Eighth Step Coffee House
The Eighth Step Coffee House was founded in
Located near Lark Street, a Center Square area popular with students from the University at Albany, College of Saint Rose and other colleges nearby, The Step attracted crowds of students and young adults from its opening night in 1967, and quickly evolved into an autonomous 501c3 nonprofit. Open seven days a week, it was run by a small staff and volunteer crew. Funding came from gate receipts (70% went to the night's performer), memberships and until 2000, FOCUS funding. At its peak in the 1970s, it boasted 2,000-3,000 members.
By 1985, smaller concerts (100 people) and the weekly
The Eighth Step also introduced contradancing to the Capital Region, the brainchild of traditional musician Bill Spenceh while working with The Step. This traditional form of New England line dancing exploded in popularity around the region, with several organizations coordinating their own monthly series to provide packed weekly dances with live music on every weekend. The annual 3-day Old Songs Festival, directed by Andy Spence (married to Bill), featured a high-energy dance area that ran into the wee hours of every festival night.
Meanwhile, The Eighth Step presented the finest musicians of national, international, regional, local, and sometimes no repute. It found its niche in presenting contemporary singer-songwriters, but also Celtic, jazz, bluegrass, folk rock, comedy, folk dance performance and classes, and theatre including popular improv sessions. The Step provided space for North River Friends of Clearwater, the Irish music sessions Comheoltis, Pick'n & Sing'n Gathering'.
"The Step" eventually outgrew its original home, and in 2000 took over historic
Since 1987 The Step has been run by
The Eighth Step has introduced scores of singer-songwriters to the region, including John Gorka, Patty Larkin,
Since 1967, known and unknown artists with whom The Step has worked have included
At Proctors, The Step now most often uses Proctors GE Theatre (430 seats), or The Addy (90 seats). The largest of Pete Seeger's final concerts, with his sister Peggy, sold out the Mainstage at 2600 seats. Step seasons currently run from September - May, with ticketing through 8thStep.org, or through Proctors Box Office. As always, we serve the finest gourmet desserts and - a nod to our coffeehouse roots - the music and coffee are always hot, and a cup of joe still costs a dollar.
References
- ^ "Welcome". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
- ^ "Altamont Enterprise (2008)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
- ^ "Property". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
External links