Jez Lowe – AcousticMusicScene.com

Remembering Ian Tyson, 1933-2022

Michael Kornfeld — Sat, 07 Jan 2023 16:48:05 +0000

Ian Tyson

Ian Tyson, an influential Canadian troubadour best known for having penned the hit songs “Four Strong Winds” and “Someday Soon” as half of the internationally acclaimed folk duo Ian & Sylvia, died on December 29, 2022 at his ranch in southern Alberta at age 89. Folk DJ Charlie Backfish will pay tribute to him and his music during a special edition of his long-running weekly radio show Sunday Street that airs January 8 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET on WUSB 90.1 FM on Long Island, NY and online at wusb.fm or https://tunein.com/radio/WUSB-901-s2324/.

Born to British immigrants in Victoria, British Columbia on September 25, 1933, Tyson grew up in Duncan, BC. He was a rough-stock rodeo rider in his late teens and early 20s and took up the guitar as “the means by which to pass the time” during a two-week hospital stay while recovering from a shattered ankle — an injury he sustained in a bad fall while competing in the Dog Pound Rodeo in Alberta.

Tyson hitchhiked from Vancouver to Toronto in 1958 after graduating from the Vancouver School of Art and became part of the city’s nascent folk scene centered around the coffee houses of its bohemian Yorkville neighborhood. There he met a young singer named Sylvia Fricker, who would become his musical and life partner for a while. They moved to New York, where noted manager Albert Grossman (Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul & Mary, Pozo Seco Singers, etc.) signed Ian & Sylvia to Vanguard Records and they became an important part of the early 1960s folk revival.

The duo released its eponymously titled debut album in 1962 before getting hitched two years later. They would go on to record and release nearly a dozen albums. Although Ian and Sylvia’s 1964 sophomore release, Four Strong Winds, featured primarily covers of songs by others, its original title track became one of Canada’s best-loved songs and, along with “Someday Soon” and Sylvia’s “You Were on My Mind,” has been covered by numerous other artists — a number of whom will be featured on Sunday Street.

Here’s a link to view a video of Ian and Sylvia performing Four Strong Winds for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3m7ckGhnsc

As the folk boom began to wane later in the 1960s, spurred in part by the British Invasion, Ian & Sylvia moved to Nashville and began incorporating elements of country and rock into their music. They formed the band Great Speckled Bird in 1969 and becoming pioneers of country-rock, along with the Byrds and others.

After hosting a national Canadian television music show from 1970 to 1975, Tyson realized his dream of returning to the Canadian West. His marriage to Sylvia had ended in divorce in 1975 and Tyson, disillusioned with the Canadian country music scene, opted to return to his first love – training horses in the ranch country of southern Alberta.

Tyson Turns to Cowboy Songs and Western Music

His songwriting was greatly affected by his change in lifestyle – most notably on his third solo album, 1983’s Old Corrals & Sagebrush, comprised solely of traditional and new cowboy songs that he recorded after spending three idyllic years cowboying in the Rockies at Pincher Creek. Although Tyson didn’t know it at the time, a cowboy renaissance was about to find expression at the first Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering that year in a small cow town in northern Nevada. Invited to perform his ‘new western music” at it, Tyson was a regular attendee at the gatherings for more than 30 years. Tyson’s 1987 album Cowboyography also helped to re-launch his touring career across Canada and the U.S.

Tyson seriously damaged his voice following a particularly tough performance at an outdoor country music festival in 2006. “I fought the sound system and I lost,” he said afterwards. With a virus that took months to pass, his smooth voice was now hoarse, grainy, and had lost much of its resonant bottom end. After briefly entertaining thoughts that he would never sing again, he began relearning and reworking his songs to accommodate his ‘new voice.’ To his surprise, audiences now paid rapt attention as he half-spoke, half-sung familiar words, which seemed to reveal new depths for his listeners, according to publicist Eric Alper. Although a heart attack, followed by open heart surgery in 2015, further damaged his voice, Tyson continued to release music well into his senior years – including the 2015 album Carnero Vaquero and his last single, “You Should Have Known.” Released in September 2017 on Stony Plains Records, the Canadian label on which he released 15 albums since the 1980s, that song unapologetically celebrates the hard living, hard drinking, hard loving cowboy life.

