Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Volkert Volkersz’s last name and the identification, in the photo caption of the band “Decatur Creek” at an “Antrim in the Evening” concert, of Jack Henry as the musician playing with Doug Farrell and Beth Eldridge. It has also been updated to more clearly state that it was Doug Farrell who performed with Noel Paul Stookey in 2024 at a memorial service for Eddie Mottau.
On Friday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. the Peterborough Unitarian Universalist Church will host a tribute concert to folk icons Peter, Paul & Mary. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
“We just feel this is the most perfect performance and event for the times that we are in,” said Miriam Carter, Director of the Mariposa Museum. “Peter, Paul and Mary’s music was all about standing up and being a voice in challenging times.”
Friday’s show will feature Decatur Creek (Doug Farrell & Beth Eldridge), Off the Cuff (Jonas Taub, Pamela Smith & Andy Chapman), and Scott Heron and Joey Clark. Volkert Volkersz will perform and serve as MC for the event.
Both Farrell and Volkersz, lifelong folk musicians, have personal ties to Peter, Paul & Mary.
Carter and Volkersz came up with the idea of having a concert to benefit the Mariposa Museum after Carter learned of Volkersz’ local tributes to the group following the death of Peter Yarrow on Jan. 7, 2025.
“We did two different tribute concerts after Peter Yarrow died, one at the DubHub, and one in Antrim. Many of us who were highly influenced by Peter, Paul and Mary’s music started reconnecting, and we wanted to show how much the music meant to us, and how great their influence really was,” Volkersz said. “Then Miriam said, why not do this again, for the Mariposa?”
Carter said the music of Peter, Paul & Mary aligns perfectly with the Mariposa Museum’s mission of peace and human understanding.
“When you look at what is happening now, to have eight million people peacefully protesting the government, that is unprecedented,” Carter said. “Peter, Paul & Mary invented protest music, and they were at some of the most important civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s. They sang about standing up for what is right, and doing it nonviolently.”
Peter, Paul & Mary and best known for their versions of “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” and “If I Had a Hammer,” all political protest songs, as well as “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” a song about the loss of childhood.
Volkersz and Farrell have long ties to Noel Paul Stookey, “Paul” of Peter, Paul & Mary.
“I first met Noel in 1974, when the members of the band were all still doing solo work. Noel was performing at a college in Spokane, and I drove there and met him and we had dinner, and we stayed in touch ever since,” Volkersz said. “I still have all his letters, and they are very precious to me.”
In 2024, Volkersz reconnected with Stookey at the memorial service for guitarist Eddie Mottau, a longtime resident of Lyndeborough. Stookey, along with Farrell, performed in Mottau’s honor. Farrell has also recorded and performed with Stookey.
“Noel told me he was working on an autobiography, and he told me how when Peter was on his deathbed, he went and sat by his side and read it to him,” Volkersz said. “I asked Noel if I could read it and share some of it.”
Stookey sent Volkersz a copy of his unpublished autobiography and gave his permission for Volkersz to share it.
“I will be sharing the draft of Noel’s work at the concert on Friday, and I’ll be talking about how the band met, how they got together, their early days,” Volkersz said. “It will be some stories no one has ever heard before.”
Volkersz said while the older performers, such as he and Farrell, were personally influenced by Peter Paul & Mary, the younger musicians in the tribute show have been influenced as well.
“Our younger generation–Scott Heron and Joey Clark—they can remember their moms singing Peter Paul & Mary’s songs. So it still affected them and it still had a big influence,” Volkersz said.
The concert will include sing-alongs of favorite Peter, Paul & Mary songs, such as “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” with “Puff the Magic Dragon” for the grand finale.
The concert is a benefit for the Mariposa Museum. Tickets are available at eventbrite.com/e/a-peter-paul-mary-celebration-a-benefit-for-the-mariposa-museum-tickets.