The Iron Horse Music Hall was a music venue located in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

, west of Boston and north of

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. Its motto was ''Music Alone Shall Live''. The night club showcased a wide variety of musical genres and performing artists in past years, including artists such as

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...

, Leo Kottke, Janis Ian, Livingston Taylor, Duke Robillard, Ellis Paul and Vance Gilbert. It closed in 2022, according to the Boston Globe.

History

Jordi Herold and John Riley opened the club on February 24, 1979, as a bohemian cafe with 85 seats. The club (doubled in size in the late 1980s) is home to many kinds of music and talent ranging from popular local performers to artists of international repute. In college, Herold fantasized about opening a club and placed a bid on space in Amherst. (Needs Verification) After limited initial success, he began teaching for the

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...

public school system. John Riley was responsible for bringing the first jazz shows into the club. In the early years of operation, music was really a complement to the room's ambiance as opposed to the main event, live music was limited to a strict format of classical

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

(Thursdays), jazz (Fridays) and folk and classical (Saturdays) and the talent was mostly local. The club gained recognition when national acts Dave Van Ronk and the Heath Brothers played the club during its first year. By 1982, musical performers played the Horse on a regular basis, with many performers being nationally known or critically renowned artists. Some now well known acts such as

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans almost 40 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s, releasing four singles that entered the ...

, Stanley Jordan, George Winston, Michelle Shocked, Tracy Chapman, Dar Williams, Northampton-area native

Sonya Kitchell Sonya Kitchell (born March 1, 1989, in Ashfield, MA) is an American singer-songwriter. Kitchell formed her first band and began writing music in 2001. In 2004 Sonya signed with Velour Records and was named the second Starbucks Hear Music Arti ...

and comedian

Steven Wright Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer. He is known for his distinctly lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical jok ...

performed at the Iron Horse before they became nationally known artists. The lineup of musicians has also included legendary reggae group Toots & the Maytals, Michael Franti, pop-rock icon

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

, monster guitarist Jorma Kaukonen (a founding member of

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to ac ...

), pioneering free-jazz pianist

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

, jazz pianist Mose Allison, folk-blues legend Taj Mahal, alternative-rock band They Might Be Giants, psychedelic-folk act The Incredible String Band, rock musician Jesse Malin, folk-rocker

Steve Forbert Samuel Stephen "Steve" Forbert (born December 13, 1954) is an American pop music singer-songwriter. His 1979 song "Romeo's Tune" reached No. 11 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary Chart. It also ...

, Chicago blues guitarist Jimmy Dawkins, children's musician Mister G the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and rapper

George Watsky George Virden Watsky (born September 15, 1986), better known mononymously as Watsky, is an American rapper, singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, poet, author, and illustrator. Watsky broke out as a rapper with his viral video "Pale k ...

.See "The Iron Horse Turns 10" By David Sokol, originally published on Feb. 20, 1989 in The Valley Advocate. The Iron Horse closed for a time in the 90's, but was eventually reopened.

Current Operation

The music hall continues to operate, and food and beverages are served on the premises. The Iron Horse is owned and managed by the Iron Horse Entertainment Group.

References

External links

Iron Horse Entertainment Group
{{Authority control Nightclubs in Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Northampton, Massachusetts Tourist attractions in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Music venues in Massachusetts