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Mean Mary plus Filisko & Noden from the Archives

August 26, 2023, 8:00 pm

Left: woman with banjo. Right: man with harmonica and sunglasses and man with National steel guitar

"Mean" Mary James. Joe Filisko and Eric Noden. (Photos: Johnny Giles; Paul Natkin)

Anticipating their sets at the Fox Valley Folk Festival on Labor Day Weekend, sample the banjo-fueled songs of Mean Mary and the high-energy blues of Filisko & Noden from two Folkstage shows.

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Folkstage is made possible, in part, by an anonymous family foundation, Nancy Clark, Freddi Greenberg and Daniel Pinkert, Bruce Hirsch, Andy and Becky Anderson, Robert and Laura Boyd, Fred Geisler and Lois Polatnick, Robert Sloan and Maurine Neiberg, and the generous support of WFMT members.

Meet the Host

Marilyn Rea Beyer hosted her first concert in junior high as the school band emcee. She got on board The Midnight Special listening to WFMT as a Chicago teenager. She has had careers in arts education, PR and high tech. In 1995, Marilyn became on-air host and music director at Boston’s premiere folk station, WUMB-FM where she was best known for the daily "Live at Noon" show, conducting more than 1,000 artist interviews on the air. She also served on the board of the legendary Club Passim and emcee'd countless concerts in greater Boston. Returning to Chicago, Marilyn joined WFMT in 2020 as host of The Midnight Special and now Folkstage. She says that judicious risk-taking, nurturing artists, falling in love with new music, and engaging with the lively Folkstage audience make the job fun. Marilyn was inducted into the 2023 Folk Alliance International Folk DJ Hall of Fame.

Midday with Lisa Flynn

Midday with Lisa Flynn

Mean Mary plus Filisko & Noden from the Archives