By Nicole Haley

CAMBRIDGE – Down an alley and into the basement of a bookstore in Harvard Square, a 17-year-old singer/songwriter made her way through the 30 feet by 40 feet room to a small stage and looked out on the intimately seated crowd as she started to play.

This became a regular routine, and she introduced a friend who played in between acts. You may or may not know this basement music venue as Club Passim. The girl with her guitar was Joan Baez and, her friend, Bob Dylan.

A small non-profit organization, the club continues to nurture up-and-coming singer/songwriters in its mission to preserve and promote folk music. The club is not only a venue for people to come and hear great music, but it also encourages the audiences’ involvement and participation with that music in several ways.

As a music club that operates seven nights a week, Club Passim is dedicated to showcasing a variety of talents in an intimate setting.

James O’Brien, a night manager and open mic night host for the club, referred to folk music as “an art form that still exists almost purely by oral tradition.” The club offers performers an opportunity to bring their music to a targeted public.

The small size of the club creates an interactive atmosphere between the audience and the performer. The venue is a non-alcoholic and nonsmoking club reinforcing its principle concern with the music.

“The room, itself, is a listening room,” said Night Manager Jeremy Johnson. “Music is secondary at places like coffee shops and bars. People come here for the music, not for the drinks.”

Johnson described a very community oriented and socially conscious environment at Club Passim. In addition to providing a music venue, the club also offers workshops and an entire school of music. In the past, performers like Melissa Ferrick and Dar Williams have taught workshops. The music school offers patrons a chance to take a variety of classes ranging from songwriting and guitar classes to mandolin and Irish fiddle classes. Musicians who perform at the club teach these classes and in doing so help the club to promote folk culture.

Dedicated to providing a venue for a wide variety of obscure music, Club Passim serves as a unique opportunity for audiences to experience things they won’t be seeing on MTV or listening to on popular radio. Every month, the club has a night called Arabesque, to feature Middle Eastern music and culture. Johnson said that these shows always sell out because “it’s the only place you can hear that kind of music.”

Many artists that start out at Club Passim and go on to play larger venues, enjoy coming back and giving back to an organization they believe in. Dar Williams chooses nonprofit organizations to play for every year around her birthday and Club Passim is usually on that list. Johnson said that Williams is a big supporter for the club and that after these performances, she will not accept any payment but rather asks that all the ticket sales go back into the club. Often, well- known performers return to the club for benefit shows. Right after September 11, the club raised almost $15,000 in two days with a string of performers playing a last minute benefit show.

Johnson, who said that his favorite part of his job is getting to know performers and the people who regularly come to and support the shows, observed that folk music usually has a strong message and said that the club is a good place for performers to convey that message.

Stressing the social consciousness behind the music, Johnson joked, “Folk singers generally don’t write hits.”

Every Tuesday night, the club hosts an open mic night and anyone can show up and make themselves known. O’Brien described the nights as a kind of “informal audition for the songwriters at the venue.” The club does not impose constraints and limits on the type of art performed there.

“While the spine of the thing is certainly singer/songwriter material and the workshopping of those songs the Club Passim open stage showcases soul, R’B, rap, dance, performance art, stand-up, theater and poetry,” said O’Brien.

If you have something to say, bring along your instrument, whatever that may be, and prepare to truly be heard. Whether you come to hear and be entertained by others or to play for them, the atmosphere at Club Passim will invite you into a world where the music has a message and the people are listening.