The Basilica Hudson recently announced an abridged lineup for Soundscape 2014 for September.
The two-night affair promises at least the following five acts for September 12th and 13th: Swans, Deafheaven, Tim Hecker, Julia Holter, and Gamelan Dharma Swara. However, more acts are anticipated to arrive.
Purchase your tickets anytime before June 15th, and you are granted an “Early Bird” discount of $50 for the weekend. Afterwards, the price goes back up to $60.
Originally a foundry that produced railroad car wheels in the 19th century, Basilica Hudson is an 18,000-square foot arts and performance venue that boasts a capacity of 1,200 people, but no climate control. Hence, shows are scheduled during the Upstate New York springs and autumns. It is located on the South Bay off the eastern shores of the Hudson River, south of the Amtrak Terminal.
Texas singer-songwriter Hayes Carll will perform at Club Helsinki on May 15th with alt-country performer Caroline Rose opening. Carll, known for his outspoken politically infused rockers and his self-described “degenerate love songs”, brings to mind Todd Snider with a hint of Dylan and John Prine added in.
His “KMAG YOYO” was the Americana Music Association’s #1 Album in 2011 and made year-end Best Of lists in Rolling Stone, SPIN and the New York Times. A mix of rock and honky-tonk, Hayes Carll bring his well-respected sound to Upstate New York just as the summer is approaching, a perfect time for his brand of music.
Caroline Rose will open the night, bringing a sound that recalls Norah Jones, her sweet folk/Americana sound just scraping the surface of her deep talent. Give a listen to “Here Comes the Rain” for a taste of what she has to offer.
“If you think you can make a difference and the fire is in your soul, go ahead and take your stand and if you can’t, let it go.” – The Infamous Stringdusters
Words of wisdom and truth sung in five-part, heartfelt harmony isn’t preached, but instead, practiced. The Infamous Stringdusters make good on their own philosophy as proceeds from each album sold and every ticket for the Let it Go Album Release Tour is donated, in part, to The Conservation Alliance. According to their website, the mission of The Conservation Alliance “is to engage businesses to fund and partner with organizations to protect wild places for their habitat and recreation values.” The Stringdusters know they can make a difference and creatively found a way to help their fans recognize and contribute to environmental issues brought into awareness by The Conservation Alliance. New Yorkers have two opportunities to see a performance as well as purchase an advanced copy of Let it Go at The Wescott in Syracuse and Club Helsinki in Hudson on March 22 and 23 respectively.
Official album release is slated for April 1 on High Country Recordings. The title track appears last on the disc perhaps making a larger impact of the lyrical stanzas and driving home the philosophical stand point of being true to oneself – a theme weaved throughout Let it Go. Disc opener, “I’ll Get Away” gently nudges the listener in the direction of soothing folk instrumentation and humming the “ohhhh’s” slightly hints at the cohesive as well as expansive string explosions presented within the eleven-track disc.
A naturalistic approach to life themes told in tune using the imagery and temperament of Mother Nature present a dynamic dichotomy. “Where the Rivers Run Cold,” symbolically declaring never giving up in the refrain and “Winds of Change,” where moving on is encouraged, are contrasting emotions just as life and death exists in nature. Gentle picking and soft fiddle bowing add to the sweetly sorrowful ballad of “Rainbows” communicating a simple naivety in daydreaming.
Andy Hall (Dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle) and Travis Book (upright bass) are no strangers to raising awareness and making a difference. In 2013, the band invited fans, affectionately known as Jamily, on a six-day float trip through the wilderness. The excursion brought water sustainability issues to the forefront in partnership with Patagonia, Klean Kanteen, and Osprey Packs. “Middlefork” was created paying homage to the location of the trip in an instrumental dominated by a fiddle and dobro composition matching music with nature’s soundscapes. Likely brushing off the dust the great outdoors can kick up, surely these boys were left yearning a bit for the Colorado country flare proclaiming “I wanna get mile high/touch the sky/get lost in mountain time.”
The album was recorded at White Star Sound boasting a rustic farm off a dirt road in Virginia. The seclusion and natural surroundings offered an opportunity for The Stringdusters to be present in the music making process; enabling a more focused song crafting and musical stylings seemingly contradictory to their live performances and periodic improvisation, though airy nuances throughout whisper like Father Time plays tricks on the mind.
