There’s no shortage of good acoustic gigs on Long Island this June. In addition to some fine local performers, a number of touring artists will be visiting our shores. Scott Ainslie plays and sings the blues in Garden City (June 1). Bluegrass veterans and six-time IBMA winners Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver play Brooklyn (June 1). Pat Humphries and Sandy O, better known as Emma’s Revolution, bring their songs of social conscience to Huntington (June 8). Ian Tamblyn, a mainstay on the Canadian folk scene for three decades, makes a rare U.S. appearance in Stony Brook (June 10). Living bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys play Brooklyn (June 22). The Roches showcase their songcraft and delightful three-part harmonies in Bay Shore( June 23). Red Molly, the rootsy female Americana trio, makes two LI appearances this month in Great River and St. James (June 24 and 29, respectively). Aztec Two-Step, the harmonic duo of Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman, comes to Bay Shore, June 30.
Friday 6/1
Scott Ainslie plays and sings the blues at the Garden Stage, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of South Nassau, 223 Stewart Avenue, Garden City. 8 p.m. $15. 516-248-8855.
Caroline Doctorow, East End-based folk-pop singer-songwriter, Rogers Memorial Library, Cooper Farm Road, Southampton. 2 p.m. (www.rogers.suffolk.lib.ny.us). 631-283-0774.
Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, bluegrass veterans and six-time IBMA winners for best vocal group, Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn. 718-230-0236.
Jesse Colin Young, former lead singer of The Youngbloods plays solo acoustic, Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. 8 p.m. $30. (www.boultoncenter.com). 631-969-1101.
Saturday 6/2
Folk Music Society of Huntington ‘s Annual Members’ Concert at The Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive, Centerport. 8:30 p.m. (Note: No open mic tonight). $20; $15 for members. (www.fmshny.org). 631-425-2925.
The Limeliters, folk music trio, Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main Street, Port Washington. 8 p.m. (www.landmarkonmainstreet.org). 516-767-6444.
Mid-Island Songwriters’ Showcase, The Conklin Barn, 2 High Street & New York Avenue (Route 110), Huntington. 6-10 p.m. $10. Open mic with pre-registration only. For more information, call Jennifer Ostrowski at 516-567-8353.
Wednesday 6/6
Acoustic Long Island, hour-long open mic followed by featured performer Ryan Montbleau, Historic Deepwells Mansion on Route 25A, just west of Moriches Road, St. James. 8-10 p.m.
Friday 6/8
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Emma’s Revolution, fine female folk duo of Pat Humphries and Sandy O share songs of love and social consciousness, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Huntington, 109 Browns Road, Huntington. 8 p.m.
Pat Wictor, top-notch blues-based, rootsy singer-songwriter and lap slide guitarist, Our Times Coffeehouse, Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, 38 Old Country Road, Garden City. 8 p.m. $15. (www.ourtimescoffeehouse.com).
Grand opening of the Grounds & Sounds Cafe, featuring local artists Claudia Jacobs and Pat Killian, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stony Brook, 380 Nicolls Road (just north of Route 347), Setauket. 8-10 p.m., including 30-minute open mic for which sign-up begins when doors open at 7:30 p.m. $10. (www.groundsandsounds.uufsb.org). 631-790-5754.
Steve James, acoustic blues guitarist from Austin, Texas, Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor in the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culure building, 53 Prospect Park West @ 2nd Street, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. $15. (www.bsec.org). 718-768-2972.
Saturday 6/9
Fourteen Feet, RS Jones Restaurant, 153 Merrick Avenue, Merrick. 7:30 p.m.
Phil Minissale, "The Long Island Blues Boy," Brown Dog Cafe, 14 Main Street, Kings Park. 8-10 p.m.
Sunday 6/10
Ian Tamblyn, an eclectic and prolific folk musician and singer-songwriter who has been a mainstay on the Canadian folk scene for some three decades, makes a rare LI appearance. Tamblyn’s songs have been recorded by Sylvia Tyson, James Keelaghan and Lynn Miles, among others, and are the subject of a recent tribute CD, Coastline of Our Dreams. Caroline Doctorow, a Sag Harbor-based singer-songwriter opens. University Café, Stony Brook Union Building, Stony Brook University. 7 p.m. Tickets for this benefit concert for the Open Space Preservation Trust and the Sunday Acoustic Series at The University Cafe are $25 in advance and $30 at the door (if available). Call 631-661-1278, e-mail SundayStreetWUSB@aol.com or visit www.universitycafe.com.