Tyson was a Much-Honored Artist During His Lifetime

Tyson earned numerous awards and accolades over the years. A Juno Award recipient for country male vocalist of the year in 1987 and a Canadian Country Music Hall of Famer since 1989, Tyson was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame – along with his former wife and singing partner, Sylvia, three years later. He became a member of the Order of Canada in 1994, received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2003, and was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2006. ASCAP paid tribute to him during the 20th annual Folk Alliance International Conference in 2008, while he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019.

January 7 Sunday Street Tribute to Ian Tyson will Feature Music, Stories and Reflections

On the January 7 edition of Sunday Street, Backfish will explore Tyson’s wide-ranging career. He’ll share some recently-recorded reflections from Tom Russell, a widely acclaimed folk and Americana singer-songwriter, painter and essayist who co-wrote may songs with Tyson and recorded Play One More: The Songs of Ian and Sylvia (2017), featuring some of the duo’s lesser-known songs.

A Tom Russell painting of his longtime friend, mentor and musical collaborator Ian Tyson.
“It’s hard to come forth with words about the passing of Ian Tyson, wrote Russell in a Facebook post shortly after he died. “My friend and mentor for so many years. He was the best man at our wedding in Elko. We co-wrote at least 10 songs including Navajo Rug [the 1986 Canadian country song of the year], Claude Dallas, Rose of San Joaquin, When The Wolves No Longer Sing, and Ross Knox. We had a good talk a little while ago. My thoughts go back to many great memories of co-writing songs in a cabin in the Rockies. It’s a sad day. He’ll be with me forever.”

Here are links to view videos of Russell and Tyson performing Tyson’s classic “Summer Wages” and their co-write “Navajo Rug” in Calgary in 2019:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4Rk-E_spoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGlbCQ_DjdE

The three-hour radio show will also feature stories and observations from Tyson himself, Sylvia Tyson, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, interspersed with music. “Many of Tyson’s songs, as well as his vocals on the songs of others will be part of the three-hour program, according to Backfish. Besides Tyson himself, Ian and Sylvia, The Great Speckled Bird, and Tom Russell, listeners will hear from Neil Young (who covered “Four Strong Winds” on his 1978 album Comes A Time), Gordon Lightfoot (who Ian and Sylvia mentored and whose song “Early Morning Rain” was the title track of their 1965 release), Greg Brown and Bill Morrissey, Lucy Kaplansky, Fourtold, Gretchen Peters, James Keelaghan and Jez Lowe, Marianne Faithfull, Cindy Church, Corb Lund (an Alberta-based Canadian country artist with whom Tyson performed a series of concerts in 2018 and who told CBC News in a 2019 interview “He’s kind of our Willie Nelson or Johnny Cash or Leonard Cohen. He’s a guy who’s most embodied the region in art, musically at least.”), Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, The McDades, Michael Martin Murphey, and Bob Dylan (who recorded Tyson’s song “One Single River,” along with the Band, in Woodstock, New York, in 1967).

It’s Music Festival Time in New York State

Michael Kornfeld — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 23:09:43 +0000

Music festivals abound in New York State in late June. Among those of note are Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival (June 20-21 in Croton-on-Hudson), Old Songs Festival (June 26-28 in Altamont), American Roots Music Festival at Caramoor (June 27 in Katonah) and Rockland-Bergen Music Festival (June 27-28 in Tappan).

Now in its 46th year, Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival is slated for Saturday-Sunday, June 20-21, at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson in New York’s Hudson Valley. A wide array of music, dance, storytelling and family-oriented programming will take place on seven sustainably powered stages.

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn
Artists slated to perform during the weekend include David Amram, Joseph Arthur, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Neko Case, Tom Chapin, The Chapin Sisters, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Citizen Cope, Julie Corbalis, David Crosby, Guy Davis, Ani DiFranco, The Dirty Stay Out Skifflers, Edukated Fleas, The Felice Brothers, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Dom Flemons, Fred Gillen, Jr., Guster, Kim and Reggie Harris, The Johnson Girls, The Kennedys, Angelique Kidjo, The Klezmatics, Bettye LaVette, The Lone Bellow, Shelby Lynne, Los Lobos, Magpie, The Mavericks, Matuto, Mike & Ruthy, Ric Palieri, Tom Paxton, Piedmont Bluz, Kate Pierson (of the B-52s), The Pine Hill Project featuring Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky, Joel Rafael, Toshi Reagon & Big Lovely, Linda Richards, Joanne Shenandoah, Todd Snider, Carolann Solebello, Matt Turk, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Vanaver Caravan, Walkabout Clearwater Chorus, Josh White Jr., and Wild Asparagus, among others.

