Artists Celebrate the Season with Old Favorites and Original Numbers

An interfaith holiday celebration in song will be presented by Tribes Hill, a lower Hudson Valley collective of singer-songwriters and their patrons, at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, New York, on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3 p.m.  Tickets, priced at $20, are available at tarrytownmusichall.org, as well as at the theater box office.

The festive and enchanting family-friendly afternoon of inspirational and seasonal music from around the world will be hosted by noted Hudson Valley storyteller Jonathan Kruk.  Featured performers include Andy Craig, Eddie Denise, Joe Duraes, James Durst, Kelly Flint, Fred Gillen Jr., David Goldman, Lara Herscovitch, Hope Machine, Joe Iadanza, Susan Kane, Judy Kass, Steve Kirkman, My Dad’s Truck, Matt Turk, and The YaYas.

The annual Tribes Hill Winter Solstice Concert, now in its seventh year, is a gathering designed to give this commingling of disparate musical artists the opportunity to share a broad array of songs — traditional, original, contemporary and classic — from various cultures and in a variety of languages, to spotlight the diversity of celebration and underscore the commonality at the heart of festivities that take place this time each year.

“Musicians who don’t regularly play together will collaborate, incorporating the variable of audience participation, to create a unique synergy of style and experience in an age-old commemoration of the passing of darkness and the coming of light,” said Rick Rock, executive director of the nonprofit organization that is based at the historic Hammond House in Valhalla.

Jonathan Kruk, who was recently named "Best Storyteller in the Hudson Valley" by Hudson Valley Magazine and was cited as “Westchester’s intrepid storyteller” in The New York Times, will introduce the artists and share a few stories.

Among the concert highlights will be a new anti-war song entitled “Soldiers Come Home” written by Tribes Hill newcomer Joe Duraes. “I couldn’t decide whether to perform one of my original songs or cover someone else’s song, so I blended the two ideas together,” said Duraes. “I re-wrote the lyrics to the Christmas classic “Little Drummer Boy” as a war protest with respect for the soldiers and their sacrifices.”  Duraes also created a music video for the song.   Shot at various Westchester County locations, the video can be viewed on YouTube.

To learn more about Tribes Hill and its efforts to foster a sense of community among musicians and their patrons, visit www.tribeshill.com.