Archives
Winter/Spring 2026Season
National Stage
Joe Crookston (Mark Wahl opening)
January 10th $20-25
Meet and Greet reception at 6:30 to welcome the new year
Whether he’s weaving through lap slide songs or fiddling an American Southern tune, Joe draws you in. With unwavering courage to be himself, he is literate, poignant and funny as hell.
Joe is a force of nature on stage. Pure magic. He’s in his power AND communes with his audience.
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From touring with Gordon Lightfoot, headlining major US festivals, receiving Folk Alliance International “Album of the Year,” releasing NINE BECOMES ONE (2024) to being named Folk Alliance International Artist-in- Resident, Joe is on fire. He’s played with Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams, David Francey, John McCutcheon, John Gorka, Judy Collins and 100’s more. His songs are being made into award winning films. Watch this trailer for Brooklyn in July.
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He’ll surprise you. He awakens the cynics. His rhythm is infectious. In concert, he is funny as hell one moment and transcendent the next.
8 acclaimed studio albums of award-winning songs, many of which have been covered by other musicians. Toured in 2021-2022 with Gordon Lightfoot. Able Baker Charlie & Dog was awarded “Album of the Year” by Folk Alliance International (2009), indicating that it received more radio airplay than any other folk album released the year prior. Chosen as Folk Alliance International’s “Artist in Residence” (2016) and invited to collaborate and perform “The Letters of Florence Hemphill” as part of the keynote gathering featuring Judy Collins. Invited to play international music festivals such as The Goderich Roots Festival, The Kerrville Folk Festival, The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, 30A Songwriters Festival, Mariposa Folk Festival, Caramoor Music Fest, Fayetteville Roots Festival, The Heartwood Stage Festival. Performs in many iconic music venues such as Kennedy Center, Club Passim, The Hangar Theatre, The Irvington Town Hall Theatre, The Garland Theatre, The Guthrie Center, Heartwood SoundStage, The Chatfield Arts Center, Godfrey Daniels, Evanston SPACE, The Columbus Performing Arts Center, and the Deane Center for the Performing Arts. Has toured with & shared stages with Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins, Dar Williams, Mary Gauthier, Shawn Colvin, The Decemberists, and John Gorka. Joe Crookston is a master storyteller & he is seeking the creative edge. His music swirls with themes of lightness, darkness, clocks ticking, fiddle looping, weeping willows, slide guitar bending, cynicism, hope, and the cycles of life and rebirth. If you love a moving song and musical madness, Joe Crookston delivers it all, the melodies, the lyrics, the energy, and a deep passion for exceptionally well-written songs.
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Website: https://www.joecrookston.com
Video: https://youtu.be/hcIUXe-tS4E
Mark Wahl
Website: https://www.markwahlguitars.com
Video: https://youtu.be/Uq-vOkzJ7uQ
National Stage
Driftwood
January 24th $20-25
Music has guided Driftwood to hallowed ground many times since its founding members, Joe Kollar and Dan Forsyth, started making music as high schoolers in Joe's parents' basement. Whether the Upstate New York folk rock group—which today also includes violinist Claire Byrne, bassist Joey Arcuri, and drummer Sam Fishman—are converting new fans on a hardscrabble tour across the country or playing to a devoted crowd at hero Levon Helm’s Woodstock barn, the band’s shapeshifting approach to folk music continues to break new ground. And yet in many ways Driftwood's latest work, the transformative December Last Call, finds the group coming home.
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Recorded in that very same basement where the Driftwood dream began, December Last Call lyrically reflects on the recent past, musing on the ways the group grew up, together and apart, through curveballs like new parenthood or pandemic shutdowns. But sonically, the band’s sixth album looks confidently to the future, experimenting with new sounds while staying true to the bluegrass roots that built them. Across the album’s nine tracks, the band often leans into hard-rocking electric guitars and driving percussion: On “Every Which Way But Loose,” we get a foot-tapping beat and a sweeping chorus, and on “Up All Night Blues,” the band shines with an ambling, sing-along-able reflection on the challenges of new motherhood. But other tracks, like standout closer “Stardust,” take a simpler route, allowing bare-bones vocals and acoustic instrumentals to underpin a deeper emotional message.
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One of Driftwood’s biggest differentiators—and perhaps its biggest strength—is the sheer breadth of talent in its lineup, with Claire, Joe, and Dan all contributing as songwriters and vocalists. This creative push-pull, where each selects songs to share with the group and record together, bakes vulnerability and collaborative spirit into every recording. “It's at the heart of what we do,” says Dan. “Everybody has a strong love for songs, for songwriting, and we each appreciate everybody else and the way that they contribute to that.”
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While 2019’s acclaimed Tree of Shade tapped Simon Felice as producer, the band opted to self-produce this latest effort, leaning into their creative impulses and striving to capture their distinctive live energy. Figuring out how to channel that on-stage intensity into a recording has actually, in many ways, been a lesson in restraint. “When I look back at the things we were writing and playing, oh, I don't know, 10, 12 years ago, they were really arranged: a lot of you do this here, we're going to do this there, we're going to break down, we're going to do a big build,” Claire explains. “These days, it's more like, ‘Let's play the song and just see what happens.’”
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This approach makes all the more sense when you consider Driftwood’s live shows, which operate not only as effervescent, twang-studded musical parties, but also as reunions for their throng of devoted listeners—folks who have started to feel less like fans and more like something bigger. “They're supporters. They're friends,” explains Joe. “It's crazy how much love we've got and how many wild situations on the road we've gotten out of because of those people.” Many of them are quite literally invested in the band’s future: December Last Call was a crowd-funded effort, and it wasn’t the band’s first. It’s as if every listener, ticket buyer, album backer, and general band evangelist is in on Driftwood’s biggest secret: this whole band thing has endured for nearly two decades because it offers a kind of community you can’t get just anywhere.
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“Driftwood is basically a beautiful friendship that happens to play music together,” says Joe. “I know it's rare. I know I'm lucky to know these people and lean on them and go through these massive life changes together.” For Driftwood, each song is like a journal entry: cathartic to create, yes, but capable of unlocking new lessons—and when shared—forging new bonds. “We're communal, right? Humans need to be connected,” Joe says. “And we get to have this special thing.”
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Website: https://www.driftwoodtheband.com/
Video: https://youtu.be/4J0XcJfddFk
Special Event
13126 Concert
January 31st
In celebration of 13126 Day, the Oswego Music Hall is hosting “The Lake Effect Show” - an outstanding showcase of local luminaries with special guest hosts from a wide variety of community organizations. This event is free to the public but donations up to but not exceeding $13,126 will be accepted. Guests can warm up with live music and enjoy a bowl of Award-Winning Chili and mulled cider. Hummus veggie plates and other light refreshments will also be available. City of Oswego is sponsoring shuttle buses to connect all the events going on throughout the City. Valti-Graphics has 13126 commemorative clothing on hand and offers next day shipping to anywhere in the US. The Lake Effect Show features eight main acts from 3pm to 9:15pm as well as many surprise guest performances throughout the concert. The full line-up includes:
Concinnity (3:00pm) - A select women’s choir, whose name means: “the skillful and harmonious arrangement or fitting together of the different parts of something.” Members include: Holly Abel, Mary Lou Bjorkman (Artistic Director & Conductor), Kathy Duschen, Rocky Farden, Debbie Godden, Linda Knowles, Deb Long, Ann Losurdo, Barb McCleary, Bobbie Palange, Diane Taverni, and Gay Williams.
John McConnell w/Cam Caruso & Gary Carpentier (3:45pm) - Armed with three guitars and three distinct voices, McConnell, Caruso, and Carpentier form a side project driven by mutual respect and powerful vocal harmonies. These well known Oswego musicians represent a monopoly of some of Oswego’s best-loved and gifted performers.
Patti Graham w/Joe Cortini and the Jazz Mafia (4:30pm) - Patti is a SUNY Oswego alum who recently returned to once again, call Oswego home. For the past 20 years, Patti has been singing with The Wooster Street New Orleans Jazz band, headed by Bob Leive, performing in various clubs in NYC as well as other venues throughout the tri-state area. She is joined this evening by the locally renowned Jazz Mafia. Joe Cortini and his Jazz Mafia are Upstate's hippest piano-based jazz trio. Cortini said, "I first heard Patti [Graham] sing acapella at an art show and thought instantly that my band should back her". "Patti is the real deal" noted Mafia keyboard man Dave Solazzo, "she's a consummate professional and great to work with".
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Mark Wahl (5:30pm) - An award-winning songwriter, luthier, and Oswego Music Hall Director of the Guest Curator Series.
Marc Warner (6:30pm) - A favorite local known for his large repertoire of interesting and eclectic tunes. Marc is a member of The Cool Kids and has played in many bands including Dos Locos and the Predators.
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Gina Holsopple (7:15pm) - Prolific singer songwriter and local music educator, Gina Holsopple of the Gina Marie Music Studio performs Original Acoustic / Americana.
Frank & Julie (7:30pm) - Frank Stepanek & Julię Clement focus primarily on the 60's & 70’s, Rock & Reggae; Blues & Originals. Frank performed professionally for 30 years on lead guitar and Julie 15 years on keys and bass. Both are lead and support vocalists. Frank was an international lead guitarist for decades, on VH-1, Tiny Desk, & part of a 3x Grammy Nomination.
The Dust Creatures (8:30pm) - An Oswego homegrown original rock band. Lifelong friends Erik Mosher, Chris Wahl, Emil Christmann, Josh Mumm and Josh Rogers, bring their own life’s rhythmic poetry and melodious harmonies together to create some truly unique music to share.