Produced by and benefiting the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., a nonprofit member-supported organization launched by Pete Seeger and others to preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries, the festival celebrates environmental activism and education and supports its efforts on behalf of the environment and social justice and keeping the sloop Clearwater afloat. Besides lots of music, the festival features a Green Living Expo, riverfront activities, environmental workshops and exhibits, and booths run by educational and activist organizations. For an extra fee, visitors will be afforded opportunities to sail the Hudson on the Clearwater, a world-renowned floating classroom and symbol of effective grassroots action. A juried Handcrafters’ Village and a participatory Circle of Song are also on the docket. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.clearwaterfestival.org.

The 35th Annual Old Songs Festival takes place June 26-28 at Altamont Fairgrounds in Altamont, approximately 10 miles west of Albany. Produced by Old Songs, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in the New York State Capitol Region that seeks to keep traditional music and dance alive through the festival, as well as monthly concerts, dances and educational programs, this festival features a variety of folk, Celtic and world music.

Brother Sun: Folk-harmony trio featuring (l.-r.) Pat Wictor, Joe Jencks and Greg Greenway
Main Stage concerts are slated for Friday and Saturday evening, as well as Sunday afternoon, and will feature such artists as Brother Sun, Calan, Ellis, Bing Futch, Anne Hills, Jez Lowe, Quebec’s Yves Lambert Trio, Joel Mabus, Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole, Alan Reid & Rob Van Sante, Philadelphia-based Celtic ensemble RUNA, Ontario’s April Verch Band and Ken Whiteley & The Beulah Band, and more. A number of other stages will feature music and dance throughout the weekend.

A very participatory event, the Old Songs Festival includes more than 120 workshops, classes, sessions and performances. Attendees also are afforded opportunities to take part in “sacred harp” or shape-note singing, choral harmony singing and open mics, as well as lots of festival performer-led and impromptu jam sessions. The relaxed, family-friendly festival also features a dedicated children’s area, as well as a wide array of artisans, vendors and food.

Individual day tickets and all-festival tickets (with or without camping) are available at the gate. For more information, visit www.oldsongs.org/festival.

Lucinda Williams will headline the fifth annual American Roots Music Festival at Caramoor, a family friendly celebration of acoustic music, on Saturday, June 27. Set on 90 acres of gardens and Italianate architecture in Katonah, Westchester County, NY – 40 miles northeast of New York City — the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is well known for its summer music festivals. AcousticMusicScene.com is delighted to again be a Cultural Partner of the festival and will have a presence there.

Opening for Williams in the evening program beginning at 7:30 p.m. will up-and-coming Oklahoma-based singer-songwriter Parker Millsap. Artists slated to perform during the afternoon (12-6 p.m.) include Kristin Andreassen Band, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Jessy Carolina & The Hot Mess, Mason Porter, Cole Quest and the City Pickers, Spuyten Duyvil, Matt Turk, and Walkabout Clearwater Chorus. Also scheduled is a social music hour — an old-time music workshop featuring some of the artists mentioned above and patterned after one that Spuyten Duyvil’s Mark Miller has led here and at other music festivals. Folks attending it are encouraged to bring their instruments or just gather round to learn about several old-time musicians and sing their songs.

“Caramoor is a nature paradise and the music takes place in several locations on the grounds so that folks can experience some of the environmental beauty as well,” says Maggi Landau, the festival organizer. She notes that during the daytime artists will be performing acoustic, unplugged sets in the Sunken Garden – “a quiet grove with the audience sitting on the ground literally at the feet of the artist” – as well as on the larger Friends Field. The evening concert featuring Lucinda Williams will take place inside the Venetian Theater for which there is reserved seating.

Daytime only tickets (excluding the evening performances) and full-festival tickets, (including reserved seating for the evening concert) may be ordered by calling (914) 232-1252 or visiting www.caramoor.org.

Attendees are advised to bring their own chairs/blankets for the daytime performances. Although limited food and beverages will be available for purchase, folks also can bring their own and enjoy picnicking on Caramoor’s spacious lawns.

The second annual Rockland-Bergen Music Festival takes place Saturday-Sunday, June 27 -28, at German Masonic Park, 120 Western Highway in Tappan. Gates open at 10 a.m., while music extends from 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. each night, rain or shine. Artists slated to perform over the weekend include Aztec Two-Step, Arlon Bennett Band, Bluebirds of Paradise, Jen Chapin, Tom Chapin Trio, Shawn Colvin, Guy Davis with Professor Louie, KJ Denhert, festival presenter Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan, John Eddie, Steve Forbert Jeffrey Gaines, Spook Handy, Garland Jeffreys, David Johansen, The Levins, James Maddock, Willie Nile, John Sebastian, Frank Tedesso, The The Band Band, and many others. For more information, visit www.rocklandmusicfestival.com.

