Minstrel Report

While not quite up to last year’s robust numbers, the Minstrel continues to operate at a healthy level, from the standpoint of attendance, finance, and volunteer participation. We’ve averaged 87 paid attendance for shows with a paid act, and 74 when the Open Stages and other special shows are factored in. We operated $2247 in the black. (These numbers will be corrected for the full calendar year at the end of December. Figures for the November 25 show were unavailable at the time of this report’s preparation.) We had 5 acts net over $1000 in fees, and 6 shows with over 130 paid attendees. Our lowest attendance was 13 for the Thursday November 10 Open Stage, second only to the Open Stage of Nov 14, 1997 with a paid attenance of 11.

The revised website has permitted the Minstrel’s complete upcoming calendar to be posted on the website as soon as bookings have been made. This has proven to be a big help in several ways: For minimal extra work on my part in posting the dates and descriptions, it saves considerable work for the Webmaster. Fans can see well in advance when their favorite acts will be coming and reserve the date. Also performers looking for gigs can see the holes in our schedule and match them up with the holes in their own schedules. Publicity and Newsletter now take the text of their releases and fliers directly from the website, rather than my having to prepare a separate release, saving me work.

We got some long term advance notice that the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship has unspecified plans for renovating the building or relocating. Nothing expected for several years, and we have been assured a home whatever they wind up doing.

The Birthday Show showed some improvement in participation and spirit. We tried the innovation of offering a professional level lead player to be available to any group with uncertain results. Not that many acts took advantage of it. We may try it again to give it some time to catch on.

We held an “Old-Timers’ Night” in August featuring FP members that have been around for 25 years or more.

Hurricane Irene forced us to cancel the Dugan’s Hooligans Farewell Concert in September. Rescheduled for Dec. 30.

For the first time since we’ve been at MUF, they exercised their option to cancel one of our shows in favor of using the room for their own event. And subsequently un-cancelled it. By which time it was too late to re-schedule.

When the Canadian duo Dala became available to us on November 11, an Open Stage night, we rescheduled the Open Stage for Thursday the 10th. That turned out to be a bad idea. There were 13 paid attendees (probably all performers), and staff was difficult to find. A noble experiment. A learning experience. (A flop.)

MUF will be providing us a mailbox in the building where we can pick up items sent to us c/o the Fellowship.

Good stuff in the works for the future: **The aforementioned Dugan’s Hooligans show on Dec. 30. **Vance Gilbert on January 20. **Archie Fisher on February 17. **Buskin & Batteau on March 16. **Another Phil Ochs Song Night on May 4, preceded by a special Thursday viewing of the Phil Ochs documentary film, “There But For Fortune”, hosted by Phil’s sister, Sonny Ochs. **Guitar wizard Beppe Gambetta on June 1. **Bill Staines on September 7. **Lou & Peter Berryman on Nov. 2. **And Brother Sun (Greg Greenway, Pat Wictor, and Joe Jencks) on Nov. 30