and amorous lyrics that evoke romantic affairs, old flames and moonlit nights.

A Fine Romance

Features love songs (1940 - 1956) popularized by a generation that rationed its romance and deferred its affairs "for the duration."

Juke Joint Jivers

Covers radio, record and jukebox hits (1934 - 1945) popular with Stage-door Johnnies, Drugstore Cowboys, Swing Shift Maisies, Lindy Hoppers, Jitterbuggers and Zoot Suiters.

Vintage Songs + Vintage Guitars
Pairs hit tunes from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s with acoustic guitars built in the same decades for an authentic back-in-the day sound.

Folk Song Boomers
Samples "folk" songs (1949 - 1966) composed by singer-songwriters that were popular with America's post-WWII teen-aged generation.

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© 2013 by Ken Lelen — All Rights Reserved