AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Late-Night Song Swaps at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

AcousticMusicScene.com will host a series of late-night song swaps during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 30-August 2, in partnership with Pirate Camp, which was informally launched by Stuart Kabak and the late Jack Hardy more than a decade ago to provide a warm and welcoming haven for sharing music, food and camaraderie.

Among the Northeast’s most popular music festivals, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, now in its 27th year, takes place July 31-Aug. 2 (with a pre-fest day of music and other activities on July 30) at Dodds Farm on Route 7D in Hillsdale, New York, located in the foothills of the Berkshires near the tri-state corner of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The festival features dozens of artists performing on several stages, a dance tent, children’s music and activities, and a wide array of crafts, food and other vendors.

Artists slated to perform at the festival this year include Ray Bonneville, Brother Sun, Judy Collins, The Dukhs, Ellis, IlyAIMY, Martyn Joseph, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, Pesky J. Nixon, Jim Photoglo, June Rich – Reunion Tour, Garnet Rogers, Roosevelt Dime, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, The Storycrafters, Ralph Sweet, Annie Wenz, Susan Werner, and more.

Emerging Artists Showcase Their Talents on Friday Afternoon, July 31

As previously reported, 24 artists/duos/groups have been selected by a panel of judges to perform in this year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase on Friday afternoon, July 31, from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m. Listed alphabetically by last name or name of group, not in order of appearance, they are Annika (Blauvelt, NY), Mark Allen Berube (Brooklyn, NY), Meg Braun (Nashville, TN), Josh Brooks (Vergennes, VT), Mya Byrne (New York, NY), Meghan Cary with Analog Gypsies (Erdenheim, PA), Chasing June (Rockaway, NJ), Katie Dahl (Baileys Harbor, WI), Gina Forsyth (New Orleans, LA), Matt Harlan (Houston, TX), Jay Hitt (Butler, PA), Katrin (Brookline, MA), Bernice Lewis (Williamstown, MA), Liz & the Family Tree (New York, NY), Neptune’s Car (Sutton, MA), Mason Porter (Honey Brook, PA), Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers (Fayetteville, NY), Skout (New York, NY), Teresa Storch (Longmont, CO), Jessy Tomsko (Astoria, NY), Mare Wakefield & Nomad (Nashville, TN), Dan Weber (Vancouver, WA), Camela Widad (Mechanicsburg, PA), and Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes (Jersey City, NJ).

The Emerging Artists Showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se, although the audience is surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return the following year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap. This year’s Most Wanted Song Swap will feature Caitlin Canty, Matt Nakoa, Hayley Reardon and Jean Rohe – most of whom will also perform under the AcousticMusicScene.com tent @ Pirate Camp during the weekend – as will many of this year’s Emerging Artists Showcase performers.

Late-Night Musical Revelry is a Festival Highlight

Those camping at Falcon Ridge and staying up through the early morning hours can enjoy an array of informal jams, mini-showcases and after-hours song circles that help foster a sense of “folk” community and a different kind of festival experience. Indeed, the late-night musical revelry is one of the festival’s true highlights, and AcousticMusicScene.com has been proud to be a part of it for a number of years – initially in partnership with Tribes Hill and, since 2012, with Pirate Camp.

You will find us under a big white 13’ X 26’ canopy tent at Pirate Camp festooned with Jolly Roger flags and banners, featuring a 12’ X 6’ carpeted wooden platform stage, and situated on or near the western border of the 10-Acre field and Lower Flat below the tree-line.

The musical revelry under the AcousticMusicScene.com tent kicks-off late Thursday night, July 30, after the music ends on The Lounge Stage that is hosted by Pesky J. Nixon and friends. Pre-arranged, invitational late-night song swaps also are set for Friday and Saturday overnight after the music ends on the Main Stage. An hour-long sea chantey sing-along, led by Stuart Markus of the folk harmony trio Gathering Time, takes place on Saturday from 5-6 p.m., while spontaneous informal song circles and jams may break out at other times.

AcousticMusicScene.com @ Pirate Camp 2015

THURSDAY Overnight

11:15 Welcome & A Song for Jack Hardy: Stuart Kabak & Michael Kornfeld

11:30 Aaron Nathans & Michael Ronstadt, Hugh O’Doherty, Jude Roberts

12:00 Freebo, Davey O, Debbi Palmarini

12:30 Open Song Circle (guest host: Denise Jordan Finley)

FRIDAY Overnight

12:15 A Baker’s Dozen: Mark Allen Berube, Meg Braun, Meghan Cary with Analog Gypsies, Gina Forsyth, Cosby Gibson, Matt Harlan, Jay Hitt, Susan Kane, Bernice Lewis, Neptune’s Car, Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, Teresa Storch, Dan Weber

1:15 Young Folk: Annika, Kirsten Maxwell, Hayley Reardon

1:45 Bandemonium: Pesky J. Nixon, Miles to Dayton & Friends

SATURDAY

5:00 Sea Chantey Sing (hour-long)

(Led by Stuart Markus of Gathering Time)

SATURDAY Overnight

12:15 Stu’s Picks: Monty Delaney, Mike Laureanno, Heather Pierson Trio, Don Sparks, Cecilia St. King,

1:00 Women of Song: Katie Dahl, Honor Finnegan, Rachael Kilgour, Sharon Klein, Karyn Oliver, Camela Widad

1:30 A Couple of Most Wanted Artists: Matt Nakoa, Jean Rohe

2:00 Harmonic Convergence: Gathering Time, Mara Levine, The Levins

2:30 Arggh! That’s All Mates: Mya Byrne, Stuart Kabak, Scott Wolfson & Other Heroes

More than five years after Jack Hardy’s passing, Pirate Camp retains much of its initial warm spirit of camaraderie — with folks stopping by throughout the day to share a tune or just schmooze. The partnership with AcousticMusicScene.com and the addition of invitational song swaps has added a new element that is designed in part to help keep Pirate Camp alive and vibrant.

Three-day festival tickets are $180 with camping or $145 without camping. Single-day tickets are also available. Gates open for campers on Wednesday afternoon, July 29. More information, including the official festival schedule, can be found at www.falconridgefolk.com.