Club Passim’s Matt Smith on 30 Years of Building Community

Matt Smith is a living legend with his unbelievable 30-year run at Club Passim, the historic folk venue nestled in a Harvard Square basement. Currently Managing Director at Passim, Matt is the most passionate music lover I know. He has used his platform at Passim to help establish artists like Lori McKenna, Anaïs Mitchell, Lake Street Dive, and so many more. I met Matt while working as a student at WERS 88.9FM, where he brought fantastic shows to a listening room filled with people who were clambering for honest music in an intimate space. He’s been a very good friend and mentor to myself and thousands of musicians since he began his tenure at the club in 1995.

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In honor of Matt’s 30th anniversary at Passim, we brought two longtime friends on the pod to talk to him about his role in the Passim community – and beyond. Musicians Edie Carey and Dinty Child join us in conversation with Matt; he shares advice he would give his younger self, we chat about what a vacation without music would look like and his incredible memory. That memory is tested in our lightning round where he answers Passim trivia (almost 100% correctly). There’s also a discussion about what Matt is most proud of in all his years at the club: the campfire. festival, which takes place every Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends featuring sets in-the-round of mostly unknown new acts. I would imagine if you’re listening to this episode of Basic Folk, you either know Matt or Club Passim. Hello to all our friends and I hope you enjoy this window into one of the best people we’ve ever known: Matt Smith!