Green Wood Coffee House

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You enter the building and pass directly into the coffeehouse space without knowing there's anything below it — the room seems perched on a tree branch in the middle of a forest. The stage and seating area look out through eye-level windows on three sides into woods that fade to darkness. The view immediately creates a special musical realm. With an introspective singer on stage, it seems metaphorically representative of the unknowable but occasionally illuminated recesses of an individual's mind.

The interior, small enough to keep the amplification modest, is equally conducive to intense listener focus. Lighting comes mostly from candles — some hang on the wall, some rest on big treelike stands rising from the ground, some are placed on dishes atop a piano or on the small tables scattered among the hundred or so chairs. Popcorn, brownies, and coffee are sold (everything's a dollar) in back, with payment on the honor system.

Are you imagining a picture-perfect folk coffeehouse? Under the bookership of local singer Katie Geddes, Green Wood provides an alternative to the high-powered world of the Ark and the student domination of some of the coffeehouses downtown. The space featured local acts at first, but word seems to have spread among performers as to how special a place it is. Now Green Wood presents a mix of local music, emerging national figures, and a few well-established stars. Recent performers have included the rising singer-songwriter Alice Peacock and the wonderfully rootsy country veteran Gail Davies.