The Nameless Coffeehouse, in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

, opened in 1967 and is now New England's oldest all-volunteer coffeehouse. Located in the First Parish

The First Parish in Cambridge

The First Parish in Cambridge, a Unitarian Universalist church, is located in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The church is notable for its almost 400 year history, which includes pivotal roles in the development of the early Massachusetts government, the creation of Harvard College,...

 Unitarian Universalist Church in Harvard Square

Harvard Square

Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...

, the Nameless currently presents a six-concert schedule showcasing acoustic music and comedy for a moderate suggested donation ($8–$15 for the 2011 season).

From its birth during the folk revival

American folk music revival

The American folk music revival was a phenomenon in the United States that began during the 1940s and peaked in popularity in the mid-1960s. Its roots went earlier, and performers like Josh White, Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Richard Dyer-Bennett, Oscar Brand, Jean Ritchie, John Jacob...

 in the 1960s, The Nameless has been influential in the local folk music scene, nurturing performers in the early stages of their careers, encouraging them to hone their craft, and providing a receptive audience. The Nameless continues to highlight performances by local original singer-songwriters. Performers who have played the Nameless include Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...

, Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...

, Patty Larkin

Patty Larkin

Patty Larkin is a Boston-based singer-songwriter. redefines the boundaries of folk-urban pop music with her inventive guitar wizardry and uncompromising vocals and lyrics...

, The Story (Jonatha Brooke

Jonatha Brooke

Jonatha Brooke is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Illinois.Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies...

 and Jennifer Kimball

Jennifer Kimball

Jennifer Kimball is a vocalist and songwriter who is notable for being part of the acclaimed folk duo The Story. She is a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter and has released two albums Veering from the Wave and Oh Hear Us....

), Ellis Paul

Ellis Paul

Ellis Paul is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s...

, Dar Williams

Dar Williams

Dar Williams is an American singer-songwriter specializing in pop folk.She is a frequent performer at folk festivals and has toured with such artists as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco, The Nields, Shawn Colvin, Girlyman, Joan Baez, and Catie Curtis.-Biography:Williams was born...

, John Gorka

John Gorka

John Gorka is a contemporary American folk musician. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement."-Biography:...

, Bob Franke

Bob Franke

Bob Franke is an American folk singer/songwriter.-Biography:He began his career in 1965, while a student at the University of Michigan, and performed at The Ark, a coffeehouse in Ann Arbor....

, Ric Ocasek

Ric Ocasek

Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....

, Geoff Bartley

Geoff Bartley

Geoff Bartley is an American acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter whose musical style combines roots, blues, jazz, and traditional folk. He began performing in 1969 and lives in the Boston area. He can be seen every Monday night hosting an open mic night at in Cambridge, Massachusetts...

, and Greg Greenway

Greg Greenway

Greg Greenway is an American folk singer/songwriter. Currently living in the Boston area, he is part of the folk scene there...

, as well as comedians Andy Kaufman

Andy Kaufman

Andrew Geoffrey "Andy" Kaufman was an American entertainer, actor and performance artist. While often referred to as a comedian, Kaufman did not consider himself one...

 and Jay Leno

Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...

. Fred Small

Fred Small

Frederick Emerson Small , known publicly as Fred Small, is an American singer-songwriter. He is also a lawyer and a Unitarian Universalist minister. His songs often make a political or ethical statement. Among his best-known songs are "Heart of the Appaloosa," "Everything Possible," "Peace Is",...

, as of 2009 the minister of the First Parish, also has performed at the Coffeehouse. It is wheelchair accessible and light refreshments are available for a donation.

When it first opened, the Nameless was managed by Harvard

Harvard College

Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...

 students, who were joined, by the early '70s

1970s

File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...

, by students from MIT and later Tufts University

Tufts University

Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

as well. Through 1982, the Coffeehouse was open Friday and Saturday evenings during the school year, and both music and refreshments were provided free of charge, although donations were encouraged and accepted.

The Nameless has weathered many changes over the years, and confronted many challenges to stay open and viable. Its minimal costs are now met by door proceeds and donated goods and services. The present volunteer crew are veteran volunteers and supporters of the local music scene. Sound man Doug Scott has been running sound since the 1980s.

The Coffeehouse still offers a limited number of free admissions to concerts for volunteers, arranged in advance through the volunteer coordinator. Information on volunteer opportunities is available at The Nameless website.