9/5 Janiva Magness’ Award-winning Blues Touring for New Release: “Original”

JANIVA MAGNESS, one of the nation’s top blues vocalists, brings her crackerjack band and award winning blues to the Earlville Opera House on Friday, September 5th at 8 pm. Magness has been singing the blues and fronting bands for over 30 years, winning the top awards in her field—CONTEMPORARY BLUES FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Blues Music Award multiple times, and the “B.B. KING ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR” top prize. “…Magness is a remarkable, dynamic, controlled singer…[a} devastating voice…that begins with a rich, throaty deep end and is flexible enough to be smooth or gritty, explosive or gentle. If you know and love what, say, Mavis Staples can do, you’re in the neighborhood here; Ms. Staples is an on-the-record fan herself.” 1 Janiva Magness is generously sponsored by WAER FM 88.3.

Magness is touring in support of this summer’s release. “ORIGINAL is, from the start, a fantastic album. When the vocals of Janiva Magness first swim from the speakers, there is an essence that emanates with her words, a very hypnotizing and artful style that lands her as a songstress of soul and a goddess of gospel. This album is lifeblood that the music industry needs” American Blues Scene

The reviews of her new independent release on Fathead Records glow. “This is easily her best album, mostly for the heartbreaking exactness of her writing, which allows her amazing voice to live and breathe from inside her own emotional life and find its own artistry.” AllMusic.com

This tour promises to be a departure and new ground for the artist. “Original is a brave, vulnerable record. Magness co-wrote seven of the songs…The lyrics are honest and open, and a triumph. Janiva Magness has a one of a kind voice: lived-in and bold, amazing in scope and range. It’s a gift. Original is artful and glorious, an inspired matching of great musicianship…” Popshifter.com

Elmore Magazine in reviewing the current release ORIGINAL points out that this award-winning blues artist’s gifts are still strong. “The power and versatility of her marvelous voice is tested here like never before and proves to be deftly capable of conveying a stunning range of feelings.”

While most reviewers cannot say enough about Magness singing; here’s some info on the crackerjack band that backs this songstress. “Dave Darling and Zac Zunis’ guitar work is lyrical and sweet while the rhythm section of Gary Davenport and Matt Teco work together like a Swiss watch. Arlan Oscar and Jim Alferdson provide keyboards…The depth and dimension of the arrangements and overall sound are first class.” Chicago Blues Guide

Take a listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7m1n5IFmyA
Janiva Magness – I Won’t Cry (Feat. Dave Darling) New Blues Song Pre-Release Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tYH7tLMbts
You Were Never Mine…

Do I move you?

Janiva Magness’ perhaps more than most artists has an authentic claim to the blues. “I learned long ago, after much pain and heartbreak, that I have to be true to what’s in my own heart, no matter how awkward or frightening it may seem.

“It took me a long time and a very crooked journey to finally understand that. When I was 13, my mother gave in to years of depression and took her own life. Three years later, my father killed himself. At 16, I was one messed up orphan, spending a lot of time living in the streets, using drugs, alcohol and whatever else I could find to bury the pain and confusion. Over a two-year period, I was shuffled in and out of 12 different Foster homes. On three separate occasions, I was committed to a psychiatric hospital for depression and other problems.

“Convinced I’d be better off dead, I tried to follow my parents’ example and attempted suicide a bunch of times, coming pretty close at age 16 and again three years later. Finally, when I needed it most, Carrie, a compassionate and loving woman who would be my last Foster mom, came into in my life. She helped me to start seeing things a bit differently.  Instead of trying to kill yourself, she said God must have a reason for keeping you alive through everything you experienced. Maybe it was time to start figuring out what that reason was, she told me.

