Folk Logo

Welcome to the Santa Monica Traditional Folk Music Club!

Going strong since 1978. 2024— our 46th year!

On the first Sat­ur­day of each month,
some­where between 10 and 25
folk musi­cians and singers gath­er in a cir­cle at our club
to make that mag­ic com­bi­na­tion of music and words —
tra­di­tion­al folk music.

May the cir­cle be unbroken.

The San­ta Mon­i­ca Tra­di­tion­al Folk Music Club invites you to join us
on the first Sat­ur­day of each month from 7–10pm for a sing-along/a hoot/a jam!

       $5 at the door, if you can afford it

         Bring a friend,
          a song,
          an instru­ment,
          or come to enjoy and to join in the chorus!

          ~ Chil­dren welcome ~

Where?

The Church in Ocean Park
235 Hill St, San­ta Mon­i­ca, CA 90405 (The cor­ner of 2nd Street and Hill Street.)

Note: We meet in the main room of the church, which can be reached via stairs or an elevator.

Cost of admission?

Our rent has gone up, but we still charge just $5 for a one-time admis­sion, or $50 for the year.

  • Cash or checks when you come in person
  • Checks to: SMTFMC, mailed to SMTFMC 1097 Avi­a­tion Blvd, Her­mosa Beach CA 90254
  • Pay­pal: @AprilWayland (write SMTFMC in com­ment sec­tion and if your name isn’t ful­ly spelled out on your Pay­pal account, write your full name in the com­ments, too)
  • Ven­mo: @April-Wayland‑1 (write SMTFMC in com­ment sec­tion and if your name isn’t ful­ly spelled out on your Ven­mo account, write your full name in the com­ments, too)
  • We are a 501c3 non-prof­it; con­tri­bu­tions are tax deductible. Yay!

Will it be on Zoom, too? Not at the present time

Parking:

Able-bod­ied folks: please park on side streets or, just two blocks toward the ocean, there are paid lots. (The church lot is just east of the church’s main build­ing near the church-owned lit­tle cottage…but that’s only a few spaces. Please save those spaces for those who can’t walk far.)

Ques­tions? Con­tact  april­spen­cil [at] G Mail 

2024 is is Our 46th Year…

edi­ble instru­ments unite!

Banjo Cake

MONTHLY THEMES ~ many thanks to Janet Cornwell

~ the fol­low­ing song themes are sug­ges­tions only to get your musi­cal juices flowing ~

THEMES FOR 2024

~ the fol­low­ing song themes are sug­ges­tions only to get your musi­cal juices flowing ~

May 2024

  • Flow­ers
  • Seduc­tion
  • Indus­tri­al workers

June 2024

  • Good times
  • Cow­boys & cowgirls
  • Snakes

July 2024

  • Par­ents
  • Sleep
  • Ath­letes & sports events

August 2024

  • Beach­es, shores
  • Farm­ers & coun­try folk
  • Lazi­ness

Sep­tem­ber 2024

  • Dancers & dancing
  • Rocks (and rock!)
  • Field work, workers

Octo­ber 2024

  • Philosophy/musings
  • Doc­tors & nurses
  • Rov­ing & wandering

Novem­ber 2024

  • Old age
  • Pris­on­ers & criminals
  • Par­ties

Decem­ber 2024

  • Trees
  • Musi­cians & singers
  • Paper, rib­bons & bows

Come bring a song or play along!

Click here for a snap­shot of who we are, our mis­sion, and our mem­ber­ship appli­ca­tion. 
(We encour­age you to attend a meet­ing or two before becom­ing a member)

TO ALL BOOKING AGENTS AND PERFORMERS:
Please note that we are a group of friends who come togeth­er to make music. We do not put on con­certs as a result of agent or per­former solicitations.

If you’d like to join us in music and song on the first Sat­ur­day of the month, please con­tact us. But if you are con­tact­ing us in the hopes that we will put on a con­cert, please don’t.

The Beach Cities Folk Music Club (lit­tle sis­ter to the SMTFMC) is just down the freeway–we get togeth­er on the third Tues­day of each month at a pri­vate home in Man­hat­tan Beach.

So–if you’re in the L.A. area, join us on both the first Sat­ur­day or the third Tues­day of any month!

“When peo­ple ask, ‘What­ev­er hap­pened to folk music? Do you think it will become pop­u­lar again?’ I look at them dumb­found­ed­ly and then I invite them to the Folk Club. I take great pride in being able to show them a place where tra­di­tion­al folk music lives in the hearts of ordi­nary people–strumming away and singing along.” ~ Ross Alt­man, full-time Folksinger/Songfighter; for­mer Pres­i­dent of the San­ta Mon­i­ca Tra­di­tion­al Folk Music Club

Folk Links — in no par­tic­u­lar order

For more infor­ma­tion:
april­spen­cil [at] G Mail [dot] com (founder & folk club Mom, April Hal­prin Way­land)

San­ta Mon­i­ca Tra­di­tion­al Folk Music Club

Our busi­ness address (NOT meet­ing place):
1097 Avi­a­tion Boule­vard
Her­mosa Beach, CA 90254

The San­ta Mon­i­ca Tra­di­tion­al Folk Music Club is a 501c3 non-prof­it # 33–0335698