AcousticMusicScene.com » News – Long Island, NY

Multimedia Celebration of Acoustic Music Continues in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Movie Theaters

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:59:24 +0000

Westchester County, New York-based contemporary folk singer-songwriters and musicians Kelly Flint, Susan Kane and The YaYas perform on Wednesday evenings in January as part of an ongoing multimedia celebration of acoustic music known as “WoodSongs at the Movies.” In addition to Clearview’s Bronxville Cinemas, the series also takes place at theaters in Babylon, New York; Montclair and Hackettstown, New Jersey; and Wayne, Pennsylvania. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Multimedia Celebration of Acoustic Music Comes to Babylon

Michael Kornfeld — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:43:48 +0000

The Folk Music Society of Huntington (New York) joins with Clearview Cinemas and Folksinger Michael Johnathonâ€™s WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour to present WoodSongs at the Movies at Clearviewâ€™s Babylon Cinemas (34 Main Street, west of Deer Park Avenue, in Babylon Village), on Wednesday evenings, beginning Dec. 3. This follows an initial three-week run in Manhasset. Live, 45-minute performances by featured local artists will precede a one-hour screening each week. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $12. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

‘Traveling Salesman’ Doesn’t Sell His Soul

Michael Kornfeld — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:21:34 +0000

New Music Gets Right to the Heart; Spans Folk, Rock, Roots and Americana Genres

Long Island -based folk-rock singer-songwriter Joe Iadanza composes and delivers deeply personal and inspiring original music. On his recent debut studio release, Traveling Salesman, Iadanza’s soaring poetic vocals and percussive fingerstyle guitar grooves are accented by the musical talents of a unique group of classically-trained, jazz-schooled and folk-versed musicians.

Featuring original songs by Iadanza, Traveling Salesman is a heart-opening – sometimes foot-stompin’ – album that spans the genres of folk, rock, roots and Americana. It is imbued with what one British music critic called a “European jazz” feel that harkens back to a bygone era. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour Partners with Clearview Cinemas to Bring Show to Big Screens in NY Metro Area

Michael Kornfeld — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 22:08:21 +0000

Folksinger Michael Johnathon’s WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour has established a new partnership with Clearview Cinemas — WoodSongs at the Movies — that will bring the weekly program to big screens throughout the New York metropolitan area, preceded by 30-45-minute live sets by regional artists. Showtime is Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m., beginning Oct. 22. AcousticMusicScene.com has signed on to present artists at Clearviewâ€™s 62nd and Broadway Cinema in Manhattan. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

LI Artists Pay Tribute to Harry Chapin, Aug 27

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:25:41 +0000

In these tough economic times, hunger is an even greater problem than usual on Long Island, with local food pantries and soup kitchens running bare. On Wednesday evening, August 27, at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow, many talented Long Island musical artists will present a concert and food drive in tribute to the late singer-songwriter, humanitarian and anti-hunger activist Harry Chapin -- playing his songs for the cause to which he dedicated himself. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Long Island Bluegrass Festival Set For August 16

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:59:01 +0000

The Long Island Bluegrass Festival will take place at Tanner Park on Kerrigan Road, near the Great South Bay, in Copiague, NY on Saturday, Aug. 16, from noon-8 p.m. Presented by the Babylon Arts Council and the Town of Babylon, the festival will be headlined by Dan Paisley & the Southern Grass and also will feature performances by Buddy Merriam & Back Roads, James Reams & the Barnstormers, Too Blue, Acoustic Electrix, Free Grass Union, Michael Daves and Blue Detour. Now in its sixth year, the family-friendly festival -- for which admission is $10 for adults and free for children under 12 -- also will include workshop tents, plenty of opportunities for jamming, music and activities for children, crafts, and a food court. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Huntington Summer Arts Festival Features Acoustic Music

Michael Kornfeld — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:08:08 +0000

Among the more than 50 free outdoor performances during the 43rd Annual Huntington Summer Arts Festival that gets under way on Friday, June 20, and runs through Sunday, August 17 at Heckscher Park (Prime Avenue and Main Street/Route 25A, Huntington) are quite a few featuring talented touring and local acoustic music artists. Among those slated to grace the Chapin Rainbow Stage are such notables as Tom Paxton, Janis Ian, Aztec Two-Step and Christine Lavin. The performances, presented by the Town of Huntington and produced by the Huntington Arts Council, are set for 8:30 p.m. (except for Tuesday night family performances, which start at 7:30 p.m.). Bring folding chairs or blankets. [To see the descriptive listings for 10 evenings of music this summer, click the headline.]

