First Church Concert Series Feeds New England Folk

For 40 years, First Church of Belmont has opened its doors to audiences of acoustic music fans in the name of raising thousands of dollars for local charities.

“We’re thrilled to be able to continue doing this, and we’re thrilled it’s our 40th season,” said Jon Svetkey, who has been part of the Second Friday Concert Series since 2016. “It’s really amazing. I think the staff we have right now, we’re just happy to be continuing the tradition that was started 40 years ago.”

The season kicked off last week with a sold-out performance by David Wilcox. In the coming months, the lineup will feature folk and acoustic music luminaries, including Ellis Paul, Richard Shindell, Peter Mulvey, Catie Curtis, and Hanneke Cassel.

“Jon’s an old friend of mine,” said Paul, who performs at the church on Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. “We started together in the music industry …. Because of that, I know how much heart and soul he’s going to put into presenting the series. Even though it’s a church-run coffee house, it’s very professionally run and [has] great sound, great lights, and a beautiful hall.”

Since 1985, the acoustic music series, which takes place on the second Friday of each month, donates 100% of its net proceeds to various local charities.

“The major issues we end up trying to help are homelessness and food insecurity,” Svetkey said.

Last year, the series raised $10,000 for charities, including Belmont Food Collaborative/Belmont Farmers Market and Chaplains On the Way in Waltham.

Svetkey said the series began in the church basement 40 years ago, originally known as “Second Friday Coffeehouse.” That year, money was raised to support the Bristol Lodge homeless shelter in Waltham.

Around 2010, Svetkey and his wife, Heather, started attending the church with their children.

“Second Fridays was going on at that point,” he said. “We went to see one of my friends perform there, and each time we would go, I would think, ‘This is an interesting thing they’re doing.’”

Eventually, after months of coming home with his ideas for the series, his wife prodded him to get more involved.

“The people who were running it at the time, who had been there for a really long time … were really happy to have a new person come in and help out,” he recalled.

By 2016, he was running the series. Using his connections in the music industry, he brought in new performers, some of whom have made return appearances over the years.

“I’ve played a few times,” said Paul. “They’ve been great. We’ve sold out houses …. Folk music, especially in New England, has survived off of events like the one Jon puts on.”

Over the last few years, Svetkey and his team of volunteers have modified a few aspects of the series, including its name. In its early years, a new charity was awarded each month, but after realizing some charities inevitably benefited more than others based on attendance, Svetkey decided to pool money and divide it among the charities at the end of each concert series.

Organizers then realized that if they really wanted to make the greatest difference to their recipients, they should instead identify two to three local charities each season.

After 34 years in person, in 2020 another change came: the pandemic. For the first time, the series was moved online.

“We were going to have an awesome 35th season and halfway through it … the pandemic hit, and we had to shut everything down,” Svetkey said.

In 2022, it returned to regular programming and since then, attendance has continued to increase. Last year, an average of 125 people attended each concert, making for one of the series most successful seasons.

Svetkey said he hopes the 2024-2025 season will outdo last year’s $10,000 raised.

“It’s a testament to the people at First Church that we’ve kept this Second Friday series going for all these years,” he said.

Tickets can be purchased online at secondfridayconcerts.org.