NYS Music 202​1

Category: Folk/Americana

  • National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Presents “A Yiddish Renaissance”

    The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene will present A Yiddish Renaissance this summer. In recognition of this resurgence in interest, the 107-year-old will bring together more than 140 actors and musicians from here at home and across the globe. The two-hour event will showcase some of Folksbiene’s most memorable musical numbers, but also celebrate the life of its Artistic Director, Zalmen Mlotek.

    National Yiddish Theatre

    The benefit concert – debuting on July 26th at 2:00 PM (ET) and available to view through July 30th at 2:00 PM (ET) – will feature some of the most memorable hits from NYTF’s critically acclaimed and award-winning productions as well as sneak peeks of upcoming productions. Stars from across the United States, Israel, England, Germany, Scotland, and the Netherlands will share the screen together. 

    A Yiddish Renaissance: A Virtual Concert Celebration will pay tribute to Mlotek in celebration of his 70th birthday and 50-year career dedicated to Yiddish music and theatre. As he developed new productions and introduced young actors and singers to Yiddish theatre, Mlotek has brought NYTF to new heights as one of New York’s premiere off-Broadway theatre companies and to international recognition, including bringing Joel Grey-directed Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish to life at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, and then moving it uptown to Stage 42 Off-Broadway.

    Among those directing and editing the special presentation are: Joanne Borts, Ben Liebert, Stephanie Lynne Mason, Elisha Mlotek, Merete Muenter, Tony Perry, Eleanor Reissa, Allen Lewis Rickman, and Adam B. Shapiro. And the event features musical arrangements by Frank London and D. Zisl Slepovitch. 

    The stellar cast to date includes: Bob Ader; Aaron Alexander; Glenn Seven Allen; Michael Alpert; Zoë Aqua; Jennifer Babiak; Nanci Belmont; Alan Bern; Joanne Borts; Alexandrina Boyanova; Stuart Breczinski; Lauren Brody; Mark Broschinsky; Rebecca Brudner; Mendy Cahan; Clyde Daley; Peter DelGrosso; Josh “Socalled” Dolgin; Charlie Dresdner; Johnny Dresdner; Sruli Dresdner; Michael Einav; Lisa Fishman; Cantor Magda Fishman; Audrey Flores; Elise Frawley; Alexandra Frohlinger; Kirk Geritano; John Giesige; Brian Glassman; Abby Goldfarb; Sarah Mina Gordon; Joel Grey; Samantha Hahn; Stephen Mo Hanan; Richard Harrell; Stacey Harris; Cantor Netanel Hershtik; Jordan Hirsch; Avi Hoffman; Jackie Hoffman; Dmitry Ishenko; Maya Jacobson; Cameron Johnson; Josh Johnson; Daniel Kahn; Andrew Keltz; Rebecca Keren; Ben Kiley; Sophie Knapp; Rebecca Levy; Ben Liebert; Daniel Linden; Shura Lipovsky; Frank London; Joseph Mace; Dani Marcus; Stephanie Lynne Mason; Lisa Mayer; Evan Mayer; Laura Melnicoff; Avram Mlotek; Elisha Mlotek; Ravi Mlotek; Sarah Mlotek; Zalmen Mlotek; Rosie Jo Neddy; Oren Neiman; Raquel Nobile; Tony Park; Tony Perry; Rachel Policar; Jonathan Quigley; Daniella Rabbani; Nick Raynor; Bruce Rebold; Eleanor Reissa; Grant Richards; Allen Lewis Rickman; Jenny Romaine; Bruce Sabath; Peter Saleh; Marissa Mlotek Schonbrun; Hannah Scott; Kayleen Seidl; Drew Seigla; Adam B. Shapiro; Merlin Shepherd; Polina Shepherd; Yelena Shmulenson; Valeriya Sholokhova; Jake Shulman-Ment; Lorin Sklamberg; Steven Skybell; D. Zisl Slepovitch; Dinah Slepovitch; Jodi Snyder; Steve Sterner; James Monroe Števko; Deborah Strauss; Ron Tal; Matt Temkin; Ira Khonen Temple; Lauren Jeanne Thomas; Una Tone, Bobby Underwood; Cantor Jeff Warschauer; Tatiana Wechsler; Michael Winograd; Mikhl Yashinsky; and, Rachel Zatcoff.