Tribes Hill Honors WFUV’s John Platt

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 01:07:30 +0000

Tribes Hill, a nonprofit organization in New Yorkâ€™s lower Hudson Valley region that seeks to unite and encourage a diverse group of musicians and their patrons to find community both personally and musically, has conferred honorary lifetime membership on John Platt, host of Sunday Breakfast on WFUV-FM in New York. Platt, who has hosted the show since the spring of 1997, was honored during Tribes Hillâ€™s annual meeting and hootenanny, June 14, at Hammond House in Valhalla. He shares this â€œspecial statusâ€ with Pete Seeger, the organizationâ€™s only other lifetime member. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Partial Capo Techniques Workshop Set for May 3 in Centerport

Michael Kornfeld — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:17:33 +0000

The Folk Music Society of Huntington will host a Partial Capo Techniques Workshop for guitarists with Randall Williams on Saturday, May 3, from 4-6 p.m., at the Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive (off Route 25A), Centerport. Open to guitarists of all skill levels, the two-hour workshop costs $25 (if pre-registered) and $30 at the door, if space is available. Checks payable to the Folk Music Society of Huntington may be sent to P.O. Box 290, Huntington Station, NY 11746. The workshop precedes the societyâ€™s Falcon Ridge Preview Tour concert at 7:30 p.m. that evening featuring Joe Crookston, Anthony da Costa, Lindsay Mac and Williams â€“ all of whom were voted as audience favorites among emerging artists â€œmost wantedâ€ to return during the 2007 Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. (More information on that appears in the AcoustiCalendar.) [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

LI-Based Acoustic Artists Mark Milestones in January

Michael Kornfeld — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:00:18 +0000

Several Long Island-based acoustic musicians marked important milestones in January. Phil Minissale, the Long Island Blues Boy, turned 21. Denise Romas, who has been part of the local acoustic music scene for years, released her debut album. And Gathering Time â€“ an acoustic trio featuring Glen Roethel, Stuart Markus and Hillary Foxsong â€“ performed live in the studio at WFDU in Teaneck, New Jersey. [To read the entire article, click on the headline.]

Bob Dylan Song Contest Set on Long Island

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:47:58 +0000

The Our Times Coffeehouse will host a Bob Dylan Song Contest Night on Friday, February 15, at the Ethical Humanist Society Building, 38 Old Country Road in Garden City, NY. Cash prizes of $150, $100 and $50 will be awarded to the three top performers as judged by a panel and the audience on the basis of originality of interpretation and quality of musicianship. â€œWeâ€™re not looking for Dylan impersonators, just great musicians putting their personal spin on two Dylan songs,â€ says Marty Stone, arts coordinator of the monthly coffeehouse series that is a joint project of the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island and the Long Island Progressive Coalition. The entry fee is $15. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

LIers’ Presence is Felt at NERFA Conference in The Catskills

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:54:46 +0000

Long Island was well represented at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference at Kutsher’s Resort in Monticello, New York over the Veterans Day weekend. Local residents accounted for some five-percent of the 600+ people in attendance and made their presence felt more than ever before – hosting and participating in late-night music showcases and song swaps, serving as workshop panelists, jamming in the lobby, and, in general, enjoying the esprit de corps that characterized this year’s conference.

[To read the entire article, click on the headline].

LI Music Hall of Fame to Induct Arlo Guthrie & Jean Ritchie

Michael Kornfeld — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 19:51:50 +0000

Arlo Guthrie and Jean Ritchie are among the two dozen individual musicians, groups and organizations with connections to Long Island slated to be inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame during gala ceremonies October 21 at Queens Collegeâ€™s Kupferberg Center for the Arts on Kissena Boulevard in Flushing. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Toby Walker Makes His Philadelphia Folk Festival Debut

Michael Kornfeld — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 03:24:28 +0000

