The me&thee coffeehouse brings together three folk legends to help celebrate 40 years of bringing live music to Marblehead. Jim and Geoff will perform individually and together; Spider John will perform with his “Ragtag Trio” — a recipe that promises to be an incredible night.

Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur are back at it, playing gigs and bringing knowing smiles to the faces of their fans. As founding members in the 1960s of the nationally popular, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band, they helped to create a new style in American musical culture. Jerry Garcia’s first band (Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions, a forerunner to The Grateful Dead), was formed after Jerry and Bob Weir heard the Kweskin Band’s first album. They not only went for its music but also its look . . . no more matching striped T-shirts and rehearsed jokes for these guys. It was finally okay to wear street clothes and be natural on stage. John Sebastian, after playing in the Even Dozen Jug Band in New York, formed the legendary Lovin’ Spoonful to carry on the carefree spirit of his Cambridge heroes. It was the Kweskin Band’s jug player, Fritz Richmond, who gave the Lovin’ Spoonful their name. Fritz also brought his hipster persona to the folk and folk-rock scenes for all to emulate — his granny glasses becoming the look for The Birds, John Lennon and many others.

Although Jim Kweskin & the Jug Band appeared to have a laid back, spontaneous approach, the group was not an easy one to copy. Their music seemed simple, but it was often complex. The other jug bands of the day dropped out one by one. Aside from Fritz Richmond’s nonpareil jug and washtub bass playing, two of the most distinctive qualities of the band were Jim Kweskin’s clean, rhythmic finger picking and Geoff Muldaur’s emotional, quavering voice. To this day, no one plays guitar like Jim Kweskin and no one sings like Geoff Muldaur. They are singular artists.

Jim and Geoff were brought back together in 2006 for a Fritz Richmond memorial concert in Tokyo and their chemistry was instantly re-activated. They’ve been doing select dates together ever since. Jim has honed his dazzling picking skills, developing new arrangements of American folk and jazz material. His singing is as joyous as ever (no one can sing “Rag Mama” like Jim). Geoff returned to full-time performing in the late nineties with his much-heralded album, The Secret Handshake. Since then he has traveled the world, playing his guitar and singing his heart out.

Spider John Koerner joins Kweskin and Muldaur for this special show. For 50 years, Koerner has explored the ranges of traditional American song, as a solo artist and with a variety of partners. All of his 1960s recordings are reissued on CD: Blues, Rags and Hollers; Lots More Blues Rags and Hollers; and The Return of Koerner, Ray & Glover (cornerstones of the blues revivalist era, recorded with Dave Ray and Tony Glover), and Running, Jumping, Standing Still, (a blend of jug band, psychedelic R&B and folk-blues, with Willie Murphy. Two 1970s albums recorded on Dave Ray’s Sweet Jane label, Music Is Just a Bunch Of Notes and Some American Folk Songs Like They Used To are now collector’s items. His 1986 recording Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Been and the 1992 raised by humans, both with Boston’s “Mr. Bones” John Burrill, and others, reflect Koerner’s deep appreciation of the traditional song. John Koerner is also a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” show.

When it comes to acoustic folk, blues, swing and ragtime, Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur remain unparalleled performers and sharing an evening with the legendary Spider John Koerner is a major treat for all acoustic music fans.

Geoff has a voice like nobody else. When he sings you just have to listen. He has a way with a song that makes you wish it would never end. The combination of Geoff's amazing voice and the way he wraps it around a song makes his music irresistible. Tom Rush

There are only three white blues singers — Geoff Muldaur is at least two of them." Richard Thompson

. . .

Alone among the young blues revivalists, Koerner had a sound that was completely idiosyncratic and personal. From the first guitar riff, there was never any doubt about who was playing. Today the material has changed but the sound is intact . . . spare and funky, with lots of open spaces between oddly placed notes, all of it held together with his impeccable timing." Blueswire

Some artists have a built in cool factor that can be seen in their influence on others. Spider John Koerner is the man who had a great deal of influence on Bonnie Raitt, Bob Dylan, John Lennon & the Doors. As one of folk and blues’ greatest innovators he got the blues revival of the ‘60’s going and has kept it going strong ever since. On StarGeezer, Koerner retains the elements that have made him the legend that he is. With philosophical and witty originals and wild turns on classical songs, Koerner will set your ears into a frenzy with his original guitar styling and insightful phrasings. StarGeezer is a rollicking good time, and as Bonnie Raitt has said, “They just don’t make anybody like John anymore...They broke the mold. GAVIN AMERICANA