    Presenting hits from Award-Winning NYTF Productions, featuring casts from Fiddler Afn Dakh (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish), Di Goldene Kale (The Golden Bride), On Second Avenue, Di Yam Gazlonim (Yiddish Pirates of Penzance), Amerike The Golden Land, Soul to Soul, Kids and Yiddish, and more.

    The event is produced by NYTF’s Associate Artistic Director Motl Didner, creator of the hit online show “15 Minute Yiddish.” The full cast of presenters and performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

    Registration is required at and you can visit the website for more information about all participants.

  • Esquela Releases Fully Remote Produced New Album “A Sign From God”

    Based in Bovina, NY, Esquela released their fifth studio album A Sign From God on June 25th. The album features 10 tracks, produced by Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, and was recorded entirely remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic which prevented members from getting together to record during the Spring and Summer of 2020.

    Esquela
    Esquela, via bandsintown.com

    Over the course of several months, Finn wrote all the songs on the record, except the final track, “Wait For Me” which utilized a poem by Konstantin Simonov and was arranged musically by Becca Frame and Brian Shafer. He then sent bits of songs to Roscoe, involving Keith Christopher on bass, Brian Shafer on guitar, Becca Frame on vocals and Matt Woodin on guitars and mandolin, and Mike Ricciardi on drums with the audio engineering accompaniment of Jeff Stachyra. Their individual parts were woven together by their brilliant engineer, spinning a 70’s style overdub in a completely remote 2020 world.

    Once the reality of COVID 19 hit us, nobody knew what was going to happen and for how long our normal routines would be disrupted. Since I was homebound for the duration – I decided that I should get my home recording studio up and running again. After weeks of technical frustration– I was finally able to get my home setup cobbled together with a Universal Audio Apollo interface and my MacBook, using Protools recording software.

    Bandleader John “Chico” Finn

    Amidst a race war and global pandemic, the album captures the cultural conversation surrounding the time, including addressing sensitive topics that unfolded during the year like racism, sexual assault and climate change. The first track on the album, which premiered ahead of the others, addresses climate change and humanity’s impact on Earth. “Not In My Backyard” was inspired by a conversation that transpired between Finn and a friend about fracking in West Virginia. Between the rhythmic guitar riffs and pulsing drum beat, a larger message lies at the core of the song.

    The bottom line is that energy is cheap right now…in order for the climate to improve will mean people will have to pay more for their energy source, and I am afraid it won’t happen anytime soon, sad to say.

    John “Chico” Finn

    Premiering as Esquela’s first album since 2017, the band chose to tackle pressing issues about the world, spreading a message while telling a narrative throughout each song. The last song, “Wait For Me,” has a more stripped sonic atmosphere with soft acoustic guitar and less processed vocals. The song tells the story of Konstantin Simonov and a poem he wrote as a homesick Russian soldier during World War II. Esquela uses the poem as a vessel to acknowledge racism in the deep South, much like the French village of Oradour Sur Glane destroyed by Nazis within the poem.

    Esquela

    With Esquela, challenge brings creativity. The album is a true testament that challenge breeds creativity amidst the pandemic. Even prevented from taking a band photo all together for the cover art, they crafted a creative solution to replicate images of them in a fun illustration pictured below. While COVID-19 forced the members to send over the tracks individually, the cohesiveness of these tracks expands beyond Roscoe’s phenomenal work as a producer. These songs tell a narrative about what we need to change as a society in 2020 (and now, its roots have spread into 2021).

    The album is now available on Bandcamp or Spotify, with a music video for “Not In My Backyard” on Youtube.

  • Don’t miss Amythyst Kiah at Stone Ridge Orchards in July

    Breakout star, Amythyst Kiah, will perform at Stone Ridge Orchard on July 17 at 4 pm to 8 pm (door open at 3 pm). All ages are welcome at this socially conscious, safe, and COVID-19 compliant event. Proceeds for the evening show will benefit The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center.  