National Stage
Cliff Eberhardt accompanied by Louise Coombe
February 7th $20-25
“Cliff is one of the most talented musicians on the solo acoustic circuit... full of well-crafted songs and rich, emotional vocals.” - Seattle Post Intelligencer
"Louise Coombe's voice is a gift from the gods, and how she uses it is a gift to us” -Christine Lavin
Cliff Eberhardt knew by age seven that he was going to be a singer and songwriter. Growing up in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, he and his brothers sang together and their parents played instruments. His dad introduced him to the guitar and he quickly taught himself to play. Fortunate enough to live close to the Main Point (one of the best folk clubs on the East Coast), he cut his teeth listening to the likes of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, and Mississippi John Hurt — receiving an early and impressive tutorial in acoustic music. At the same time, he was also listening to great pop songwriters like Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Rodgers and Hart, which explain his penchant for great melodies and clever lyrical twists.
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At fifteen, Cliff and his brother Geoff began touring as an acoustic duo, playing the Eastern club circuit until Cliff turned twenty-one and moved to Carbondale, Illinois. There he found space to develop his own voice within a vibrant and supportive music scene that included Shawn Colvin. After a couple of years there and a short stay in Colorado, Cliff moved to New York in 1978. Because the clubs were great (the Bitter End, the Speakeasy, Kenny's Castaway, Folk City) and the company amazing (John Gorka, Suzanne Vega, Lucy Kaplansky, Julie Gold, Steve Forbert, Christine Lavin, and Shawn Colvin), New York was an ideal musician's boot camp. Though he put in long hours as a taxi driver, Cliff worked steadily on his music throughout the 80's, doing solo gigs and studio work, and playing guitar on the road with Richie Havens, Melanie and others. Singing advertising jingles for products like Coke, Miller Beer and Chevrolet ("The Heartbeat of America" campaign) allowed him to devote more time to his songwriting.
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In 1990 Cliff's song "My Father's Shoes," appeared on Windham Hill's Legacy collection, leading to a deal with the label. They released Cliff's first album, The Long Road (1990), a work featuring a duet with Richie Havens. The critical response to this debut was outstanding (The Philadelphia Inquirer called the album a "repeatedly astounding collection"). He followed with two more records on Windham Hill before releasing 12 Songs of Good and Evil (1997) on Red House Records, which stemmed from a chance meeting with Red House founder Bob Feldman at John Gorka's wedding. Cliff recorded two more albums before his critically acclaimed The High Above and the Down Below, named the #5 album of 2007 by USA Today. Produced by Eric Peltoniemi, it was recorded in Minneapolis with noted jazz players Gordy Johnson, J. T. Bates and Rich Dworsky and was his first album after spending several years recovering from a car accident.
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In 2021, Cliff released "Knew Things" - a new album of original songs that includes a few from The Heal. The album reached #4 on the Folk Alliance International's Folk Radio Chart in June 2021! You can order it here on his site for a signed copy.
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Cliff is well-known as a songwriting teacher all over the U.S. at songwriting camps and private lessons. He also produces, arranges and advises on other artist's recordings. He tours constantly.
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Louise Mosrie grew up in McEwen, TN on a cattle farm - riding horses and writing poetry. She began writing songs after college while working in TV/radio in Knoxville. She moved back to the Nashville area in 2004 and began co-writing with country, bluegrass and folk artists (Donna Ulisse, Mike Richardson) and writers. Louise had a major creative breakthrough in 2007 when she had a fortuitous co-writing session with famed Americana producer and writer, Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams). They wrote the song, "Doubling Back", for a documentary film by IU professor, Ron Osgood, called “My Vietnam, Your Iraq” which was broadcast on PBS stations nationwide.
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Website: https://cliffeberhardt.net
Video: https://youtu.be/mixXpDEnU0A
Website: https://louisecoombe.com
Video: https://youtu.be/zQd6TksCjoI
National Stage
Black History Month
Co-bill with Julian Taylor & Crys Matthews
February 21st $17-22
“Julian Taylor's beautiful voice captivates. Simply brilliant” - Rootstime
"A solid slice of roots-oriented folk and soul” - Exclaim Magazine
There are so many stars in the music world that shine only for a moment. And there are stars that rise and fall, but the heat of some stars can’t be contained and must rise again. Toronto based singer-songwriter Julian Taylor is one of those phoenix-like stars.
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His first moment in the sky started and ended with the hit-making band Staggered Crossing. After their breakup, Julian could have walked away, satisfied with that bright, brief moment. Instead, he went back to work, starting at the bottom, playing in cover bands, working bars, running an open stage as a solo artist. There were moments of impact when he formed the Julian Taylor Band and released two albums. But those were mere steps in the process. When he decided to strip his songs to the basics and go solo with his soul-folk 2020 album, The Ridge, his career rose over the horizon again and sparkled brighter than the first time. Mostly acoustic and sung in Julian’s distinctive warm baritone, The Ridge earned him two JUNO Award nominations, one Canadian Folk Music Award for Solo Artist, five Native American Music Award nominations, plus a nomination for the Polaris Music Prize.
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In 2022, Taylor released his follow up album Beyond the Reservoir. It received a nomination from the Country Music Association of Ontario Awards in the Roots Artist of the Year category, a nomination for a JUNO Award in the Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year category, and two Ontario Folk Music Award nominations for Song of the Year and Performing Artist of the Year. “Julian Taylor’s music is a beacon of hope in troubled times. His lyrics are thoughtful and inspiring, and his voice is both powerful and tender. This is music that will lift your spirits.” (Canadian Beats) - Wayne Arthurson
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Website: https://juliantaylormusic.ca/home
Video: https://youtu.be/Ta4yuqBG5rc
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"Rising folk music star" --Ann Powers, NPR
“Matthews puts it all on the line, speaking words of hope at every turn”
– Bob Fish, Folk Radio UK
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A troubadour of truth, Nashville resident Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. An award-winning, prolific lyricist and composer, Matthews blends Country, Americana, Folk, Blues, and Bluegrass into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies punctuated by honest, original lyrics. She is made for these times.
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Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.” Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation adds, her gift is a "reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." In her own words, Matthews says her mission is: "to amplify the voices of the unheard, to shed light on the unseen, and to be a steadfast reminder that hope and love are the truest pathways to equity and justice." Her new album is an embodiment of and a testament to that mission.
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When Matthews attended a panel at Folk Alliance International in February of 2024, she heard a Scottish Folk artist inquire as to how many record labels pursue what the artist referred to as "music from my tradition," four words that intrigued Matthews. "I loved the idea of that. It seems like the best way to talk about music: what is your tradition, who are your people, what is the fabric of you?"
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A daughter of the South by way of Nashville now and North Carolina forever, and the self-proclaimed poster child of intersectionality, Matthews is boldly answering those questions on her new album aptly titled Reclamation.
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Recorded in Nashville, TN at Sound Emporium Studios, Reclamation was produced by Levi Lowry (co-writer of Zac Brown Band's hit song Colder Weather). The project features her partner on and off stage Heather Mae, her friends and fellow singer-songwriters Kyshona, Melody Walker, and Chris Housman, and some of the best musicians in Music City like Megan Coleman, Megan Elizabeth McCormick, Ellen Angelico, Ryan Madora, Jen Gunderman, and Michael Majett.
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"This album is both sonically and ideologically the fullest representation of who I am as an artist and as a human," she says. A preacher's kid, a Black woman, a Butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner who sings social justice music right alongside 'traditional' Country and Americana music, Matthews is reclaiming not just of the space Black artists have been denied in Country and Americana music, not just of the space LGBTQ people have been denied in communities of faith, not just of the autonomy women have been denied over their own bodies, she is reclaiming the South that raised her.
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Website: https://www.crysmatthews.com
Video: https://youtu.be/GyrH9D79-uY
National Stage
3rd Annual Women in Music Show
The Rebel Eves (Amanda Rogers opens)
March 7th $17-22
Meet & Greet Reception at 6:30 with refreshments. Come early to support local women-owned businesses 'pop-up shop' --- Jewelry, Pottery, Artwork, Crystals & more
A fearless, sister-powered musical movement, grounded in honest storytelling, three-part harmonies, and shared struggles as women in the male-dominated music industry, the trio calls their music “Empowered Americana.”
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The Rebel Eves started with a "stars-aligning" type of friendship and musical collaboration. With beginnings in early 2022, the group formed from the love of creativity and the belief that the joy of connection can break down barriers that women have historically been put into in the music industry, society, and religious spaces. Composed of three Michigan bred award winning songwriters, Katie Pederson, Grace Theisen and Jilian Linklater have spent the better part of the last decade writing, touring, and harmonizing across the country with successful solo careers. With Grace and Jilian both coming out as queer in the last couple of years and Katie being a strong ally to the LGBTQIA community, it is incredibly important to the band that the Rebel Eve shows create safe spaces for this community in particular, especially in a world where their rights are being challenged and taken away at lightning speed. They wrote Heaven Without You as a way to reframe and push back on the messaging that heaven is only accessible to certain groups of people; they believe heaven can be created right here, right now, no matter who or how you love. In June of 2023 for the single’s release, they partnered with the Tennessee Equality Project, a nonprofit that is working for the equality of the LGBTQIA community in Tennessee through legislation. This year, they will be donating a portion of the proceeds from their merchandise towards the ACLU for the continued fight for the many injustices happening in the United States.