The Stringdusters have evolved personally and musically. They continue to host The Festy Experience. The fan favorite festival is in its fifth year and will be held October 10-12, 2014. The annual event is held at The Devil’s Backbone Brewery in Nelson County, Virginia. Tickets for the event go on sale coinciding with the album release on April 1 and various package deals will be available.
The self-explanatory, “Light & Love” hits a high note of positive thinking on the metaphorical Universal energy that runs through nature and human emotion. Tales are told in these Infamous Stringdusters tunes of evolving sounds of folk, bluegrass and country jam. Most certainly, the first step in being true to oneself is to Let it Go.
On a wintry Saturday night in February, the blowing snow made the trip down to Hudson, NY that much more thrilling, and made the audience that much more thankful that Steve Earle decided to make the trip up to Hudson to perform in the intimate concert space at Club Helsinki. The club has a very Greenwich Village sort of feel to it, with funky decorations including a red lamp with a stuffed crow sitting on top. Starting off the evening early with a delightful meal of southern cooking, which included deep-fried cauliflower, cheesy grits, and sweet potato pie to top it all off, the crowd had their stomachs filled as the show officially began.
Steve Earle, Getting Deep
If you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t know the show had begun! Steve Earle nonchalantly strolled onto the stage and started right in with the title track off one of his more recent albums, The Low Highway. This song had a pure twangy sound to it, as did his next several tunes, which included “My Old Friend the Blues” off one of his earlier albums. After about his fourth song, he started in with his famous and much enjoyed storytelling, his first story being a timely Valentine’s Day story about how he had just gotten out of jail in February of 1995, and didn’t have a license, so since he couldn’t drive into town to buy flowers, he wrote his significant other a song as a gift instead. Judging by the lyrics of the song following that story, “Valentine’s Day”, he had a lot to apologize for, but it’s nothing having someone write a song for you can’t fix! The harmonica came out at this point in the show, and Steve folked-out to “Taneytown”, which had a very Patti Smith-like sound to it. His next several tunes sounded very heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, with a hint of Simon and Garfunkel mixed in for good measure.
Paying tribute to the late great Pete Seeger, Steve told an endearing story about a festival he had the pleasure of performing at with Pete, then slipped into a tune he had written years ago honoring Pete called “Steve’s Hammer (for Pete)”, a lovely sing-along which had everyone in the audience singing out, many of them singing through their tears. Changing the mood drastically, he then went into “Angel is the Devil”, which although melodically it sounds upbeat and light, the lyrics are much darker than one would expect from purely listening to the melody.
At this point in the show, Steve switched over to his current favorite instrument, a mandolin designed by Australian luthier Steve Gilchrist, who was granted the esteemed title of “best mandolin maker in the world” by none other than Steve Earle himself! It did produce a pretty amazing sound, which was showcased in one of Earle’s more famous tunes “Galway Girl”, a song with a tricky rhythm that lends itself well to the mandolin. Before putting that mandolin back into its case, Steve gave it a kiss! He then brought out an octave mandolin, or a “bouzouki”. (He jokingly advised that whenever traveling with a bouzouki, you should refer to it as an octave mandolin while going through airport security, since “bouzouki” sounds kind of suspicious…) Throwing in another quick story highlighting his love of New York City, namely that he loves being able to fully experience neighborhood delis/bodegas, he dedicated his next song “City of Immigrants” to Mr. Kim, who runs his local deli.
Steve got serious with a story about his 3 ½-year old son who was diagnosed with autism, and urged everyone to pressure the powers-that-be to figure out how to cure autism, rather than focusing on how to extract “black stuff from the ground”. That definitely hit a nerve with the crowd at this show, as hydrofracking is a contentious issue in our neck of the woods here in Upstate New York. His next song “Remember Me” was incredibly moving, and once again brought tears to some people’s eyes.