    Amythyst Kiah

    As the only New York area appearance of Amythyst Kiah, the show will find Kiah performing songs from her new collection, Wary + Strange, out June 18 on Rounder Records. The album marks the glorious collision of two vastly different worlds: the iconoclastic alt-rock that first sparked her musical passion, and the roots/old-time-music scene where she’s found breakout success in recent years, including recognition from Rolling Stone as “one of Americana’s great up-and-coming secrets.” 

    The singles off this album have been Fancy Drones, Hangover Blues, Wild Turkey, and Black Myself. The last of which she performed during her late night debut on Jimmy Kimmel. When met with the transcendent quality of her newly elevated sound, what emerges is an extraordinary vessel for Kiah’s songwriting. These are exciting times for Kiah and her music. The sound of her first two albums Her Chest of Glass and Dig culminated into the success of Wary + Strange.

    https://youtu.be/yMx7bXA4_H4

    Produced by Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Amos Lee, Andrew Bird) and made with esteemed musicians like Blake Mills, Wary + Strange arrives as a deeply immersive body of work, endlessly redefining the limits of roots music in its inventive rhythms and textures. With an unforgettable voice that’s both unfettered and exquisitely controlled, Kiah gracefully interlaces political commentary and personal revelation, ultimately offering a raw yet nuanced examination of grief, alienation, and the hard-won triumph of total self-acceptance.

    She honed into vibrant musicality in part through her studies in East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old Time, Country Music program. The Chattanooga, Tennessee-bred singer/songwriter has expanded on the uncompromising artistry she’s displayed as a member of Our Native Daughters—an all-women-of-color supergroup. With whom Kiah first penned “Black Myself” that then earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best American Roots Song and won Song of the Year at the Folk Alliance International Awards. She’s been included in People Magazine’s “Talented Black Musical Artists on the Rise in 2021”. Kiah has also been nominated for three Americana Music Awards. 

    Spread out on a beautiful 115-acre farm, the performance can be enjoyed along with other family-friendly activities available at Stone Ridge Orchard. For more info contact Stone Ridge Orchard either by phone at 845-687-2587 or by email at SROrchardEvents@gmail.com.

    To stay up to date with Amythyst Kiah visit her website or follow her on social media, including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Tickets are available for purchase at StoneRidgeOrchard.com.

    In the newest episode of Salute The Songbird, host Maggie Rose is joined by Kiah to talk about her new album and the experiences that led to her success. Amythyst shares stories from growing up in Tennessee, how support and encouragement from her parents helped her overcome issues with identity and anxiety, and the impact music and writing have had on her personal journey.

  • Happy Birthday, Carly Simon!

    Prolific singer-songwriter Carly Simon celebrates a very happy 76th birthday today, June 25. The quintessential 70s songwriter now lives in Martha’s Vineyard, but has many ties to the state of New York throughout her career.

    happy birthday carly simon

    Born in the Bronx in 1943, Simon was raised surrounded by music. Her father, Richard, was the founder of publishing company Simon & Schuster and an avid classical pianist. Her mother, Andrea, was a singer and civil rights activist.

    Music and arts talent definitely runs through the Simon family. Carly Simon has two sisters and a brother. Both sisters, Joanna and Lucy, spent time in the music industry. Joanna had a brief stint as an opera singer in the New York City Opera, while Lucy had her own folk-rock career and became a Tony Award-winning Broadway score writer. Her brother, Peter, is a photojournalist.

    Simon entered the music scene in the mid-1960s as a duo act with her older sister Lucy Simon. The pair released three albums, including popular songs “It Rains in My Heart” and “Wynkin’, Blynkin’, and Nod,” and toured until Lucy took a break from the music scene in 1967.

    “Older Sister,” a song released in her 1974 album Hotcakes, is about Lucy and their sibling relationship.

    happy birthday carly simon
    The Simon Sisters Credit: Peter Simon

    Simon’s self-titled debut album was shared in 1971 and found immediate success. From Carly Simon, she won her first Grammy Award for “Best New Artist” and a Top-10 Single from the song “That’s the Way I Always Heard it Should Be.”

    Even Art Garfunkel and George Harrison showed up so support Carly Simon!

