SOUTH DEERFIELD — Soft music from an acoustic guitar drifted through fading sunlight, accompanying Michael Graffius as he sang “Rosalie” to an audience lounging in chairs and on blankets on the lawn of the Tilton Library.
For many in the audience, the Monday evening gathering at the library on North Main Street was a familiar sight in the community.
Julie Cavacco, children’s librarian and organizer of the weekly events, said some residents have been faithfully coming to the performances since they started about 10 years ago.
Each week starting at 7 p.m., the concerts feature mostly local musicians performing for an audience of mostly local residents, which, Cavacco said, is a big reason why they’re held so regularly.
“It’s a great way for people of all ages to be together in town,” Cavacco said during a break in the music. “It started out because I wanted some of the teens in town to perform.”
The performances were the result of two combined musical programs started in the early 2000s.
In 2006, Cavacco helped combine a musical program for students at the high school with a program for families at the library, and formed “Monday Night Music at Tilton Library.”
For the first few years, Cavacco said there were about 30 people per night in the audience each week; since then, the weekly concerts have became a staple summer event in the community. This year, Cavacco said she has seen upwards of 80 people on the lawn.
On Monday, there were around 50 people in attendance.
“I wrote this song for a fictional girl, even in my dreams they walk away,” Graffius joked after the last note faded. “But that doesn’t stop me from chasing.”
Graffius, who writes his own music and plays the guitar, grew up in the area, attended Frontier Regional School and now lives in Holyoke.
He said he enjoys returning to perform because the region will always hold a special place in his heart.
“It’s the healthiest addiction to have,” Graffius said about returning to Franklin County. “This place is music to me.”
The most recent performance featured Leo Franceschi on trumpet, folk singer Roger Rhinehart and harpist Piper Pichette, in addition to Graffius.
Pichette, who grew up in the area and graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2015, said the Monday sessions have been instrumental in building a strong foundation in music and performing.
“The Monday night music was ‘the mother gig,’” she said, while picking up chairs along with other community members after the show. “It’s how other people found me.”
Pichette said she has performed in at least one session per year since the music nights began. The recent college graduate said performing has become a tradition. For others, Monday’s event was a first.
Franceschi, a student who just graduated from Deerfield Elementary School and lives across the street from the library, said this was the first time he has performed.
Near the end of the event, he played taps on the trumpet.
From Franceschi’s piece on the trumpet, to Rhinehart’s and Graffius’s folk influence, to Pichette’s performance on the harp, Monday’s music event featured a wide variety of musical styles.
Aaron Mintz, who was at the show with his wife, Diane Mintz, said musical diversity is part of what makes the performances so special.
“Julie does an incredible job getting local performers from all different genres of music,” he said. “That’s one of the things I love about it. There’s no frills, it’s just their talent in front of you.”
This year, the concerts are Mondays from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Tilton Library through Aug. 8.