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With a motto of connection over perfection, in less than two years the band has reached new heights in their collaboration, outselling venues in Michigan and sharing main stages at large independent midwest festivals with national touring acts such as The Wood Brothers, The War & Treaty and The Accidentals. They have played festivals such as BlissFest, Mile of Music, and Sonic Lunch. This summer they will be making their debut appearance at Frederik Meijer Gardens, Wheatland Music Festival and Sisters Folk Festival in Oregon. With record merchandise sales over the last two years, they have quickly won over the hearts of their audiences with their honest storytelling, hair raising harmonies, and compelling lyricism that makes for true listening room moments attendees won’t soon forget. Cultivating moments of vulnerability, laughter, original songs, and incredible 3-part harmonies in their shows, they can promise you will walk away feeling inspired, connected, and hopeful. Their first EP, Shake The Ground, will be out this September. You can hear the first two singles off this album, American Dream and Rebel Eve on all streaming platforms. Their full length album will be out in the spring of 2026.
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Website: https://www.therebeleves.com
Video: https://youtu.be/INaKp0P9MRs?list=RDINaKp0P9MRs
Amanda Rogers
Website: https://www.amandaspiano.com
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF--oUzDHNE&list=RDzF--oUzDHNE&start_radio=1
Fall 2025 Season
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Richard Faith
September 12th $20
The Black Donnellys
An evening of great Irish entertainment. The Black Donnellys perform routinely at the RIRA Irish Club at the Mandalay Hotel in Las Vegas.
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All proceeds from this concert will benefit the Mother Nature Festival.live Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to help stop global warming.
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These are two incredibly tall leprechauns from Ireland whose music is magic. Come enjoy and support the cause.
National Stage
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Critically acclaimed father and son musicians! Loren is an award-winning acoustic guitar player. ​
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Loren started playing guitar when he was only four years old and by the time he was six, he played the Chet Atkins hit “Yackety Axe” in front of thousands of country music fans at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. He went on to study with Jimmy Atkins (Chet’s brother), which led to a touring career with his family band from Nashville to Las Vegas. Since settling down in Central New York, he has been in constant demand as a studio musician.​
Loren's finely-honed songwriting skills have launched his melodies on NBC’s #1-rated show “ER”, “The Young and The Restless” and on a Christmas CD with BB King and Patti Labelle. He has performed with some of the best acoustic players in the world including Stephen Bennett, Richard Smith, John Knowles, Muriel Anderson, and Loren’s friend and mentor Tommy Emmanuel, the Australian guitar sensation. He has also recorded with multiple Grammy winner and legendary producer Lloyd Maines.
Close to seven years ago at age sixteen, LJ picked up his guitar and started to play again. He had learned basic chords as a youngster and had been around his father’s playing and performing his entire life. LJ paid attention, watched, and listened. However, as a teen, he focused on school and athletics and left the guitar for quite a while. Finally, he decided to see if he could learn to play songs like his dad: famed guitarist Loren Barrigar.
LJ began to play in earnest by listening to his dad’s CDs; he learned by ear, effort, and practice. A willingness to seek advice meant he asked his dad as well as his dad’s performing partner, Mark Mazengarb, to teach him how to improve his play. He also watched videos of his guitar hero and mentor, his dad’s friend: famed Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel.
Self-taught musician, LJ is now playing with his dad as part of their finger-picking style duo and performing all over Central New York and beyond. They have been on the road doing shows and appearing on the radio in Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Arkansas. Audiences are enthusiastic and many fans return frequently to local shows.
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Website: https://www.lorenbarrigar.com/
Video: https://youtu.be/bk8KxUGcYpU
September 13th $20-25
Loren & LJ Barrigar​
National Stage
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Windborne
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“The best musical discovery of the year...Stunningly powerful vocal harmony...Windborne sets a new bar for folk harmony singing today” - Brian O'Donovan, NPR
September 27th $20-25
“The best musical discovery of the year...Stunningly powerful vocal harmony...Windborne sets a new bar for folk harmony singing today” - Brian O'Donovan, NPR
Hailed as “the most exciting vocal group in a generation,” internationally acclaimed vocal
ensemble Windborne is known for their stunningly powerful arrangements and their ability to shift effortlessly between drastically different styles of traditional music within the same concert. While their musical knowledge spans many continents and cultures, they remain deeply rooted in the American singing traditions they have embodied since childhood. Praised for "the purity of their voices, strength of their material, and attention to detail in their arrangements," Lynn Rowan, Will Rowan, Lauren Breunig, and Jeremy Carter-Gordon share a vibrant energy onstage -- their connection to each other and to the music clearly evident. They educate as they entertain, telling stories about the music and explaining the characteristics and stylistic elements of the traditions in which they sing.
The group sprang to wider recognition after singing a 19th century protest song outside Trump Tower which went viral, gaining over a million views. As groups and venues all over the country started reaching out to them, the group went full time in Dec 2017. Having sung everywhere from roadside yurts to 2,200 seat theaters, Windborne remains connected to their roots, regularly teaching educational programs, participatory workshops, and being invited as guest lecturers at universities. Seasoned teachers and song-leaders, they delight groups young and old with enthusiastic, clear, and nuanced instruction for musicians of all levels--regardless of background, language, or experience! Their performance never fails to awe their audiences, presenting something truly unique, and yet universal: the power, diversity, and innovation possible within the human voice, joined in harmony.
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Website: https://www.windbornesingers.com/band-bio
Video: https://youtu.be/12HwvPpWUx0
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Mark Wahl
October 7th $17-20
Feng E
Feng E is a young musical sensation (born in 2007) from Taiwan. His claim to fame began in 2018 at the very young age of 10 when his video went viral playing Tommy Emmanuel's arrangement of Mason Williams Classical Gas with a ukulele in the park in Taipei. He later ended up playing live with Tommy himself in both Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Owing to the viral video, Feng E was invited to The Ellen DeGeneres Show to play for a worldwide audience. He has since been on Ellen’s show twice (2018 and 2019), and each video has 2.3 million views. In 2020, Feng E made it to the quarter-finals of America’s Got Talent. His highest social media demographic location is the United States.
FENG E on Ellen Show!! https://youtu.be/BB0CbCOUi3w?si=KKMAULHWfrKNu09y
FENG E at 10: https://youtu.be/oQN7IYYtkFE?si=HuYnm5KnJbHstcr5
FENG E at 15 with Tommy Emmanuel in Hong Kong: https://youtu.be/QTBaqEeAU5A?si=-Bz4swjn-IjCZx_Q
Feng E has become a star in the world of ukulele music, performing and winning competitions around the world, in places like Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, China, and Hawaii. On Asia’s Got Talent (2017), he was the only competitor to get the Golden Buzzer from producer David Foster.
To date, Feng E has mastered five musical instruments, starting with the piano at the age of four. He also has numerous compositions to his name.
His notoriety continues to skyrocket through his various ukulele covers of popular music with over 768K YouTube subscribers and multi-millions of views. His expert renditions and his straight-forward “can do” attitude has turned the heads and stolen the hearts of some of the biggest stars in the world.
He currently has 768k YouTube subscribers, 175k Instagram followers, 108k followers on Facebook.
Guest Curator Series
Curator: David Kaspar
#JazzByTheLake: Clarinet Summit with The Joseph Brothers Quartet
October 17th $17-20
The opening event of the Fall #JazzByTheLake season showcases The Clarinet Summit with The Joseph Brothers Quintet. This is the first performance of Anthony Joseph at the Oswego Music Hall in over three years.
Anthony Joseph originally from Rome N.Y. He started his teaching career in Oswego. He was the band director from 1973 thru 2006 when he retired. He founded the Oswego High Schools "Evening of Big Band Jazz" concerts in 1981. These events paired nationally recognized Jazz artists performing with Oswego High school students. The Anthony Joseph Swingtet specialized in classic Jazz standards and ballads from the Great American Songbook. This group was nominated for Syracuse Area Music Award and was a frequent act at the Oswego Music Hall.
Ron Joseph, also a Rome N.Y. native, is one of New York's hottest Jazz clarinets. Over the years, Ron has performed with various groups including Skip Parson's Riverboat Jazz Band, Jambalaya Jazz Band, Jon Seigler All Stars, and The George Webster Trio. Ron is currently a member of The River Dogs Jazz Band that performs regularly throughout the Buffalo area.
Barry Blumenthal is a graduate of The Crane School of Music, where he served as ConcertMaster of the Crane Symphony for several years, including performances at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. Since 2000 Barry has maintained a dual life as a pianist/violinist performing Syracuse Symphony Orchestra as a violinist/pianist and a pianist for Symphoria and The Central New York Jazz Orchestra. He is a member of The Salt City Jazz Collective where he plays trumpet and flugelhorn. Barry is a true multi instrumentalist.
Bassist Dave Arenius is a Rochester N.Y. native. Dave has shared the stage with Don Menza, Sal Nistico, Tal Farlow, Herb Ellis, and Attila Zollar, just to name a few. In the blues genre, he has performed with Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Joe Beard and Steve Grills.
Drummer Jimmy Johns has a forty year career in the Central New York music scene as both a vibraphonist and drummer. He was an adjunct instructor in both instruments at Colgate University and Hamilton College for over thirty years. He has shared the stage with Hank Jones, Cedar Walton, Slam Stewart, Nick Brignola and The New York Voices. Jimmy has played vibraphone at Pastabillities every Wednesday night for the past twenty five years.
This is presented by The Ontario Center for Performing Arts Guest Curator Program made possible in part by The New York Council on the Arts.
Quote: " The Clarinet Summit is a Dixieland Dream for Jazz audiences throughout Central New York"
National Stage
New! Partner Series Co-Bill: Ordinary Elephant and Ash & Eric
October 18th $17-22
Nominated for 2024 IFMA Album of the Year by Folk Alliance International.
