Eastbound Jesus & Guthrie/Bell Productions have announced the lineup for the 2022 installment of the Eastbound Throwdown, planned for September 9-10 on Irwin Farm in Salem, NY.
Friday’s Lineup includes host-band Eastbound Jesus, The Mallett Brothers Band, Folkfaces, Muddy Ruckus, and Ginger Roots. Saturday features Cabinet, Saints & Liars, Deadgrass & Friends, The Honey Smugglers, Steadman’s Landing, Wild Leek River, Dan Johnson, The Button Men, Turf ‘n’ Turf and two more sets from Eastbound Jesus.
Weekend Passes (include camping) have been on sale since April 1st and are already more than half sold out. Last year’s festival sold out well in advance and organizers anticipate the same this year. Tickets are available here.
Eastbound Throwdown 2022 is an all-ages event with children 15 and under free to enter. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
This year’s festival will feature Eastbound Jesus and Guthrie/Bell Productions.
Attendance at last year’s event was capped at 1,000 people due to COVID-19. This year attendance has been increased to 1,00 guests.
Two-day passes, which include camping, are available starting April 1 at 10am. Single day passes for Saturday, Sept. 10 are also available. Eastbound Jesus will be performing on both nights of the festival.
Since Eastbound Throwdown is a family event entrance for all attendees under the age of 15 is free.
In mid-March 1992, Greg Bell and Dale Metzger set up the first of many shows at Victory Café in downtown Albany with a band that would soon name themselves MotherJudge and the Urban Holiness Society. No one remembers the exact date of that show, but a few weeks later Bell and Metzger, calling themselves “Two Fools Present,“ put on another show at the Masons Hall on lower Madison Ave. on April 2, 1992.
Greg Bell
The bands that performed that night were The Sharks, Hard Times, MotherJudge, and Brian Kenny and Friends. Those two shows kicked off a career in music promotion that has now entered its 30th year. In 1993, Bell joined forces with Jeff Guthrie and formed Guthrie/Bell Productions. Guthrie left the business after a few years but Bell continues to use the name today. As of January 2022, Bell took on Kim Neaton as his partner.
Three shows announced this week feature a range of acts that have been important to both Greg Bell and the local music scene over the last three decades.
Eastbound Jesus
March 25th
Three bands that encapsulate the greater Albany jam sound features ‘Northern Rock‘ group Eastbound Jesus, rising jam band Glass Pony, and jam rock band Wreckloose – The Cohoes Music Hall – Doors at 7pm, Music at 7:30pm
April 9th
For the first time in 33 years, The Sharks will reunite with 6 of the 7 original members (Tom D’Ambrose passed away in 2019) and the first time in 21 years since the remaining 5 members played together for a show. Johnny Rabb and The Jailhouse Rockers with special guests will open the show.
The Sharks w/ Johnny Rabb and the Jailhouse Rockers – The Hollow – Doors at 7pm, Music at 8pm .
Vinnie Amico, Rob Derhak, Al Schnier
April 23rd
On this night fans will be treated to a show they might have stumbled across at Valentine’s in the early-mid 90s. DAS Trio (featuring Rob Derhak, Vinnie Amico, and Al Schnier), The Seapods, Conehead Buddha, Dr. Jah and the Love Prophets – Empire Live – Doors at 6:30pm, Music at 7pm
Albany promoter Greg Bell, of Guthrie/Bell Productions, has been a staple in the Albany music community for more than three decades. Starting in the early 90s, he began a journey that led him to give countless new and rising bands from the Capital Region a stage to play on.
For bands touring from across the country, Bell has made Albany a stop to look forward to, and always with the support and enthusiasm you might find from a fan, rather than a promoter.
“Grapplin’ Greg” is an upcoming full-length film slated for release in late fall 2022. The film is shot, edited and produced by Frankie Cavone of Mirth Films, and co-produced by Kim Neaton of Guthrie/Bell Productions.
The story told in ‘Grapplin’ Greg‘ will share how Bell fell in love with live music, then began booking a couple small bar shows for friends, and later events at venues like The Palace Theatre, Albany Armory and beyond. Greg Bell doesn’t just book shows, he has helped nurture a music scene that truly feels like a community.
To tell the story, Mirth Films is in the process of speaking with musicians, venue owners, fans, promoters, family and friends that help to piece together this three-decade legacy. Shot at venues including The Hollow in downtown Albany and the Palace Theatre with those that know him best, the interviews have proven to be full of stories both heartfelt and hilarious.
photos by Frankie Cavone
The title of the documentary derives from the Eastbound Jesus song, for whom Bell serves as manager, of the same name. The song tells a tale of Bell as a wrestler, defeating a bear that attempts to start a drum circle at his legendary festival, Bellstock. Perhaps he never went toe to toe with a bear, but from being a star wrestler to threatening to burn drums, much of the tale is true. The song, like his life, is an entertaining ride.
