In the summer of 1963, America was on the brink of being split apart by the tumult of the Viet Nam War, the Civil Rights movement and Bob Dylan going electric.

The folk music revival was in full swing and was making a big impact in the popular culture. Martha’s Vineyard got caught up in the folk music movement that summer when David Lyman, the manager of a coffeehouse in Boston, and Philip Metcalf, a college student with a car and knowledge of the Vineyard, opened a coffeehouse called the Moon-Cusser.

Singer-songwriter Michele Zaccone and drummer/keyboardist J.B. Lamont of the band Tethered are tied together by a host of similarities. They were born on the same day three years apart, they are Geminis, and they have both been burned; Mr. Lamont by the music business, Ms. Zaccone by love.

As summer turns the corner from July to August, it’s easy to find yourself yearning for a respite from the high temperatures, traffic and long lines of the hectic summer season. A picnic can be a great way to slow down, appreciate your surroundings and remember why so many people choose to visit, or make their home on the Vineyard.

What follows are some ideas to help plan a vacation within a vacation, with three different budgets and locations.

By HOLLY NADLER

A trademark of the boomer generation is that we never follow a straight line for a career path. It looks more like a privet hedge labyrinth in old English country gardens.

The audience is the boss. Performance is a seduction. Never give up something for nothing. Livingston Taylor eagerly passes along all this and more to his students at the Berklee College of Music, and now to readers who pick up a copy of the new edition of his book, Stage Performance.