Julia Felice & The Whiskey Crisis 2018-04-14 The Dock - Count Stacks
As I said, I've got a bunch of backlog to work through, starting with this... Been following Julia Felice and the Whiskey Crisis since its inception, and they just keep getting better and better. This was back in April, at The Dock shortly before that space stopped being a music venue, and they were really on their game. There's another clip coming from this set coming up in the queue, so I'll say more with that, For now...
Here's the WhiCri performing "Count Stacks" at The Dock in Ithaca, New York on April 14th, 2018. Words and music by Julia Felice and the Whiskey Crisis. Audio Engineer: Dan Cole
A 4k/UHD version of this can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QQOSF5O4JI&feature=youtu.be - please do subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Steve Riley 2018-07-16 FLGF Culture Camp - Allons Boire un Coup
The GrassRoots Culture Camp, now in its third year in 2018, was also extra-special for me, because I limited the video recording to "just" the evening dance music. That meant I got to spend my days communing with friends and attending sessions to learn from amazing musicians. (Of course, there was overlap between the two. ;) )
Those dance events are very different from the ones during the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance, in that they're much more intimate, with a sense of camaraderie based on having spent the day in each others' company. If you haven't tried Culture Camp, I highly recommend it.
So, I'm jumping around a bit here, going to Day 2, which had a Cajun Night theme, and featuring long-time Grassroots veterans Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys - and I picked this tune (with Steve's help) because, like the previous clip in this year's Festival coverage, it features Richie Stearns on banjo!
Tenzin Chopak 2018-07-21 FLGF Grandstand - John The Prophet
Kicking off the video from the 2018 Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance, it's Tenzin Chopak, with a tale of personal tragedy leading to a vision of historic violence - the usual aural excellence and stunning songwriting from Tenzin, accompanied by the brilliant banjo work of Richie Stearns.
I could go on about it, and I will towards the end of the cycle, but for now: these are two very, very fine artists at the top of their game. Please enjoy "John The Prophet", performed on the Grandstand stage for the 28th annual Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg, New York on July 21st, 2019.
Words and Music by Tenzin Chopak
Pre-show Positioning of the Millennium Falcon
Setting up the Millennium Falcon for last night's "May the Fourth" event with The Blind Spots, Honey Cave and Vee Da Bee...
Cayuga Sound Festival Year One Restrospective
One of the ongoing themes of this project is the voracious appetite for music in this region - what has influenced its growth, as well as the reciprocal effect it has had on the artistic subset within the larger community as a whole. A substantial part of that evolution has been the slow but steady broadening of regional music festivals over the past forty years, a phenomenon that appears fundamental to the feedback loop of increased involvement by musicians and engagement by the audience.
The Cayuga Sound Festival, curated by Ithaca natives X Ambassadors and presented by This Fiction Management and DSP Shows, debuted in the Fall of 2017 to resounding success. While the main event at Stewart Park in Ithaca, New York, headlining X Ambassadors and The Roots and featuring a slew of additional local and national acts, attracted over 4,000 attendees, satellite events including both music and panel discussions on previous days involved hundreds of additional fans.
This retrospective look at the first annual Cayuga Sound Festival centers around an interview with Dan Smalls of DSP Shows, and includes segments with Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca; Sam and Casey Harris of X Ambassadors; and more.
Nick Frasier 2018-03-03 Finger Lakes Thaw Interview
I sit down with Nick Frazier, Executive Director of The Finger Lakes Thaw for a fascinating, far-ranging interview about The Finger Lakes Thaw, the latest entry in the local music festival roster, taking place March 23rd and 24th in Ithaca, New York, that involves five venues and 35+ bands, plus lots of extras starting March 17th, including The Ithaca DJ Festival: Year One (presented by Finger Lakes Thaw). Check it out...
Austin MacRae et al 2018-02-16 Trumansburg Conservatory - Keeper
One of the nicest parts of this event was that, along with having four wonderful singer/songwriters performing individually, they also collaborated together. And, as beautiful as their voices are alone, together they produce glorious harmony...
Here's Austin MacRae with Andrew Alling, Janet Batch, and Jen Cork performing Austin's song "Keeper" for the Songwriter Showcase at Trumansburg Conservatory show at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts in Trumansburg, New York on February 16th, 2018.
An HD/4k UHD version of this can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG5zBf2dcjw - please subscribe to our YouTube channel while you're there, where you'll find even more performance videos and interviews with artists in the Finger Lakes region for your viewing/listening pleasure!
Jen Cork 2018-02-16 Trumansburg Conservatory - So Far To Go
Next up from the Songwriters Showcase: it's a beautiful tune that incorporates lyrics from the second song I learned, even before I could talk, as my mother sang me to sleep as a child. Makes me cry, perfect for a Sunday morning.
Here's Jen Cork performing "So Far To Go" for the Songwriter Showcase at Trumansburg Conservatory at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts in Trumansburg, New York on February 16th, 2018.
An HD/4k UHD version of this can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgQSfrPNliY - please subscribe to our YouTube channel while you're there.
Andrew Alling 2018-02-16 Trumansburg Conservatory - It May Be Our Fate
Another of the fine singer-songwriters from the Songwriter Showcase at Trumansburg Conservatory last Friday - I'll have more to say about him in a bit, but for now, here's Andrew Alling performs "It May Be Our Fate" at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts in Trumansburg, New York on February 16th, 2018.
An HD/4k UHD version of this can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eKm1lH5NOo - please do subscribe to our YouTube channel!
Austin MacRae 2018-02-16 Trumansburg Conservatory - Up In Flames
I'm always psyched to shoot for the first time at a venue, but also with a bit of trepidation. Not knowing a space ahead of time leaves too many variables in play for me to feel completely comfortable with expectations.
But the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts really is a great space. There are things they could do to refine it for music, but overall it has good bones, and that can't be beat. I'm looking forward to my next gig there.
And, of course, it didn't hurt that this first foray was to document some of the region's really marvelous singer-songwriters. Playing mostly music from their recent recorded releases, both solo and collaboratively, it was indeed a showcase of top-shelf performance, and I was really thrilled to get it on record to share with you.
So, first up in the offerings here is organizer Austin MacRae, performing "Up In Flames" at the Trumansburg Conservatory in Trumansburg, New York on February 16th, 2018.
An HD/4K UHD version of this can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKYWZ4V4CZc - and please do subscribe to our YouTube channel while you're there.
As well, do also "Like" Austin's page linked above, if you like what you hear here - it helps local artists a lot when they're out making forays into new territories when they can demonstrate a local following... I'll come back to that a bit more down the road.
Songwriters Showcase Interview 2018-02-08
We're blessed with broad and deep songwriting talent in the Finger Lakes region, and this coming Friday will feature four of them at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts. Jen Cork, Austin MacRae, Janet Batch and Andrew Alling were kind enough to sit down for a chat about the upcoming Songwriter Showcase at Trumansburg Conservatory, talking about how it came to be and a bit of what to expect beyond the obvious - great music by some of the area's finest song-smiths.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1645095048878859/
Bubba Crumrine 2017-01-20 BRIAN! Album Release Interview
BRIAN! has a new album! Called "Chasms of Color and Thought", it's available now for streaming and pre-order on Bandcamp (https://brianbassoon.bandcamp.com/) and will be all over the interweb next Saturday, January 27th, (which is also when their release event will be happening at the The Cherry Artspace - https://www.facebook.com/events/895695983919976/) - and I got to chat with guitarist/synth/vox member Bubba Crumrine about what went into making this fourth release by the avant-garde rock trio. Check it out...
