The SUMMER FESTS
of the Hudson Valley
by Gary Alexander
...include the second annual
Grey Fox Blue Grass Festival
featuring Ricky Skaggs, Tim O'Brien and scores of other favorites set in
the hills east of the Hudson...
It's a yearly opportunity to break free of that New World Odor
seeping out of your radio with a steady aroma of the corporate captive
playlist and catch a gathering of some of the finest musical artists in
the Northern Hemisphere, many of whom will play in our area only on
these occasions.
Singer-songwriter Jean Bratman, on the main stage at Falcon Ridge 2000.
Doug Wray, bass (background).
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One of the lasting highlights of last year's
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
was the relatively unknown Portland, Oregon-based duo of
Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer
(See article
The Dreamer
& the Butterfly: Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer at The Rosendale Cafe).
who
return this year as featured artists. After capturing the crowd last
July with their wise, literate and finely-crafted songs and releasing an
album which ranks among the best three folk albums of 2000, they
returned to the area in the Fall to light up a fortunate audience at the
Rosendale Cafe.
Other artists featured in the gala event, which runs July 27
through 29, include Dar Williams, John Gorka, Jimmy LaFave, Lucy
Kaplansky, Susan Werner, Vance Gilbert, Mark Erelli, The Nields and
scores of others. Not infrequently, at these events, the most profoundly
memorable performances come from musicians you may not have heard of
before.
Peaceful good times at Falcon Ridge 2000...
not too big... not too small. |
Winterhawk 2000 - Bluegrass and Beyond
festival this year is especially strong
in singer-songwriters we seldom have opportunity to catch in person, not
to mention speak with as they wander the grounds. Greg Brown, Guy Clark,
Steve Forbert, Stacy Earle, Dave Alvin and others join a powerhouse
line-up of top shelf pickers which includes Commander Cody & His Lost
Planet Airmen, Vassar Clements, Tony Trischka & Skyline, The McKrells,
Donna the Buffalo, Groovemongers and many more. Runs August 3 through 5.
There are numerous musical peaks for live performance in
our area during this all-too-brief outdoor season but this is the high
point of summer feast in the Hudson Valley region. Check your
calenders....
-Gary Alexander
Gary Alexander
is an independent journalist and scholar whose focus of
interests range through a variety of disciplines. Under various names,
he has written (and ghost written) upon history and current event;
science and technology, as well as music and the arts in books and for
national periodicals. While particularly attentive to the subtle and
complex impact upon cultural imagination and contemporary structures of
presumption which activity in the above mentioned topics tend to have,
Alexander treats his topics with a slightly more than occasional resort
to humor.
Posted on July 18, 2001
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