The 10th annual Summer Hoot Festival will return to Olivebridge, NY, from Aug. 26-28 for three days of music, food, nature, and community. The festival will feature nearly two dozen musical performances in a family-friendly environment.
Folk-roots musicians Mike Merenda and Ruth Ungar Merenda of The Mammals together produce and host the event. The duo started the Hoot Festival back in 2013 with friends and hold the event twice a year in the winter and summer to celebrate music and nature.
This year’s lineup features the talents of NY-based Naiika Sings, Catalan instrumentalist Lau Noah, Hudson Valley’s What?, dancers City Stompers, The Mammals, and many more. The Hoot has long attracted some amazing acts, including previous performances from Pete Seeger, David Bromberg, Natalie Merchant, Ani DiFranco, and Amy Helm, among others.
The Summer Hoot Festival promotes environmental sustainability alongside its intention to spread a love of music. The festival is completely powered by solar energy and uses reusable pint cups to reduce waste. Additionally, festival proceeds will benefit the year-round cultural and environmental education programs at the Ashokan Center.
It’s not every day that people of all ages can safely explore nature and enjoy new music together, but here at the Hoot that’s just the beginning. This festival lets us share the joy and freedom I was privileged to experience in my own childhood at Ashokan, and keep the party going for generations to come.
– Ruth Ungar Merenda, Hoot Event Producer and Director of Community Outreach for the Ashokan Center
The Summer Hoot Festival musical acts will take place across two stages with speakers in between sets offering talks on nature, nutrition, fitness, and more. Guided hikes to the Ashokan Center’s Cathedral Gorge and historic Covered Bridge will also be made available.
Information about ticket prices, additional programming, camping, and more, can be found on the festival’s website. The Summer Hoot Festival will take place at the Ashokan Center, located at 477 Beaverkill Road in Olivebridge, New York.
Singer-songwriter Denitia is set to release her imaginative new single, “Old Friend,” on August 12 and has announced four upcoming NY-area shows.
Originally from the Houston area, self-taught Denitia explored all types of music as a teenager, including rock, alt-grunge, traditional roots, and more. Growing up performing at praise and worship services shaped her confidence, and the artist recently transitioned from a pop/R&B sound to more of the folk and country realm.
Much of Denitia’s latest work centers around feelings of isolation during the time of the pandemic. That period gave her the space and ability to work on her storytelling. Denitia focused on the feelings of nostalgia and a need for human connection over this time, themes that largely inspire her heartfelt music.
“Old Friend” came out of this pandemic experience, where Denitia wonders about the realities of connecting with an old friend, singing, “Forgive me if I’m doing that thing, Where folks romance all that was / But my memory was dark and it cleared, and you were standing here.” The single is delicate and beautiful in its guitar instrumentation, with Denitia’s ethereal voice capturing the message perfectly.
When the track goes live on Aug. 12, listeners looking for something to sway with and pour over should be sure to play it on repeat. Fans can also expect more music and single releases from Denitia before her album, Highways, is expected on October 14.
Catch Denitia at shows this year as she joins The Black Opry Revue Tour this fall alongside some other amazing talents of the Black country music scene. The tour will play three shows in NY and Denitia will have a solo performance at Levon Helm Studios on Aug 26. For the full list of dates, see below.
From August 10-13, the Whirlybird Music & Arts Festival will return to downtown Jamestown for four days of shows and entertainment. The event will include over 40 bands and artists, live painting, comedy, dancing, and more.
Funk band and western NY’s Smackdab will headline the festival, alongside Chicago-based Mungion. Other artists and acts include electronic funk rockers LITZ, indie artist Mikaela Davis, a Grateful Dead tribute by Workingman’s Dead, eberwine, and many more. The festival is full of talent from various artists across multiple genres, including funk, rock, jazz, R&B, soul, electronic, blues, and folk. Attendees will truly find something to enjoy throughout the four-day festival.
The Whirlybird Arts & Music Festival will take place at various venues across downtown Jamestown such as The Beer Snob, Jamestown Wine Cellar, Pearl City Hops, 4 Below, Labyrinth Press Co, Brazil, and Crown Street Roasting. Free pop-up solo performances by Buffalo indie pop singer Marina Laurendi, Adam McKillip, Kyle Gustafson, SON, and more will occur throughout the festival.