AcousticMusicScene.com Hosts Mid-Summer Song Swaps at Huntington, Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals

And mark your calendars for these two upcoming festivals at which AcousticMusicScene.com will host pre-arranged unplugged song swaps: Huntington Folk Festival (Sunday, July 26 in Huntington) and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (July 31-Aug. 2, with a pre-fest day July 30 in Hillsdale).

AcousticMusicScene.com’s Michael Kornfeld and Tom Paxton during the 2015 International Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City
Tom Paxton headlines the 10th Annual Huntington Folk Festival at Huntington, Long Island’s Heckscher Park on Sunday evening, July 26. The evening concert on the park’s [Harry] Chapin Rainbow Stage will be preceded by openers No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow and an afternoon of unplugged showcases and song swaps, from 12 noon to 6 p.m., featuring more than 30 artists and acts from the New York metropolitan area and beyond. Artists confirmed to perform at the AcousticMusicScene.com tent include Annika, Mark A. Berube, Michael Braunfeld, Meghan Cary, Greg Cornell and the Cornell Brothers, Curtis & Carla, Generations: Mike & Aleksi Glick, Phil Henry, Jay Hitt, Karen Hudson, Josh Joffen, Stuart Kabak, Kalinec & Kj, Judy Kass, Cecilia Kirtland, Scott Krokoff, Mara Levine, The Levins, Lisa Jane Lipkin, Kirsten Maxwell, Lois Morton, Mark Newman & Naomi Margolin, James O’Malley, Elaine Romanelli, Shawn Taylor, Robinson Treacher and Bob Westcott.

The free event, co-presented by the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Huntington Arts Council, is part of the 50th Annual Huntington Summer Arts Festival produced by the town of Huntington, presented by the Huntington Arts Council, and sponsored in part by the New York State Council for the arts, the County of Suffolk and Canon U.S.A. More information, including a detailed schedule, will be posted on AcousticMusicScene.com next month, as well as on www.fmsh.org.

AcousticMusicScene.com will also host late-night song swaps under a big tent at Pirate Camp during the 27th Annual Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 31-Aug. 2 (with a music-filled pre-fest day on July 30). One of the Northeast’s most popular music festivals, Falcon Ridge takes place at Dodd’s Farm on Route 7D in Hillsdale, NY, located in the foothills of the Berkshires, near the tri-state corner of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Falcon Ridge features dozens of artists performing on several stages, a dance tent, children’s music and activities, and a wide array of crafts, food and other vendors. Among the artists performing this year will be Ray Bonneville, Brother Sun, Judy Collins, The Duhks, Ellis, IlyAIMY, Martyn Joseph, Jay Mankita, Nerissa & Katrina Nields, Pesky J. Nixon, Jim Photoglo, June Rich, Garnet Rogers, Roosevelt Dime, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Ralph Sweet, Annie Wenz, Susan Werner, George Marshall with Wild Asparagus, and the 2014 Emerging Artists Showcase performers voted “Most Wanted to Return”: Caitlyn Canty, Matt Nakoa, Hayley Reardon and Jean Rohe.

One of the true highlights of the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival – for those who opt to camp on-site and stay up through the early morning hours – are the impromptu jams, after-hours song circles and unplugged mini-showcases that help foster a sense of “folk” community and provide a different kind of festival experience.

2015 marks the fourth year that AcousticMusicScene.com will partner with Pirate Camp, which was informally launched by Stuart Kabak and the late Jack Hardy more than a decade ago to provide a warm and welcoming haven for sharing music, food and camaraderie. Prior to 2012, AcousticMusicScene.com had for many years joined with Tribes Hill, a lower Hudson Valley-based nonprofit organization uniting musicians and their patrons, in hosting late-night music under a big white tent.

More information about Falcon Ridge and the AcousticMusicScene.com tent @ Pirate Camp will be posted in coming weeks.

Festivals Set in the Northeast Over Independence Day Weekend

Michael Kornfeld — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 18:11:12 +0000

A couple of music festivals of note in the Northeast take place during the first weekend in July — one along the cobblestoned streets of the old whaling port city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the other at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York.

