Dan Bern is the kind of songwriter who will write an 18-song album devoted entirely to baseball, record a duet with Emmylou Harris, and somewhere in the middle of all that, produce a song that quietly wrecks you. He has been doing exactly that since the mid-’90s, and on Saturday, November 7, he brings more than thirty albums’ worth of that restless, literary songwriting to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs.
About the Show
Bern grew up as the lone Jewish child in a small Iowa town, and that outsider’s eye — curious, a little wry, attuned to the gap between what people say and what they mean — runs through everything he writes. He emerged from the folk underground with material described as “funny, provocative, literate”: a blend of folk, rock, punk, protest song, and sharp-eyed social commentary that earned him comparisons to Guthrie, Dylan, and Costello. Roger Daltrey, who had Bern open for him, called him “one of my favourite songwriters and musicians for the past 25 years,” praising “a mix of thought provoking lyrics and a wonderful dry wit.” His songs move “from deeply moving to wildly imaginative and hilarious, often within the same song,” and live, he is known for weaving the topical and the local in with larger universal themes, connecting with audiences “skillfully and directly.”
His landmark album New American Language remains a touchstone for longtime fans. His catalog has since grown to include Drifter, which features a duet with Emmylou Harris on a song called “Swing Set,” and the recent vinyl release Starting Over. His work has appeared in the films Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and Get Him to the Greek, and he has written for films and television projects including Amazon Prime’s The Stinky & Dirty Show. The Caffe Lena date is part of a six-date fall 2026 run that spans New Jersey, upstate New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Georgia.
Venue & Logistics
Caffe Lena, a 110-seat folk club and listening room at 47 Phila Street, is the kind of room where a songwriter’s craft either holds up or it doesn’t. At that proximity, the specific imagery Bern is known for has nowhere to hide and no reason to. The show is part of the capital region calendar. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; the show runs 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Tickets
General admission is $30.37, with member pricing at $27.11 and a child or student ticket at $15.18 (all prices inclusive of fees). A $5 livestream is also available via Caffè Lena TV, with 100% of proceeds going directly to the artist. Buy tickets