The Folk Collective: Indigenous People’s Day
- The Folk Collective
We Are Passim! To learn more about The Folk Collective, visit passim.org/folkcollective.
Kim Moberg
- Folk
- Singer/Songwriter
Award winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Kim Moberg was born in Juneau, Alaska, the daughter of a mother of Alaskan Native Tlingit descent and a US Coast Guard veteran father from Kansas. Kim inherited an innate sense of music which was the constant in Kim’s childhood, helping her to adjust to the frequent moves associated with growing up in a military family.
A classical pianist and guitarist, Kim’s mother guided her life-long love for a wide range of musical genres from traditional and contemporary jazz to Broadway tunes and Folk music. Her father, a lifelong country music fan, exposed her to legendary Country music artists like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. As a Folk/Americana artist, Kim’s sound reflects this mélange of her musical upbringing.
At the age of 14, Kim began playing acoustic guitar on a borrowed nylon 6 string. Later, Kim taught herself to strum and finger pick to her favorite songs by singer/songwriters, but debilitating stage fright kept her from pursuing her dream of becoming a professional performer. In 2014, after a career spanning nearly two decades in the financial industry, Kim set out to overcome her stage fright and wrote her first song.
Kim teamed with Grammy-nominated producer Jon Evans (Tori Amos / Sarah McLachlan) to record “Above Ground” (2017) who’s title celebrates the achievement of her goal to bring her music out of the basement.. The collection includes 7 original songs, including the anthem “Resist” and 1 cover (“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”).
Her sophomore release “Up Around The Bend” (2020) addresses a variety of topics such as her great grandmother’s marriages (“Josephine”), the soldiers that guard The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (“21 Steps: Ballad of the Unknowns”)and the award-winning “Angels Fly” about the loss of her sister to breast cancer.
Both albums have been aired world-wide and charted on the Folk International Folk DJ and the North American College & Community Radio charts to critical acclaim.
Kim and Jon collaborated again for her third album “The Seven Fires Prophecy: Suite for Humanity” (2023), an 8 song original suite that ties the ancient Anishinaabe prophecy to our current social environment. The project blossomed from Kim’s desire to share what she learned about Indigenous teachings and the important and relevant life lessons they offer.
Kim’s rich vocals, described as “a blend of honey and whiskey”, gently guides listeners through her musical stories while her compositions tug at feelings of melancholy, heartbreak, healing and social consciousness.
Maxfield Anderson
- Bluegrass
- Roots
Maxfield Anderson is an American roots multi-instrumentalist, teacher, writer and music director, currently living in Somerville, MA. As an artist, Maxfield aims to bring new light to honored traditions and to share the joy of making music with others.
Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Maxfield’s home was filled with an array of musical styles. After years of playing violin, his attention was taken hold by bluegrass and western swing fiddle, quickly leading him to discover the mandolin. He moved to Boston to study mandolin and American roots music at Berklee College of Music. Additionally, Max is a proficient guitar player, and after a year of isolation, finally broke down and added clawhammer banjo to the repertoire.
Teaching music has always been a big part of Max’s artistry. He believes that traditional music is an excellent vessel for understanding an instrument and finding your own voice as a musician. Teaching at Club Passim since 2020, Max has taught group courses in Beginner & Intermediate Mandolin, Bluegrass Ensemble (co-taught with Trevin Nelson), and Intro to Tune Writing. He also offers private instruction on mandolin, fiddle, guitar, music theory, and tune writing out of his home studio.
In addition to performing and teaching, Maxfield recently wrote and music directed the ‘Homegrown Stringband’ roots trio at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, OH. The trio performed authentic bluegrass, folk, and old time string band music throughout the summer season of 2022.
Maxfield graduated from Berklee College of Music with a BFA in Music Performance. He is an active gigging musician in the Boston music scene, and has toured throughout the Northeast playing listening rooms, ball rooms, bar rooms, back rooms, front porches and festival stages.