Wednesday 6/13
Acoustic Long Island, hour-long open mic followed by featured performer Greg Fine, a local singer-songwriter, Historic Deepwells Mansion on Route 25A, just west of Moriches Road, St. James. 8-10 p.m.
Lucy Kaplansky, Brokerage, 2797 Merrick Road, Bellmore. 8:30 p.m.
Open Mic, Asta Wine Cafe and Art Gallery, 335 Main Street, Huntington. 7:30 p.m.
Thursday 6/14
Andy Statman melds hasidic melodies & folk tunes, jazz and improvised music forms, Barbes, 376 9th Street (corner of 6th Avenue), Park Slope, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. $10. 718-965-9177.
Friday 6/15
Open Mic, Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street, Huntington. 7:30-9 p.m. (Performers must sign-up between June 1 and June 13). 631-427-5165.
Sunday 6/17
Little Toby Walker — the 2002 International Blues Challenge winner, just returned from a British tour, has been drawing well-deserved buzz on both sides of the Atlantic for his finger-pickin’ good blues guitar playing — spends Father’s Day at the Hallockville Farm Museum in Riverhead. (www.hallockville.com). 631-298-5292.
Pat Wictor, top-notch blues-based, rootsy singer-songwriter and lap slide guitarist, Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Great River. 2 p.m. Free admission but $6 per car fee for parking.
Wednesday 6/20
Acoustic Long Island, hour-long open mic followed by featured performer Meika, Historic Deepwells Mansion on Route 25A, just west of Moriches Road, St. James. 8-10 p.m.
Thursday 6/21
Miles to Dayton with special guest John Flor-Sisante, Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts "Live in the Lobby" series, 71 East Main Street, Patchogue. 8 p.m. $12.50. (www.patchoguetheatre.com). 631-207-1313.
The Richard Thompson Band & Ollabelle, the iconic British folk-rocker and guitarist extraordinaire and an up-&-coming New York-based roots outfit make should make for a wonderful evening of music at the Prospect Park Bandshell, Prospect Park West, Park Slope, Brooklyn. Although part of the free annual, eight-week Celebrate Brooklyn! performing arts festival, a $3 donation would be appreciated. 7:30 p.m. (www.briconline.org/celebrate/default.asp).
Friday 6/22
Phil Minissale, "The Long Island Blues Boy," Tic Toc Cafe, 410 Lake Avenue, St. James. 8-10 p.m.
Ralph Stanley & The Clinch Mountain Boys and James Reams & The Barnstormers, a living legend whose been performing bluegrass for more than half a century is joined by Reams & his band who have been staples on the local bluegrass scene. at the Prospect Park Bandshell, Prospect Park West, Park Slope, Brooklyn. Although part of the free annual, eight-week Celebrate Brooklyn! performing arts festival, a $3 donation would be appreciated. 7:30 p.m. (www.briconline.org/celebrate/default.asp).
Dar Williams, one of the top contemporary female singer-songwriters, Stephen Talkhouse, 161 Main Street, Amagansett. 8 p.m. (www.stephentalkhouse.com). $50, $65.
Saturday, 6/23
Cathy Kreger, Long Island-based singer-songwriter, Elijah Churchill’s,1031 Route 25A, Fort Salonga.
The Roches — New York sisters Maggie, Terre & Suzzy are back together again showcasing their impressive songcraft & delightful three-part harmonies at the Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. 8 p.m. $35. (www.boultoncenter.com). 631-969-1101.
The Song Box presents an evening of fingerstyle guitar music with Mark Yodice and Nick Vermitsky in a recording studio at a private residence in Seaford. A pot-luck buffet is served during the break between performers. 8 p.m. $10 suggested donation. Advance reservations required. For reservations, send an e-mail to songbox@optonline.net or call 516-579-5365. You will receive a confirmation and directions.
Sunday, 6/24
Red Molly, rootsy Americana trio with a repertoire that features a mix of traditional songs, old gospel, bluegrass, covers of old-timey style numbers by contemporary artists, and a few originals by Abbie Gardner (who is also a dobro viruoso), with Phil Minissale,"The Long Island Blues Boy," at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Great River. 2 p.m. Free admission, but $6 per car fee for parking.
Wednesday, 6/27
"Under the Radar", hosted by WFUV’s John Platt, features local artists Johnny Cuomo, Jack’s Waterfall & Cathy Kreger at The Brokerage, 2797 Merrick Road, Bellmore. 8 p.m.
Thursday, 6/28
Glen Roethel, New York singer-songwriter, Fiddleheads American Fish House & Grill, 62 South Street, Oyster Bay. 7:30 p.m. – midnight.