“…easily one of the best folk duo records I have heard in years” - PopMatters
Mesmerizing folk duo Ordinary Elephant has spent the better part of the last decade on a never-ending tour that’s earned married couple Crystal and Pete Damore widespread critical acclaim and made fans of luminaries like Tom Paxton and Mary Gauthier. In 2017, the pair took home the International Folk Music Award for Artist of the Year on the strength of their breakout album, Before I Go, and two years later, they returned with the similarly lauded Honest, which the Associated Press hailed as “one of the best Americana albums of the year.”
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The band’s new stripped-down, self-titled collection is the purest distillation of their sound yet, showcasing the arresting power of the couple’s gorgeous harmonies and intricate fretwork. The songs are timeless, rooted in rich, character-driven storytelling, and the performances are similarly transportive, fueled by delicately intertwined banjo, guitar, and octave mandolin. Though the songs were born out of a period of deep uncertainty, the record itself is a work of profound self-assurance, one delivered by a duo whose personal and professional lives embody the limitless possibility of honest, organic collaboration. Press play on Ordinary Elephant and you’ll hear more than just a husband and wife; you’ll hear the sound of sincerity and commitment, of patience and gratitude, of learning to let go of expectation and revel in the simple beauty of the moment.
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Website: https://www.ordinaryelephant.net/
Video: https://youtu.be/bff4YmVvTvk
Ordinary Elephant
Ash & Eric
Their songs feel like a warm welcome, a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold at the end of a long day.
Ash & Eric’s latest album “Sure”is “a tale of love… [with] some heartaches along the way” - Americana UK
The married couple’s latest album “Sure” is “a tale of love… [with] some heartaches and a pinch of disputation along the way” (Americana UK). Hailing from the gritty heart of New England (Worcester, MA), the two are experts in discovering beauty in the challenges of life. Their musings reflect the hope and pain we all experience, sung in voices as vulnerable and honest as their lyrics. Their songs feel like a warm welcome, a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold at the end of a long day. No Depression says their writing will leave listeners “...coming away from many of these [songs] cleansed.”
Their warm harmonies, swirling acoustic guitars, and easy stage presence have earned them a dedicated following in the emerging US folk scene, performing with folk legends like Livingston Taylor, Vance Gilbert, Heather Maloney, and Mark Erelli. Their independent 9-song release, “Sure”, was recorded, mixed and produced by Eric at a boarding school in Western Massachusetts, and was accompanied by a 29-minute visual album, “A Song for Every Sadness”. The film premiered at Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) in June 2024 and is now available to stream globally.
They have performed countless shows in a myriad of venues from house and living room concerts to legendary rooms like Club Passim (Cambridge, MA), Southern Vermont Arts Center (Manchester, VT), and Godfrey Daniels (Bethlehem, PA). They have performed on the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Stage (Hillsdale, PA), won the CT Folks Grassyhill Songwriter Competition, and performed at the CT Folk and Black Bear Americana Festivals. Ash & Eric have been nominated for New England Music Awards, won many Worcester Music Awards, and was offered a Semi-Formal Showcase at the 2019 NERFA Conference in Stamford, CT. Their vision has been tested and tried through long hours on the road, playing their best shows for whoever showed up in a room.
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Website: https://www.ashandericmusic.com/
Video: https://youtu.be/BDsb0jT_dBo
National Stage
Kaia Kater (Khalil Jade opening)
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--In collaboration with Pink Rock Culture Co-op
November 1st $20-25
“…plaintive, mesmerizing…writes and performs with the skill of a folk-circuit veteran…” – Rolling Stone
“...One of the most remarkable Canadian folk records in some time ... Kater's music is somehow ancient and brand new at the same time.” - Tom Power, CBC Radio 2
2025 JUNOS Contemporary Roots Album of the Year Winner
2025 International Folk Music Awards Nominated
Montreal-born Grenadian-Canadian Kaia's jazz-fueled voice and deft songcraft have garnered acclaim from NPR's Tiny Desk, The Guardian, Rolling Stone and No Depression. Through her artful banjo playing and lush songwriting, Kaia draws on influences rooted in Quebec, the Caribbean, and Appalachia, all of which reflect the diversity of her background -- her ties to the Canadian folk music scene, her college years spent soaking up Appalachian music in West Virginia, her father’s experience growing up in Grenada, and her recent work in film composition.
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Kaia Kater’s new JUNO Award-winning album, Strange Medicine (Free Dirt Records/ acrönym in Canada) was created during a period of deep self-reflection and reinvention. Taking the helm as co-producer, alongside Joe Grass (Elisapie, Barr Brothers), the album finds Kater expanding her creative scope with cinematic arrangements, and working with guest artists such as Taj Mahal, Allison Russell and Aoife O’Donovan. The album celebrates the power of women and oppressed people throughout history, while also sharing meditations on her own life.
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Kaia released her first EP Old Soul (2013) when she was just out of high school. Since then, she’s gone on to release several albums, Sorrow Bound (2015), Nine Pin (2016) and Grenades (2018) and Strange Medicine (May 2024). For the JUNO-nominated and Polaris Music Prize long-listed Grenades, Kaia leaned into a wide array of sounds and styles in order to convey a broad range of emotions and topics, most notably her Caribbean ancestry and her father’s experience as a refugee in Canada.
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In 2020, Kaia took part in the Slaight Music Residency at the Canadian Film Center, leading her to write original music for The Porter (BET+ 2022), for which she garnered a Canadian Screen Award. She also wrote and performed music for the new film, My Dead Friend Zoe (March 2024).
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Website: https://www.kaiakater.com/
Video: https://youtu.be/5IE0F3wViDk
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​Website: https://khaliljademusic.com/home
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Oswego Opera Theater
C O M P A N Y
Music and Lyrics by STEPHEN SONDHEIM
Book by GEORGE FURTH
Two Amazing Performances!
Friday, November 7th @ 7:30pm
Tickets
Advance $25, Door $30
Students with ID and under 12: $10
Tickets also available at Rivers End Bookstore
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All General Admission, No Reserved Seating
Sunday, November 9th @ 3pm
​Originally Produced and Directed on Broadway by Harold Prince
Orchestration by Jonathan Tunick
Featuring
Molly Conroy Julia Ebner Adam Paul Fine Marcus Herndon
Jennifer LaMonica Gina Mazzoli Mary Musial Marshall Pokrentowski
Alesha Reeder Jane Schuessler Joe Schuessler Nadia Simone Ben Spierman
and Matthew Youngblood
Music Director
Daniel Williams
Stage Director
Benjamin Spierman
Assistant Director
Klark Elliona Johnson
Stage Manager
Elise Steele
Costume Advisor
Eric Lamp
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COMPANY is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also provided by MTI. www.mtishows.com
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This project is made possible through the CNY Arts Grants for Regional Arts and Cultural Engagement regrant program thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature, the Office of the Governor and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.​
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National Stage
Abby Posner (Jessie Elizabeth opening)
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Abby’s songs have been critically acclaimed, winning the 28th Annual USA Songwriting Competition in 2023!
“Abby balances authenticity & vocal prowess on alternate tuning stunner “Simple Life” - Glide Magazine
November 15th $17-22
Abby Posner has been a working musician in Los Angeles for the past 18 + years. She is best known for her ability to play nearly any instrument that she can get her hands on, twisting genres, and pushing the boundaries of folk, roots, electronic, and pop music making her "Genre Fluid." If you have seen Abby perform live, you know she can play a fierce lead-blues guitar solo, or throw down a complex Earl Scruggs banjo riff. You also may have spotted her playing drums, mandolin, or bass while using her looping pedal. In addition to her versatility, she puts passion and soul into everything she does. Posner's live shows are simply mesmerizing. Her energy is comparable to Chris Thile of Nickel Creek, and The Lumineers. Posner’s songs range from intimate haunting folk songs, to upbeat festival/dance your pants off hits.
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This CalArts music graduate has composed & produced music for commercials/TV, films, and radio shows all over the globe (including Hulu’s Maggie, The Fosters, This American Life, The Art of More, and Last Tango in Halifax, custom songs for Facebook, Viacom-CBS, and CW’s Kung Fu). She also has music placed in commercials and TV shows all over China, Sweden, The UK, and Australia. Posner appeared in two episodes of GLEE in season four, playing banjo and guitar, and the Freeform show Famous In Love playing banjo, as well as performing live several times on KCAL 9 news and Good Day LA.
Abby has also scored the music for multiple films (Across Land Across Sea, Through Their Eyes, award winning short animation Elizabeth Sees, and recently scored the Award-winning Documentary Lady Buds) while playing and touring all over the US. In 2019 Posner played banjo and sang Wagon Wheel as a featured principal role in Bank Of America's ad campaign for the Ken Burn’s PBS Country Music Documentary alongside Dom Flemons and Amythyst Kiah.
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After signing with Gary Calamar’s licensing company Laurel Canon in 2016, Abby Posner has gained major recognition in the LA music scene, opening for such iconic acts as PHRANC, Sierra Hull, and Dustbowl Revival. She has released multiple albums under her name, and Abby & The Myth, and recently released her first full length album under Blackbird Record Label in 2023 titled Second Chances.
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Abby Posner teamed up with Ships Have Sailed to write hit song Get Loud in 2023. Get Loud continues to Chart the Alternative Rock/indie Radio charts, and won the grand prize in the USA Songwriter Competition in 2023.