“Carrie heard me singing around the house and encouraged me to do something with my God-given musical talents. It took me several more years to get up the courage to do anything about it. I never believed I had any real talent back then and was far too terrified of being rejected. But  eventually, the desire to sing and see what I had overcame my anxiety. I  auditioned for gigs and slowly but surely, good things began to happen.” (Artist blog)

Fight the blues with this master of the blues…with the scorching intensity of Janiva Magness.  It should be pretty amazing in the incredible acoustics of the 1892 historic opera house. Tickets are available online or by calling EOH at $19, $17 EOH members, $14 students. Premium seating applies in the first 4 rows. The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift. For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550 or order online at http://www.earlvilleoperahouse.com. The Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street, in Earlville, NY.

EOH events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through the generosity of EOH members.

1. Roots Watch review by Barry Mazer

8/29 Carlene Carter ~ Country Music Royalty at EOH: The Carter Legacy to Americana-Country Music

She is, of course, the daughter of 1950s country superstar Carl Smith, and June Carter Cash, who was herself the daughter of Maybelle Carter—“Mother” Maybelle Carter of the original Carter Family trio that formed in 1927 in the tiny Southwest Virginia hamlet of Maces Springs. Along with Mother Maybelle’s brother-in-law, A. P. Carter, and his wife and her cousin Sara, the Carter Family recorded such seminal country music songs as “Can The
Circle Be Unbroken (By And By),” “Wildwood Flower” and “Keep On The Sunny Side,” and forever influenced the development of bluegrass, folk, pop, gospel and rock music
genres, as well as country music.

Carlene Carter, country music royalty, brings the Carter Family Legacy of Americana-Country Music to the Earlville Opera House on Friday, August 29^th at 8 pm. Mentored by her grandmother “Mother” Maybelle Carter and three legendary parents (her father, country vocalist Carl Smith; her mother June Carter Cash; and her stepfather Johnny Cash), Carter’s music reveals a depth and originality in the Americana-Country genre that warrants her “country music royalty” tag.

“She represents the third generation of the pioneering Carter Family, whose recordings since the late 1920s are considered the blueprint for country music of the subsequent century.” (Chicago Sun-Times)

Carter brings her own mark to the genre. “Carter lights a fire under nearly every tune…even the low-key love songs generate some sparks.” “A great legacy can be a blessing and a curse, and when your mother is June Carter and your stepdad is Johnny Cash, you’re going to have a lot to live up to in the minds of most folks. Carlene Carter has built a pretty remarkable career for herself…But it’s rare when a critic or biographer doesn’t mention Carter’s place in one of country music’s founding families, and on 2014’s Carter Girl, she embraces their vital role in country music’s history while also putting her own stamp on their body of work…strengthening her music rather than buckling under its weight, and this ranks with her finest recorded work to date.” (Mark Deming)

“Carlene Carter’s place in the history of American music was assured long before the conception or recording of her new CD, Carter Girl, but its creation makes for a solid insight into her world…The new album serves as a tribute to her musical forebears, but also as a statement of self. Her sound, even when paying tribute to Carters previous, is very much her own. The songs themselves are gleaned from both her own songbook and that of her family…An updated “Lonesome Valley” (here titled “Lonesome Valley 2003”) acts as a tribute to both Carlene’s mother, and Johnny Cash, and Carlene’s half-sister Rosie Nix Adams, all of whom passed in that year. (PopMatters.com)

Her first album for Rounder, it features songs spanning the Carter Family generations, including celebrated Carter Family songs like “Gold Watch And Chain,” and others written and performed by the descendants of the original Carter trio—including Carlene herself.

Carlene Carter shares the richness of that family experience and its stamp on Americana music.  She shares her insights into the new project: For example, Tall Lover Man, “It’s one of Mama’s ‘murder mayhem’ songs, from [her Grammy-winning 1999 album] Press On,” Carlene says. “It’s pretty dark in content, and very Carter Family-esque: So many of their songs involve cheating and killing the guy—or praying to Him, since maybe 75 percent of their songs were religious or faith-bound.” For the new release on ROUNDER RECORDS’ CARTER GIRL, Carlene Carter put her self-ascribed “Carlene rhythm” on it—her version of her grandmother’s famed “Carter scratch” acoustic guitar-picking technique—to give it more drive.