    Simon married folk-rocker James Taylor in 1972, shortly after her solo career began. The pair moved into a New York City apartment on the Upper West Side and had two children.

    Taylor and Simon often performed duets during their marriage and released multiple tracks together. “Devoted to You” and “Mockingbird” were two popular duets of theirs on Simon’s albums Boys in the Trees and Hotcakes, respectively. The pair got divorced in 1981.

    Carly and James singing “You Can Close Your Eyes”

    Simon reached peak success in 1973 with her breakthrough album No Secrets. Standout single “You’re so Vain” is on this release, which propelled Simon into the #1 spot on American, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand charts. “You’re so Vain” is #92 on Billboard’s “Greatest Songs of All Time” and even includes lyrics connected to her New York roots, mentioning upstate staple Saratoga Race Course.

    Well I hear you went up to Saratoga… And your horse naturally won

    “You’re so Vain” – Carly Simon
    “No Secrets” Album Advertisement

    With all of its popularity, “You’re so Vain” had peak media interest. The public buzzed with rumors about who the exposé-like song was about. Simon revealed one inspiration for the hit was actor and notorious womanizer Warren Beatty, but won’t tell who the others are. To Simon, her songs are all too true to life to share all the details – so much for No Secrets!

    I wanted to be discreet to a certain level…I ended up not being terribly discreet.

    Carly Simon on USA Today

    Besides being a 70’s pop-folk icon, Simon is responsible for many television and film scores, including 2003’s Piglet’s Big Movie, 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, as well as Working Girl in 1988, which she won a Grammy, Golden Globe, and an Oscar Award for.

    Singer-songwriter Carly Simon photographed in June 1971. Credit: Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

    Simon’s voice has matured beautifully over the decades, always having a soulful and deep register, but now holding a jazzy, raspier tone. Her most recent album, 2015’s Songs from the Trees, is a “musical memoir” of sorts. The album shares remasters of fifteen songs, including “You’re so Vain,” “Boys in the Trees” and “Mockingbird.”

    More recently, Simon shared on Billboard Magazine that she is preparing to release a remastered version of her iconic 1995 concert at Grand Central Station. She also had a digital performance at the Rock ‘n’ Relief Concert, supporting Coronavirus pandemic recovery this past March.

    Happy birthday and here’s to another fruitful year of music, Carly Simon! “Nobody Does It Better” than you.

  • Happy Birthday, Lana Del Rey!

    Today, June 21, marks the 37th birthday of Grammy-nominated singer Lana Del Rey.

    While she may often sing about the beaches of California and of stories inspired by Old Hollywood, Del Rey has many connections to the Empire State.

    lana del rey birthday
    Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images

    Born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in Manhattan in 1985, Del Rey moved to Lake Placid at an early age where she remained until high school. After her graduation from boarding school in Connecticut, a young Lizzy Grant lived on Long Island for a year where she waitressed and began writing music after her uncle taught her basic guitar chords.

    Before the official birth of Lana Del Rey, Grant enrolled at Fordham University in the Bronx, graduating in 2008. During her college years, Grant recorded several EPs under the various aliases of May Jailer, Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena and played small club shows around Brooklyn.

    In advance of her first full album, Grant settled on the stage name of Lana Del Rey. “Lana” came from film starlet Lana Turner while “Del Rey” drew inspiration from a vintage Ford sedan and her general fondness of the Spanish language (translating to “of the king”).

    “Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.”

    Lana Del Rey

    Born To Die was released in 2012 and shot Del Rey to national stardom. She subsequently released the Paradise EP which featured even more Americana-driven tracks and songwriting discussing glamour, drugs, life on the road, fame and relationships. Her voice can travel from breathy falsetto to deep and rich, all in one verse.

    Next came Ultraviolence (2014), a darker, edgier and more rock-driven featuring psychedelic flares and collaboration with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys. Del Rey’s fourth studio album, Honeymoon (2015), reverted back to the orchestral, baroque pop sound of Born To Die and Paradise with a more polished finesse.

