Mary Gauthier
and special guests Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light
Grammy-nominated American folk singer-songwriter and author Mary Gauthier began writing songs at age 35. Despite the relatively late start, she has had a profound impact on the singer- songwriter community, releasing 11 albums in 25 years, including 2018’s Rifles and Rosary Beads, which was nominated for the Best Folk Album Grammy. Mary’s songs have been recorded by dozens of artists, including Jimmy Buffett, Dolly Parton, Boy George, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Bettye Lavette, Mike Farris, Kathy Mattea, Bobby Bare, Amy Helm and Candi Staton and have appeared extensively in Film and Television, most recently on HBO TV’s Yellowstone.
DATES AND TICKETS INFO
Performance Schedule
April 23, 2026, at 7 PM (EST)
Ticket Information
Buy Tickets
Band Site
Mary Gauthier has been featured on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS, TedX, I Love You America with Sarah Silverman, and NPR’s All Things Considered. She has also been featured in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Washington Post. Mary Gauthier’s “I Drink” was featured in Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour.
Passim and Mary Gauthier are also hosting a songwriting workshop in conjunction with this show on 4/21 and 4/22.
This two-day workshop is designed to help songwriters increase their overall understanding of the art and craft of songwriting. Mary has a hands-on approach that encourages songwriters to take risks, be brave, and dig deep. She believes that the redemptive power of music and song music and song can be conduits for personal growth, and alchemy.
Mary will discuss her work with wounded veterans, frontline workers, flood survivors, using music and song to help them (and her) to find agency and empathy around trauma. Foundational to Mary’s teaching is her belief that song and story can and should go beyond mere entertainment; they can bridge gaps between us, remind us of our common struggles and our collective aspirations, and help build a more compassionate world. Mary offers students valuable tools for their songwriting tool kits, knowing that the more tools a songwriter has, the better writer they will become. There will be short lectures, songwriting prompts, and Mary will also answer questions and provide feedback on students songs.
Rachel Sumner and Traveling Light
Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light are a Boston-based string band making music that blends folk tradition with feminist storytelling, poetic detail, and just enough grit. At the center is Sumner’s songwriting—rooted in history, myth, and personal reckoning—carried by close harmonies, upright bass, acoustic guitar, and fiddle. The trio features Kat Wallace on fiddle and vocals and Mike Siegel on upright bass and vocals, whose playing brings both tension and tenderness to the sound.
Passim Presents at Arrow Street Arts
This show is possible through a new partnership between Arrow Street Arts and Club Passim. Passim Presents at Arrow Street Arts joins the legendary music listening room Club Passim and the new state-of-the-art venue Arrow Street Arts for a series of concerts bringing folk music to a wider audience.
"We are thrilled to launch Passim Presents at Arrow Street Arts in partnership with another visionary nonprofit that believes deeply in artists and community,” said Michael Busack, Executive Director of Passim. “For more than six decades—from Club 47 to Passim today—our mission has been to create exceptional, intimate musical experiences that foster meaningful connections between artists and audiences. This partnership allows us to carry that tradition forward in an exciting new way."
“Passim is legendary—not just for what happens on stage, but for building a nurturing community where artists thrive,” said David Altshuler, founder of Arrow Street Arts. “Combining their six decades of curatorial expertise with our state-of-the-art production capabilities, we can offer audiences an experience that honors the intimacy of folk music while delivering the sonic and visual experience these artists deserve.”