Friday, 6/29
2nd Annual Acoustic Long Island Summer Concert at the Deepwells Farm Historic Park on Route 25A (just west of Moriches Road) in St. James, presented by the same folks who bring you the popular weekly Wednesday night Acoustic Long Island coffeehouse and podcast series. Featured artists include Red Molly, the rootsy Americana trio that has been mesmerizing audiences with beautiful three-part harmonies and solid musicianship; Little Toby Walker, the 2002 International Blues Challenge winner who has been drawing well-deserved buzz on both sides of the Atlantic for his finger-pickin’ good blues guitar playing; New Yorker Andy Mack and local singer-songwriters Tom Griffith and Martha Trachtenberg. A songwriters’ showcase precedes with Claudia Jacobs, Charlotte Kendrick, Miles to Dayton’s John Preddice, Princess Peapod & Hank Stone. 7 p.m. (www.acousticlongisland.com).
Bennett Harris, acoustic Blues, Jesse’s Roadhouse BBQ, 1810 Merrick Road, Merrick. 7:30 p.m.
Margot Leverett & The Klezmer Mountain Boys fuse klezmer and bluegrass, Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor in the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culure building, 53 Prospect Park West @ 2nd Street, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. $10. (www.bsec.org). 718-768-2972.
Sampawams Creek presents an evening of colonial American music, featuring hornpipes, guitar, mandolin, violin, fife, tin whistle and bodhran, Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street, Huntington. 7:30 p.m. Free. 631-427-5165.
Saturday, 6/30
Aztec Two-Step (Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman have been together for more than 35 years and are still among the finest acoustic duos around), Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street, Bay Shore. 8 p.m. $30. (www.boultoncenter.com). 631-969-1101.
Bennett Harris, acoustic blues, RS Jones Cajun Restauraunt, 153 Merrick Avenue, Merrick. 7:30 p.m.
Phil Minissale, "The Long Island Blues Boy," Brown Dog Cafe, 14 Main Street, Kings Park. 8-10 p.m.
Looking Ahead to Summer Festivals on LI and in Nearby Manhattan, Westchester County and Connecticut
Although not strictly acoustic, the new Great South Bay Music Festival — on tap for Friday, July 13 through Sunday, July 15 — at Patchogue’s Shorefront Park, will feature two of the most acclaimed folksinger-songwriters of our time, Richie Havens and Tom Rush, as well as Railroad Earth, the subdudes, and a number of local acoustic artists.
Billed as an “American rock, jam, folk, blues & brews fest,” the Great South Bay Music Festival will include some 35 musical acts on three stages, as well as a “Kidzone,” a Patriots Area featuring a living Civil War encampment, food and crafts vendors. Daily admission for adults is $10, while weekend passes are $25; discounts will be available for seniors, college students and Patchogue village residents, while children under 8 will be admitted free. For more details, visit www.greatsouthbaymusicfestival.com.
The Riverhead Blues Festival, now in its ninth year, is slated for Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22, down by the Peconic River in Riverhead. Although both acoustic and electric blues acts will be featured, among those scheduled to appear are finger-pickin’ good acoustic blues guitarist Little Toby Walker, the duo of ragtime fingerstyle guitarist Bruce MacDonald and blues harpist Ken "The Rocket" Korb, and Phil Minissale, the "Long Island Blues Boy." For more information, visit www.riverblues.org.
If you miss Little Toby Walker in Riverhead, or him and Red Molly during their June 29 gig in St. James — or you just want to see these gifted artists again this summer — they will be performing at the Babylon Village Bayfest on Wednesday night, July 25, at the
The 2nd Annual Huntington Folk Festival is slated for Saturday, August 11, 2007, from 5-11 p.m., on the Chapin Rainbow Stage at
Steve Forbert, a Mississippi-bred and Nashville-based folk-rock singer-songwriter best known for his 1979 album Jackrabbit Slim and its sprightly hit single "Romeo’s Tune," is the evening’s headliner. Opening for Forbert (who has a new album due out in June) is Beaucoup Blue, a Philadelphia-based father-and-son acoustic blues and roots duo that evoked a well-deserved standing ovation following its rousing performance as part of the Folk Music Society of Huntington’s first annual Emerging Artists Showcase in January.