Little Toby Walker, who called Huntington home until moving to New Jersey recently, continues to garner fans and well-deserved buzz beyond the New York metropolitan area and on both sides of the Atlantic for his fine Delta blues and ragtime guitar playing. But until this month, he had not played one of Americaâ€™s oldest and most legendary folk festivals. Wearing his trademark hat, a colorful short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, he made his Philadelphia Folk Festival debut earlier this month. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

LI Artists Pay Tribute to Harry Chapin, August 27

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 21:05:51 +0000

Itâ€™s been more than 25 years since Harry Chapin left us. But many Long Islanders (and others across the country and the world) are still â€œWild About Harry.â€ On Monday night, August 27, at Eisenhower Parkâ€™s Harry Chapin Lakeside Theater, many talented Long Island artists will come together to pay tribute to the late singer-songwriter and humanitarian for whom the theater is named. Chapin, who resided in Huntington Bay, was on his way to perform a free concert at the theater one summer night in 1981 when he died in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway. His music and his giving, community spirit live on. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

LI’s Steve Robinson is Memphis-Bound

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 18:58:19 +0000

Steve Robinson will represent the Long Island Blues Society in the solo/duo category at the 2008 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee next January. The 58 year-old Massapequa Park-based singer-songwriter and fingerstyle guitarist bested several other talented Long Islanders (Bob Westcott, Phil Minissale, Dan Freedman, and Josh Allen & Junior Allen) for this coveted honor during a competition held in Patchogue on Sunday afternoon, August 5. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Steve Forbert Headlines Huntington Folk Festival, Aug. 11

Michael Kornfeld — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:13:02 +0000

The 2nd Annual Huntington Folk Festival is slated for Saturday, August 11, 2007, beginning at 5 p.m., on the Chapin Rainbow Stage at Heckscher Park, Prime Avenue and Route 25A in Huntington Village. Steve Forbert, a folk-rock singer-songwriter best known for his 1979 album Jackrabbit Slim and its sprightly hit single â€œRomeoâ€™s Tune,â€ headlines the free festival that is jointly presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council. Beaucoup Blue, a Philadelphia-based father & son acoustic blues & roots duo, opens for Forbert. Preceding them will be three on-stage song swaps, featuring artists from New York and New England. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

It’s an Acoustic Summer for Islip Arts Council

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 16:30:55 +0000

There will be plenty of good, free acoustic music in Islip this summer thanks to the Islip Arts Council and its artistic director, Amy Tuttle. This summerâ€™s series of free Sunday afternoon concerts at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River will feature several LI-based acoustic artists and Red Molly, the rootsy female Americana trio thatâ€™s been drawing a lot of buzz here and elsewhere, while a series of Tuesday Brown Bag Concerts at the Bay Shore Bandshell on Main Street will include noted German guitarist Peter Finger, as well as several more local performers. Both series have taken on more of an acoustic bent since Tuttle (who also serves as an officer of both the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Long Island Music Hall of Fame) joined the Islip Arts Councilâ€™s staff in September 2005. â€œEvery single act has some acoustic element in itâ€ this summer, she said, noting that both series are â€œgeared primarily to acoustic musicians and to those who write original material and perform original stuff.â€ [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Long Island Summer Festivals Take Shape

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 08 May 2007 02:01:14 +0000

Acoustic artists from near and far will be performing at a number of festivals on Long Island this summer. These include the 2nd Annual Acoustic Long Island Summer Festival in St. James (June 29), a new Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue (July 13-15), Babylon Village Bayfest (July 25), the 2nd Annual Huntington Folk Festival (August 11), and the 5th Annual Long Island Bluegrass Festival in Copiague (August 18). [To see the entire article, click on the headline].

“Acoustic Long Island” Moves to Deepwells Mansion

Michael Kornfeld — Tue, 01 May 2007 20:19:51 +0000

The growing popularity of Acoustic Long Island, Dave and Rob Dircksâ€™ wonderful weekly coffeehouse series in St. James, that also ranks as the top acoustic music podcast on iTunes, has prompted the brothers to expand their live venue to hold about 100 people comfortably. After percolating for more than 18 months at Cool Beanz, a cozy coffeehouse in a strip shopping center, the series has moved just a bit further down Route 25A to a larger space within the historic Deepwells Mansion (circa 1845), a Suffolk County-owned treasure situated just west of Moriches Road. [To read the entire article, click on the headline].

