Bluegrass in New York

This weekend, be in Brooklyn to celebrate Bayou-born sounds,...

Fri, 10 May 2013 14:48:00 -0400

This weekend, be in Brooklyn to celebrate Bayou-born sounds, learn a new song; refine a dance step or fiddle tune; hear award winning bands play; play at a Community Jam session; or enjoy a Cajun-made authentic Jambalaya. Jalopy and Jalopy Tavern are hosting a three day event- the 2013 Bayou n’ Brooklyn Music Festival- that will welcome cultural ambassadors Christine Balfa, Cajun music’s most talented and revered vocalists and guitar players:Ed Poullard, accordion builder and Creole fiddler who still carries the tradition of the late Canray Fontenot, and Bebe Carriere; and Megan Brown, singer from Tepetate, LA.

This three day music festival takes place on May 10, 11, and 12 at Jalopy Theatre and School of Music set on 315 Columbia Street (between Hamilton and Woodhull) Brooklyn, NY 11231 USA. Click here for more details!

There’s a great bluegrass show in Manhattan tonight...

Wed, 08 May 2013 22:32:56 -0400

There’s a great bluegrass show in Manhattan tonight featuring Bennett Sullivan, who is releasing his first bluegrass CD on Thursday, May 9th, at Session 73 in Manhattan. Doors at 8 pm and the show starts at 9 pm.

Bennett is an extremely talented musician, and a fantastic part of the NYC music scene. He has collaborated on multiple recordings of other artists, and this is his debut under his own name, with hand-picked musicians recording and performing his own music.

Born in the rolling hills of North Carolina, Bennett Sullivan took to playing bluegrass music at an early age. Being influenced largely by innovators Earl Scruggs and Bela Fleck, he fused their styles to create his own voice, entirely unique in the bluegrass genre. Bennett moved to New York three years ago, and began working on writing songs for his very first solo record, titled “Lady Nora.” The songs off this record are rooted in bluegrass, but hint at different influences such as jazz, and classical music.

In New York, Bennett has performed at several notable venues and festivals, including Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, the United Nations amphitheater, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in California, and many others. He has toured with names such as Rana Santacruz, The Six Deadly Venoms, the Birdhive Boys, and the Jeanette Williams Band. To listen to some of Bennett’s music, visit his website.

Hat tip to reader Stephen Farrelly for letting us know about the show!

Union Street Preservation Society’s David Leiberman writes...

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:31:27 -0400

Union Street Preservation Society’s David Leiberman writes to make sure the Bluegrass NYC community is aware of this great show coming to Union Hall this weekend:

THE GREAT AMERICAN ROOTS STOMP

May 3 and 4 | 8pm

Union Hall, Park Slope

Roll up your sleeves for two nights of hootin’, hollerin’, jazzin’, swingin’, foot-stompin’, barn-burnin’ revelry with ten bands from Brooklyn and the Northeast audaciously bringing Americana roots back into the spotlight.

Advance Tickets:

Night One
Night Two

FRIDAY LINEUP:

King Stork
Union Street Preservation Society
The Whistling Wolves
Alex Mallett Band
Charlotte Cornfield

SATURDAY LINEUP:

North of Nashville
Barnyard Brothers
Red Hook Ramblers
Seth Kessel and the Two Cent Bend
Skinny White Folk

Happy 80th Willie- here you are in your 30s on the Opry.

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:43:34 -0400

Happy 80th Willie- here you are in your 30s on the Opry.

Sunny’s Bar was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, and the damage to...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:51:07 -0400

Sunny’s Bar was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, and the damage to the building requires significant resources to make repairs in the basement and get Sunny’s back up and open! The May Day Party for Sunny’s will be a benefit concert, featuring The Red Hook Ramblers, John Pinamonti, Li’l Mo and the Monicats, Kings’ County Blues Band, Luna Sisters, Dave, Vic, & Friends, Simon Chardiet and The Woes. Tickets will cost $30 and can be purchased here.

Jen Larson is recording a 6-song EP with producer/guitarist...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 10:36:00 -0400

Jen Larson is recording a 6-song EP with producer/guitarist Michael Daves and some of the best pickers in the growing NYC bluegrass scene! Support the Kickstarter (and get the EP) today.

RIP George Jones.

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:06:00 -0400

RIP George Jones.

Brooklyn Folk Festival at The Bell House- listed in the New York Times!

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:07:45 -0400

Brooklyn Folk Festival at The Bell House- listed in the New York Times!:

Don’t miss this three day extravaganza of roots music.