Preceding the evening’s featured concert at 8:30 p.m. will be three on-stage song swaps featuring talented performers from
The 5th Annual Long Island Bluegrass Festival is set for Saturday, August 18, at Tanner Park in
Performing artists of note during the annual Friends of the Arts Long Island Summer Festival at Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay include Randy Newman (Friday, July 13 at 8:30 p.m.), Martin Sexton with special guest Aimee Mann (Sunday, July 22 at 7 p.m.), a family concert with They Might Be Giants (Saturday, August 4 at 7 p.m.), Linda Ronstadt, with special guest Jimmy Webb (Saturday, August 18 at 8 p.m.), Indigo Girls and Girlyman (Wednesday, August 22 at 7:30 p.m.), and what promises to be a fabulous double-bill to close out the festival — Rosanne Cash and The Flatlanders (Saturday, August 25 at 7 p.m.). For further information, visit www.FOTApresents.org or call 516-922-0770.
On Sunday, August 4, local singer-songwriter Hank Stone hosts the Acoustic Originals stage at the Sayville Summerfest, a free festival on East Main Street in Sayville.
The banks of the Hudson River at
Folks on the Island is the name of a new American folk festival set over four Saturday afternoons in July on Governor’s Island at the mouth of the East River, just off the tip of Manhattan. The free shows at 1:30 p.m. include Odetta (July 7), ‘Harry Chapin – A Celebration in Song’ featuring Tom, Steve and Jen Chapin, Big John Wallace and The Chapin Sisters (July 14), Richie Havens (July 21) and ‘Ribbon of Highway/Endless Skyway – A Tribute to the Spirt of Woodie Guthrie" featuring Woody’s grandaughter Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion, Andrew Hardin, Jimmy Lafave, Lloyd Maines and others. Free ferry service also will be operating to and from the island. Visit www.folksontheisland.com or call (212) 602-0800 for more information.
Folks on the Island is part of the larger River to River Festival that features lots of free performances at locations throughout lower Manhattan. Irish singers Susan McKeown and Robbie O’Connell perform at the South Street Seaport Museum at 6 p.m. on June 26 and July 10, respectively; there is a modest museum admission fee. The Carolina Chocolate Drops, a Piedmont-style African-American fiddle & banjo group, open for those western cowboys Riders in the Sky at Rockefeller Park, July 25 at 7 p.m. Toronto-based singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith croons at Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park July 12 at 7 p.m., while The Flatlanders (Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock) bring their Texas-style Americana there August 3 at 7 p.m. Free tickets for the Castle Clinton shows are distributed beginning at 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.rivertorivernyc.com
The 2007 Pleasantville Music Festival is slated for Saturday, July 14, from 12-8 p.m. at Parkway Park in the Westchester County village of Pleasantville. Now in its thirdyear, the festival will feature nationally touring singer-songwriters Jonatha Brooke and Martin Sexton, among other acts, on its main stage. Throughout the day and evening, an acoustic stage will feature performers associated with Tribes Hill, a nonprofit organization uniting musicians of the greater Hudson Valley region and beyond with their patrons in support of a music community … coming together to explore and celebrate human experience through song. Among those slated to do 30-minute sets are singer-songwriter & dulcimer player David Massengill, harmonic folk-rock duo Open Book, singer-songwriter & LI native Arlon Bennett, singer-songwriter Rich Deans, 16-year old 2007 Kerrville Folk Festival "New Folk" finalist Anthony da Costa, Danbury, CT-based trio My Dad’s Truck, and Hudson Valley-based duo Gillen & Turk. For more information on the festival, for which adult tickets at the gate are $25, visit www.pleasantvillemusicfestival.org.
Although not a festival but, rather, a series of free acoustic music concerts in a lovely setting, Concert Happenings in Ridgefield’s Park (CHIRP) deserve mention. As in years past, Barbara Manners has assembled an impressive lineup of touring artists for this super summer series of suppertime concerts in Ridgefield, Connecticut’s Ballard Park. Canadian and Texas-based musicians figure prominently. Visit the park, centrally located along the town’s main street, Tuesday evenings at 7 (and the occasional Thurday night) for such artists from north of the border as the hysterically funny Arrogant Worms (June 21 at 6 p.m.), The Duhks (June 26), Harry Manx (July 17), Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord (August 7) and Ottawa Valley fiddler April Verch (August 28). Talented Texas-based singer-songwriters Slaid Cleaves , Eliza Gilkyson and Tom Russell take the stage on July 24, July 31 and August 31, respectively. Nashville-based singer-songwriter Buddy Mondlock, whose songs have been covered by such Texans as Guy Clark & Nanci Griffith, performs on June 19. The David Munnelly Band plays July 3, and The Greencards bring their newgrass sounds to the park on July 10. For more information, visit www.chirpct.org.
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