“Carter is not afraid of updating older songs, in fact, it is her pride and joy. Joy is given to songs like “Tall Lover Man”, lifting her mother’s story from the pages of history and giving it a rousing, upbeat tone. The beautifully balanced take on “Gold Watch and Chain” is delivered with knowledge, awareness and passion…. (AllMusic.com)

Share a Carter Girl’s joyful sound in the incredible acoustics of the 1892 historic opera house.   Tickets are available online or by calling EOH at $30, $28 EOH members, $25 students. Premium seating applies in the first 4 rows. The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift. For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550 or order online at www.earlvilleoperahouse.com. The Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street, in Earlville, NY 13332.

More about Carlene Carter www.carlenecarterfanclub.com.

You Tubes of Carlene Carter to check out

Troublesome Waters (Live at Farm Aid 2013) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rr6M4Y4foQ#t=47

Little Black Train (off the new CD Carter Girl) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbdrFYYgn3k

Worried Man Blues – Carlene Carter singing with the Carter Family https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTd__0u2jfY

Carlene Carter had her biggest hits in the ‘90s, with “Every Little Thing” and “I Fell In Love” both reaching No. 3. The latter was the title track of an album that also included “Me And The Wildwood Rose,” a song that she wrote about being a Carter girl, which she most fittingly revives on Carter Girl.

Boston Globe:
Carlene Carter says she’s been waiting her whole life to make “Carter Girl,” which finds the third-generation representative of country’s most famous family honoring her lineage through a collection drawn from the Carter Family and from mother June and aunts Helen and Anita (collectively the Carter Sisters), along with a few topical contributions of her own. Carter’s pose on the cover evokes her mother, but this isn’t meant to be a sepia-toned reproduction of those old songs. Instead, Carter brings them into her musical world — charging June Carter’s murder-suicide ballad “Tall Lover Man” with the sort of twangy, poppy, country-rock treatment that has always been the daughter’s calling card, giving an update to A.P. Carter’s “Lonesome Valley” via the soulful mourn of “Lonesome Valley 2003,” and reprising her own “Me and the Wildwood Rose” to sing her memories of time spent on the road with the Carter Sisters. This may be the best record this Carter girl has ever made. (Out Tuesday)

EOH events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through the generosity of EOH members.

A HUGE THANKS…

On behalf of the Earlville Opera House community, we want to extend a huge thanks to everyone who helped put together this weekend’s production of the Mikado.  The energy on that stage was contagious.  Everyone who saw it could feel the joy and enthusiasm of the cast.  And one knows that behind the scenes there was a great deal of thought and care taken by folks who know what they are doing.  A job well done!  We heard many many compliments on your behalf.  We greatly appreciate your time, creativity and generosity of spirit making this production happen for our community.

To director, Chris Bord, thank you for saving our production!  And thank you for sharing your process; it was a pleasure to gain a deeper understanding about the production through your blog posts.  We deeply appreciate all that you did making this mini-miracle happen.

Thanks for supporting the arts in central New York!

The poster image design by Frank Schram was dynamite!

Here’s the program from this weekend’s show: (click to enlarge)

 

8/14 Williams Road ~ Driving Down the Indie Lane this Summer

The band is named for Williams Road , “an actual country road, off of Route 12 between Sherburne and Waterville. Why this road in particular? Band member Craven says that after a long day’s work, on his journey back from “wherever work was that day,” Williams Road was the ‘last stretch’ before he got home, and the band expresses a similar sentiment – the feeling of ‘coming home.'”

Williams Road takes us driving down the Indie lane this Thursday, August 14th at 7 pm as the final concert in this summer’s Hamilton Arts in the Park series.  Indie folk combines the catchy melodies of indie rock with the acoustical sounds of contemporary folk music.   Williams Road capitalizes on the band members’ talent for songwriting, clean licks and clear vocal harmonies to create new inroads into the genre.

“Hamilton-homegrown band Williams Road, created in 2009, will become a part of upstate New York’s storied musical tradition with the release of their first official album, the self-titled “Williams Road.”

