Mark T. Small ~ 2026 March 20 ~ Church Hill Coffeehouse, Norwell, MA
Mark T. Small on vocals, acoustic guitar, resonator guitar, banjo, and foot percussion
Review
Blues guitarist and historian and masterful entertainer Mark T. Small played a two hour show at the Church Hill Coffeehouse, Norwell, MA on the first day of spring. He performed on acoustic guitar, resonator guitar, and banjo. He played mostly vocal songs, not too many instrumentals, gleaned from the history of American blues of the first half of the twentieth century, with fascinating tales of the history of the songs and their creators as introductions.
We've seen Mark in several different types of venues. Our introduction to him was doing relatively short half-hour sets opening a couple of times for the late David Lindley. We've seen him do a similar show as this, with a historical component included, at the Eastham Library and other folk venues. We've also seen him play a longer show where he's been mostly background music at a brewery (last year at the Harper Lane Brewery, Middleborough, MA), where because of the type of environment he didn't talk very much, but for those who came to hear him play, it was delightfully musically dense.
The type of show he played tonight, with the historical component included, is definitely my favorite. Mark's enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge of the blues and the bluesmen (and women) who blazed the musical trail that he walks is infectious. Where does this music come from? Those Black Africans brought over in the 1600s in the Middle Passage brought their music (and their knowledge of their instruments) with them and it didn't take long for the music to spread the continent. Varieties of that music grew and flourished. In 1899 what form of Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag sold a million copies? Why, sheet music, of course!
The blues and its offspring reflects the times. Did Robert Johnson really sell his soul to the devil to gain the unprecendented sound he could make with that guitar? And how about the pain of the Depression that people like Ledbelly, Blind Willie Johnson, and Son House could reflect with their music? And the Carters and the country sound? What about Doc Boggs (someone new to me) playing blues on a banjo? Songs like "Amazing Grace," "Cuckoo," and "Freight Train Boogie" (the first ever rock 'n roll song) never sounded better than when Mark plays them.
We'd never been to the Church Hill Coffeehouse in Norwell, an easy drive off Rte. 3 before. I enjoyed the venue. They didn't really have a time when the doors were going to open so we got there about 45 minutes before showtime. The volunteer who introduced the show did a very nice job introducing Mark and the concert series. Apparently the venue is taking their monthly concert series, pies, cakes, and coffee to a new location in Scituate (the neighboring town on the coast) after this season is done. Good luck to these hardworking volunteers in their new location!