2026 Benefit Concert & Auction
Come celebrate the fifth annual Connecticut Sea Music Festival by joining us for our springtime Benefit Concert & Auction on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 1:00-5:00pm at the beautiful Powder Mill Barn in Enfield, CT.
Suggested donation at the door is $20.
Enjoy a concert of maritime music by musicians from nearby and across the country, and shop for nautical items at the Live and Silent Auction to benefit the Festival. In the meantime, please gather any nautical items to donate (books, songbooks, CDs, prints, jewelry, festival t-shirts, even instruments! Please note: You must take home your items that do not sell.)
This concert is an in-person benefit for the Connecticut Sea Music Festival, which will be held in Essex CT on June 12-15, 2026.
This year’s concert will feature:
CLIFF HASLAM
Cliff Haslam is a native of Warrington, England – just up the river Mersey from Liverpool; now he’s a resident of Connecticut. While Cliff has long been a well-known performer in the New England folk tradition, a fixture at some pubs long since passed to history and on myriad recordings, his longest gig has been playing in the Griswold Inn of Essex, Connecticut; Having begun there in 1972, he attracted quite a list of musicians and put together a regular band to back him up during this and other performances as The Jovial Crew in 1986. He has performed three times to date at the Connecticut Sea Music Festival, with both the Jovial Crew and the Ancient Mariners Shantymen.
LEE MURDOCK
Lee Murdock has uncovered a boundless body of music and stories in the Great Lakes. Taking snapshots from history, his songs summon the listener to take a front-row seat, to look through the eyes and into the hearts of individuals who have shaped our heritage on and around the Great Lakes. His concerts invoke a sense of place, but it is a universal place, and a timeless repertoire that celebrates the North American people, their triumphs and tragedies, work songs and pastimes.
Noted as a fluent instrumentalist on six and twelve string guitars, Murdock combines ragtime, Irish, blues and folk styles with this flair for storytelling in songs. His musical influences span fifteen generations, and combine original compositions with traditional music.
DONNA AND RICK NESTLER
Husband and wife team, Donna & Rick Nestler, have been playing together professionally for over twenty years. Though they perform in various traditional genres including folk, Irish, and maritime, it all falls under roots music. They are both multi-instrumentalists, playing 6 & 12 string guitars, tenor banjo, ukuleles, and concertina, among other things. Their Late Night, Early Morning CD showcases their instrumental talents and Rick’s original songs, especially The River That Flows Both Ways.
NICOLE SINGER
Nicole Singer is a teacher, organizer, musician, dancer, and artist living in Easthampton, Massachusetts. As a singer, she specializes in sea music and work songs, but she also sings shape note songs, kids’ songs, rounds, camp songs, pub songs – anything that gets people singing together! She also sings in a duo with Becky Wright. Nicole is the Program Director for CDSS’s Harmony of Song & Dance Week at Pinewoods, co-Program Director (with Lisa Greenleaf) of the new CDSS Song, English, and American session at Pinewoods, and co-leader of the Greenfield, Massachusetts Pub Sing. Nicole is also a founder and former organizer of Youth Traditional Song Weekend, co-author of CDSS’s Folk Sing Starter Kit (with Julia Friend), and former chairwoman of folk music and song programming for NEFFA.