“Composed of band members Mike Craven, Scott Krueger, Clare Pellerin and Brad Jewett, Williams Road is, as Krueger says, a “whole greater than the sum of its parts.” The band’s musicians each come from different musical backgrounds, from the classically-trained to the self-taught, but through their common central New York bond, are able to create a solid, distinctive sound that has often been described as a blend of folk, roots, and indie, with a deep and heavy undercurrent of Americana.” 1

Here’s some sample songs on their listening channel: http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_videos/3006429?sel_video_id=12876890&autoplay=true#

Enjoy an evening of music and creativity in a beautiful park setting! Come early with a picnic, or check out the local eateries. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. FREE!

The Hamilton Village Music Series runs every Thursday until August 14th.at 7:00 pm on the Hamilton Village Green. Rain Location is the Colgate Inn (Payne St). No tickets necessary for this free event.  For more information about the location if it is raining on the day of the show call (315) 691- 3550.

This series is funded by the Village of Hamilton, and was made possible in part with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the NYS Council on the Arts, administered by Cultural Resources Council and co-presented by the Earlville Opera House.

1. Excerpts from write up in the December 12, 2012 Mid-York Weekly

Director’s Notebook: On the Enduring Influence of The Mikado ~ Guest post by director Chris Bord

Yesterday National Public Radio did a story on the continued friction about the Seattle production of The Mikado.  Last night was the opening of The Mikado at EOH.  Here’s food for thought from Director Chris Bord in relation to the EOH production shared from his blog 7/24/14:

Members of the 2014 EOH cast of The Mikado at rehearsal.

The Atlantic.com published an article yesterday called “Opera’s Old-Fashioned Race Problem.” The impetus for the story was a critic’s reaction to a production of The Mikado, which starred “38 white amateur performers.” Sharon Pian Chan wrote in The Seattle Times: “It’s yellowface, in your face,” and also criticized the lack of Asian-American performers in the show. The Atlantic article suggested that operas like The Mikado must be updated to stay relevant to contemporary audiences (and presumably to not offend critics.)

The story caught my eye because I’m in the midst of a production of The Mikado, which will be presented at The Earlville Opera House in August. I picked the show as a Gilbert & Sullivan novice – I knew them by reputation but didn’t know their work firsthand. EOH asked me to direct a Gilbert & Sullivan opera, which narrowed the pieces I had to choose from. The Mikado has been called the most-performed piece of musical theater in history; I read that it is always being produced, somewhere in the world. Gilbert’s libretto is clever and very funny; Sullivan’s music feels both perfectly matched to the words and utterly familiar.

On a practical level, my production is open to the same criticism as the Seattle amateurs’. We have no Asian-American performers, simply because none came to audition. I’m not insensitive to the question of racial appropriateness – I’d never think of mounting a production of Dreamgirls, for example, with a predominantly white cast. But The Mikado is not “about” Japan – it is set in Japan as a vehicle for Gilbert to satirize his native England. Gwynn Guilford, the author of The Atlantic article, acknowledges this point, but suggests that using racial novelty simply as a theatrical device is perhaps more reprehensible than just telling a Japanese story with British actors.

Guilford doesn’t mention that The Mikado has frequently been set in non-Japanese environments, dating back to the 1920’s. There have been “Hot” Mikados (1920’s American gangsters), “Straight” Mikados (English settings), and Mikados set in boardrooms, army units, and various political organizations. Gilbert’s satire (dealing primarily with political structures and stupid laws and customs) is versatile and essentially universal. One story has the Queen of England demanding that productions of The Mikado be suspended during the Japanese ambassador’s visit, only to find that the ambassador had already seen it and found nothing applicable to Japan.

I didn’t immediately know how I’d set The Mikado, which is one of the primary directorial concerns. This was partly because our creative team was very late coming together. It took a long time to find a music director, and choreographer, set, costume, lighting people (etc.) were also scarce. A theatrical project is an immense collaboration where everybody contributes and the product reflects all contributions. The director hopefully shapes those into something that provides entertainment and value to the audience, or at the very least makes a cohesive artistic statement.