Other free shows for all ages will occur at the Winter Garden Plaza with performances from Miller & the Other Sinners, Porcelain Busdrivers, St Vith, and many more. The event will also include vendors, food, and a beer garden.
For tickets and more information, visit the Whirlybird Music & Arts Festival’s website. For the full schedule of events, see below.
Winter Garden Plaza
313 N Main Street | 21+ | No Cover
5:50 – 6:30 Leopard Geckos
6:35 – 6:55 Kallie Williams
7:00 – 8:00 Emily Strong
8:10 – 9:30 The Assembly
The Beer Snob
318 N Washington Street | 21+ | No Cover
8:00 – 10:00 Comedy Open Mic, hosted by Karate Sleepover
Jamestown Wine Cellar
309 N Main Street | 21+ | No Cover
9:30 – 10:00 Kallie Williams
10:00 – 12:00 Open Mic, hosted by Sara, the Greatest!
THURSDAY – August 11, 2022
Crown Street Roasting Co.
16 W 3rd Street | All Ages | No Cover | Starts at 11:00AM
11:00 – 1:00 Songs of Sixpence
Labyrinth Press Co.
12 E 4th Street | All Ages | No Cover
4:00 – 6:00 SON
Winter Garden Plaza
313 N Main Street | All Ages | No Cover
6:00 – 7:30 St Vith
7:30 – 8:00 Thee Ukaladz
8:00 – 9:30 Mikaela Davis
The Beer Snob
318 N Washington Street | 21+ | No Cover
9:30 – 10:15 Hot At Bats
10:25 – 11:45 Feverhawk
Jamestown Wine Cellar
309 N Main Street | 21+ | Weekend Pass or $5 at the Door
10:15 – 11:00 Cindy Love
11:00 – 1:00 Surprise Guise
FRIDAY – August 12, 2022
Crown Street Roasting Co.
16 W 3rd Street | All Ages | No Cover | Starts at 11:00AM
11:00 – 1:00 Kyle Gustafson
Brazil
12 E 4th Street | 21+ | No Cover
5:00 – 7:00 Gavin Paterniti
Pearl City Hops at DoubleTree, Jamestown
150 W 4th St | 21+ | No Cover
5:00 – 7:00 Mike Brunacini
Jamestown Cruise-In
N Main Street & 3rd | All Ages | No Cover
5:00 – 8:00 In Crowd, Presented by the Jamestown Cruise-In
The Beer Snob
318 N Washington Street | 21+ | Whirlybird Pass or $20 at the Door
8:30 – 10:00 eberwine
10:00 – 10:30 LTTL
10:30 – 12:00 LITZ
12:00 – 12:30 LTTL vs DJ Jim Blomquist
12:30 – 1:45 The Audience
Jamestown Wine Cellar
309 N Main Street | 21+ | Whirlybird Pass or $10 at the Door
5:00 – 8:00 Bill Ward (FREE)
8:00 – 9:30 Deep Fried & Dipped in Honey
10:00 – 11:30 Cold Lazarus
12:00 – 1:30 Orange Corner
4 Below Haggy’s Bar and Grill
104 E 2nd St | 21+ | No Cover
10:00 – 1:00 Ryan Buzzetto
SATURDAY – August 13, 2022
Jamestown Public Market
16 W 3rd Street | All Ages | No Cover | Starts at 10:00AM
10:00 – 10:45 Miranda Wilcox
11:00 – 2:00 Marina Laurendi
Labyrinth Press Co.