Greater New Bedford Summerfest
July 2-3, 2011
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
New Bedford, Massachusetts
www.newbedfordsummerfest.com

One of the Northeast’s most pleasant, refined and enjoyable music festivals takes over the streets of this historic New England port city for one weekend each July, enabling visitors to soak in the city’s rich maritime history by strolling its streets while listening to world-class contemporary and traditional acoustic performers and Celtic artists under tents set up along them and in the air-conditioned comfort of the fabulous New Bedford Whaling Museum’s auditorium. As in years past, this year’s schedule includes a wealth of talented performers, many of them performing in song-swap style workshops with folks whom they may have never even met, making for unique musical pairings. It also poses a dilemma of choices that may prompt you to consider running from one stage to another to catch certain artists.

Eliza Gilkyson
Seven sound stages, ranging from intimate ones with seating for 100 or less to the 1,200-seat “Custom House Stage” will run throughout the day and evening on Saturday and Sunday. Among this year’s performing artists are the inimitable Quebecois accordionist, dancer and showman Benoit Bourque, Antje Duvekot, Cliff Eberhardt, Mark Erelli, Beppe Gambetta, Eliza Gilkyson (whose new album currently tops the Roots Music Report Folk Radio Chart), John Gorka, Livio Guardi, Kim & Reggie Harris, Caroline Herring, Diana Jones, The Kennedys, Le Vent Du Nord, Zoe Lewis, Liz Longley, Jez Lowe, Danielle Miraglia, NewFound Road, The Outside Track, Ellis Paul, Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan, Steve Tilston, Vishten, Sloan Wainwright, Cheryl Wheeler, Chuck Williams and a number of other local artists. The festival concludes on Sunday night with a Celtic Extravaganza, preceded by a short tribute to Jack Hardy.

In addition to the music, nearly 100 juried artisans and crafters will exhibit and sell their works at booths along the cobblestoned streets, as well as inside the Whaling Museum. Admission to the festival is quite affordable at $25 for the weekend or $20 for one-day. Children under 12 will be admitted free with an adult. Parking also is free at the nearby municipal garage.

While in New Bedford, you also can enjoy fresh seafood and sample tasty cuisine at one of the whaling city’s many Portuguese restaurants.

American Roots Music Festival
July 2, 2011
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
Katonah, New York
www.caramoor.org

WFUV Radio’s John Platt hosts the inaugural American Roots Music Festival, a day-long event on the beautiful grounds of this majestic Italianate-style villa, at which a diverse array of musical performances take place throughout the year. The festival will feature a mix of bluegrass, folk, string band, country, blues, gospel and jazz.
David Grisman
The David Grisman FolkJazz Trio — fronted by one of the most influential and innovative mandolin players and featuring Jim Hurst on guitar and Samson Grisman (David’s son) on bass — headlines and closes out the festival. Preceding the trio’s East Coast debut will be performances by Brother Sun (the new harmonic trio comprised of singer-songwriters Greg Greenway, Joe Jencks and Pat Wictor), James Maddock (an emerging talent among indie singer-songwriters), Ollabelle (a New York roots-gospel quartet), Spuyten Duyvil (an eight-member, Yonkers, NY-based Americana band whose repertoire is a lively and eclectic mix of traditional and original roots music), and the country swing group The Sweetback Sisters.

Tickets for the American Roots Festival are priced at $20-40, with children under 16 (for whom there will be free activities) admitted for half-price. Besides some wonderful music, visitors can wander around the gardens and enjoy picnicking. Food and beverages will be available for sale or you can bring your own, along with blankets or lawn chairs. Caramoor’s gates open at 10:30 a.m., while the music begins at 12:30 p.m. and extend through the early evening.

Clearwater, Old Songs Festivals Set for June in New York State

Michael Kornfeld — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:19:06 +0000

2009 marks the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage to the new world on the Half Moon up the river that bears his name. Two festivals will pay tribute to that this month – the 2009 Clearwater Great Hudson River Revival and the Old Songs Festival.

Slated for Saturday -Sunday, June 20-21, at Croton Point Park in Croton-On-Hudson, in New York’s Hudson Valley, Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival celebrates its own 40th anniversary and that of the sloop Clearwater, founder and folk icon Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday, and the 25th anniversary of the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus that Seeger launched as a way of spreading the word of Clearwater’s mission to clean up the Hudson River.