B.B. King Blues Club in Times Square gets a taste of bluegrass...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:29:42 -0400

B.B. King Blues Club in Times Square gets a taste of bluegrass tomorrow, Wednesday April 17th, with a show from Greensky Bluegrass at 8PM.

Sunday Bluegrass Brunch in Brooklyn

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:10:52 -0400

It’s getting warm out and that means time for bluegrass brunch! If you prefer to stay in Brooklyn for your bluegrass brunch, check out Van Horn’s Sandwich Shop, located at 231 Court Street near Warren. Every week, different bands drop in to play. So far, bands have included Kings County Strings, Fresh Baked Bluegrass and Tommy Feeley and Friends. Hours are 12 till 3 and the food is phenomenal and affordable.

Contact Doug Hatt to learn how your band can play.

Earl Scruggs & friends- Foggy Mountain Breakdown....

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 08:01:14 -0400

Earl Scruggs & friends- Foggy Mountain Breakdown. It’s been just a year since Earl passed; here’s to him and his enormous legacy.

5th Annual Brooklyn Folk Festival April 19th - 21st at The Bell House

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:59:15 -0400

This year the amazing team at Jalopy and Down Home Radio bring the 5th installment of The Brooklyn Folk Festival. This year, the program takes place at The Bell House, a fantastic home for a fantastic event that has grown each year. Here is the full run down:

FRIDAY

7pm Jackson Lynch – Blues guitar, old time fiddle and banjo.

7:45pm Joey Arbata – Uilleann piper – Irish bagpipes.

8:30pm Kristin Andreassen & Friends, featuring Chris Eldridge of the Punch Brothers – Old time and original songs.

9:15pm Cherven Traktor – Bulgarian stringband music.

10pm The Cactus Blossoms – Old school original Country music, all the way from Minnesota! Not to be missed.

10:45pm Alex Battles and the Whisky Rebellion – Brooklyn Country at its finest.

11:30pm The Brain Cloud – Western Swing and early popular styles, traditionals and originals.

SATURDAY

Afternoon Concert:

2:15pm Stephanie Coleman & Cleek Schrey – Old time fiddle duet.

3pm Joe Bellulovich – Country blues guitar and harmonica.

3:45pm Melody Walker and Jacob Groopman – Folk duet, all the way from California!

4:30pm Great Smoky Mountain Bluegrass Band – Excellent Bluegrass from the great state of Tennessee!

5:15pm Hunter Holmes – Blues and old time, direct from South Carolina! Not to be missed.

6pm Mamie Minch and Tamar Korn – Blues and old time duet.

6:45pm The Canebrake Rattlers – Old time string band making rare appearance.

7:30pm Peter Stampfel and the Ether Frolic Mob – Natural music.

Evening Concert:

8:30pm The Down Hill Strugglers with John Cohen – Old time string band.

9:15pm Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens – Gospel.

10pm Radio Jarocho – Son Jarocho from Veracruz, MX

10:45pm Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess – Hot Jazz

SUNDAY

Afternoon Concert:

2pm Heather Wood with Ken Schatz and Frank Woerner- Ballads, Sea Shanties and English Folk Songs.

2:45pm Andy Statman – Amazing Bluegrass and Klezmer music! 2012 NEA National Heritage Award winner.

3:30pm Brotherhood of the Jug Band Blues – Jug band music, traditional, original.

4:15pm Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton – Blues guitar, stride piano, old time banjo and fiddle.

5pm The Whiskey Spitters – Blues, jug band, old time and novelty songs.

5:45pm Elijah Wald – Folk singer, all the way from Boston. Not to be missed!

6:30pm Feral Foster – Original songs and occasional blues with harmonica.

Evening Concert:

7:15pm SQUARE DANCE called by Dave Harvey of NYC Barndance!

8pm Tim Eriksen – old time songs and ballads with banjo, fiddle and guitar. Shapenote singing. Featured in the film, “Cold Mountain.”

9pm Jeffrey Lewis – Original songs, sometimes with visuals!

9:45pm Four o’Clock Flowers – Blues and old time duet.

10:30pm Ian Link – Original songs.

This weekend Jalopy hosts the amazing Freetown Produce Festival,...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 21:40:22 -0400

This weekend Jalopy hosts the amazing Freetown Produce Festival, Friday March 22 - Sunday March 25th.

This festival promises a super fun weekend of Traditional Cajun Cooking & Music, plus Old-Time, Country, Irish, Jazz & Swing. The show starts at 12:00 Friday with Cajun cooking classes, and music rages through the evening, including Hilary Hawke’s amazing band, Dubl Handi.

