LIVE: Deborah Henson-Conant at The Old Vienna Kaffeehaus

Everyone has to start somewhere, and for me, one of the places that I first started performing — combining jazz with storytelling and originals — was at the Old Vienna Kaffeehaus in Hopkinton, Massachusetts (if this town sounds familiar, it’s where the Boston Marathon starts each year.)

The Old Vienna was incredibly small – so much so that if you extended your foot off the stage, it could end up in someone’s plate. Despite the challenge of maneuvering my six-foot-tall, 75-pound harp up the steep stairs onto the low, barely six-foot-high stage, it was such a wonderful and intimate environment to play in that I went as often as I could.

The Old Vienna was definitely an “experience” and it served as a wonderful starting point for many artists, leading to opportunities at both national and international levels.

So when I was invited to come and play at the reunion and found that I had the date open, it was just too fun to resist. Plus, with my own custom-built wearable signature harp that only weighs 11 pounds, I don’t have to worry about the stairs.

It’s a beautiful moment to get to reflect on how much my life has changed and the part that the Old Vienna played in getting my start.

Click here to see the Old Vienna Revival line-up & reserve your spot.

WHAT: Old Vienna Kaffeehaus Revival Concert
WHEN: Sat. Aug. 17 | Noon – 9 PM
WHERE: Hopkinton, MA
REGISTRATION:  OVK Reservation Link

WBUR Radio Interview

In an interview with WBUR Radio a few weeks ago, organizer Robert Haigh shared this 1991 flyer from the Old Vienna. It’s fun to see that I was playing two shows in one night for $10 and I was headed off to Europe then back to New York to record another album for the GRP Records, home to Boston to accept an award at the Boston Music Awards and then back to New York City to play on the Joan Rivers show. But it all began at this intimate club.

This is the photo of the old flyer for other Old Vienna event.

Worcester Magazine also written a beautiful post about the history of the Old Vienna Kaffeehaus. Here’s the link to that beautiful story: Down to the roots: Remembering the Old Vienna, Eleni’s, and Worcester’s folk heyday

Join the Old Vienna Kaffeehaus Revival Concert

If you’re in the Massachusetts area on Saturday, August 17th, I really hope you can come. My set is scheduled around 5 PM EST. I’m going to try to stick around for at least an hour so if you’d come, please come up and say hello. See you there!

Click here to see the line-up & reserve your spot.