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Website: https://www.abbyposner.com/
Video: https://youtu.be/2wsViCAgWlk
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Jessie Elizabeth website: https://jessieelizabeth.com
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Dave Kaspar
#JazzByTheLake: Actual Proof
November 21st $17-20
The final show of the Fall season showcases the Quintet Actual-Proof: ive amazing artists who share a common vision and sensibility for Contemporary jazz.
Saxophonist/Flautist Brian Scherer is an active touring artist both in New York and Florida. Locally, he has been a featured player with The Maria DeSantis Orchestra, ESP, Funky Jazz Band and his own Quartet. Nationally he has shared the stage with Don Menza, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra Jr, and Martha Reeves, to name a few.
Bassist Ronnie France has a long local history working with Atlas Linen Company and Ronnie Leigh and Alliance. Nationally, he has worked as a touring bassist with Doc Severinsen. He has shared the stage with Paul Shaffer, David Clayton Thomas, and drummers Steve Smith and Dennis Chambers, and many more.
Guitarist Rick Balestra has been a featured soloist with The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Pops Orchestra, and Syracuse Opera Company. He is currently a professor of guitar at Colgate University, Hamilton College, and SUNY Oswego. For ten seasons Rick was the founder and facilitator for The Jazz Guitar Festival in Upstate N.Y., where he shared the stage with Peter Bernstein, Vic Juris, Mike Stern and many more.
Keyboardist Ed Vivenzio had major label success with the rock band 805 in the 80's with two releases on the RCA label. Since then he has played contemporary jazz around CNY with Dave Hanlon's Cookbook, Funky Jazz Band, and the Dave Hanlon Trio.
Drummer Evan DuChene toured with Inner City recording artists Dry Jack, backing such artists as McCoy Tyner and Freddie Hubbard. Locally, Evan is a member of the Sammy's winning group ESP. He's also a member of Monk Rowe's Ensemble, Five Families.
This is presented by The Ontario Center for Performing Arts Guest Curator Program and made possible in part by The New York Council on the Arts.
National Stage
Mad Agnes
December 6th $17-22
“Setting the standard high, Mad Agnes offers great harmonies, a sense of humor and a theatrical flair…” - M. Jackson – Forksville Folk Festival
Mad Agnes has won hearts on two continents with their signature intricate harmonies, compelling songwriting, and passionate delivery. The genre-bending trio—Margo Hennebach, Adrienne Jones and Mark Saunders—creates an exciting, inclusive performance, delivering new original songs, selections from their thirteen album catalog, story telling and impromptu vocal improv.
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In their current iteration, Mad Agnes uses primarily one microphone around which they form and re-form, early-radio style. Their ease with one another on stage invites the audience into their world of human connection and spontaneous fun. Well-crafted instrumentation – using guitars, mandolin, ukulele, piano, melodica, an inventive keyboard and three-part harmonies as tight as jeans from the dryer – enthralls audiences again and again. Mad Agnes’ latest recording, Likely Story, was released on Feb. 1, 2024, and is being nationally promoted from Feb-April.
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Mad Agnes has performed internationally at listening rooms and festivals, including The Greenwich Village Folk Festival (on-line), The Kerrville Folk Festival (TX), Mountain Stage New Songs Festival (WV), The Birchmere (VA), The Frick Pittsburgh (PA), The Forksville Folk Festival, The Sellersville Theatre, Bethlehem Musikfest and Godfrey Daniels (PA), The Bitter End and the Towne Crier (NY), Old Settlers Inn (KS), WFMT’s Live Stage (IL), Cedarburg Cultural Center (WI), Sunrise Civic Center Theater (FL), University of Hartford and Cheney Hall (CT), The Ark (MI), and First nights Morristown (NJ), Northampton (MA), Worcester (MA), Cropredy Festival (England), Swanage Folk Festival (England) and Fylde Folk Festival (England), at private events and a gaggle of house concerts. Mad Agnes was also honored to be formal main stage artists at the SW-2007 and NE-2004 Regional Folk Alliance Conferences.
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Website: https://madagnes.com/
Video: https://youtu.be/hpcJs7FHEAM
Winter/Spring 2025 Season
National Stage
Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light
Jim Shaffer opens
January 11th $17-22
Fresh off a first place win at the 2023 Thomas Point Beach Bluegrass Festival band competition, Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light have been captivating audiences throughout the northeast. With songs as sweet and biting as the nectar and venom in her voice, Sumner's lyric-forward writing and penchant for snaking chord progressions demand something far beyond folk conventions, highlighting the acrobatic range of her brilliant bandmates Kat Wallace (fiddle) and Mike Siegel (upright bass).
Sumner is no stranger to the stage. She spent her early career on the bluegrass circuit, singing and writing with the genre-bending Boston group Twisted Pine. Since setting out on her own, Sumner's songs have been critically acclaimed, winning the Lennon Award in the folk category of the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song "Radium Girls (Curie Eleison);" earning her a spot in the Kerrville New Folk Competition; and being chosen four consecutive years by WBUR/NPR as one of the top Massachusetts entries in the Tiny Desk Competition.​
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Website: https://rachelsumnermusic.com/home
Video: https://youtu.be/NBmM8UACk8c
Video: https://youtu.be/FPZoKte3zd8
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“Meticulous songwriting” – NPR
“Praised by audiences for her powerful, lonesome voice and haunting songs, Rachel Sumner carefully spins melodies that get caught in your head and delivers them “with an attitude and drive in her guitar playing...sure to strike a chord and dig deep into your heart.” – Red Line Roots
National Stage
Guy Davis
January 25th $20-25
Guy Davis is a two-time, back-to-back Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues, a musician, actor, author, and songwriter. Guy uses a blend of Roots, Blues, Folk, Rock, Rap, Spoken Word, and World Music to comment on, and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching on historical events, and common life struggles. His background in theater is pronounced through the lyrical storytelling of songs “God’s Gonna Make Things Over” about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, “Welcome to My World”, and “Got Your Letter In My Pocket”. His storytelling is sometimes painful, deep, and real, an earthy contrast to modern-day commercial music, meant to create thought, underlined by gentle tones from his guitar or banjo fingerpicking.
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He recently added Broadway Composer to his CV by writing the incidental music for the recent Tony nominated revival of his father, Ossie Davis' play, "Purlie Victorious". Guy won “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award, and was nominated by The Blues Foundation for Best Song of the Year, Best Acoustic Album of the Year, Best Acoustic Artist of the Year, and Best Instrumentalist. In fact, he's been nominated nearly two dozen times by the Blues Foundation.
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Website: http://guydavis.com/wp/
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfuRrQ8hgzY
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“Truth be told, there just aren’t many who can deliver Americana in as interesting and entertaining a manner – or give acoustic traditional blues such a contemporary sound – as Davis, and it sure is a lot of fun hearing him explore the different sides of the genre here on Kokomo Kidd.”
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National Stage
Mike Powell
February 8th $17-22
“A Mike Powell performance is an exhibit in honest talent. One of the premier singer/songwriters in music today” – NYS Music
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A natural born storyteller with stage presence that's best described as "real". His spontaneous nature and extreme comfort behind a microphone creates a vibe that engages audiences in a way that only authenticity can. His songs are filled with powerful imagery and thought provoking themes but a Powell performance is much more than just a concert - it's an exploration into the human heart. Seamlessly weaving hilarious tales of everyday life with heartbreaking songs of tragedy, loss & blue collar hardship. Pulling from his catalog of over 200 original songs and accompanied by his musical companion of over 15 years, multi-instrumentalist John Hanus, they have become one of the "must see" acts in Central New York.
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​Website: https://mikepowell.co/home
National Stage
Leslie Mendelson
February 22 $17-22
With her enchanted voice and evocative songwriting, Leslie Mendelson has won the hearts and minds of both an adoring fanbase and fellow artists alike. No less than Jackson Browne has declared, “Leslie’s melodies are timeless. They reach me way back in my youth somewhere. I hear traces of Burt Bacharach and Carole King, and hooks and passages that remind me of the pop songs I grew up hearing on the radio,” while The Wallflowers frontman Jakob Dylan shares: “Voices like Leslie’s can get away with almost anything. Along with being a great songwriter, this leaves her with few if any peers.”
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A Grammy Award-nominated artist, Mendelson returns this summer with her fourth studio album, After The Party. For this latest effort, she collaborates with not one, but three producers: the legendary Peter Asher (James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt), the young, in-demand Tyler Chester (Madison Cunningham, Sara Bareilles, Sara Watkins) and her longtime songwriting partner, three-time Grammy Award-winner, Steve McEwan. Recorded at Jackson Browne’s studio Grove Masters in Santa Monica, CA, she was joined by an ace band featuring guitarists Waddy Wachtel and John Jorgenson, bassists Leland Sklar and Derrick Anderson, and drummers Jim Keltner and Abe Rounds.
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​Website: https://www.lesliemendelson.com/
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​ “Leslie is a master of writing from her subconscious, something comes out of Leslie when she begins to write a song. It’s not from the mind; it’s from somewhere the mind can’t comprehend. Then, you return to the song and you might add details that your mind knows.” – Jackson Browne
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National Stage
Women in Music series:
Crys Matthews and The Nields
Meet & Greet reception at 6:30 with Oswego County Opportunities
“Let's make a difference together in honor of International Women’s Day! Bring a donation of women's personal hygiene product to the concert and support access to essential needs for women and girls in our community”. Some examples of items in need include: Feminine hygiene products (tampons and pads), Shampoo & conditioner (including dry shampoo), Deodorant, Toothpaste & Toothbrushes, Combs/hairbrushes, Lotion, Perfume, Laundry soap, Hand sanitizer, Body Wipes
March 8 $17-22
Already being hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie,” Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. A powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she lightheartedly calls "the poster-child for intersectionality," Justin Hiltner of Bluegrass Situation called Matthews’s gift "a reminder of what beauty can occur when we bridge those divides." She is made for these times and, with the release of her new, hope-fueled, love-filled social justice album Changemakers, Matthews hopes to take her place alongside some of her heroes in the world of social-justice music like Sweet Honey in the Rock and Holly Near. Of Matthews, ASCAP VP & Creative Director Eric Philbrook says, “By wrapping honest emotions around her socially conscious messages and dynamically delivering them with a warm heart and a strong voice, she lifts our spirits just when we need it most in these troubled times.