Continuing with songs and stories covering issues from the Third Crusade/the Israel-Palestine conflict (“Jerusalem”), to gun control (“Devil’s Right Hand”), Earle ended his two-hour set with “Copperhead Road”, employing an interesting mix of up- and down-strokes, jamming out on a typically simple rhythm. Stepping off-stage for just a moment, Earle came out to sing a song off his upcoming blues album, and ended with an older, better known tune, “Guitar Town”. After finishing up his second encore, Earle took a brief break to eat some dinner backstage, but promised to come out when he finished so he could chat with the audience and sign CDs. All in all, Steve Earle’s unique performance style encompassing a mix of singing and storytelling, in combination with the intimate setting of Club Helsinki, the evening turned out to be a very musically and politically inspirational. Steve Earle is definitely worth checking out if he comes to your town.
Mountain Jam X and Radio Woodstock have announced the 2014 initial line up for the tenth annual festival at Hunter Mountain June 5-8. Organizers have included favorites from years past in celebration of its tenth year. As expected, festival resident Gov’t Mule will make an appearance delivering classic hits, covers and new songs from recently released Shout!
Bob Weir and RatDog will return since making an appearance in 2008. RatDog features Jeff Chimenti, Steve Kimock, Jay Lane, Robin Sylvester, and Rob Wasserman. First time performer to Mountain Jam, Pretty Lights will take the late night programming to a whole new level. Released in 2013, A Color Map of the Sun garnered a 2014 Grammy nomination for Best Dance/Electronica Album. An additional headliner is still to be announced.
Brothers Seth and Scott Avett will return to Mountain Jam for their 4th time following appearances in 2010, 2011, and 2013 and the release of their latest Magpie and the Dandelion, which reached number five on the Billboard 200 during its first week. The Avett Brothers are becoming a staple of Mountain Jam. Husband and wife duo, backed by nine of the finest musicians, Tedeschi Trucks Band returns after 2013 release Made Up Mind debuted at number one on the Billboard Blues Chart.
Damian Marley will bring his unique blend of reggae and dancehall to the Mountain Jam stage for the first time. Founding member of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, Jeff Tweedy will also make a debut appearance. And, of course, it would not be Mountain Jam without Michael Franti and Spearhead. Franti will make his ninth appearance.
Mountain Jam X will kick off Thursday night with Dark Star Orchestra and a special two-set performance by Umphrey’s McGee to include a spectacular light show. The late night is unrivaled. In addition to Pretty Lights, world fusion dance and performance group Beats Antique, afrobeat band Antibalas and Jackie Greene round out the late night program.
Included in the initial line up is Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Trampled by Turtles, Blitzen Trapper, Anders Osborne, as well as Lucius, Valerie June, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (ft. Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl), Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, Moon Taxi, Reign Wolf, Jonathan Wilson, The Weeks, Treetop Flyers, Sean Rowe, Connor Kennedy, Citizens Band Radio, The Dough Rollers, and The Paul Green Rock Academy.
Early Bird tickets will go on-sale this Thursday, January 16th, at 10am EST and will offer tickets at up to 25% off day-of-show prices. 4-Day and 3-Day Passes will be available with and without camping, as well as Jammer (VIP) Passes, Super Jammer Passes and the brand new Ultimate Jammer Pass Package. Single Day tickets will be offered in the spring.
A naturalistic approach to life themes told in tune using the imagery and temperament of Mother Nature present a dynamic dichotomy. “Where the Rivers Run Cold,” symbolically declaring never giving up in the refrain and “Winds of Change,” where moving on is encouraged, are contrasting emotions just as life and death exists in nature. Gentle picking and soft fiddle bowing add to the sweetly sorrowful ballad of “Rainbows” communicating a simple naivety in daydreaming.
Andy Hall (Dobro), Andy Falco (guitar), Chris Pandolfi (banjo), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle) and Travis Book (upright bass) are no strangers to raising awareness and making a difference. In 2013, the band invited fans, affectionately known as Jamily, on a six-day float trip through the wilderness. The excursion brought water sustainability issues to the forefront in partnership with Patagonia, Klean Kanteen, and Osprey Packs. “Middlefork” was created paying homage to the location of the trip in an instrumental dominated by a fiddle and dobro composition matching music with nature’s soundscapes. Likely brushing off the dust the great outdoors can kick up, surely these boys were left yearning a bit for the Colorado country flare proclaiming “I wanna get mile high/touch the sky/get lost in mountain time.”