    Del Rey’s most recent projects, Lust For Life (2017), Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019) and Chemtrails Over The Country Club (2021), cement her status as one of the strongest modern songwriters. Now a resident of California, the ’60s and ’70s Laurel Canyon folk-rock influences are obvious in Del Rey’s music, which often feels incredibly nostalgic.

    lana del rey birthday
    Lust For Life featured collaborations with The Weeknd (above), A$AP Rocky and more. Photo accessed from factmag.com

    Norman Fucking Rockwell! arguably stands out as Del Rey’s magnum opus. The album received multiple Grammy nominations, including one for Album of the Year, and featured her most seamless collaboration yet with acclaimed pop producer Jack Antonoff.

    Del Rey plans to release her newest album, Blue Banisters, on July 4. While she may now be on the “West Coast,” we will never forget her New York roots. Happy birthday, Lana Del Rey!

  • Hearing Aide: Amy Helm ‘What The Flood Leaves Behind’

    Amy Helm will release her third album, What the Flood Leaves Behind, on June 18 through Renew Records/BMG.  Helm, the daughter of The Band’s legendary vocalist and drummer Levon Helm and singer-songwriter Libby Titus, has successfully stepped out from behind of her parent’s considerable musical shadows and has successfully staked her own claim in the highly competitive music industry. 

    What the Flood Leaves Behind

    Helm’s success comes from honing her craft and paying her dues as a founding member of folk group Ollabelle and additionally as a longtime member of The Midnight Ramble Band. The culmination of Amy’s hard work and experience is apparent on this gem of a record which consists of ten tracks of new and reimagined material.  

    What the Flood Leaves Behind

    What the Flood Leaves Behind was recorded at the historic Levon Helm Studios located on Amy’s home turf of Woodstock, NY.  She also enlisted a group of incredibly talented players to contribute to WTFLB including Kaufman and Phil Cook (keys, harmonica), Michael Libramento (bass, organ, percussion), Tony Mason (drums), Daniel Littleton (guitar), Stuart Bogie (saxophone), Jordan McLean (trumpet), and her son Lee Collins (congas). Helm describes the experience of creating the album at the studio that her father built as a cathartic homecoming.

    Going back to the place where I learned so much about how to express music, how to hold myself in music, how to listen to music,” she begins, “it was humbling in a funny way. I could see clearly where I came from and where I am now in my life. I was singing from a different place now and for a different reason.

    Amy Helm

    Produced by Josh Kaufman, whose credits include working with an eclectic roster of musicians that includes Bobb Weir, Taylor Swift and the Hold Steady, WTFLB reflects a creative working partnership that fits like a glove between Helm and Kaufman. The evidence of this successful collaboration is apparent in adept and deft way that Kaufman focused on Helm’s vocal ability, showcasing it as a major focal point on the record, he explains.

    I wanted her to feel like she had that freedom to be herself on the recordings and she just filled up the whole room. Her singing was coming from this deeply rooted place of family and music and wanting to convey a beauty.

    Josh Kaufman, producer of What The Flood Leaves Behind

    This philosophy is executed brilliantly on “Verse 23,” the first track on WTFLB, which is a soulful ballad from which the album derives its title.  The lyrics of the song evoke a rich religious sentiment that when beautifully delivered by Helm’s ethereal voice. The results are sublimely divine. 

    WTFLB is steeped in fusion of traditional roots, gospel and contemporary music.  This is probably most evident on the nineth track of the LP “Terminal B.” The tune starts with Amy playing mandolin, which sets the sonic stage for the piece, which then leads into an organ accompaniment provided expertly by Libramento. The marriage of these instruments transports the listener to a front pew at a rural church service in Anywhere, USA. Lyrically it describes a remembrance of a fleeting Californian love affair that, retrospectively, one could look back on fondly. 

    “Cotton and the Cane,” WTFLB‘s third number also has a southern sleepy gospel feel to it. Injected with a heavy dose of Hammond Organ, this updated version of a fan favorite is a departure from previous renditions and is a fitting tribute to Helm’s father Levon. It is a definite highlight of the record.

    Amy Helm will be touring this summer in support of What the Flood Leaves Behind, kicking off with a pre-release live stream webcast scheduled for June 17. This will then be followed up by a sold out record release event at the Levon Helm Studios on June 19.

