Search - Rosalie Sorrels, Utah Phillips, Dave Van Ronk :: Live at Caffè Lena: Music From America's Legendary Coffeehouse (1967-2013)

Unreleased performances by Dave Van Ronk, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Kate McGarrigle, Rick Danko, Anais Mitchell, Sleepy John Estes, Arlo Guthrie, Sarah Lee Guthrie, and more. Nestled in the quaint upstate town of Saratoga Springs, New York is Caffè Lena, the oldest continuously operating folk music coffeehouse in the US. Opened by Lena Spencer in 1960, this tiny room has played host to influential artists across diverse genres of music; traditional folk, blues, singer-songwriters, jazz and bluegrass. Luckily, many performances were caught on tape through the years, offering the listener a thrilling seat inside this hallowed venue. 'Live At Caffè Lena', a 3-CD box set, the result of years of investigative research, contains 47 tracks, all released for the very first time, alongside previously unpublished photographs. Images include selections from the archive of esteemed photographer Joe Alper, who captured many iconic, intimate portraits from the folk era of the 1960s. Caffè Lena embodied the spirit of the folk boom, the era and its artistry, building a reputation as a hotbed of creativity and connection. It was also a safe haven and nurturing space for artists, its atmosphere cultivated personally by Lena Spencer herself. Her passion for identifying and promoting talent is evident throughout this 3-CD set. That Caffè Lena is still open for business tonight is a testament to her legacy. 'Live At Caffè Lena' is an important visual and audio document - 40+ years of our collective music history unearthed from dozens of "lost" tapes - night after night, show after show, through the decades - captured on tape in a tiny room in Saratoga Springs, New York. This is a reconfigured packaging of the 2013 box set, released by Caffè Lena Records. All recordings remain unchanged from the original release.