12 E 4th Street | All Ages | No Cover | Starts at 10:45AM
10:00 – 10:40 Chase Johnson
10:40 – 11:20 Adam Gould
11:20 – 12:00 Harmony Dillingham
Winter Garden Plaza
313 N Main Street | All Ages | No Cover
2:30 – 4:00 Miller & the Other Sinners
4:00 – 4:30 Harmony Dillingham
4:30 – 6:00 Workingman’s Dead
6:00 – 6:30 DJ Jim Blomquist
6:30 – 7:30 Porcelain Busdrivers
7:30 – 8:00 DJ Jim Blomquist
8:00 – 9:45 Smackdab
The Beer Snob
318 N Washington Street | 21+ | Whirlybird Pass or $20 at the Door
9:00 – 10:00 Space Junk
10:30 – 12:15 Mungion
12:45 – 2:00 Solar Circuit
Jamestown Wine Cellar
309 N Main Street | 21+ | Whirlybird Pass or $10 at the Door
‘New NYC supergroup, Fantastic Cat, are a new instrument-swapping rock/alt-country/folk band made of singer/songwriters Anthony D’Amato, Brian Dunne, Don DiLego, and Mike Montali. Their debut album The Very Best Of Fantastic Cat just came out on July 29. Likewise, they’ll also be celebrating at NYC’s Bowery Ballroom with an album release show the same day.
So far, their newest record has been praised by Atwood Magazine, No Depression,The Boot, Bluegrass Situationand more; the singles have been added to multiple 1M+ Spotify playlists including Fresh Finds and All New Indie. The band also have a CBS Saturday session confirmed for the end of July which will air in early/mid-August.
The first single, “C’mon Armageddon”, is an incredible A24-style music video featuring Marc Geller who plays Kier Egan on the hit AppleTV show Severance. Along with this, the music video for the single “The Gig” shows the band playing a gig on The Staten Island Ferry after being told by their sleazebag manager he booked the band on “one of those concert cruises that are all the rage.”
Captured in the wilds of the Pocono Mountains, the album shifts between genres and different decades of music. By mixing electrified 60’s folk and 70’s AM radio gold with 80’s heartland rock and 90’s alt-country, it encompasses a raw feel of longtime friends making music for the sheer joy of it.
“Their music is at once fun, freewheeling, achingly intimate, and beautifully honest. They can joke about themselves and the state of things while tapping into deeply meaningful and relatable emotions… Fantastic Cat’s songs are a reminder that, even in our darkest moments, we can find a little light and love to hold onto.”
Along with the great music the band produces, they have a very fun and humorous vibe in all their videos and photos. Particularly, the photos and videos where they wear the giant cut out cat heads. Fantastic Cat has impressively made its way into the spotlight collectively. Through the four transcend their respective roots, they have emerged as an instrument-swapping, harmony-trading, tear-jerking, wise-cracking rock and roll cooperative far greater than the sum of its parts.
Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter John Moreland will grace audiences with his mesmerizing country sound this July. On July 23, the Oklahoma singer will promote his upcoming album, Birds in the Ceiling, at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock before traveling to Buffalo Iron Works on the 24. The Dead Tongues will join Moreland for both performances.
The singer’s upcoming album will be released on July 22, just a day before the show at Levon Helm Studios. Bird’s in the Ceiling is John Moreland’s sixth studio album, and some of his previous works, including LP5, and High on Tulsa Heat, garnered much positive attention from fans and critics alike. The pandemic prevented Moreland from touring for LP5, so his live performances are highly-anticipated and a long time coming.
The imminent Birds in the Ceiling album, via Old Omens/Thirty Tigers, combines folk, retro-pop, rock, and roots with the foundations of Moreland’s strong sense of lyrical story-telling. The nine-track album gives listeners a glimpse into Moreland’s most recent thoughts and experiences. Singles off of the upcoming album were released earlier this year, including “Ugly Faces,” “Claim Your Prize,” and “Cheap Idols Dressed in Expensive Garbage,” all of which you can listen to below.
An artist known for his lyrics, much of Moreland’s music cuts deep. The reflective lyrics “does it even matter? does it ever last? / I didn’t want the answer to the question that I asked / Can I kill a monster? can I be a man? / I can’t afford to give a damn if you don’t understand” off of “Ugly Faces” lend a lonesome and introspective perspective.
With Moreland’s talented and accomplished guitar playing, emotional vocals, and combination of instrumentation, the live performances in NY this summer are sure to be memorable and captivating. For the Levon Helm Studio performance, tickets cost $30 or $45, and gates open at 6:30. The Buffalo Iron Works show begins at 8:00 pm with doors open at 7:00 pm and tickets cost $25.