So… The stage is bare; even the upstage curtain is missing, and a lonely stagehand sweeps. A chalkboard at the front has a list of crossed-out (imaginary) names. The Mikado overture plays dimly through the sound system, remnant of a show that clearly won’t be happening. Following the overture, a small orchestra quickly takes their places and the opening notes of If You Want to Know Who We Are are played. Suddenly, six men stand from various seats around the theater and begin singing. They are certainly not actors – they have no costumes or makeup. Far upstage, dimly seen, masked, robed figures march out and observe. The house lights are still on. The men from the audience make their way to the stage and continue the song, and the house lights begin to fade. From nothing, and with none of the expected scenery, theater begins to happen out of thin air, as if called forth by a memory, or tradition.

Our setting evolved from necessity, and it comments on that. At the same time, each of the performers inhabits a character – we are not winking at the audience, as if to say, “Look how clever and meta we are.” I learned that re-setting The Mikado in a different place and time would require extensive re-writing of Gilbert’s words. While we did change two instances of the word “nigger,” everything else is as written. Again, this was partly from necessity – altering words means not only trying to match one of history’s great lyricists, but also distributing those changes to everyone and possibly asking them to re-memorize parts.

I haven’t seen the Seattle production which was so unfavorably mentioned in their newspaper, so I don’t know how much the “yellowface” was played up. Our production gets a lot of mileage from prop fans and parasols, but aside from actors being costumed in robes there is nothing explicitly “Japanese” about what we’re doing. We were interested to learn that some of the Japanese phrases in Gilbert’s lyrics are just nonsense – they were apparently chosen for a quality of sound instead of for authenticity. I think Chan’s “yellowface” reference was intended to suggest “blackface,” which strikes me as critical malpractice. The only way The Mikado is guilty of a blackface minstrel show-type offense would be if those had been performed in blackface to satirize white politics and customs. In other words, if blackface was a device to actually poke fun at whites.

There must be a better choice, when considering older material, than either updating or not presenting it at all. Contemporary audiences might be shocked at what comes across as anti-semitism in Shakespeare, or as racist (and sexist) in The Mikado. But that ignores something which can be gained by re-examining older works: the opportunity to reflect on changing societal attitudes over the passage of time. For example, I believe that more harm than good is done by “cleaning up” Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to more comfortably appeal to a modern audience. The story might remain, but the author’s intention to provoke a reaction is diminished. To be fair, Guilford’s article mentions some alternatives to traditional all-white casting in Western productions of various operas. These are mostly obvious – use performers from a variety of traditions and ethnicities to add depth and clarity to the original story. (Nice when such performers are available and interested.)

I am all for racial and ethnic sensitivity (I don’t like the term “politically correct,” which automatically demeans the effort.) At the same time, we live in a society that has figured out how to exploit such issues for various kinds of gain. We’ve seen Gary Oldman and Jonah Hill on the news lately for having uttered certain offensive phrases; both actors have subsequently transfixed the media with a talk-show tour of abject apology, seeming to emerge with reputations not only intact but enlarged and millions of new eyes trained on their next moves. A cynic might credit a savvy PR person for a subversively brilliant campaign.

The Mikado is both of its time and outside its time. By that I mean certain elements (the use of “nigger,” as well as gender and to a lesser extent cultural stereotypes) can be linked to how W.S. Gilbert and his crowd thought and talked. But at the same time, The Mikado is outside its time because of the brilliance of the words and music. It is worth revisiting because it is an archetype that has influenced so much else. A recent article in Vulture.com suggested while viewers of The Simpsons television program could appreciate episodes without ever comprehending the satirical references, the experience becomes far richer once those references are known and understood. I’ve seen this myself as we’ve delved into The Mikado. Once you rehearse and stage the number If You Want to Know Who We Are, the influence behind the Heigh-Ho number in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs suddenly becomes clear. The original movie poster for The Little Shop of Horrors features the tagline “the flowers that kill in the Spring, TRA-LA,” which is much funnier once you’ve seen The Mikado. Not to mention various phrases in The Mikado which have become part of the English lexicon: “Pooh-Bah,” “a short, sharp shock,” “a little list,” and “let the punishment fit the crime,” among others.