    Key Tracks: Carry It Alone, Cotton And The Cane, Terminal B

  • The Old Songs Festival goes Virtual June 27-29

    The Old Songs Festival­ of Traditional Music and Dance will be held virtually over June 25-27, 2021. Old Songs Festival celebrates folk, Quebecois, roots, Americana and world music from Scotland, Newfoundland, Quebec, Africa, the Midwest, Appalachia, New England and more.

    The old songs Festival

    The roots music featured at Old Songs Festival is highlighted by new music from contemporary songwriters, as well as music passed down through generations in families and/or communities.

    The Old Songs Festival

    The event will take place on Zoom, with evening concerts simulcast on Folk Music Notebook, the “Internet’s Finest Folk Radio” and on the Old Songs YouTube channel.

    Sing, dance, and listen at this highly participatory event for the whole family. At Old Songs Festival, audience members are encouraged to take part in learn-how sessions, sing sacred harp, move their feet to great dance bands, learn Hawaiian Dance, take in a tap lesson or take a Friday afternoon class.

    The Old Songs Festival

    Just like the in-person festival, it will feature over 70 artists and includes “Main Stage” evening concerts, workshops, ‘learn hows’, Dance (yes really), family events, open mics, sings, sacred harp, sightings of Roger the Jester, a photo display of past festivals, and more.

    The Old Songs Festival

    School age children who play an instrument have participated in this year’s virtual “Great Groove Band” and there will be a short video of their performance at the virtual main stage of the festival on Sunday, June 27.

    Featured performers this year include: Sheila Kay Adams with Melanie Rice Penland & Donna Ray Norton • Scott Ainslie • Stefan Amidon • Anita Best • Bourque Émissaires • Joe & Jim Bruchac • Matthew Byrne • Children’s Music Network • Andy Cohen • Guy Davis • Jeff Davis • Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole • John Dickson • Danielle Enblom • Frost & Fire Trio • Bing Futch • Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen • Sam Gleaves & Deborah Payne • Ron Gordon • Great Gambian Griots: Jali Bakary & Pa Bobo • The Great Groove Band • Hālau O Keikiali’i • Simon Harmer • Reggie Harris • Heard • Jamcrackers • Joe Jencks • Hubby Jenkins • JigJam • Ustad Shafaat Khan • John Kirk & Trish Miller • Chris Koldewey • La Croisee D’Antan • Evie Ladin • Frank Lee & Allie Burbrink • Jim Lloyd with Hunter Wilson & Sophia Pucket • Michael Love • Magpie • Val Medve • Will Mentor • Mist Covered Mountains • Emma O’Sullivan • Linn Phipps • John Roberts • Roger the Jester • Sally Rogers & Howie Bursen • Claudia Schmidt • Cedar Stanistreet & Donal Sheets • Stomp Rocket • Rodney Sutton • Toss the Possum • The Byrne Family • The Vox Hunters • George Wilson • Windborne • Bethany Yarrow • Young Tradition Vermont Touring Group!

    For more information and to register at festival.oldsongs.org.

  • Sawyer Fredericks to Tour With The Accidentals

    On Sept 29, multi-faceted folk-rockers The Accidentals will kick off a long-awaited U.S. tour. Joined by their friend and collaborator Sawyer Fredericks, this co-bill tour will take the female-fronted, multi-instrumentalist power trio throughout the Midwest before heading east through New York and down into the Southeast.  

    The Accidentals and Sawyer Fredericks

    The Accidentals—Sav Buist, Katie Larson, and Michael Dause—are touring in support of their upcoming release Vessel, which is due out Oct 1. 

    This tour is not the first time The Accidentals have collaborated with Fredericks. The Accidentals’ Larson and Buist contributed two songs to Fredericks’ recent Flowers For You album—“Lies You Tell” and “Days Go By”—and were also featured in the video for “Lies You Tell.” 

    “The Accidentals have great energy on stage and a very driven work ethic,” says Fredericks. “In addition to the fun of touring with good friends, I also feel I will learn and grow a lot through working with them.” Fredericks will perform solo from the first date in Traverse City, MI, until his band joins him at Chicago’s City Winery for the duration of their tour.  

