News – Northeast U.S.

Werner & Gilbert Headline Huntington (NY) Folk Festival, Aug. 7

AcousticMusicScene.com will have a major presence at the Fifth Annual Huntington Folk Festival that takes place on Saturday, August 7, in Huntington, New York. Singer-Songwriters Susan Werner and Vance Gilbert co-headline the free event that extends from 1 p.m. into the late evening at Heckscher Park, Main Street (Route 25A) and Prime Avenue. Prior to the 8:30 p.m. concert by Werner and Gilbert on the Chapin Rainbow Stage, unplugged showcases and song swaps will take place from 1-6:30 p.m. under or near canopy tents hosted by AcousticMusicScene.com and Richard Cuccaro’s monthly listings guide Acoustic Live! in NYC & Beyond. The Green Palate Open Mic also will have a presence. [To read the article and view the festival schedule, click...

Long Island Musicians Pay Tribute to Harry Chapin, Aug. 9

On Monday evening, August 9, many talented Long Island musical artists will gather at East Meadow, New York’s Eisenhower Park to present a concert and food drive in tribute to the late singer-songwriter and anti-hunger activist Harry Chapin -- playing his songs for the cause to which he dedicated himself. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

AcousticMusicScene.com and Tribes Hill to Host Song Swaps & More at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 22-25

AcousticMusicScene.com will host pre-arranged song swaps during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 22-25. The festival takes place 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. For the third year in a row, AcousticMusicScene.com joins with Tribes Hill (a nonprofit organization uniting musicians of the Hudson Valley region and their patrons in support of a music community coming together to celebrate human experience through song) to jointly present late-night song swaps during Falcon Ridge. Dinner-break sing-alongs & jams and an informal Thursday afternoon session on PR for independent recording artists also are slated. [To read the entire article, including a schedule of...

Application Deadlines Near for NERFA Conference Showcases

Artists interested in applying for formal and/or tricentric showcases during the 16th annual Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference have until Aug. 1 and Aug. 31, respectively, to do so. The annual conference, which drew nearly 700 people last year, is slated for Nov. 11-14 at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, NY. [To view the entire article, click on the headline.]

The Greater New Bedford Summerfest and Green River Festival Slated for July in Massachusetts

A couple of music festivals of note take place in Massachusetts next month: The Greater New Bedford Summerfest, July 3-4, along the cobblestoned streets of the old whaling city, and the Green River Festival featuring music, hot air balloons and more at the community college campus in Greenfield, July 17-18. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

24 Chosen for Falcon Ridge/Grassy Hill Emerging Artists Showcase

Twenty-four solo artists and bands have been selected from among hundreds of applicants to perform in the Emerging Artists Showcase during the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival on Friday afternoon, July 23, 2010. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

2010 Clearwater, Old Songs Festivals Set for June in New York State

Two events on two successive weekends in June help mark the beginning of the summer outdoor festival season in New York State -- Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival and the 30th annual Old Songs Festival. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Larry Murante Wins Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Contest

Larry Murante is the winner of the 2010 Rose Garden Performing Songwriter Contest. A Pennsylvania native who has been living in the Seattle, Washington area for many years, Murante was named the winner over fellow contest finalists Jim Colbert (Bellefonte, PA) and Chris Elliott (Leverett, MA) after performing two of his original songs on May 15 prior to an April Verch Band concert at the Rose Garden Coffeehouse in Mansfield, Massachusetts. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Joe Val Bluegrass Festival Near Boston Set for Feb. 12-14

The Boston Bluegrass Union hosts the 25th annual Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, February 12-14, at the Sheraton Framingham in Framingham, Massachusetts. The indoor festival, located 18 miles west of Boston, will feature regional and nationally touring bands, more than 40 master classes and workshops (for which pre-registration is required), directed slow jams and plenty of picking opportunities throughout the weekend. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Boston Celtic Music Fest Set for Jan. 8-9, 2010

The annual Boston Celtic Music Fest (BCMFest), now in its seventh year, returns to its roots January 8 and 9 with a “back-to-basics” focus on dyed-in-the-wool core traditions of Celtic music and those who help keep the Boston area’s rich heritage of Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton and other Celtic music and dance traditions alive. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Cheryl Prashker Leads NERFA Board of Directors

The board of directors of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) elected a new slate of officers while meeting during the organization’s recent annual conference at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York. Cheryl Prashker, a percussionist with the Celtic group RUNA, who also has performed with such artists as Pat Wictor, Jonathan Edwards, Full Frontal Folk and CC Railroad, was elected president. AcousticMusicScene.com's Michael Kornfeld, a communications & public relations strategist, is the organization’s new vice president. Ramona LaBarre, who is affiliated with Godfrey Daniels and the Celtic Cultural Alliance in Bethlehem, PA, is the new treasurer. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Reed Waddle Wins New York Songwriters Circle Contest

Reed Waddle, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, is the grand prize winner in the fourth annual songwriting contest sponsored by The New York Songwriters Circle. A panel of 10 music industry judges selected him as the recipient of $25,000 in cash and prizes following live performances by 12 finalists, Nov. 18-19, at The Bitter End in New York City. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]