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Dr. Sean Dutch. COURTESY PHOTO

Dutch Named New Monomoy Middle School Principal

September 9, 2026

CHATHAM – Dr. Sean Dutch, the assistant principal at Monomoy Regional Middle School since 2023, was named the school’s new principal last week by...

A plan shows the location of the eight apartment buildings Pennrose proposed to build off Meetinghouse Road. PENNROSE GRAPHIC

ZBA To Deny Pennrose Project

September 8, 2026

CHATHAM – Although a formal vote won’t happen until this week, members of the zoning board of appeals have indicated that they will deny a...

Ronald Bergstrom. FILE PHOTO

Gessen Beats Bergstrom In County Commission Primary

September 2, 2026

Chatham’s Ronald Bergstrom lost his seat on the Barnstable County Commission to challenger Daniel Gessen in Tuesday’s state primary...

own Counsel Amy Kwesell explained the changes made to the state zoning law and the impacts on the zoning board of appeals and planning board. WILLIAM F. GALVIN PHOTO

Major Changes Made To State Zoning Law; Will Benefit Housing...

September 9, 2026

HARWICH – In signing the fiscal 2027 state budget bill July 9, Gov. Maura Healey approved changes to the state zoning statute that alters the way...

he Rosewood Manor residential care home for seniors has been sold to a Plymouth company. WILLIAM F. GALVIN PHOTO

Rosewood Manor Sold To Plymouth Company

September 9, 2026

HARWICH – Rosewood Manor, the residential care home for seniors in Harwich Center, has been sold. Plymouth-based EF Senior Care purchased the...

Tom Major and Entrain rocking the CranJam Music Festival. Entrain will close out the Saturday, Sept. 19 music festival. FILE PHOTO

[CURRENT WEEK’S PHOTOS / HAR CranJam 1

Katie (Brookhart) Henderson of the Kerosene Heater Band will turn up the temperature at the CranJam Music Festival on Sept. 19 in the tent behind the community center. COURTESY PHOTO

Current Week Photos/ HAR-KHB 1

CranJam Music Festival To Spotlight Local Musicians

by William F. Galvin
HARWICH – Local bands will be the focus of the CranJam Music Festival over the Sept. 19 and 20 weekend.
The music festival is a main attraction for the Harwich Cranberry Art and Music Festival, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year with a crafts fair featuring more than 150 vendors, food trucks, beer and wine, and a drone show.
The CranJam Music Festival will offer a lot of familiar faces on the stage over the weekend, with several bands that have taken part in previous years, led by Entrain, which played at the 25th anniversary celebration and has participated in the CranJam more than any other bands. Longtime participants such as the George Greitzbach Band, the Sarah Burrill Band and the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers will also appear.
“The festival committee said make it as local as possible, preferably all local,” said CranJam Music Director Bob Weiser.
He has done that. Entrain hails from Martha’s Vineyard and Gritzbach and Burrill have played Cape establishments for years. The Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers have ties to the Cape’s original inhabitants. The other bands that will be taking to the stage include local musicians like Catie Flynn of Salted Folk, a 2004 Harwich High School graduate, and Katie (Brookhart) Henderson of the Kerosene Heater Band, who is also a 2004 Rough Rider.
The Placeholders came together at Monomoy Regional High School in 2016 and the Friendly Fowl Band is composed of Monomoy Regional High School players and recent graduates. The Natalia Bonfini Band is out of Eastham and Summertown includes a couple of Harwich residents in Fred Ghioto and Rose Martin.
The CranJam kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19 with the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers, made up of a group of musicians, educators and artisans from the tribal communities of Mashpee, Aquinnah and Bourne. Their performances of Eastern social songs and dance have both educated and entertained audiences of all ages in museums, schools and various multi-cultural events, said Weiser.
The Sarah Burrill Band takes to the stage at noon. Burrill brings to her music and performance a depth and passion, according to Weiser. Whether she is belting out the blues, crooning a delicate love song, encouraging social consciousness and change, or singing about her pajamas, it is an experience that inspires courage, strength and hope, he said.
At 1 p.m. the acoustic folk duo featuring singer-songwriter Catie Flynn and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Pat Croke come on board, performing organic, stripped down renditions of folk country blues and classic rock covers along with original material.
The Natalia Bonfini Band takes over at 2 p.m. A blues musician at her core, Bonfini is an award-winning songwriter. Her single “Before” won the New England Songwriters Competition, and she was a top 50 finalist on American Idol’s 20th season.
The Kerosene Heater Band starts cooking at 3 p.m. KHB is a Cape-based rocking country five-piece group fronted by Henderson. The band dipped their feet in the waters of the Cape music scene in 2023 and spent the next winter huddled around a kerosene heater in a barn in Brewster. “The band hit the ground running and has become the Cape’s preeminent rocking country group,” according to Weiser.
The heat does not dissipate when the George Gritzbach Band takes to the stage at 4 p.m.
The late Boston Globe staff music critic Steve Morse said of Gritzbach: ”I have respected George Gritzbach for a long time. He is a keep-the-faith artist with an honest, no-frills voice that sounds equally at home on blues, soul and funk. George can be playful and rock with a Friday night's just-got-paid frenzy, but also has a serious streak as heard in the affecting message song ‘One Race, Many Faces,’ where he urges ‘color-blind human kindness.’”
The temperature continues to rise when Entrain takes to the stage at 5:15 p.m. with more than two hours of resounding percussion-filled rock and roll. The band has been described as “a funky-world jam-ska-reggae-rock stew with enough drums to sink a battleship.”
“Entrain’s goal is not just to be the biggest and best,“ said Tom Major, band founder and former drummer with Bo Diddley. “We want to create music that makes people feel good. When we look out from the stage, all we see is smiling faces of all ages and bodies moving. You can’t beat that feeling.”
Friendly Fowl leads off Sunday’s CranJam at 11:15 a.m. The band includes Monomoy Regional High School players and recent graduates playing an energetic jam fusion that includes funk, psychedelic, jazz, blues, celtic and acoustic folk, said Weiser.
Their high-energy live sets include both original music and unique covers. Members and collaborators include young local musicians such as Macklin Hanlon Devine, Jonathan Ford, Jazzy MacDonald, Eddy Crownshaw, Simon MacBride, Christopher Marchio, Thomas Marchio and Ben McMullen.
SummerTown takes to the stage at 12:15 p.m. Fred Ghioto has an extensive background on lead guitar and vocals and was a founding member of Freddie and the Maybellines, according to Weiser. Ghioto has played in earlier festivals.
Rose Martin, well known around the Cape as a lead vocalist, acoustic guitarist and singer/songwriter, adds her voice and acoustic strumming. Laura Celia on lead vocals and acoustic guitar rounds out SummerTown’s talented lineup, said Weiser.
Closing the day on Sunday, The Placeholders take to the stage at 1:30 p.m. The Placeholders were formed in the summer of 2016 by Monomoy Regional High School students. They play a wide variety of music with a strong classic rock influence, and their repertoire of covers includes an extensive list of favorites spanning the 1960s to the present, noted Weiser.