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”Matthews began performing in 2010, but cemented her acclaim at Lincoln Center as the 2017 New Song Music and Performance Competition grand prize winner. That year she also released two new projects—her album of thoughtful songs on love and life called The Imagineers, and her EP called Battle Hymn for an Army of Lovers, which tackllly-trained clarinetist turned folk singer, Matthews is using her voice to answer Dr. Martin Luther King's call to be "a drum major for justice."
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​Website: https://www.crysmatthews.com/
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“Rising folk music star” – Ann Powers, NPR
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The Nields, the folk-rock band from Massachusetts, are delighted to announce the release of their much-anticipated twenty-first album, Circle of Days. An homage to the calendar––and really, time itself––this collection of songs is a testament to the band’s enduring creativity and unwavering commitment to their craft.
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During the pandemic, Nerissa and Katryna Nields, the band’s frontwomen, took a daily walk with their beloved dogs, Greta and Hudson. The destination was a nearby lake, where Katryna would take a daily photo. Inspired by the ever-shifting seasons, they came to realize that each of Nerissa’s new songs could be intimately connected to a particular time of year, forming a musical cycle.
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With their unparalleled ability to blend pop craftsmanship, folk sensibility, and the influences of ’60s classic rock and ’90s alternative, The Nields have created a distinctive musical style that defies categorization. Their songs, imbued with intelligence and occasional humor, offer poignant observations on life’s unexpected twists and turns. Apple Music describes their sound as “equal parts The Beatles, the cranberries, and Joni Mitchell,” a testament to their unique fusion of melodic sensibilities
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Website: https://nields.com/
“A masterful mix of modern folk with an alternative edge.”
-Minneapolis Star Tribune
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Dave Kaspar
Jazz By The Lake: The Jill Minye’ Quartet
March 14th $17-20
The opening event of the Spring season of #JazzByTheLake showcases The Jill Minye Quartet on Friday, March 14th.
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Jill Minye' was born and raised in Syracuse, New York. Jill came back to CNY after spending 20+ years in Northern California. She studied classical piano at Grunnell College. Ten years ago, Jill decided to follow a dream, going back to college for Jazz studies. Jill has played venues throughout Northern California as a solo and with trios and quartets. Jill can currently be seen in several area Jazz series including JazzingTheBurbs, BrewPubJazz, and JazzAlFresco.
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Saxophonist Frank Grosso has been a music educator for several decades in the Syracuse City School District. He has his own trio and quartet, and is a member of both The Salt City Jazz Collective and the Central New York Jazz Orchestra.
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Bassist Robert MacPartland is an Eastman graduate who has performed professionally for over ten years across many musical genres.
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Drummer Gary Iacovelli is a 35-year veteran of the CNY music scene. He co-founded the Steely Dan tribute band The Royal Scam. Gary can currently be seen playing with the Longwood Jazz Project, The Dan Pugh Trio, and the Theo Curtin Trio to name a few.
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This is presented by The Ontario Center for the Performing Arts Guest Curator Program and made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts.
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National Stage
Adam Ezra Group
​Meet & Greet reception at 6:30pm with Clear Path for Veterans and ‘Homelessness in America - In Scene and Story’ art exhibit prior to show. All proceeds from the sale of art will be donated to Clear Path.
March 22nd $20-25
Welcome To Adam Ezra Group
​He takes a month out of each year to visit the living rooms of his fans around the country. His band and nonprofit organization RallySound host a free festival every summer that raised $151,000 for homeless veterans in 2024. He live-streamed for 500 nights in a row during the pandemic. They co-produced an album with 163 fans…
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If you haven’t connected with Adam Ezra Group yet, these are just a few examples to help you understand how this underground, Americana songwriter and his bandmates seem to have popped out of nowhere, establishing a connection with their fans unlike any other, and are suddenly selling out theaters throughout the Northeast.
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These days you’ll find Adam and his bandmates, Corinna Smith (Fiddle), Poche Ponce (Bass), and Alex Martin (Percussion), constantly out on the road. If you look at their tour schedule now, you can buy tickets to see them at festivals, rock venues, and theaters around the country, but you will also see their tour continuously peppered with activism and grassroots events; a testament to an artist who will never forget where he came from, and whose mission is about much more than music.
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“This Independent Underground Folk Band Is Blowing Up Without Selling Out” – SPIN Magazine
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​Website: https://www.adamezra.com/home
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Guest Curator Series
Curator: Tom Lambert
Songs from the Trail
March 29th $20
Songs From the Trail is a multi-media “In the Round” exploration of long-distance backpacking and thru-hiking life. Songwriters Bryan Titus, Marc Apostolides and Shawn Taylor, share songs and stories from their long journeys on The Appalachian Trail, and beyond. A running slide show documents decades of their trail lives, across America’s famous long-distance trails, while scattered thru-hiking relics, further pull the trail into the room. Songs From the Trail invites you to metaphorically and musically re-hike the trail with them live, as one is never really “thru” with their hike.
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Guest Curator Series
Curator: Ann Buchau
Music, Movement & Mindfulness
April 4th $20
7 pm doors open 6:30
Back by popular demand is a two hour special guest curated event that begins with gentle yoga movement before settling into a mindful restorative pose to listen and enjoy live dreamy music by two talented musicians that will both inspire and ignite the soul and mind.
Ann Buchau, yoga instructor, Citya Studios of Pulaski, NY, in collaboration with musicians Annie Sumi and Travis Knapp.
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Guest Curator Series
Veterans Free Canteen
April 10th free Music starts at 4; Dinner 5-7
National Stage
Tony Trischka's Earl Jam--A Tribute to Earl Scruggs
Featuring Tony, Michael Davies, Casey Driessen and Jared Engel
April 12th $25-30
Tony was born in Syracuse, N.Y., in 1949, and raised in a home filled with music. There were Broadway scores and a sweeping range of classical music, from Stravinsky to Beethoven. (The first thing Trischka learned to play on the banjo, in fact, was the Ninth Symphony.) The wide- open American vistas of Aaron Copland had an especially potent spiritual and visceral impact on him, as did the folk music his left-leaning father held dear. The Almanac Singers, the solo work of its founding members Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly’s children’s LP were in constant rotation.
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He’s raised the banjo’s profile in many other ways as well. Through his theme song for Books on the Air and performances on A Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, From Our Front Porch and other programs, he’s been a frequent presence on NPR. His work with his pal Steve Martin too has helped the banjo gain a wider audience and deeper understanding. Trischka’s Grammy-nominated album Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular, released in 2007, and Great Big World, from 2014, feature Martin within a mix of veterans and up-and-coming luminaries. He produced Martin’s Grammy-nominated Rounder album from 2011, Rare Bird Alert, which touts performances by the Steep Canyon Rangers, Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. His forthcoming album, Shall We Hope, is a visionary exploration of Civil War history featuring an all-star cast—from Michael Daves and Maura O’Connell to the Femmes, Catherine Russell, Guy Davis, the actor John Lithgow and many others. In addition to his Grammy nominations, he’s earned a number of honors over the years, including the International Bluegrass Music Award for Banjo Player of the Year in 2007, and he was named a United States Artists Friends Fellow in 2012.
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“Whether or not you’re a banjo player, if you play bluegrass, you’re influenced by Earl. So it was easy to get world-class players on board,” says Trischka. Names like Stuart Duncan, Ronnie McCoury, and Darol Anger fill the album liner notes next to those of Molly Tuttle, Brittany Haas, Dominick Leslie, and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, creating a cross-generational, genre-spanning band of, let’s face it, a heaping of the best pickers alive today.
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"Tony Trischka is known as the father of modern bluegrass" - New York Times
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https://www.tonytrischka.com/home
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National Stage
Sam Robbins
Neil Minet opener
April 26th $17-22
Album Release Party at 6:30 pm
Come early and help celebrate!
All are welcome with a ticket to the show!
Sam Robbins is often described as an "old soul singer songwriter." A Nashville based musician whose music evokes classic 70's singer songwriters like James Taylor and Neil Young, Sam adds a modern, upbeat edge to the storyteller troubadour persona. An avid performer, he has gained recognition from extensive touring and as one of the six 2021 winners in the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk competition, one of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the country.
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Sam released his debut album, Finally Feeling Young, on May 14th, 2021. The album is reminiscent of his 70's singer-songwriter heroes, with a modern perspective. On the heels of the award winning opening single, 'Remind Me", Finally Feeling Young has already garnered radio airplay and critical acclaim. Two album tracks, Remind Me and Saying Amen, won him a place as one of the six Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk winners. Americana Highways writes: “He writes of subjects that others don't explore. Saying Amen has Robbins touching that special place Leonard Cohen went. This is brilliance." Fateau Magazine in the UK writes "One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation". Sam is a solo acoustic performer who melds intricate and exciting acoustic guitar arrangements with smooth, intriguing vocals. Wherever he is performing, Sam builds an intimate, easy connection with the listener, naturally creating a feeling of closeness throughout the performance.
