Norm and Liz Doyle

Subject: Norm and Liz Doyle
From: mike gouthro
Date: 30 Apr 08 - 01:24 PM

Norm and Liz were immigrants to Montreal from the UK in the mid 1960s. Neither performed but they brought a love of folk music performance to Montreal.

In Dec 1965 they created The Montréal Folk Workshop in rented room on Park Ave called Moose Hall. They paid the Moose Lodge a $10 nominal rental for each Wednesday's show. Moose Lodge made decent revenue from beer sales with audiences ranging from 40 to 100 depending on the drawing power of the featured act. The featured act delivered two half hour sets at 9PM and 11PM. The rest of the evening was filled with a half a dozen or more open mic performers who were allocated a three song time slot.

On opening night in 1965, Dave Van Ronk dropped by for a set. In January 1966, the Mountain City Four collective returned from a sabbatical for the first of several performances ending in 1970. The McGarrigle sisters emerged from this collective a few years later. Mike Seeger performed once and Richie Havens broke attendance records in 1968 with 130 in the audience. Jean Carignan's shows also racked up overflow houses.

Work opportunities forced Norm and Liz Doyle to move to San Francisco (I think) in late 1966 but the Folk Workshop continued under various managers and venues until 1973.

I'd love to hear from anyone with memories of the MFW but my main purpose is to learn if anyone knows of the musical endeavors of Norm and Liz either before or after their time in Montreal. They made a real mark on the Montreal folk scene by providing a more relaxed, beer facilitated club open to more diverse folk styles than the coffee houses of that era. And they planted the first seeds of the open mic concept in Montreal

Subject: RE: Norm and Liz Doyle
From: mike gouthro
Date: 01 May 08 - 11:28 AM

One more try before this falls off the radar.

Subject: RE: Norm and Liz Doyle
From: open mike
Date: 01 May 08 - 12:46 PM

There is an Elizabeth Doyle musician with a web site,
but probably not the same person: http://www.elizabethdoylemusic.com/

Subject: RE: Norm and Liz Doyle
From: GUEST,Norman Doyle
Date: 13 Nov 14 - 01:20 PM

Mike, my brother just sent me your 2008 piece on the Montreal Folk Workshop. What a blast from the past! And mostly correct.
However, Liz performed a set every Wednesday night and nobody calls me Norm.
If you would care to contact me at [e-mail] I will regale you with our post-Montreal doings.

Subject: RE: Norm and Liz Doyle
From: GUEST,GUEST, pierre rousseau
Date: 03 Aug 15 - 05:28 PM

Mike,
I happen to come across this posting on the Montreal Folk Workshop.
I would like to share some information with you on the MFW, but mainly would love to pick your brain about the information you have.
I know from various newspaper clippings which I discovered in the Montreal Gazette archives that the MFW was still running in 1974 and had Jesse Winchester as a guest. In fact, the MFW were tenants in a building that we own in downtown Montreal on Mountain street.
Feel free to get in touch with me at [e-mail]

Subject: RE: Norm and Liz Doyle
From: mike gouthro
Date: 21 Aug 15 - 06:33 PM

Thank you Noreen for your message bringing this thread back to my attention. I'll be contacting Norm and Pierre above via email and will update this thread with new info.