Tickets for the upcoming shows at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock and Iron Works in Buffalo can be found with the link available here. To listen to some more of John Moreland’s work, see below.
The village of Speculator’s Music on the Point concert series is set to return this summer beginning on July 6. The free concert series will occur every Wednesday night from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm through August 31.
Music on the Point will take place at Osborne Point in Speculator with beautiful views of Lake Pleasant in the scenic Adirondacks. There will also be drinks and food available to purchase during each night of the series. The returning event is sponsored by Oak Mountain and Charlie Johns Speculator Department Store as a way to say thank you to the community for years of continued support.
Performers include a range of genres, including Wayward Folk, a roots-rock band known as The Insolent Willies, bluegrass musicians Two Shoes, and many more. For the full lineup of performances, see below.
Speculator Music on the Point Concert Series Lineup:
Capital District queer folk/rock artist Ryan Leddick released a new single, “State of Mind,” on Thursday, May 5.
“State of Mind” fuses the acoustic folk-rock sound that Leddick regularly employed in his previous releases with synth-ladened overtures. The single marries his penchant for the simple and driving melodies of folk music with the complexities of synth-80/90’s pop.
When I was creating this song all I could think about were sold geometric shapes from the 80’s and 90’s and cutting acoustic guitar rhythms and how they balanced each other.
Ryan Leddick
Leddick calls his single a fusion of folk and synth pop but upon listening to it you might find that his booming voice and imposing percussion sound more like a rock ballad. Or we discovered that rock music is actually what you get when you combine folk and synth pop.
Photo: Mike De Socio //Design: Courtney Mann
This expansion of Leddick’s sound came after her reconnected with his guitar during the pandemic. The synth sequences were in an effort to recreate what he called the “geometric shapes” of 80s and 90s pop music. “This mixture of acoustic guitar, electric drums, and synths always seemed to paint a geometric landscape in my mind,” Leddick explained.
It might just be modesty on Leddick’s part but the most notable part of “State of Mind” is Leddick’s careening voice which when it first surges onto the track appears Adele-esque in its depth and control. His voice often quavers as if he’s getting choked up sharing something personal with us, giving his music an emotional introspection.
The hook repeats the lyrics “this is my state of my mind”. It might be slightly heavy-handed, but you certainly can’t say Leddick didn’t put his heart into it.
“State of Mind” marks his second collaboration with producer and musician Carl Blackwood of the band Bendt and Mastering Engineer Carl Staff. Blackwood also received instrumental and mixing credits on the single.
As of now, the single is expected to be part of a larger body of work Leddick plans to release either this year or in early 2023.
Adequate Phil doesn’t tether themselves to one genre, and their newest single, “Can’t Not,” showcases this. In it, elements of psychedelia, hip-hop, and folk infuse to make one cerebral concoction. This single is the third of many to come from the new “folk-freak” group coming out of Troy, which falls just north of Albany and lies alongside the Hudson River.
The band consists of three members. Sean McLaughlin provides vocals throughout the track. Moreover, Phil McGrath plays the guitar. Notably, Runey Ghosh provides beautiful bass instrumentation on this project. It is thick, it is beautiful, and it is funky. His instrumental abilities add an essential layer of personality to this song.
Their previous release, “Baby Leeches/Vessel” was previously covered by EQXposure on WEQX, an independent radio station in the Capital Region of New York.
The group will be performing at the Troy Speakeasy on April 23rd. For more on Adequate Phil, visit https://linktr.ee/adequatephil.
On his website J. Schnitt, a singer songwriter from Utica, references a quote from an unnamed review that refers to him as “the Bob Dylan of Central New York”. An ambitious claim, a flattering compliment and, as of now, only half true.
Dylan’s greatness was his uncompromising ability to craft songs that made his Nobel Prize winning songwriting its focal point no matter what else surrounded it. In a 2016 profile Rolling Stone said, “what set Bob Dylan apart from everybody was how he wielded language.” Depending on who you ask he either never could or never cared about making the voice that wielded that language sound “good”. But with Dylan it didn’t matter how he sang rather what he sang about.