Gilbert and Sullivan contributed to modern musical theater by thoroughly integrating words and music with the story being told. The approach has been reinforced and refined ever since, but it arguably originated its present form with G&S. The spoken lyrics are often continued in songs, and very few of the songs could simply be omitted without sacrificing the story. That’s a long-winded way to say it’s a masterpiece.

We dismiss masterpieces at our peril. John Lennon said The Beatles were bigger than Jesus and inspired church groups to burn Beatles records. No matter what you think about Lennon personally, the work remains. The same can be said for any number of examples. Let’s agree that appreciating a work of popular art does not necessarily endorse any of its author’s views, or perpetuate them. I’d go further and suggest that substantial changes to the original work might sacrifice something essential in the piece. The perspective provided by distance (which includes time and also cultural, experiential, etc.) is something we each bring to a work of art. It should be encouraged.

Thanks Chris!  More about the EOH Mikado ~ community theater supporting the arts in our community, a fundraiser for the Earlville Opera House!

Red-Hot Bluegrass Converges at EOH 8/16: Chris Eldridge (Punch Brothers) and Julian Lage, with Howlin Brothers

“I would venture to guess that the more they play together, the better they get…Julian and Critter have tremendous artistic chemistry. ” suzereviewstheblues.com

Red hot bluegrass artists converge at the historic main stage of the Earlville Opera House on Saturday, August 16th at 8 pm. “Guitar prodigy Julian Lage displays masterful chops, distilling guitar traditions from prebop swing to bluegrassy flash into an original sound. Here he duets with fellow axe man Chris Eldridge…from the Punch Brothers.” Time Out The show opens with a set by the Howlin Brothers of Nashville. Seven Oaks Clubhouse Restaurant generously sponsors this concert with media sponsor WAER FM 88.3

The Punch Brothers’ guitarist since the band’s inception, Chris “Critter” Eldridge has been at the forefront of bluegrass music. The band has released 3 critically acclaimed albums, received 2 Grammy nominations and toured around the world. Eldridge studied with legendary guitarist Tony Rice. He then joined the Seldom Scene with whom he received a Grammy nomination in 2007. In 2005 he founded the critically acclaimed bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters.

Guitar virtuoso Julian Lage, who at age 8, was asked to sit in with Carlos Santana joins him. Lage made his debut on record at age 11, on David Grisman’s album Dawg Duos. His debut album, Sounding Point received a Grammy nomination. Lage’s latest CD, Gladwell is mostly original, Americana-inspired tunes.  The recording has also received rave reviews. Each composition revolves around the fictional town of the album’s title, and the work has earned Lage favorable comparison to Bill Frisell.

Julian and Chris both play 1939 Martin guitars.

Eldridge talks about their partnership, “While he has been celebrated in the jazz world from a young age as one of their great talents, he’s always had this dirty little secret of loving folk music and bluegrass and songs,” said Eldridge. “So this tour is a chance for us to try and find some common ground and hopefully create some beautiful music together.” “Julian is one of my favorite musicians on earth, and, obviously, as a guitar player he’s a beacon of light.” PASTE MAGAZINE

Lage and Eldridge perform on their respective 1939 Martin guitars. Take a listen to some of the You Tubes below!

From reviewer Sarah V of ConcertManic.com, “I’d seen the duo play a short set in January at the Deadly Gentlemen’s Ball, so I had a good idea of what to expect: serious technical mastery of the guitar, and some beautiful vocals…I really felt the stage chemistry between the two guitarists – their intense focus on each other’s music was almost bordering on being a little unnerving. It is always a treat to see performers who so obviously enjoy playing together so much, and truly appreciate each other’s contributions…it is really a breath of fresh air to see performers get up on stage and play their hearts out and just have fun…”

“Their guitar prowess is undeniable, but I love Chris Eldridge’s singing, too. The tone of his vocals is unique and has a wonderful clarity to it…They described their original meeting, years ago, as “guitar-love at first sight,” and it’s pretty easy to understand why they’d use that phrase when you watch them perform songs like these together.”

