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Posts Tagged ‘Outdoor’

Real Good for Free: Chowderfest, 9/20/09

Friday, September 18th, 2009

The third annual Chowderfest on the 400 block of River Street (just north of the Green Island Bridge) in Troy takes place on Sunday, September 20 from 11am-4pm. More than 30 different Nippertown restaurants will be offering $1 cups of chowder with partial proceeds going to the Troy Boys and Girls Club.

But in addition to the food, there’s plenty of free music, too, and musically speaking, Chowderfest takes on quite a country flavor this year, as you can see by the schedule of performers:

11am: The Twisted String Band
12:30pm: Renee Lussier and Branchwater
2:30pm: Loose Cannon Live

Tags: chowder, Chowderfest, concert, free, Music, Outdoor, River Street, soup, Troy
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Real Good for Free: The Drum Boogie Festival, 9/19/09

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

Yes, it’s an unfortunate name that makes us think of a big bunch of guys smoking pot and drinking 40-ouncers in the park on a Saturday afternoon while they pound away on mismatched conga drums.

Ah, that’s not what this is. Not by a longshot.

Celebrating the various global traditions of drumming, the free Drum Boogie Festival takes place in Cornell Park in Kingston’s Rondout Historic District on Saturday, September 19. The fest begins with an opening ceremony at 12noon featuring 100 drummers.

Here’s the rest of the mind-boggling line-up of powerhouse percussionists:

12noon: Opening ceremony
12:30pm: The Jack DeJohnette Trio featuring former E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious and Roberto Quintero
1:30pm: Pook, children’s percussion orchestra
2:10pm: Liam Teague, solo pan drummer
2:30pm: Nexus, contemporary percussion ensemble featuring Bob Becker, Russell Hartenberger, Bill Cahn & Garry Kvistad with guests Liam Teague and Tasa & Rob
3:30pm: Silver Cloud Native American Singers and Drummers
4:10pm: Liam Teague, solo pan drummer
4:30pm: The Not-So-Traditional American Rudimental Drummers featuring Dominic Cuccia, Therese Cuccia and Nick Attanasio with guests Nexus
5:10pm: Giri Mekar Balinese Gamelan Orchestra with dancers
5:50pm: The Jerry Marotta Band featuring Tony Levin, Pete Levin, Jesse Gress
6:50pm: The closing Drum Boogie featuring the Jerry Marotta Band, NEXUS, Liam Teague, Tasa & Rob, more

Tags: Boogie, drum, festival, free, Kingston, Music, Outdoor, Rondout
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Real Good for Free: Albany’s September in the City Art Fair

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

The City of Albany is keeping the free outdoor music going downtown for another month.

No, the Alive at Five concert series hasn’t been extended.

~~Instead, you can get some free mid-day sounds in Tricentennial Park at the corner of Broadway and Columbia St. (where Alive at Five used to be held until it moved down to Riverfront Park).~~UPDATE: the location has been change to West Capital Park.

The September in the City Art Fair will take place from 11:30am til 2pm each Wednesday this month, showcasing the art work of folks like Gwen Stander, Jim Miller, Grady Burkett, Milton McPherson, the Broadway Arts Center and others.

In addition to the visual art on display and for sale, you can also enjoy free live lunch-time music at each of the art fair dates. Here’s the schedule of performers:

September 2: El Duke
September 9: Spiral Tango
September 16: Jann Klose
September 24: Tequila Mockingbirds
September 30: The Musicians of Ma’alwyck

Tags: Albany, Broadway Arts Center, concert, free, Grady Burkett, Gwen Stander, Jim Miller, Milton McPherson, Outdoor, series, Tricentennial Park
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Real Good for Free: Johnny Rabb & the Jailhouse Rockers @ Powers Park, 9/5/09

Monday, August 31st, 2009

Yes, the summer-long series of free concerts in Troy’s Powers Park was supposed to have ended this past weekend with the big Uncle Sam Jam.

But the August 22 was rained out, which means that the always revved-up rockabilly favorites Johnny Rabb and the Jailhouse Rockers were postponed. If you want to add a little old-school rock ‘n’ roll to your Labor Day weekend, Rabb and the boys will fire it up at Powers Park at 6pm Saturday, September 5.

Of course, it’s free.

Tags: concert, Jailhouse Rockers, Johnny Rabb, Music, Outdoor, Powers Park, series, summer, Troy
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Real Good for Free: Storm King Art Center, 8/27/09

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Maya Lin: Storm King Wavefield

Take the day off from work tomorrow and celebrate the the relationship between art and nature.

The Storm King Art Center in Mountainville is an amazing outdoor sculpture garden that stretches on and on for 500 acres. It’s pretty much impossible to see everything in just one day of walking around the grounds – although there are regularly scheduled tram tours if you want to give your legs a bit of a rest.

New this summer is Maya Lin’s massive, rolling “Storm King Wavefield,” a mesmerizing earthwork.

If you haven’t been to Storm King yet this summer, tomorrow (Thursday, August 27) is a great day to go for a visit – admission is free all day long. One day only. Bring a picnic and make a day of it.

Tags: Art, free, Mountainville, Outdoor, Park, Sculpture, Storm King
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DAVID GREENBERGER and PAUL CEBAR’s “Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time”

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

“Look at me! I’m a king! I have a red shirt! I live in Milwaukee!”
– from “A King in Milwaukee, Part 1″

(Pel Pel Recordings, 2009):

CherryPickingCover David Greenberger is a masterful artist who knows how to get to the heart of matter of getting older. It seems like such an easy thing – I mean, we all get older every day, don’t we? But you can’t see it in a mirror on a daily basis. It’s an elusive topic, and like water through your hand, it’s difficult to get a grasp on.

