The Club 47 Folk Revival Explores the Iconic History of Old Cambridge Folk Club

Rob Stegman has been producing and directing award-winning motion pictures for over 30 years. His work includes everything from corporate videos and educational media to broadcast and cable television.
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A May release has been scheduled for the upcoming film For The Love of the Music: The Club 47 Folk Revival, the new documentary that delves into the lush musical history of the iconic coffeehouse in Harvard Square. Now called Club Passim, Club 47 was the center of the folk music scene around the Cambridge area from 1958-1968.

Narrated by Peter Coyote, the film begins in 1958 when Joan Baez, an unknown young singer, convinces the tiny Mount Auburn Street jazz club to let her perform, becoming the first folk act to play there. The film than goes on to document how the club became pivotal in its role to revive the American folk scene.

Exploring how the Harvard Square coffeehouse influenced a unique group of folk musicians during that time, the film features interviews with Taj Mahal, Joan Baez, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Jim Rooney, Geoff Muldaur, Maria Muldaur, Jackie Washington, Jim Kweskin, Peter Rowan and many more. The film features previously unreleased photographs and audio recordings of Eric Von Schmidt, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, along with new performances from those who still perform there.

"At the heart of it all was an amateur scene," singer-songwriter Tom Rush says in the film, "people playing for the love of the music."

Directed and produced by Todd Kwait, a lawyer and businessman with a lifelong passion for film, and long-time producer Rob Stegman, "For the Love of the Music" also delves into the harsh realities the club had to face while being a platform for the anti-war and civil rights movements.

Kwait is no stranger to the world of musical documentaries. His award-winning films include Chasin' Gus' Ghost -- a documentary which traces the history of Jug Band Music and Vagabondo which chronicles the life of singer-songwriter Vince Martin.

Rob Stegman has been producing and directing award-winning motion pictures for over 30 years. His work includes everything from corporate videos and educational media to broadcast and cable television. He has worked on a vast number of documentaries as well including the History Channel's Old Ironsides Returns to Sea, and the biography Tim Allen: Just for Laughs.

The duo met as freshmen at Boston University in the late 1970's. They spent nearly two years working on this project, traveling to Berkley, CA, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vermont, West Virginia, New York City and Cambridge and conducting 30 on-camera interviews. They also organized a special live concert filmed at the Putney School in May of 2011, bringing together veteran and upcoming musicians.

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