There will be plenty of good, free acoustic music in Islip this summer thanks to the Islip Arts Council and its artistic director, Amy Tuttle. This summer’s series of free Sunday afternoon concerts at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River will feature several LI-based acoustic artists and Red Molly, the rootsy female Americana trio that’s been drawing a lot of buzz here and elsewhere, while a series of Tuesday Brown Bag Concerts at the Bay Shore Bandshell on Main Street will include noted German guitarist Peter Finger, as well as several more local performers. Both series have taken on more of an acoustic bent since Tuttle (who also serves as an officer of both the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame) joined the Islip Arts Council’s staff in September 2005. “Every single act has some acoustic element in it” this summer, she said, noting that both series are “geared primarily to acoustic musicians and to those who write original material and perform original stuff.” [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

There's no shortage of good acoustic gigs scheduled 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. For information on these and other artists performing on Long Island in June, as well as a preview of summer festivals on and near LI, click the headline.

Acoustic artists from near and far will be performing at a number of festivals on Long Island this summer. These include the 2nd Annual Acoustic Long Island Summer Festival in St. James (June 29), a new Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue (July 13-15), Babylon Village Bayfest (July 25), the 2nd Annual Huntington Folk Festival (August 11), and the 5th Annual Long Island Bluegrass Festival in Copiague (August 18). [To see the entire article, click on the headline].

The growing popularity of Acoustic Long Island, Dave and Rob Dircks’ wonderful weekly coffeehouse series in St. James, that also ranks as the top acoustic music podcast on iTunes, has prompted the brothers to expand their live venue to hold about 100 people comfortably. After percolating for more than 18 months at Cool Beanz, a cozy coffeehouse in a strip shopping center, the series has moved just a bit further down Route 25A to a larger space within the historic Deepwells Mansion (circa 1845), a Suffolk County-owned treasure situated just west of Moriches Road. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].