    Fredericks hails from his family farm in central New York State. At the age of 13, he played local farmers markets, open mics, and iconic New York venues like Caffe Lena, the Towne Crier Cafe, and The Bitter End. At 15, with his deep, beyond-his-years original lyrics and melodies, raw, soulful vocals, and powerful live performances, he won season 8 of NBC’s The Voice. 

    Fredericks went forward with the release of his major label debut, A Good Storm, with Republic Records, an impressive blend of soulful Folk, blues, and rock. In 2018, after choosing to go independent, for more creative freedom, Hide Your Ghost was released, fully written and produced by Fredericks. Shedding the high gloss major label treatment, and staying true to Fredericks’s honest and elegantly stripped down style, a self-described “free range folk”, incorporating elements of blues, roots rock, and jazz with live instrumental arrangements throughout. 

    May 1, 2020 Fredericks released his 4th album, Flowers For You. Two songs from Flowers For You won top awards from the 18th annual Independent Music Awards, “Born” won in the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category and “Amen” won the Vox Pop award in the Social Action Song category. “Born” was recently officially added to SiriusXM’s Coffee House channel.

    Female-fronted, multi-instrumentalist power trio, The Accidentals, (Sav Buist, Katie Larson, and Michael Dause) kicked off 2018 with the release of their debut album, Odyssey, with Sony Masterworks. They followed the album release with two-hundred days of touring nationally, seventeen festivals, sync placement with Turner Classic Movies and FOX sports, and a RAM Trucks BANDvan #tourtough commercial. 

    In 2019, The Accidentals released a self-titled live album and toured the UK; all while scoring an indie film, teaching workshops across the country, playing with symphonies, and recording new music. In their downtime Sav and Katie are making a name for themselves as a go-to Nashville string team, composing, arranging, and playing string tracks for bands like BTS, Keller Williams, Flint Eastwood, etc. 

    Catch The Accidentals and Sawyer Fredericks on Tour:

    9/29 – Traverse City Opera House – Traverse City, MI * 

    9/30 – Traverse City Opera House – Traverse City, MI *

    10/1 – State Theatre – Bay City, MI *

    10/2 – The Ark – Ann Arbor, MI *                         

    10/3 – Beachland Tavern – Cleveland, OH *                        

    10/7 – Great Lakes Center For The Arts (Blissfest) – Petoskey, MI *  

    10/8 – Cheboygan Opera House (Blissfest) – Cheboygan, MI *

    10/9 – Calvin University – Grand Rapids, MI *

    10/10 – City Winery – Chicago, IL

    10/13 – Lake Michigan College Mendel Center – Benton Harbor, MI

    10/14 – Riverdog Concert Series – Wakeman, OH                       

    10/16 – Daryl’s House – Pawling, NY 

    10/17 – Club Passim – Boston, MA                                   

    10/20 – City Winery Loft – New York, NY                            

    10/21 – Gateway City Arts – Holyoke, MA 

    10/22 – The Linda – Albany, NY                                                 

    10/23 – Jonathon’s – Ogunquit, ME                                                          

    10/24 – Voices Cafe Presents @ The Bijou – Bridgeport, CT        

    10/26 – Ardmore Music Hall – Philadelphia, PA  

    10/27 – Ramshead Tavern – Annapolis, MD                                            

    10/28 – City Winery Main Room – Washington DC             

    10/30 – Evening Muse – Charlotte, NC                      

    10/31 – City Winery Main Room – Atlanta, GA          

    11/3 – City Winery Main Room – Nashville, TN                       

    11/7 – The Quonset – Memphis, TN

    *Sawyer Fredericks solo opening set

    For information on tickets and more, please visit theaccidentalsmusic.com.

  • Harmonic Dirt Brings Strong Americana Sound on “Rhode Island Street”

    Central New York-based band Harmonic Dirt is back with their newest album, Rhode Island Street, released earlier this year.

    Harmonic Dirt

    Husband and wife team Mike Gridley and Susan Coleman first established Harmonic Dirt back in 2016. Both songwriters, Gridley created instrumental tracks while Coleman took to writing lyrics. Their debut album, Anthracite, was released in 2018. Live at the Ridge was released in 2020 and won the Syracuse Area Music Award (SAMMY) for best Americana Recording.