Jalopy is flying Toby Rodriguez up from Louisiana to teach 3 days of Cajun cooking classes and keep Brooklyn fed in Blackpot Suppers.

The Music:

Friday Night: Ladies Light the Night
7:00pm Country & Waltz Dance Lesson
8:00pm Dubl Handi
9:00pm Kristin Andreassen & Rosie Newton
10:00pm Bailey Cooke

Saturday Night: Swing & Cajun
7:00pm Cajun Dance Lesson
8:00pm Brain Cloud (from Brooklyn)
9:30pm The Revelers (from Lafayette, LA)

Sunday Night: Irish, Old Time & Square Dance
7pm Eamon O’Leary (NYC)
8pm Travis & Trevor Stuart (Canton, NC)
9:pm SQUARE DANCE!!!!

There will also be jams going on with the folks in these bands!!

Classes:

All Star Line up of Instructors! Just like Blackpot Camp, we have open classes, which means you can come & go as you please, visiting as many classes as you want.

Friday:
Noon: Cooking class w Toby Rodriguez
7:00pm Country & Waltz Dance Lesson
6:00-7:00pm Blackpot Supper available

Saturday:
Noon: Cooking class with Toby Rodriguez

Saturday Stage room:
Noon-1:30pm Songwriting Seminar with Kristin Andreassen
1:45-4:30pm Singing with Zara Bode & Stefan Amidon
4:45-6:00pm Cajun Rhythm Ruckus with Glenn, Blake, Eric
7:00-8:00pm Cajun & Zydeco Dance Class with Kristin & Claire

Saturday Classroom:
1:45-3:00pm Banjo with Travis Stuart
3:15-4:30pm Fiddle with Trevor Stuart
4:45-6:00pm Cajun Guitar w Chas Justus
6:00-7:00pm Blackpot Supper available

Saturday Jams
1:00-3:00pm Kids Old time Jam
3:00-5:00pm Acoustic Jazz
5:00-7:00pm Southern Ballads
7:00pm-Old time Jam

Sunday:
Noon: Cooking class with Toby Rodriguez

Sunday Stage room:
Noon-1:30pm Singing with Zara Bode & Stefan Amidon
1:45-3:00pm Old Time Repertoire with Travis & Trevor Stuart
3:15-4:30pm Cajun Traditions with Blake, Chas, Eric & Glenn
4:45-6:00pm Clogging with Kristin & Emolyn

Sunday Classroom:
12:15-1:30pm Swing Guitar with Chas Justus
1:45-3:00pm Cajun Accordion with Blake Miller
3:15-4:30pm Cajun Fiddle with Daniel Coolik
4:45-6:00pm Irish Seminar with Eamon O’Leary

Sunday Jams
1:00-3:00pm Old Time Slow Jam
3:00-5:00pm Song Circle
5:00-7:00pm Swing Jam
7:00pm-Cajun Jam
6:00-7:00pm Blackpot Supper available

Tickets are available for individual activities and $75 dollar tickets buy you access to the entire Festival.

The Roots Revival Roadshow Comes to NYC Appearing at Rockwood...

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:58:15 -0400

The Roots Revival Roadshow Comes to NYC

Appearing at Rockwood Music Hall New York, NY

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Folk music is on the rise again. The Roots Revival Roadshow is coming to town to show you why. This triple bill of bands from the Northeast precisely captures the energy and excitement of the movement.

Melding the sounds of folk and bluegrass with grimey rock-and-roll saxophone and gut-bucket blues, Roosevelt Dime (Brooklyn, NY) delivers a music they describe as “steamboat soul”. They have been praised by the New York Times as “”…a perpetual crowd pleaser” and have been featured in premier festivals including Caramoor, Musikfest, and The Philadelphia Folk Fest.

Somewhere between Waylon Jennings and Mumford and Sons, you find North of Nashville (Portland ME), an outlaw country duo of guitar and fiddle, recently nominated for “Best Folk, Country and Roots Act” in the 2012 New England Music Awards. Frontman Jay Basiner keeps one foot on the kick drum, and the other firmly planted in the rich tradition of American music.

Hailed by Relix Magazine for their “endless musical vocabulary,” five-piece string band Union Street Preservation Society (Brooklyn, NY) offers a blend of old-time and early jazz, as if Old Crow Medicine Show were transplanted into a prohibition-era speakeasy. Their most recent album features legendary mandolinist Andy Statman, whose own unusual blend of jazz and bluegrass perfectly complements the band’s eclectic sound.

Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2

Sunday March 24, 7:00pm

196 Allen St, New York, NY

Tickets: $10

Country musician Jack Greene, a veteran star of the Grand Ole...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:26:47 -0400

Country musician Jack Greene, a veteran star of the Grand Ole Opry, died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 83, the Nashville, Tennessee, music hall said on Friday.

Now this looks special. Long Island’s The Feinberg...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 11:37:22 -0500

Now this looks special. Long Island’s The Feinberg Brothers are playing at the Jalopy Theatre this Saturday, March 9th at 9pm.

Originally trained in classical music, brother Rourke and Patrick are bluegrass prodigies who continue to explore their music and grow as musicians.

Get tickets here, or check out more videos

Angeline Blom from the Flatiron Room writes in about Bourbon and...

Sat, 02 Mar 2013 14:48:00 -0500

Angeline Blom from the Flatiron Room writes in about Bourbon and Bluegrass Mondays:

Drink Locally! Listen Organically! Celebrate New York!
March 4th, 2013 at 5pm featuring the Bella Boys

The Flatiron Room is pleased to announce Bourbon and Bluegrass Mondays, brought to you by New York’s Hudson Distillery and the Lower East Side’s foot-stomping Bella Boys. We’ll kick off the series this Monday, March 4th with:

• Hudson Drink Specials
• Bottle Keep Specials on the beautifully crafted Hudson Whiskey range
• Free samples
• Music that will make you feel warm all over
• Our love

Bourbon and Bluegrass Monday’s started when the staff at the Flatiron got together to ponder the ways in which our beautiful stage could be put to use in a celebration of American whiskey. Our Mondays will now herald our national spirit and a musical genre that sprung forth from the hopes and dreams of men and women who immigrated to this great country. Many of us here are also writers, actors, poets, musicians, and of course, whiskey lovers. We appreciate fine craft, and we believe that you will too!

Come join us, be inspired and have fun!

Website: www.theflatironroom.com

Monday, February 18th, BLUEGRASS EXTRAVAGANZA AT CARNEGIE...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 23:44:36 -0500

Monday, February 18th, BLUEGRASS EXTRAVAGANZA AT CARNEGIE HALL

FEATURING THE WORLD BELOVED, A BLUEGRASS MASS BY CAROL BARNETT AND MUSIC BY JOSEPH MARTIN & PEPPER CHOPLIN

Nancy Menk, Joseph Martin & Pepper Choplin, Conductors Distinguished Concerts Singers International

President’s Day Monday, February 18

7:00pm Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents an exhilarating evening of bluegrass music with a festival chorus of 300 singers on Monday, February 18 at 7:00pm at Carnegie Hall. Taking place on President’s Day, the concert will feature The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass by Carol Barnett, a uniquely thrilling work combining the solemnity of a classical choir-based Mass with the sparkling down home sound of banjo, mandolin and fiddle. In addition, all-new, improvisatory bluegrass accompaniments will deepen and enliven a selection of choral works by Joseph Martin and Pepper Choplin.

Special guests, joining the Distinguished Concerts Singers International—comprised of 18 choirs hailing from across the US, Canada and Ireland—are the acclaimed bluegrass band Monroe Crossing. While bluegrass music and a church mass might seem like an unlikely pairing, composer Carol Barnett, in writing the work, recalled the country music with a church flavor that she heard a child. “My highest hope,” says Barnett, “is that listeners coming from one tradition—classical or bluegrass—and perhaps dubious about the other might discover something new and wonderful in the combination, as I have.” Bluegrass band Monroe Crossing lent their expertise to the Mass’ creation and, since premiering it in 2007, have performed the work over thirty times across the country. Nancy Menk, Chair in Music at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, is Guest Conductor. The concert will also present the debut of an exciting collaboration between composers Joseph Martin and Pepper Choplin and Monroe Crossing who will inject bluegrass style and infectious energy into a series of the composers’ choral works. Martin and Pepper, each of whom will conduct at the concert, chose pieces with early American, gospel or folk elements for the band to accompany, who will improvise and decorate the songs in their own fresh style. Highlights include Choplin’s “Sing Shout Praise,” set for folk instruments and infused with earthy rhythms and primal folk harmonies, and Martin’s “Great, Great Morning,” a menagerie of spirituals and gospel songs overflowing with rustic energy.

Visit here for TICKETS or 212-247-7800 or in person at the Carnegie Hall Box Office

Hank Williams and Anita Carter- I Can’t Help It If...

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:58:53 -0500

Hank Williams and Anita Carter- I Can’t Help It If I’m Still in Love With You

Happy Valentine’s Day, New York.

Happy (belated) Mardi Gras everybody-

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 09:35:11 -0500

Happy (belated) Mardi Gras everybody-