Former sloop Clearwater captains and crewmembers will gather to honor Pete and Toshi Seeger on Sunday in commemoration of the sloop’s anniversary. A very special celebration is set for Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. on The Rainbow Stage when Pete and his grandson, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, will be joined by friends Happy Traum, Arlo Guthrie, Mike and Ruthie Merenda, Work o’ the Weavers and more for a set of classic favorites and sing-alongs. “Clearwater has always been about family and what better way for my family to celebrate this amazing year than with some of our closest musical friends, says Tao Rodriguez-Seeger. Pete Seeger also is expected to perform several other times during the festival.

Among the other artists scheduled to appear at the festival over the weekend are such notables as Alejandro Escovedo, Richie Havens, Taj Mahal, Allison Moorer, The Persuasions, and Susan Tedeschi. Festival newcomers include Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, Dr. Dog, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, A.C. Newman, and bluegrass/jambands Old Crow Medicine Show and Cornmeal. Regional artists of note include Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Sleepy Hollow String Band, the Vanaver Caravan, The Dirty Stay Out Skifflers, Gillen and Turk, Hope Machine, storytellers Heather Forest and Jonathan Kruk, and, of course, the Hudson River Sloop Singers.

Produced by and benefiting the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Inc., a nonprofit, member-supported organization launched by Pete Seeger and others to preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries, the festival celebrates environmental activism and education. It features a Green Living Expo, riverfront activities, environmental workshops and exhibits, and booths run by educational and activist organizations. The sloop Clearwater and the schooner Mystic Whaler will be there during the weekend, affording visitors the opportunity to sail on the Hudson. Juried crafts and the Circle of Song, where audience participation is the focus, also are on the docket.

“This has already been a very exciting year for Clearwater and it feels as if it has all been building up to the festival,” said Jon Dindas, the environmental organization’s festival director. “The volunteers – both those who have been helping this event run for decades and those with us for the first time – have come out in record numbers to support Clearwater and the festival. This has always been a community – one of artists and educators, professionals and volunteers, young and old – that comes together to celebrate the river, along with the music and spirit that makes us a family.”

Advance ticket sales for the 2009 Great Hudson River Revival have reportedly already tripled last year’s totals. However, weekend and individual day tickets will be available at the gate. For more information and to order tickets in advance, visit www.clearwater.org/festival.

The 29th Annual Old Songs Festival takes place June 26-28, at Altamont Fairgrounds in Altamont, approximately 10 miles west of Albany. Produced by Old Songs, Inc., a nonprofit organization based in the New York State Capitol Region that seeks to keep traditional music and dance alive through this festival, as well as twice monthly concerts, monthly dances and educational programs, the festival will feature an array of folk, Celtic, blues, old-time and multicultural/world musicians.

This year’s music will range from the acoustic blues guitar riffs of master fingerstyle player Little Toby Walker to the Indian vibes of Galitcha, the traditional Quebecois sounds of Reveillons!, the “new” old-time sounds of Red Hen, and the witty songs of Christine Lavin and Lou & Peter Berryman. Traditional and contemporary English ballads will be sung by Jez Lowe, Louis Killen and John Roberts & Tony Barrand. Also featured will be Peggy Seeger, Michael Cooney, folk duo Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen, folk/blues veteran Josh White, Jr., New England fiddler Lissa Scheneckenburger and her trio, Chicago-based Celtic group Bua, the Vanaver Caravan dance and music ensemble, and Grammy Award-winning family entertainer Bill Harley, among others.

Main Stage concerts are slated for Friday and Saturday evening, as well as Sunday afternoon, while eight stages will feature music and dance on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Contra dances featuring music by Bill Spence & Fennig’s All-Stars and The Flying Garbanzos follow the Friday and Saturday night concerts on the main stage.

In recognition of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage, Nanne & Ankie and the Hudson Crew, six musicians from the Netherlands, will present a special 90-minute show late Saturday afternoon featuring original songs in Dutch and English with English narration. Festival performers also will conduct Friday afternoon classes focusing on various instruments and singing styles.

A very participatory event, the Old Songs Festival also features “sacred harp” or shape-note singing on Saturday and Sunday mornings with Peter and Mary Alice Amidon, a gospel choral workshop led by Lea Gilmore followed by a gospel sing on Sunday afternoon, as well as lots of festival performer-led and impromptu jam sessions. The family-friendly event also features a dedicated children’s area, as well as a wide array of artisans, vendors and food.

Individual day tickets and all-festival tickets (with or without camping) are available at the gate. For more information, visit www.oldsongs.org/festival.