Two great articles this weekend in the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe by two writers with nearly identical names. They’re different people; I talked to both of them.

Globe writer James Sullivan was interested in the Boston roots of the story, and caught up with Mark Erelli (pictured above) for an interview and photo. I like Mark’s observation that Troubadour Blues isn’t the usual mashup of archival footage and Sixties survivors reminiscing about the glory days that we often get in music documentaries. Read James’s story here (there’s a downloadable copy on this site).

Herald writer Jim Sullivan talked with Peter Case, who focused on the ongoing evolution of the troubadour’s craft. Case is a good example; he’s reinvented himself over and over in a career that spans almost 40 years. “I haven’t gotten jaded,” he says in the story. “I love to play. It’s such a huge kick, the problems don’t compare.” Read Jim’s article here.

This New Year’s Day, I’m sitting in Mocha Maya’s, a little coffee shop on the main street of tiny Shelburne Falls, Mass., where my film will screen later this afternoon. This is the kind of thriving little town that I thought they weren’t making any more. A lively little Irish music session is going on around a big table in the front. There are guitars sitting around like part of the furniture — looks like this is still a part of the world where people get together to play music for fun. Maybe I should interview them for my next film…