CranJam Music Festival To Spotlight Local Musicians

September 9, 2026

HARWICH – Local bands will be the focus of the CranJam Music Festival over the Sept. 19 and 20 weekend. The music festival is a main attraction...

Cape Cod 5

Select board Chair Mefford Runyon and Town Manager Kim Newman honor Todd Bunzick with the town’s Make Waves award during the board’s meeting Aug. 26. Bunzick retired in June as water and sewer superintendent after a 36-year career with the water department. RYAN BRAY PHOTO

Former Water Superintendent Honored

September 3, 2026

ORLEANS – Thirty-six years to the day since he started work in the town’s water department, Todd Bunzick was given his flowers by the select board...

After 36 years in business in downtown Orleans, Maglebee’s will close sometime this fall. “We don’t have a final date yet,” said Laura Magleby, who founded the store in 1990. RYAN BRAY PHOTO

Closing Time For Maglebee’s

September 3, 2026

ORLEANS – In so many ways, it was business as usual recently inside Maglebee’s. The long-running boutique on Main Street was busy, with customers...

The 2026-2027 school year, which starts for Nauset students and staff Sept. 8, marks the first full year of classes at the renovated Nauset Regional High School campus in Eastham. FILE PHOTO

Nauset Officials Look Ahead To 2026-2027 School Year

September 2, 2026

ORLEANS – At the end of a busy school year, it’s easy to suspect teachers and administrators welcome the opportunity to wind down that the summer...

First Parish To Host First Democracy Festival

September 9, 2026

BREWSTER – Is all politics local, as former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O’Neill said during his 20th-century tenure?The congregation...

The Serenity at Brewster apartments. Officials last week approved a rent increase on the facility’s affordable units. ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO

Officials Approve Hike In Affordable Rent At Serenity: What...

September 2, 2026

BREWSTER – Affordable housing in Brewster might be a little less affordable.The select board last week approved a slate of rent increases for 27...

A screenshot of Brewster’s newly redesigned website.

Brewster Gives Its Town Website A Facelift

September 2, 2026

BREWSTER – This past winter, Civic Plus, the tech company that provides the platform for Brewster’s website — and for many other Massachusetts...

“Chip’s Lament” from “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” NILE SCOTT PHOTO

Theater Review: ‘Spelling Bee’ A Cheeky Crowdpleaser Caps Playhouse...

September 8, 2026

Spelling Bee. Spelled S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G, space, B-E-E. A contest where contestants spell words against an opponent, and in the case of “The 25th...