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Sam is a full time troubadour, playing over 150 shows a year across the country, including the MainStage at the Kerrville Folk Festival, Dripping Springs Songwriter’s Festival, and as one of the “‘Most Wanted to Return” artists in the 2023 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. In 2018, Sam was able to audition and was aired on NBC's The Voice, performing for Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson as the first artist to perform a Jim Croce song on the show.
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“One of the most promising new songwriters of his generation” –Mike Davies, Fateau Magazine, UK
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Guest Curator Series
#JazzByTheLake: The Jeff Stockham Quartet
Curator: Dave Kaspar
May 2nd $17-20
The final installment of #JazzByTheLake's Spring season features The Jeff Stockham Quartet playing tribute to trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker.
The group showcases trumpeter/vocalist Jeff Stockham. Jeff has performed previously at JazzByTheLake with his group The Jazz Horn Legacy Sextet. He is a featured member of The Central New York Jazz Orchestra. He also appears with other ensembles including The Stock Market Swing Band. He recently played on the Sammy Award winning record of The Ripcords.
Keyboardist Barry Blumenthal is a true multi instrumentalist playing keys, trumpet, flugelhorn, and violin. He currently is a featured member of The Salt City Jazz Collective and The Latin Groove Connection.
Bassist Tom Brigandi is a member of The Central New York Jazz Orchestra and has his own group, Tom Brigandi's Jazz Bass and Beyond. He also spent time with the late great Chuck Mangione's Band touring nationally.
Drummer Jimmy Johns is one of the most sought after musicians in CNY. His trio has over a twenty year residency at Pastabillities in Syracuse. As both a drummer and vibraphonist Jimmy has delighted audiences across New York State.
The following is a presentation of The Ontario Center for Performing Arts Guest Curator Program made possible in part by The New York Council on the Arts.
National Stage
The Honey Badgers,
Season Finale & Emerging Artist Showcase Start Time: 6 PM
May 10th. $15 (free for members)
The Honey Badgers are a folk/Americana duo who are known for their intense, sparkling harmonies, their honest lyrics and melodies, and their undeniable onstage chemistry. Weaving their voices together with Michael’s driving guitar and Erin’s wistful violin, they spin stories and songs about finding yourself, finding each other, and finding your way in the world. They were voted #1 “Most Wanted” at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival Emerging Artist Showcase 2023 and recently won Susquehanna Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Showcase 2024. Their new album “The Earth Turns and So Do We”, released 6/20/2024, was #15 on the July 2024 FAI Folk Radio Chart.
As full time musicians and travelers, Michael and Erin look forward now to creating music that has roots growing through every place they go. They are currently promoting their second full-length album, The Earth Turns and So Do We, which was released on June 20, 2024. The record is a mature and varied collection of original songs focused on the repeating cycles of life, death, love, and time itself.
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​Website: https://www.honeybadgerfolk.com/
Guest Curator Series
Oswegonian Rhapsody
May 31st $25-30
7:00 (doors open at 6:30)
Curator: Nicholas Gentile
Your favorite local bands, your favorite rock operas, now for the first time ever unite in an explosive evening of high-energy performances and crossover extravaganza. Selections from popular musicals and concept albums performed by the likes of Gary Dunes & Code Red, MindCrime (a Johnny Bletch and Terry LeRoi joint venture), Dinosaur FM DJ Bob Brown, the Jimmy Marley Trio, and countless others will have you dancing in the aisles to a variety of musical styles. Come experience TOMMY, THE WALL, ROCKY HORROR, and many more in ways you've never imagined. This benefit concert for the Oswego Opera Theater guarantees to put both the show and the tunes in showtunes.
Fall 2024 Season
National Stage
Delaney Brothers Bluegrass
John Delaney's Birthday Celebration
September 14th $17-22
Back for the third consecutive year to open the Oswego Music Hall 2024 Fall Season, two-time SAMMY winners, Delaney Brothers Bluegrass is one of CNY's oldest and best-loved bluegrass bands. More than just bluegrass, their music is influenced by many other acoustic traditions such as country, folk, gospel, and celtic. Fans are treated to a musical experience that sets toes tapping and… John Delaney’s birthday celebration!
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Website: https://www.facebook.com/DelaneyBrothersBluegrass/
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National Stage
Alice Howe & Freebo
Cam Caruso opening
September 28th $17-22
ALICE HOWE & FREEBO
Alice Howe and Freebo present a unique study in contrasts, bringing together a rising voice in Americana music and a venerable rock, folk, and blues icon. Each a compelling performer in their own right, they both lead and support each other in their well-crafted songs with flawless harmonies and tasteful instrumentation. They have worked as creative collaborators in the studio and on stage since 2017. Freebo weaves his unique fretless bass stylings into Alice's superb vocals for a presentation with undeniable chemistry.
To hear Alice Howe sing is to be enraptured by the natural, unaffected beauty of her voice. There’s no artifice, no histrionics — just honest, authentic, emotionally resonant singing in the tradition of the roots music that shaped her. On Circumstance, her second and latest album, the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter guitarist displays her vocal prowess and introspective writing in abundance, mining both her heart and her musical tastes for a deep, personal journey across an Americana soundscape dotted with blues, folk, country, soul and rock. Recorded in two sessions at the legendary Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where Etta James and Wilson Pickett once shook the walls, the record channels their spirits with 11 stirring tracks that pull no punches diving into the vagaries of the heart and her own personal journey. As an old soul inside a 30-something millennial, Alice puts her stamp on Americana’s venerable strands with 10 standout originals evoking both the classic singer-songwriters and the seminal music that once filled airwaves, roadhouses and juke joints.
Freebo is best known for his decade of touring and recording with Bonnie Raitt, and has distinguished himself as one of the great bassists of our time, playing on records with CSN, Maria Muldaur, John Mayall, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, and Neil Young as well as appearing on Saturday Night Live, The Midnight Special, The Muppet Show, and in concert with the legendary Spinal Tap. Not willing to simply rest on those achievements, Freebo delved more deeply into his creativity and has become a highly regarded singer/songwriter, now working on his 6th full-length solo CD. A multi award winner and finalist in numerous songwriting contests, Freebo’s music reflects his compassionate concern for the world and people around him, and his lyrics and open stage banter have helped him connect with listeners worldwide. A live musical experience with Freebo is astute, insightful, clever, and truly melodic.
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National Stage
Peter Mulvey
Mark Wahl Opening
October 19th. $17-22
Peter Mulvey has been a songwriter, road-dog, raconteur and almost-poet since before he can remember. Raised working-class Catholic on the Northwest side of Milwaukee, he took a semester in Ireland, and immediately began cutting classes to busk on Grafton Street in Dublin and hitchhike through the country, finding whatever gigs he could. Back stateside, he spent a couple years gigging in the Midwest before lighting out for Boston, where he returned to busking (this time in the subway) and coffeehouses. Small shows led to larger shows, which eventually led to regional and then national and international touring. The wheels have not stopped since.
Nineteen records, an illustrated book, thousands of live performances, a TEDx talk, a decades-long association with the National Youth Science Camp, opening for luminaries such as Ani DiFranco, Emmylou Harris, and Chuck Prophet, appearances on NPR, an annual autumn tour by bicycle, emceeing festivals, hosting his own boutique festival (the Lamplighter Sessions, in Boston and Wisconsin)… Mulvey never stops. He has built his life’s work on collaboration and an instinct for the eclectic and the vital. He folds everything he encounters into his work: poetry, social justice, scientific literacy, & a deeply abiding humanism are all on plain display in his art.
In late January 2019, Mulvey and his band, SistaStrings (Chauntee & Monique Ross) with Nathan Kilen on drums, decamped to their home turf, the Cafe Carpe, in Fort Atkinson, WI where they spent just five days making two records in the tiny back room. The live record, “Peter Mulvey with SistaStrings Live at the Cafe Carpe” is out now on Righteous Babe Records. It’s a celebration of a world that is temporarily on hold: a small folk club, packed with listeners, and a band shoulder-to-shoulder, playing and singing with intimacy and abandon.
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Website: https://www.petermulvey.com/
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Dave Kaspar
Jazz By The Lake
featuring Opus Black Strings
October 26th $15-18
SUNY Oswego students $10 (with SUNY ID)
Opus Black Strings is a dynamic violin, viola, cello string trio. Opus Black Strings reimagines the boundaries of classical music with their innovative arrangements of alternative rock, jazz and pop hits. Their captivating performances blend virtuosity with modern flair, creating a unique and unforgettable musical experience. The group was established in 2016. The contemporary trio performs music from Beyonce to Led Zeppelin. Opus Black Strings has a penchant for the unorthodox, Opus coming from the traditional catalog of a composer, and Black because they perform with Lewis and Clark carbon fiber instruments. The trio consists of Kristen Kopf, Allyson Skylar and Liz Ingersoll.
Kristen Kopf is a cellist and veteran performer and pioneer of alternative education for 30 + years. She performs with Monk Rowe, and is a freelancing musician. Allyson Sklar is the owner and operator of Valley Talent Education Center, and The Mohawk Valley Strings Orchestra. She performs with the Half Moon Orchestra, and plays viola with Opus Black Strings. The lifeforce of the Opus Black experience comes from the stylistic interpretations of Liz Ingersoll. Known fondly as Liz “Fiddle”, she was dubbed a “CNY Treasure”. Liz lights up the stage with her dynamic performance and genuine smile. Liz is a freelancing musician and educator, and owns and operates Music With Liz teaching studio and The State Bridge Collective, art and music venue MusicWithLiz.com.
