St Tim's Coffeehouse's Events

St. Tim's Coffeehouse is a 6-concert series founded in 2016. Annually we hold three concerts in the Fall (September - November), and in the the Spring (February - April). We present acoustic Americana/folk music. Our concerts were held in the sanctuary of St. Timothy's Lutheran Church in Skokie, Illinois. After March 15, 2020, we stopped presenting in-person concerts due to COVID-19 and the State of Illinois mandate. We produce concerts on Zoom and/or You Tube to bring music to your living rooms. In September 2022, we began to present in-person concerts once again while continuing to offer the livestream option. In creating this new normal, we can continue to spread the music both in-person and around the world.

Our history: by 2016, a number of local folk venues had closed on the North Shore. At the same time, St. Timothy's Lutheran Church wanted to create a community outreach program. This prompted Paul Luke, a church member to enlist high school friend, Sandy Wong with experience from Unity Temple Concert Series. Together, they created this series in Skokie. We are an all volunteer organization.

We support local folk festivals like Woodstock Folk Festival and Fox Valley Folk Festival. We have relationships with local coffeehouses like Acoustic Renaissance Concerts (Hinsdale) and Two Way Street Coffeehouse (Downers Grove). Sandy is a member of Folk Alliance International (FAI) and a board member of Folk Alliance Midwest Region (FARM). Our radio partners support us on WFMT 98.7 FM, WNUR 89.3 FM, and WDCB 90.9 FM.

We strive to curate upcoming artists along with national and international musicians. The venue debuted in February 2018 with the legendary, Michael Peter Smith. This was followed by many favorite local, national, and international musicians including two-time Grammy winner, Howard Levy. Other artists presented have been: Eddie Holstein (with a surprise appearance by Bonnie Koloc), Bryan Bowers, Kerry Patrick Clark, Al Day with Bob Long, Mark Dvorak, Gina Forsyth, Joe Jencks, Eric Lambert, Joel Mabus, Buddy Mondlock with Mike Lindauer, Lee Murdoch, Heather Pierson Trio, Small Potatoes, Claudia Schmidt with Sally Rogers, Sons of the Never Wrong, Spyten Duyvil, James Lee Stanley, The Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers, Anne Hills, Corky Siegel with Chihsuan Yang, Katherine Rondeau, Gina Forsyth, Friction Farm, and Jonas Friddle, .