Their seamless chemistry sounds like it was forged when they were just knee-high kids. You can almost imagine mini versions of them with tiny fiddles, banjos, and guitars, jamming on a front porch somewhere in the South.
The real story of this rising string band out of Nashville is …Jared Green, Ian Craft, and Ben Plasse met while studying at Ithaca College and rallied around the idea of making roots music with no borders. They meld bluegrass, the blues, country, and rock ’n’ roll.” Boston Globe

The high energy Howlin’ Brothers are a three-piece string band that brings heart and passion into every performance. Their upbeat shows are heavy with original and traditional music, featuring the sounds of slide banjo, harmonica and old-time fiddle.

In their June review in TheAlternateRoots.com, “The Howlin’ Brothers need no intro for the advanced state of bluegrass that the band serves up. Their recent release, Trouble, follows full studio effort Howl and E.P., the Sun Studio Sessions, in a little over twelve months’ time…Trouble is The Howlin’ Brothers as top shelf musicians and songwriters…” Trouble placed #6 on TheAlternateRoots.com Top 50 releases for 2014! Full review of the new Howlin Brothers release:

Don’t miss a chance to see these amazing musicians in the incredible acoustics of the 1892 historic opera house. Tickets are available online or by calling EOH at $20, $18 EOH members, $15 students. Premium seating applies in the first 4 rows. The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift.

During your visit, take advantage of the exhibits in the three EOH Art Galleries, the Artisan’s Gift Shop featuring New York artists as well as the homemade desserts in the EOH Arts Café! Delicious refreshments will be available before the show and during intermission, including hot and cold drinks. For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550 or order online at http://www.earlvilleoperahouse.com. The Opera House is located at 18 East Main Street, in Earlville, NY 13332 just south of Colgate University.

EOH events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and through the generosity of EOH members.

More about these artists at their websites:
Julian Lage 
Chris Eldridge
Eldridge/Lage 4 song CD 
Howlin Brothers 

You Tubes of Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage/ Howlin Brothers
** Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge Senor 4/8/14

** Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge Ginseng Sullivan (4/8/2014)

** Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge – Open up the Window, Noah (4/8/2014)

The Howlin’ Brothers – “Night And Day”

The Howlin’ Brothers – Big Time

The Howlin’ Brothers – “Tell Me That You Love Me”

“Quiet Riot” Hilarious Stories for the 21st Century!

Brothers Bill and Dave Mettler bring tales that make you laugh with delight!

Witness first hand: flying meteors, molten planets, thunder, lightning, burning wheat crops, a raging tsunami, revved-up chain saws, the Flintstones, a fast food hamburger and an imaginary ball point pen. Two brothers, better known as the Quiet Riot, blend storytelling, comedy, music, and sound effects at the Earlville Awesome House in a free Family Series Event on Friday morning, August 15th at 11am. “Quiet Riot” is a team of two zany and hilarious brothers — Bill Mettler, Executive Storyteller, and David Mettler, Person in Charge of Noises and Opportunities. Before the show at 10 am, there will be a free Peacemaker workshop!

The Quiet Riot delivers an unusual, infectious form of comedy that is exuberant, fresh and funny. A company of just two performers, their versatility makes audience believe there are many more. Their programs are packed with humor and social comment, executed with high energy, physical grace and genuine enthusiasm. The Quiet Riot performances have been called “zany”, “spellbinding”, “thought provoking”, “marvelously funny”, “intelligent”, “a collection of wisdoms and joys that no freethinker should chance to miss”. Tight, quickly paced and thoroughly delightful, The Quiet Riot shows captivate people of all ages.