National Stage
Carsie Blanton
November 2nd $25-30
Carsie Blanton is a songwriter with hooks, chutzpah, and revolutionary optimism. Inspired by artist-activists including Nina Simone and Woody Guthrie, her catalog careens through American popular song from folk and swing to pop-punk protest anthems.
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With her unique mix of humor, soul, and political wit, and fifteen-plus years on the road, Blanton has amassed a dedicated fan base and a small menagerie of viral hits (Rich People, Shit List, Fishin’ With You). Her most recent album After the Revolution, produced by Grammy-winner Tyler Chester, was released in March, 2024.
Carsie Blanton is that rare artist who knows how to combine savvy stagecraft and airtight songs with a revolutionary spirit. Take her latest hit, “Rich People,” which swept TikTok by storm with over 3 million views and, true to its name, laid bare wealth inequality in the process. Songs like “Shit List” and “Dealin’ with the Devil” lampoon neo-Nazis and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, respectively, and indicate why she has been hailed as an artist who creates “beautiful, militant anthems,” with the ability to make ”revolution desirable to your body, even if your head resists it” (NPR, American Songwriter).
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Despite the struggles she readily acknowledges, Blanton retains a sense of hope, which shines through in her songs and performances. “When you spend your time watching the news or social media, people seem cruel and stupid,” she says. “But I think that by a wide margin, people are good, and want to take care of each other.” Her songs "Be Good" and “Lovin’ is Easy" are steeped in that spirit, inviting us to “love everybody alive.”
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After keeping her band afloat throughout lockdown with live-streamed ‘Rent Parties’, going viral with a song memorializing John Prine (“Fishin with You), and releasing a critically acclaimed mid-pandemic album (2021’s Love and Rage, “fighting fascism with big hooks and an even bigger heart" - American Songwriter), Blanton chose to bring some nuance to her success, with her recent exposé in The Nation, laying bare the economics of the modern-day music industry.
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The galvanizing spirit of her work is backed up by expertise. Blanton and her impeccably dressed “Handsome Band” bring skills betraying their long tenure as live musicians. Accompanied by Joe Plowman on bass, Patrick Firth on keys, and Sean Trischka on drums, their performances are a rich musical gumbo of genres, meandering from Americana and rock to cocktail jazz, Motown, and pop punk. With three-part harmonies thickening their sound, and kazoos leavening it, her dynamic sets range from slapstick jokes to call-and-response protest songs, making Blanton and her band “a festival presenter’s secret weapon, guaranteed to win over the crowd” (Promoter Roger Menell).
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Blanton makes no attempt to disguise her far-left political leanings, but at the heart of her music is love, and her songs are capable of tethering us to our shared humanity across socio-political lines. No matter where they begin, every audience leaves her show transformed into friends and comrades, united in laughter, camaraderie, and hope.
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Website: https://www.carsieblanton.com
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National Stage
Abbie Gardner
Ryan David Green (from Ryanhood) opening
November 16th $17-22
Abbie Gardner is a fiery dobro player with an infectious smile. Whether performing solo or with Americana harmony trio Red Molly, her acclaimed tales of love and loss, both gritty and sweet, are propelled by her impeccable lap style slide guitar playing. Solo performances feature the dobro as a solo instrument, bouncing between a solid rhythmic backbone and ripping lead lines, all in support of her voice and songs. Her latest recording DobroSinger hit #11 on the Billboard Blues Chart. It’s intimate, real and raw - her dobro and voice recorded at the same time at home, without a band or any studio tricks to hide behind. You can hear every breath, every chuckle, as if you are in the room with her.
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You might recognize Abbie from the female trio Red Molly. That’s where she’s honed her skills since 2004 – writing songs, singing and playing the lap-style resonator guitar often referred to as a Dobra. It’s typically an instrument that you’d find in the midst of a 5-piece bluegrass band, but here Abbie pushes the boundaries and uses it on her own without accompaniment. Here’s the record that she always dreamed of making. Using a tiny closet recording studio in her home in the shadow of NYC, Abbie gathered a collection of songs and recorded them raw – singing and playing without a band, without separating the voice from her instrument, and without any studio tricks to hide behind.
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“DobraSinger is a naked little roller coaster of an album, when we get to hear how good Abbie Gardner really is. By turns awkward, raucous, fragile, and forceful, it sounds like Abbie is in the room with me, maybe sharing a stage and, honestly, I don’t know how to follow her. Nobody wants to follow her.” – Jonathan Byrd, Songwriter
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​Website: https://www.abbiegardner.com
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Ryan David Green's music has been called "virtuosic acoustic guitar that is remarkably accessible", with fast fingerwork that is always in service of unmistakable melodies. Performing a blend of instrumental guitar pieces and delicate vocal tunes, Green takes audiences to a place both otherworldly, and somehow surprisingly intimate.
A graduate of Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, Ryan David Green has performed on four continents, been profiled in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and twice been named "Best Guitarist" in the Tucson Music Awards (where he currently resides). His original compositions have received numerous film and TV placements, including shows on E!, Lifetime, and ABC Family/Freeform.
His acoustic-duo Ryanhood (with musical partner Cameron Hood) has performed with a wide-range of artists including Jason Mraz, Matt Nathanson, and Train, and were named the "Best Group/Duo" in the International Acoustic Music Awards.
His debut solo-guitar album Off and Running releases on June 14, 2024.
Website: https://ryandavidgreen.com
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Dave Kaspar
Jazz By The Lake
November 23rd $15-18 ($10 SUNY Oswego with ID)
The final #JazzByTheLake presentation of 2024 is the group Taj. This group was formed in 2019 with its first performance at #JazzInTheBurps, where they are a fan-favorite. The group has had various members over the years. The one constant is the founder, guitarist Mikal Serafim.
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Mikal Serafin arrived in CNY in 2010 with his original blues group called Funky Blu Roots. This group performed at area clubs and was featured at the Chenango Blues Fest and Syracuse Blues Fest in various years. If you are a fan of artist like Robben Ford or Larry Carlton, you are in a for a treat.
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Bassist Sean Peters hails from Utica, NY. Sean has played with various groups in CNY. He explores musical genres of Blues, Americana and Jazz. He released his first solo album in 2023. Keyboardist Dan Pugh has performed at #JazzByTheLake previously with The Count Blastula Trio. He currently has two bands of his own, The Dan Pugh Trio and Lvl 100, where he performs as a bassist. Drummer Gary Iacovelli is a veteran of the CNY music scene. He drummed for the horn band Prime Time and is also a member of the Steely Dan tribute band The Royal Scam. Currently, he performs with the Longwood Jazz Project, the Jill Minye Trio, and the Dan Pugh Trio as well as Taj.
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This is a presentation of The Ontario Center for the Performing Arts Guest Curator program. It is made possible in part by the NYS Council on the Arts.
Guest Curator Series
Curator: Phase Zero, Inc.
Holiday Rocking Relief
December 14th $16
Phase Zero Inc will be holding a Holiday Rocking Relief at Oswego Music Hall in the McCrobie Civic Center in Oswego. This evening of fun will be held on December 14 starting at 7PM and will feature The Real News. Door prizes and raffles will be held throughout the 2-hour event.
The Real News is Rochester’s premier high energy rock and cover band. It is comprised of music industry veterans; with them playing, there's not a chance the crowd will stop dancing! From Los Angeles, to Florida, to NYC and beyond, The Real News has been spreading their musical "message" to satisfied crowds for years.
This event is being held to raise money for Phase Zero which is a new nonprofit organization started in 2024 to find better ways of dealing with the refugee crisis. In a world where over 117 million people are refugees, better ways must be found! This enjoyable family-friendly night will help to do that.
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For more information, email tom@phazezeroharbor.com
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Website: https://www.phazezeroharbor.com/
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National Stage
The McKrells
December 7th $17-22
Somewhere tonight, across the country or across the sea, a singer, sitting on a stool on a pub’s corner stage, is belting out a Kevin McKrell song, and the crowd is singing along. McKrell pioneered American Celtic music beginning in 1979 with Donnybrook Fair. The original trio’s 1982 album, “Tunnel Tigers,” remains a landmark of the form, with its blend of Clancy Brothers swagger and upstate NY attitude. McKrell honed his powerful performance style further in the 80s with The Fabulous Newports, a rambunctious harmony group known as much for its antics, cut-up comedy and long list of eventual members as for its sweet singing.
In 1998, McKrell—who has three solo albums to his credit—formed a powerhouse band under his own name, merging the Irish sensibility of Donnybrook with a steely, world class bluegrass edge. The McKrells toured harder than Donnybrook, bringing its music, with McKrell’s lusty vocals supported by hot string band picking, to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Folk, Irish and Bluegrass festivals and concert venues around the country.
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Offstage, McKrell, is a respected painter, with his work hanging in many of the halls he’s haunted, here and in Ireland, Scotland and Italy.He is best known, though, for his indelible songs—classics like “Home In Donegal,” “ You and Me”, “I Miss the Rain” and the eternal “All of The Hard Days Are Gone”—which, in addition to the raft of pub singers mentioned afore, have been sung and recorded by artists like The Kingston Trio, Bob Shane, Hair of the Dog, Wood’s Tea Company ,Get Up Jack, from Ireland The Furey Brothers, Seamus Kennedy ,The Druids, The Dublin City Ramblers from Scotland North Sea Gas, from Australia Pat McKernan.
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​Website: https://themckrells.com/