The Branford Folk Music Society will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a special dinner concert featuring Connecticut folk artists on Sunday, April 27 at 5 p.m. at the Italian-American Club at 40 Hamre Lane in Branford.

The dinner concert is open to the public. Tickets for the event, which will feature a buffet catered by Bistro Mediterranean of East Haven and beverages by Branford’s own Thimble Island Brewing Co., are $30 per person. Reservations can be made by calling 203-488-7715 or e-mailing branfordfolk@gmail.com Tickets may also be purchased at the door the day of the event.

Headlining the night’s musical entertainment will be Grammy Award winning artist Stacy Phillips and His Bluegrass Characters; balladeer Cliff Haslam, a longtime Branford Folk favorite, and Wry Bred, a New Haven area contra dance band.

The Branford Folk Music Society is an all-volunteer, non-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving and encouraging the growth and appreciation of folk music, song and tradition. The society sponsors a concert series in Pilgrim Hall of the First Congregational Church of Branford from September through May and regular “house hoots” (informal song circles for instrumentalists, vocalists and listeners) at various locations. Both the concert series and “house hoots” are open to the public.

The society was founded in December 1973 in the living room of former Branford residents Judi and Dave Neal and began offering coffeehouse concerts in June 1974, which to this day continue to showcase top national and international folk music artists. The society presently operates with a nine-member volunteer board of directors headed by Willa Horowitz, a Hamden resident. Members of the society hail from throughout Connecticut, and nearby areas of New York and Rhode Island.

Renowned Dobro and fiddle virtuoso Stacy Phillips is a longtime fixture of the region’s folk music scene. He was one of the featured artists on the 1994 Grammy and International Bluegrass Music Association award-winning album, “The Great Dobro Sessions.” However, he is equally known for being the author of more than 20 books dealing with various aspects of violin and Dobro playing and is a regular contributor to several music magazines including Guitar Player, Sing Out! and Strings.

Regarded as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the traditional music of his native British Isles, Cliff Haslam, a Madison resident, appeared at Branford Folk during its first concert series in 1974 and has been one of its most popular artists since then with frequent return appearances. His songs display a fine sense of humor, a bit of the British bawdy along with great vocal artistry.

Wry Bred consists of guitarist Robert Messore, fiddler Mickey Koth and Julie Sorcek on flute and saxophone. They are frequent performers at New Haven area dances and hold sway the first Tuesday night of each month at the Outer Space in Hamden. As they put it, they offer “good music no matter how you slice it.”

Membership in BFMS is $10 per year for an individual or $15 for a family. Membership provides discounts at society concerts and also concerts at The Sounding Board in West Hartford and the annual Eisteddfod Festival in New York City and a bimonthly newsletter that includes society news and listings of folk music activities in Connecticut, including radio programs, artist performing schedules and festival schedules.