    Since Anthracite, Gridley (lead vocals, guitar, mandolin) and Coleman (bass) have joined forces with a fuller band, composed of close friend Taylor Bucci on banjo and vocal harmonies and James DaRin on percussion. Rhode Island Street contains 9 original tracks and marks Harmonic Dirt’s first release as an official quartet. 

    Photo from Harmonic Dirt’s website

    The album was recorded at Greywood Studio in Jamesville, NY and features some special musical guests (Bob Gaus, Joe Plessas, Tami Schutt, Scott Ebner and Ericka Longo). The bluesy, Americana sound that Harmonic Dirt has come to play so well stands strong on Rhode Island Street, but there is even more cohesion and jam-band-like qualities present in the instrumentation.

    Each track, while unique, showcases the steely guitar, banjo chirps and powerful vocal harmonies that have become signature for the band. The title track, “Rhode Island Street”, tells the imagery-laden story of a house burning down on–you guessed it–Rhode Island Street. This visual is even pictured on the album artwork, giving listeners a clear face to the lyrics as they enjoy this track’s laid-back instrumentation.

    It is undeniable that these tracks will be incredibly fun to hear as Harmonic Dirt continues to play live shows and tour the album. Though some tracks are softer and more emotional (“Rhode Island Street”, “Grief Is A Canyon”, “Ashes”), others bring a danceable energy (“Comfort Me”, “Catch Me”, “What Did You Take?”). There is something for everyone and for every mood on Rhode Island Street, especially for fans of 60s and 70s Americana with a bluesy punch.

    You can learn more about Harmonic Dirt on their website and connect with the band on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Rhode Island Street is available for purchase and streaming now and you can listen below!

  • Opera Saratoga Presents a Juneteenth Celebration on June 19

    Opera Saratoga has announced the concert series America Sings will return to Caffè Lena this month on June 19th for A Juneteenth Celebration, celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.

    The program was curated by bass-baritone Carl DuPont, a distinguished alumnus of Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program who is now on faculty at Peabody Conservatory where he teaches voice and a survey course on Art Song by African American Composers. 

    Opera Saratoga Juneteenth

    Carl DuPont is a highly accomplished bass-baritone and vocalist equally engaged in performing, teaching, and research. Major operatic credits include productions at Opera Columbus, The InSeries, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, Opera Saratoga, Sarasota Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, El Palacio de Bellas Artes, Opera Company of Brooklyn, and Leipzig Opera. His world premieres include the title character in Dennis Rodman in North Korea as well as Why Peace is Always a Good Idea at Carnegie Hall under the baton of composer Jacqueline Hairston.  

    Opera Saratoga Juneteenth

    In putting together the concert program, DuPont has included prose and poetry – along with an extraordinary selection of music by African American composers –  to create a more comprehensive texture of why we celebrate Juneteenth. Musical selections include songs by H. Leslie Adams, Tim Amukele, Margaret Bonds, Uzee Brown, Moses Hogan, Betty Jackson King, Rosephanye Powell, Florence Price, and Hale Smith. Spoken word selections include excerpts from The Declaration of Independence, The Emancipation Proclamation, and The General Orders which actually notified the enslaved people that they were free. The program will also include first-hand diary accounts and poetry from formerly enslaved people, as well as newspaper copy of the observation of the first Juneteenth celebrations. 

    The program will be performed by Festival Artists from Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program, who include notable emerging Black singers alongside artists who come from a wide range of other racial backgrounds, many of whom are learning more about Juneteenth through the experience of putting together this program.

    I am glad that the performers at this concert represent a wide variety of racial backgrounds. Some of whom might be performing art songs by Black composers for the first time. Many of the members of the concert-going public will also be hearing these wonderful songs for the first time. That will be a special moment, and I hope the singers feel inspired to continue to advocate for Black composers as well as other marginalized composers, themes, or causes in their careers. And, I hope the audience gains a window into the faith, hope, joy, dreams, suffering, consolation, and frustration of the Black American experience and of our shared history as a nation.

    -Carl Dupont

    For more information, visit www.operasaratoga.org