MARY RICHMOND ILLUSTRATION

Nature Connection: A Restorative Walk In The Woods

September 5, 2026

Some days, weeks, and months can wear a person down a bit. The news gets worse and worse, the losses pile up one on top of another, and even though...

Thomas Flynn, a former journalist and award-winning producer and writer for CBS News and author of “Bikeman,” an account of Sept. 11, 2001. COURTESY PHOTO

Cape Rep To Present Harwich Resident’s Epic Poem On 9/11

September 3, 2026

The journey in Dante Alighieri’s “Inferno” centers on a pathway to salvation. Dante, physically, makes his way through hell to traverse purgatory...

September 2, 2026

Kathleen, a cherished and devoted educator, passed away peacefully in her sleep, leaving behind a legacy of kindness, wisdom, and inspiration. Born...

Helen L. Nickerson

September 2, 2026

March 9, 1942-April 21, 2026Celebration of life service for Helen Louise Nickerson (née Jamieson), 84, of Norfolk, will be held at the Chatham VFW...

Evelyn Elizabeth Baker

August 27, 2026

Evelyn Elizabeth (Meyer) Baker, age 80, passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in South Chatham on August 1, 2026 after a long battle with...

Helping Neighbors

Lisa Sherman returns a serve during the Harwich Funfest Women's tournament. NICK CHRISTIAN PHOTOS

13th Annual Funfest Pickleball Tournament Held In Harwich

September 2, 2026

HARWICH – On Saturday, Aug. 29 the Harwich Pickleball Association (HPA) held its 13th annual Harwich Funfest, a day-long pickleball event at Brooks...

Riders on the course of Second Summer Cycle 2025 passing Windmill Beach in South Yarmouth. COURTESY PHOTOS

New Routes Highlight Second Summer Charity Bike Ride

September 2, 2026

Fast becoming a Cape Cod tradition, the annual Second Summer Cycle charity bike ride, "Ride the Cape, For the Cape," is in its fourth year and set...

High School Sports

Nauset junior Shakir Cross interacts with the opposing goalkeeper as the Warriors faced Silver Lake during the Nauset Clash preseason jamboree Saturday. EREZ BEN-AKIVA PHOTOS

Nauset Boys Soccer Battles To Very End At Preseason Jamboree

September 9, 2026

NORTH EASTHAM – Upon arriving at the final moments of preseason last weekend, the Nauset boys soccer team found themselves in uncharted...

Cape Tech's football team celebrates at the end of last season. FILE PHOTO

9/11 Football Game To Honor Victims, First Responders

September 2, 2026

In the aftermath of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, David Foster Wallace wrote an essay for Rolling Stone about the following days from his...

Athlete of the Week

Tournament director Tom Bryant tells the field of men's intermediate and advanced players the rules for the day. NICK CHRISTIAN PHOTO

Athlete Of The Week: Tom Bryant

September 2, 2026

HARWICH – It takes a lot of effort to put together a pickleball tournament. Just ask Tom Bryant, tournament director of the Harwich Pickleball...

Edith Spiegel. NICK CHRISTIAN PHOTO

Athlete Of The Week: Edith Spiegel

August 27, 2026

The Cape is surrounded by water, so it makes sense that kids who grow up here are comfortable in an aquatic environment. But that’s not always the...

Our View: In Praise Of Educators

September 2, 2026

For people who live and work on the Cape, there’s a kind of circadian rhythm, an annual rising and falling of our energies, our patience — and our...

Letters To The Editor: Sept. 3, 2026

September 2, 2026

Military Leadership Out Of TouchEditor:In August 2025, I wrote about Eisenhower's warning about the influence of the military industrial complex...

First Parish To Host First Democracy Festival

September 9, 2026

BREWSTER – Is all politics local, as former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O’Neill said during his 20th-century tenure?The congregation...

Dr. Sean Dutch. COURTESY PHOTO

Dutch Named New Monomoy Middle School Principal

September 9, 2026

CHATHAM – Dr. Sean Dutch, the assistant principal at Monomoy Regional Middle School since 2023, was named the school’s new principal last week by...

own Counsel Amy Kwesell explained the changes made to the state zoning law and the impacts on the zoning board of appeals and planning board. WILLIAM F. GALVIN PHOTO

Major Changes Made To State Zoning Law; Will Benefit Housing...

September 9, 2026

HARWICH – In signing the fiscal 2027 state budget bill July 9, Gov. Maura Healey approved changes to the state zoning statute that alters the way...

Chronicle Sign up

Harwich’s 9/11 observance in 2021. FILE PHOTO

Towns To Mark 25th Anniversary Of Terror Attacks

September 2, 2026

It’s hard to imagine that it was 25 years ago next Friday that terrorists attacked the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and crashed an airliner in...

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