Greenberger has got hold of it by the neck, and thankfully he won’t let go. He’s been doing it for three decades now as the writer, editor and all-around office boy at the Duplex Planet, a little homemade magazine that’s grown into something of an empire over the years.

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Tags: CD, Cherry Picking Apple Blossom Time, concert, David Greenberger, Duplex Planet, free, Lake George, Milwaukeeans, Music, Outdoor, Paul Cebar, Review, Shepard Park, spoken word
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Real Good for Free: The Mathematicians @ Shepard Park, 8/22/09

Friday, August 21st, 2009

There’s still one more week on the Lake George Arts Project‘s free Wednesday night concert series, which wraps up with Milwaukee’s Paul Cebar churning out his R&B-meets-world beat sound at 7:30pm on Wednesday, August 26.

But that’s not the only thing going on in Lake George’s Shepard Park these days. As part of the Family Festival Week, local indie rock-matics the Mathematicians will be slipping into the park at 7:30pm on Saturday, August 22, which should add up to a spectacular evening of music outside the usual bounds of the Lake George scene.

Want still more musical happenings in Shepard Park? There will be a tribute to Elvis Presley and the Beatles at 7:30pm on Tuesday, August 25, and the Sunglow Polka Band will be squeezing out sparks at 8pm on Thursday, August 27.

There’s nothing like Lake George in the summertime, so if you haven’t made a pilgrimage up there yet this year, now is your chance…

Tags: concert, free, Lake George, Mathematicians, Outdoor, Shepard Park, summer
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Real Good for Free: Kidstock @ Belleayre Music Festival, 8/23/09

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival, Uncle Rock, the Belleayre Music Conservatory and original festival co-producer Michael Lang bring you Kidstock at the Belleayre Music Festival in Highmount on Sunday, August 23. Doors open at 12noon.

A free family concert, Kidstock is an interactive festival to benefit Friends of Snuffy’s Food Pantry Program. Attendees are asked to bring along a pet food donation for our furry and feathered friends in need.

Family music troubadour and Kidstock host Uncle Rock and his band the Playthings will kick off the festivities at 1pm, followed by Paul Green’s School of Rock All-Stars.

Ranging in age from kindergarten to high school, this band is the cream of the world-renowned Paul Green’s School of Rock, the real-life inspiration behind the “School of Rock” movie starring Jack Black. They will close the day’s festivities with their “Tribute to the Music of Woodstock.”

Festival-goers of all ages are encouraged to dress in the style of their favorite musical era or musician. Everyone will get an eyeful at the Rock & Roll Fashion Show, featuring small fry models strutting their stuff across the stage in everything from punk to glam to hip-hop fashions.

Tags: Belleayre, concert, festival, free, Highmount, Kidstock, Music, Outdoor, Paul Green, rock, school, Uncle Rock, Woodstock
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Real Good for Free: Spencer Day @ Hudson Waterfront Park, 8/21/09

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Spencer Day (Photo: Harris t. Hartsfield)

A year ago, Spencer Day was singing at the Tanglewood Jazz Weekend. Now, with his new album slated to drop on Tuesday, September 8, the up-and-coming vocalist-songwriter-pianist is headed into the Hudson Waterfront Park in Hudson for a free concert at 7pm on Friday, August 21.

The new 14-song album, “Vagabond,” marks Day’s debut for the Concord Jazz label, but he doesn’t seem too concerned about sticking strictly to the confines of jazz.

“I wanted to create a musical hybrid,” says Day. “I’ve drawn from the Great American Songbook quite a bit in the past, but I really wanted to infuse this album with a more contemporary aesthetic and also draw on some influences from the early ’60s, like Burt Bacharach, Roy Orbison and Dusty Springfield.

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Tags: concert, free, Hudson, Jazz, Outdoor, Park, pop, Spencer Day, summer, Vaabond, Waterfront
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Real Good for Free: David Malachowski and the Woodstock Allstars @ Athens Riverfront Park, 8/21/09

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

David Malachowski doesn’t need the spotlight.

Throughout most of his musical career, the guitarslinger has been quite content to just be one of the guys in the band, allowing the lead vocalist to soak up the spotlight – whether the band was playing behind megawatt country star Shania Twain, veteran bluesman Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown or roots-rockin’ honky-tonker Commander Cody.

dfm7 With a resume like that, you know that Malachowski can deliver the goods. But what can he do when he steps out front to lead his own band? Well, you can find out for yourself at 7pm on Friday, August 21 when David Malachowski and the Woodstock Allstars play their one and only gig of the year at Riverfront Park in Athens.

Malachowski assembled the first incarnation of the Allstars in 2007 to headline the Lake George Blues Festival. Featuring drummer Harvey Sorgen of Hot Tuna, blues guitarist Albert Cummings and vocalist Jill Stephenson among others, that initial ensemble featured a wealth of musical talent.

And so have the subsequent editions of the band, which boasts a somewhat fluid membership, to say the least.

Malachowski describes the Woodstock Allstars as “a loosely held together group of friends that just happen to be some of the most amazing musicians in the world.”

He ain’t kidding.

(more…)

Tags: Allstars, Athens, concert, David, free, Malachowski, Outdoor, Riverfront Park, summer, Woodstock
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