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Sense of Place: This Harvard Square club is a longtime haven for folk musicians

Matt Smith, Club Passim's managing director
George Murphy
/
WXPN
Matt Smith, Club Passim's managing director

Cambridge, Mass., is full of grand academic buildings. It's a place that oozes prestige, grandeur and history.

But nestled in an alley in Harvard Square, down some stairs and so unassuming that you might walk by without even realizing it was there, is a legendary music venue as important as any of Cambridge's stately halls.

Club Passim has been a sanctuary for folk music for over 60 years. Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan and arguably any major folk musician you can think of have all performed at this intimate venue.

To kick off our Sense of Place: Boston series, we talked with Club Passim's managing director, Matt Smith, to find out how this modest club became a cornerstone of Boston's music scene.

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She is also involved with Canada's highest music honors: Since 2017, she has hosted the Polaris Music Prize Gala, for which she is also a jury member, and she has also been a jury member for the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.
Miguel Perez is an assistant producer at KERA. He produces local content for Morning Edition and KERA News. He also produces The Friday Conversation, a weekly interview series with North Texas newsmakers.