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Godfrey Daniels – Where Legends are Made
A listening room in South Bethlehem.
Short story: Godfrey Daniels opened in 1976 by a couple of folk musicians (Dave Fry, a Lehigh University graduate, and Cindy Dinsmore) who wanted to have a space where the music was an experience to share between artist and audience, without the distractions of the bar scene. For a more colorful version of their origin story, read this part of their website.
image from Lehigh Valley Live
The venue is located at 7 East 4th Street.
image from Trip Advisor
What is a listening room? It’s a space where audiences can have a focused experience with a live artist. Godfrey’s is not a coffeehouse or a bar. They do sell coffee and concessions before the show and at the musical break, but not during the show. You can BYOB if you’re of legal age. Usually a small cooler is fine. Generally the rule is, don’t be a poopyhead about what you bring into the venue.
What kind of artists perform at Godfrey Daniels? Mostly folk artists from around the country, AND they partner with other local arts groups to share their special space. The Lehigh Valley Storytellers Guild, improv comedy, and various jam sessions and open mikes for community folks to do their thing in front of an audience. They’ve also partnered with Lehigh University student groups in the past for special projects.
What kind of folk music? If you like “coffeehouse playlists” on Spotify, this music is kind of like that.
How can you learn more about what’s coming? Their website is regularly updated with their shows. They are light on programs in August during Musikfest. You can also sign up for their newsletter to get the most up to date information delivered to your email.
How much does it cost? It depends on the event. Open jams are free, but other events have a ticket price. Open Mikes are $3.50, guest artist prices vary.
Where else can one explore the musicians that play at Godfrey Daniels? Lots of ways.
1. There’s a “Live from Godfrey’s” Show every week on WDIY 88.1 Lehigh Valley Public Radio. Tuesday evenings, from 7-9pm. You could dial up your old radio, or listen online.
2. Recordings of the Open Mikes are on Soundcloud. These have also been produced into two albums called, Southside Sunday Nights.
3. Follow them are various social media channels found on their website for direct links to your favorite platform.
Parking: Street parking is the closest. Once the parking garage on New street is open, if you’re driving into South Bethlehem, that’ll be your best bet. If you live near Lehigh University or on campus, it’s a super easy walk.
Food options? So many options on 4th street. Nawab, General Zapata, Molly’s, La Lupita, Jenny’s Kuali… expand this map and you’ll see them all.
If you have five minutes to spare, check out this film made in 2011. It pretty much reinforces the gathered material, but with a human being sharing their love of the space.
So what’s up with the name? It’s a quote from WC Fields. WHO?
We found this blog post that goes into detail. Of course we found a clip on YouTube as well:
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