Photo courtesy of Richard Cuccaro (Acousticlive.com)
Appearing in this year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase are (listed alphabetically by last name or name of group, not in order of appearance):
Ari & Mia (Jamaica Plain, MA), Orly Bendavid (Brooklyn, NY), Burns and Kristy (Ithaca, NY), Sam Luke Chase (Braintree, MA), Andrew Delaney (Arlington, TX), Kyle Donovan (Hygiene, CO), EFRAT (Woodbridge, NJ), Nicolas Emden (Brookline, MA), Emerald Rae ((Ashburnham, MA), Justin Farren (Sacramento, CA), 5J Barrow (Kerhonkson, NY), Ian Flanigan (Saugerties, NY), Kyle Hancharick (Warwick, NY), Amy Kucharik (Somerville, MA), Mike Laureanno (Providence, RI), Eliza Novello (Milton, NY), Oliver The Crow (Nashville, TN), Quarter Horse (Selden, NY), Jude Roberts (Woodstock, NY), Katherine Rondeau (Burlington Township, NJ), Dan Santos (Glendale, MA), Carolann Solebello (Brooklyn, NY), Devan Tracy (Washington, DC), and Rupert Wates (New York, NY). In addition, the following three artists/acts were unable to accept this year’s invitation to showcase their talents: AMISTAT (Melbourne, Australia), Jaime Harris (Austin, TX), and Swearingen & Kelli (Brentwood, TX)
This year’s Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artists Showcase performers were selected by a panel that included Sarah Craig (Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY), Michael Kornfeld (AcousticMusicScene.com and Folk Music Society of Huntington) and Peter Shafran (River Spirit Music). The showcase is not a contest, and artists won’t be judged per se, although the audience will be surveyed as to which showcase artists they’d like to see return next year to participate in a Most Wanted Song Swap. This year’s Most Wanted Song Swap will feature The End of America, Ryanhood and Heather Aubrey Lloyd.
Among the Northeast’s most popular music festivals, the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, now in its 30th year, will take place August 3-5 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. A Pre-Fest Tastings Day & Farm Market is slated for Thursday, Aug.2, featuring locally grown food, drink and artisanal items, along with performances by a number of artists from the late afternoon through the evening on The Lounge Stage presented by Tribal Mischief Productions.
This year’s artist lineup includes Adam Ezra Group, The Gaslight Tinkers, Vance Gilbert, John Gorka, racy Grammer, Greg Greenway, Kim & Reggie Harris, The Kennedys, Laura Love, Magpie, Dan Navarro, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, Tom Paxton & The Don Juans, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, The Jason Spooner Band, The Storycrafters, Tempest, Sloan Wainwright, Annie Wenz, and Dar Williams, among others. The Falcon Ridge House Band — featuring Rad Lorkovic, Mark Dann and Eric Lee –also will be on hand to accompany a number of other artists.
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 at the Big Orange Tarp, Budgiedome, Pirate Camp and elsewhere. Singer-songwriters Terry Kitchen and Tony Kearney host the Nite Owl Swap and Nite Owl Hoot.
Three-day festival tickets are $170 with camping or $125 without camping through July 10 and rise by $25 after then. Single -day tickets also are available. Gates open for campers on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 1. More information on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival can be found at www.falconridgefolk.com.
Editor’s Note: It was an honor to be among the three judges for this year’s Emerging Artists Showcase and a pleasure to listen to songs submitted by so many talented artists – many of whom I was not previously familiar. Regrettably, only 24 of the entrants could be selected for this showcase opportunity.
Although I enjoyed arranging and hosting late-night song swaps at Falcon Ridge under the banner of AcousticMusicScene.com for nearly a decade — in partnership with Tribes Hill and, more recently, Pirate Camp — I’m taking a break from doing so again this year. I enjoyed visiting various campsites and checking out a number of artists who were new to me over the past two years and plan to do so again. I’m coordinating the free, daylong Huntington Folk Festival on Long Island, NY on the Sunday prior to Falcon Ridge.
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