Joe Jencks

From coffeehouses to Carnegie Hall, Joe Jencks has made a mark on the American music scene, singing and telling stories that educate, illuminate, and uplift.

 Merging conservatory training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, Joe delivers engaging musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. He brings us moving and stunning songs of hope, redemption, connection and remembrance, merging musical beauty, social consciousness and self-exploration. Blending well-crafted instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Jencks serves it all up with a lyric baritone voice that has an edgy richness.

Joe’s most recent solo CD – The Forgotten: Recovered Treasures from The Pen of Si Kahn - celebrates the lost legends of hard-working people from New England textile mills to Appalachian coal mining towns, from the Civil Rights movement to forgotten industrial towns in the Midwest. The Forgotten shines a welcome light on the lives of people whose experiences still need to be told and remembered. Jencks’ 2017 release Poets, Philosophers, Workers, & Wanderers reflects the depth of Joe’s musical knowledge and diversity of influences. 

“In these times, we need the singers who will do the homework and tell the stories! Joe Jencks is among the fine next generation singers who are ready to carry on the tradition as well as look into the future.” -- Holly Near

“Climb inside the songs of Joe Jencks, and you meet real people. His lilting melodies and warm, caramel tenor draw us closer to the stories he tells. Jencks finds the humanness that binds us to the people in his songs!” --Scott Alarik, “Folk Tales”, WUMB, Boston, MA 

This show is our May Memorial Appreciation Show. MMUUS members may purchase tickets at the Folkus member price of $15.