Keeping Up With New Releases

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 23:09:38 +0000

Little Toby Walker, Tom Griffith and Bob Koenig have new CDs out this month... NYC CD release party slated for Johnny Cuomo... Former LIer Arlon Bennett to make Acoustic Long Island appearance in May... Glen Roethel is a finalist in Susquehanna Songwriting Contest... and LI artists offer quality music for children, too. [To read the entire article, click on the title in red above].

“Acoustic Long Island” Series Continues to Percolate

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 15:36:59 +0000

Newsday readers are learning what many on the local acoustic music scene have known for some time now: Dave and Rob Dircksâ€™ wonderful weekly Acoustic Long Island series at Cool Beanz in St. James is garnering increased interest from performers and fans alike, and the buzz extends far beyond Long Island. Acoustic Long Island is much more than just a Wednesday night open mic at a cozy coffeehouse - as much fun as that is. As Steven Snyderâ€™s March 20 Part 2 cover story declares, itâ€™s â€œLong Islandâ€™s Podcast Hit.â€ {Click on the title in red to read more about "Acoustic Long Island" and about a "Long Island Blues Boy" who is starting to gather steam and notice].

AcousticMusicScene.com Creators “Booked”

Michael Kornfeld — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:41:23 +0000

A song from Glen Roethelâ€™s forthcoming release is chosen to appear in the new Unity songbook -- Special Services and Chants, Volume 2 -- that is due out in Juneâ€¦ Michael Kornfeld, editor & publisher of AcousticMusicScene.com, is a panelist at the 67th Annual IBS International Radio, TV, Webcasting & Podcasting Conferenceâ€¦ [For more details, click on the title in red].

Blues Bits & Songwriting Success

Michael Kornfeld — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 16:09:22 +0000

Little Toby Walker returns to Jorma Kaukonenâ€™s Fur Peace Ranch in Marchâ€¦ Phil Minissale appears on WRCNâ€™s â€œGraveyard Blues Radio Show,â€ Feb. 18â€¦2007 LI Harp Blowoff Slated for March 4â€¦ James Oâ€™Malley is a finalist in the Plowshares Singer-Songwriter Competition for the second successive Yearâ€¦ [Read more by clicking on the title in red]

Glen Roethel’s “Namaste” Featured in Multi-media Exhibit at George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Museum in Texas

Michael Kornfeld — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 20:39:40 +0000

Local singer-songwriter Glen Roethel’s song, "Namaste, '" is featured in a powerful multi-media exhibit, “Children Speak: Tsunami,” by photojournalist Arlene Atherton that runs through Feb. 15 at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library Museum in College Station, Texas. "Namaste" means "I greet the spirit in you." Atherton explains her joy in discovering the song because it "unifies the Buddhist traditions shared by Sri Lanka and Thailand and reflects the Christian and Islam understanding of our spiritual nature, that we have a sacred soul." "Namaste,” which appears on Roethel’s 2004 independent release, “From Beginning To End," is the finale to the Kids Drawing Project. [Click on the title in red to see the entire article]

Open Mics, Blues, Traditions and Pre-schoolers of Fish

Michael Kornfeld — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 06:00:57 +0000

Besides playing host to the Folk Music Society of Huntingtonâ€™s monthly open jam sessions every third Sunday, the Huntington Public Library now hosts an â€œOpen Micâ€ cafÃ© once a month. Recent months have featured some talented local musicians (including featured artists Denise Romas and Steve Vitoff), as well as a funny stand-up comedian and even a poker-playing pooch who has appeared on national television. Across the street from the library, a new monthly open mic series also has been launched at the Asta Wine Bar and Art Gallery. See the Long Island AcoustiCalendar for more information on these and other open mic nights on LI.

Ken â€œthe Rocketâ€ Korb and Bruce MacDonald will be heading to Memphis in February to represent Long Island at the International Blues Challenge. Korb, a harmonica player and multi-instrumentalist, and MacDonald, a Ragtime fingerstyle guitarist, have both been performing for decades but just hooked up as a duo recently.

Long Islandâ€™s own Little Toby Walker, the 2002 International Blues Challenge winner, who has been drawing well-deserved positive buzz on both sides of the Atlantic, will be recording a new live CD during a January 26 concert at ... [Click title in red to see the entire article ]