ROCKINGHAM — The popular Rockingham Meeting House Summer Sunday Series comes to a close on Oct. 6 with Cliff Eberhardt, one of Bellows Falls' favorite performers, making his first appearance at the historic venue.
“Cliff Eberhardt may not live in Vermont, but his heart is here,” says Ray Massucco, Vermont Festivals producer.
Before he was even 10 years old, singer/songwriter and guitarist Eberhardt knew the performing life was one he would embrace. He grew up in a musical family - he and his brothers and parents all sang together and played instruments.
In his youth, he listened far and wide to a diverse array of artists, including James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, and Mississippi John Hurt.
He also listened to Great American Songbook songwriters Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Rodgers & Hart. As a 15-year-old, Cliff and his brother Geoff began touring as an acoustic duo.
Later a founding member of the Fast Folk Music Cooperative in New York City, Eberhardt joined Red House Records in 1997 and has recorded five albums for the label, most recently “500 Miles: The Blue Rock Sessions” (2009).
In 2011, he released an acoustic album of Doors songs, “All Wood and Doors,” with fellow musician James Lee Stanley on Beechwood Recordings.
Also that year, he contributed a cover to “Nod to Bob II,” a Red House compilation honoring Bob Dylan on his 70th birthday.