News Capsules for and about the Acoustic Community in the Northeastern U.S.
Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport hosts its 30th Annual Sea Music Festival, June 11-14, and WPKN Radio (WPKN 89.5 FM in Bridgeport, CT and WPKM 88.7 FM in Montauk, NY) will broadcast live from the event that annually draws more than 5,000 people to hear performers from maritime cultures around the world carry on classic musical traditions of the golden age of sail. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
With summer approaching, the festival season will soon be in full swing in the Northeast. There will be plenty of banjos, fiddles and high-lonesome harmonies in New England. Among the bluegrass festivals taking place in the region early in the summer are the Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival (May 28-31) and both the Blistered Fingers Family Bluegrass Festival and the Jenny Brook Family Bluegrass Festival (June 18-21). [To read the entire article, including artist lineups for the festivals, click on the headline.]
Carol Hausner and Colin McCaffrey of Montpelier, Vermont were named as the winners in the bluegrass category in the 17th annual Chris Austin Songwriting Contest for their song entitled “Love Gone By.” The two performed their winning song, along with the winners in three other categories (country, general and gospel), on the Cabin Stage at MerleFest on April 24 and won an acoustic guitar, a check for $300 and other prizes. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Folk music will abound in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains over Memorial Day weekend. There will be plenty of opportunities to sing, play, listen, learn, relax and enjoy the company of other folks as both The Folk Music Society of New York, Inc. (a.k.a. New York Pinewoods Folk Music Club) and the Philadelphia Folksong Society hold their music-filled annual spring weekends. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Fifty years after launching the first Newport Folk Festival, George Wein, 83, a pioneer among producers of outdoor music festivals, will return to steer another one this summer at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. Following months of negotiations, the Newport City Council last night approved a permit for what will be called George Wein’s Folk Festival 50. Slated for July 31-August 2, the event will feature several notable established folk artists who performed during the festival’s early years, as well as some more contemporary singer-songwriters and musicians. Tickets go on sale May 6 at www.folkfestival50.com. [To read the article in its entirety, click on the headline.]
Fifty years after launching the first Newport Folk Festival, George Wein, 83, a pioneer among producers of outdoor music festivals, hopes to return to steer another one this summer at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Joe Crookston, an Ithaca, New York-based singer-songwriter and guitarist, received the prestigious Album of the Year Award during the 21st annual International Folk Alliance Conference, Feb. 18, in Memphis, Tennessee. His 2008 recording, Able Baker Charlie & Dog, ended the year as the #1 most-aired recording by folk/acoustic radio DJs in the United States. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
Lara Herscovitch, a talented contemporary singer-songwriter whose music features a nice blend of folk, pop and world styles, has been named as Connecticut’s State Troubadour for 2009 and 2010. Appointed by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, based on a recommendation by a panel of music professionals that included Pierce Campbell, the previous State Troubadour, Herscovitch serves as an ambassador of music and song to encourage cultural literacy and promote the State of Connecticut. In addition to her regular touring schedule, she will perform at a number of state events in an emissary role over the next two years. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
A number of individuals who have made substantial contributions to furthering bluegrass music in New England will be presented with 2009 BBU Heritage Awards during the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival presented by the Boston Bluegrass Union over Presidents Day Weekend, February 13-15, at the Sheraton Framingham in Framingham, Massachusetts. [To read the entire article, including information about the award recipients and the the festival, click on the headline.]
Westchester County, New York-based contemporary folk singer-songwriters and musicians Kelly Flint, Susan Kane and The YaYas perform on Wednesday evenings in January as part of an ongoing multimedia celebration of acoustic music known as “WoodSongs at the Movies.” In addition to Clearview’s Bronxville Cinemas, the series also takes place at theaters in Babylon, New York; Montclair and Hackettstown, New Jersey; and Wayne, Pennsylvania. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
The board of directors of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) elected a new slate of officers while meeting during the organization's annual conference at the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson, New York earlier this month. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
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 www.tarrytownmusichall.org, as well as at the theater box office. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]
