The Sounding Board Coffee House was started by Bill Domler and hosted its first concert by Sandy and Caroline Paton in December 1973. Bill obtained the support of his parents, Len and Fran Domler, to rent space in a Methodist Church at the corner of Park & Amity Streets in Hartford, Connecticut and to help him to operate the coffeehouse.

Bill had not grown up listening to “folk music” but became attracted to it after he started listening to Folk Legacy records which was operated by the Patons out of their home in Sharon, CT. He told them of his interest in starting a coffeehouse in Hartford to get more people to listen to this kind of music. They provided suggestions and points of contact, artists to book, and information about similar music series elsewhere.

The Domlers ran the coffeehouse as The Sounding Board Coffehouse and separately established the Greater Hartford Folk Music Society (GHFMS) to develop a paid membership to support folk music at the Sounding Board and other similar events in the area through a newsletter. In January 1974 Bill Domler and Bill O’Connor met to start a separate group for people who wanted to play folk music within the limits of their abilities, a group which became known as the Portable Folk Music Festival, more affectionately known as “The Portables.” The Portables today are considered the “house band,” traditionally closing out the Sounding Board’s Spring season.

Bill’s parents added a monthly “sing-a-long” which was held at their home and later in the homes of other members of the society. During the summer of 1974 they held the first Connecticut Family Folk Festival, which ran through the summer of 1999 in Elizabeth Park, Hartford. Many people in the region have fond memories of those folk-music filled summer days, which included sing-alongs, jams, and children’s music lessons in addition to national, regional, and up-and-coming stage acts.

Many dedicated volunteers have contributed to Sounding Board’s direction over the years. Janet Steucek, daughter of Fran and Len, stepped into a leadership role to carry on her parents’ legacy. Outside of the Domler Family, past Board Presidents and Vice Presidents include Beulah Villet, Brent Hall (above, right), Susan Garber, Jerry Jacques, Charles Eirmann and Jim Rigby.

In more recent years, Sounding Board concerts have been held at the auditorium of the Universalist Church in West Hartford, an accessible listening room-style room. In 2013, The Sounding Board celebrated its 40th Anniversary in with a benefit evening, hosted by WHUS/WWUH folk music DJ Susan Forbes Hansen, now on our Board of Directors.

Who could have imagined we’d make it this long? And who knows what the future holds? In the words of great lyricist Paul Simon, “After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same,” - indeed, The Sounding Board will always be true to its mission of presenting and preserving folk music. Still, we are always considering the best ways to support grow the next generation of folk musicians and folk enthusiasts. We hope you’ll join us.

Thanks to Nancy Fightlin and Jerry Jacques for contributing to the writing of this history.