On his newest release, Winter Gospel, J. Schnitt, delivers complex, lyrics in the best tradition of folk singer-songwriters but he does it with someone else’s voice. The album’s weakest moments are when he masks his true voice and, in turn, his true self. To be like Dylan you have to give your full self over to the music, flaws included. Only then can your virtues shine.
J. Schnitt’s virtues are his nimble guitar playing which offer up a variety of melodies that, while still keeping the album firmly ensconced in the easy listening subgenre, avoid repetitiveness and thus boredom. From the dramatic strumming of “High Crimes” to the subdued melancholy of the legato chords in “The Art of Giving Up” J. Schnitt composes songs that match his undeniable songwriting talent. And when his actual singing doesn’t, he shouldn’t run from it. He should embrace it.
In the album’s standout track, “Skipping Stone”, J. Schnitt sings “I was your skipping stone/thrown across the water/and as I sank below you picked up and grabbed another”. An analogy striking for its originality and descriptiveness. The emotional desolation of being callously replaced by a former lover told through the simplicity of a childhood pastime. It’s a feat of songwriting that should be lauded for its unique depiction of lost love. But it’s a feat that’s dampened by the contrived falsetto J. Schnitt uses when he repeatedly strains the word “thrown” to affect the sentimentality expected from the dulcet tones of singer-songwriters performing acoustic love songs. In fact, the song’s best vocals are the appealing way he coaxes “water” and “another” into rhyming. The soothing naturalness of his voice as he does so leaves you wondering what a full album of J. Schnitt’s moving lyrics sung in his real voice would sound like.
It matters that the voice he uses is entirely his own because the songwriting deserves it. In an interview with 315 Music J. Schnitt said, “it was time for me to get back to writing something from a more personal space. To look inward.” It’s a promise J. Schnitt delivers on throughout Winter Gospel.
On the introspective and crooning “What You Can’t Let Go” he isn’t just insecure but concerned he might always be. “I’m still looking for a way to shake this feeling I’ll always be wrong,” he pleads with himself. And on the album’s closer, the story song, “Rabbit in the Road” he recounts the story of his parents’ enduring relationship. Still, he continues to use the facsimile of another singer’s pitch perfect, choir boy harmonies instead of his own voice. In a well written, evocative song about the frustrating nature of insecurity or an ode to parental love and affection it’s better to communicate through the rasps, yelps, bleats, and caws of your own imperfect voice than by simply trying to sound “good”. That’s the difference between being a great singer and a great vocalist, like Dylan was.
If folk music is the language of Americana and authenticity its currency, then you can’t say anything authentic if you’re faking an accent. The people came for J. Schnitt so give them J. Schnitt.
J. Schnitt’s ballad about folk and rock legend Bob Dylan and his decision to go electric in 1965.
The Bob Stump Band will perform at Caffe Lena on March 31st at 7 PM. Hailing from the Hudson Valley, the band plays a plethora of genres including blues-jazz, folk, bluegrass, country, and rock. The performance will be a euphonic mixture of sounds as the band traverses through genres. For this reason, the event will have a song for everyone.
Leading the band is a singer-songwriter and guitarist Bob Stump. He is joined by Ernie Sites, a former rodeo cowboy from Idaho. He has traveled the United States writing and performing songs, poems, and stories. Lastly, Roy Coates plays the bass, however, he also has experience playing the tuba on big stages such as Carnegie Hall and Yankee Stadium. The three share a love for bluegrass and folk, and their love shines through during their performances.
The Bob Stump Band
Caffe Lena, the venue at which the band is set to perform at, has an extensive history. Located in Saratoga Springs and founded in 1960, the venue has been hosting live music events for over sixty years. Most notably, Caffe Lena hosts a plethora of rising folk and indie performers. In fact, the venue hosted Bob Dylan for two historic nights in 1961, a year before the release of his debut album.
Tickets for the event start at $10 and are available on Eventbrite. For those unable to attend in person, a live stream will also be hosted. Tickets for the live stream start at $5 and give you access to the live stream’s VOD (video on demand) for a week.
