Mike Porco owned Gerde's Restaurant, an Italian eatery situated in Greenwich Village east of Washington Square on West 4th Street.
On January 26, 1960, Gerde's turned into a music venue in cooperation with Izzy Young, the director of the Folklore Center.
GERDE'S FOLK CITY then became the unlikely epicenter of a global music paradigm shift.
During Mike Porco’s stewardship (1960-1980) the club hosted early performances by a constellation of Folk Music stars – notably, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, Phil Ochs, Judy Collins and José Feliciano.
Folk City's distinctive fraternity of such aspiring young artists and legendary recording stars borders on myth. Gerde's was where the cross-fertilization of different styles and musical eras forged important links in the chain of American musical history.
In his autobiography, Bob Dylan called Gerde's "the preeminent Folk club in America." Rolling Stone's Book of Lists called Folk City one of the three top music venues in the world, along with The Cavern and CBGB.
POSITIVELY PORCO is a star-studded documentary film under production. It chronicles the 1960’s Folk and Blues Revival as it was experienced at a place many musicians called HOME.
Hosted by Porco's grandson, the
Mike Porco 100th Birthday Anniversary concert will act as a reunion and celebration of the music that emanated from the Village's golden era.
Live music performances by David Amram, Tom Chapin, Rob Stoner, David Massengill and others will make the100th anniversary of Porco's birth a special evening. Director's cuts of
POSITIVELY PORCO will be shown for good measure.
7:30PM
Thursday, October 23, 2014
doors 6:30
379 Main St
Beacon, NY 12508