Since 1978 Quiet Riot has given over 5000 presentations to reveal the inherent strength within diversity and our interdependence with one another and the natural world in the 21^st century. They have performed at The Lincoln Center, 3M, IBM, NASA Goddard Space Center, Sustainable Business Network, Green Festival/DC, Earth Policy Institute, Foundation for Global Community and the UN Earth.

Peacemakers of Utica, NY will do a free workshop before the show at 10 am…so sign up in advance! The Peacemaker Program leads activities and games to help youth to work together, solve problems, and trust and support each other.  (Space is limited for the workshop)

These comic brothers are so spontaneous and fun that the seriousness of life lessons that form the back drop of their stories may not be apparent! Parents may be interested that this program is based on the work of William Glasser, noted author, researcher and psychiatrist. Glasser posits that there are four basic human qualities needed to create a safe, healthy and supportive environment: BELONGING, CHOICE, FUN & RESPECT.

Enjoy a summer morning with these zany storytellers! THIS EVENT IS FREE – but please call to reserve your tickets and workshop spots!   Tickets are also available at the local libraries in Hamilton, Earlville and Sherburne and at the office of the Madison County Community Action Program. The EOH Theater is wheelchair-accessible with a ramp and a lift.   For more information, or to reserve your seats, call 315-691-3550.

Earlville Opera House events are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency and with the generosity of EOH members.

Earlville Awesome House Events are made possible, in part, with a grant from the NYS Office of Children and Family Services through the Madison County Youth Bureau. .

Hamilton Concerts in the Park: 8/7 Indie Songstress Lauren Mettler

Fresh from a successful Kickstarter campaign in June, Indie songstress Lauren Mettler is finishing up two new releases. She’ll be featuring much of this new material at the Hamilton Arts in the Park concert on Thursday’s August 7th at 7 pm.

Her double release this August will feature “Patchwork,” a studio recording with guest musicians and what she calls her own “bedroom” recordings in “A Handful of Soil.” Of the two projects, Mettler says, ” I have sewn, I have sown, two very different albums. Both songs of drought and plenty. One crafted in the studio, one home spun.”

What’s making Lauren so excited about the project? This first release by the Sherburne native is “a big milestone. I’ll be going out on tour for three months to promote it!” says Mettler. She’s excited to have worked with so many great musicians in the studio. “Patchwork” was tracked at Zach Collins’ Hamilton Music Studio, in collaboration with Rabbit in the Rye- Joe Mettler, Brendan O’Connor, and Alex Lavon. A couple of other Hamilton area musicians, Mason McDowell and Taiward Wider, are also featured on the album. This one is relatively highly produced and multi-layered…We experimented as we went along to hone in on what would best adorn each song.”

“A Handful of Soil” is a solo album I recorded in my own childhood bedroom, which I converted for a few months, into a studio. It was tracked entirely by myself. This one, in production, is more bare-bones and raw. There is more of a focus on the lyrics, with only basic instrumentation, but the songs are more elaborate in content and mature in musical composition.”

On the whole Kidkstarter process, Mettler says that it was a bit nerve-wracking and full of human drama. Funding came together on the last day within hours of the deadline. .She commented that her conversations with her brother Joe about his own Kickstarter campaign (with Basement Theater Company) were helpful in keeping positive from the start to finish.

For those wishing to get the new releases, it will be downloadable from http://laurenmettler.bandcamp.com/ . Hard copies will be available at a later date.

The concerts in the series begin at 7 pm on the Hamilton Village Green. Enjoy an evening of music and creativity in a beautiful park setting! Come early with a picnic, or check out the local eateries. Bring a blanket or lawn chair. FREE! Our rain location is the Colgate Inn on the village green. For more information about the location if it is raining on the day of the show call (315) 691- 3550.

Hamilton Arts in the Park is presented by the Village of Hamilton and co-presented by the Earlville Opera House. The Village of Hamilton is grateful for funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by CNY Arts. For more in depth information about the artists or the Village Series visit our event calendar on the EOH website at http://www.earlvilleoperahouse.com or call us at (315) 691- 3550.