Performers and Artists 2018

Saturday Performers – Old Time Music

12:00pm Jim Kimball and Karen Canning

Jim Kimball teaches music history, world music and classes on American folk music, and directs the Geneseo String Band in the Music Department at State University at Geneseo.  He plays fiddle, button accordions, keyboards, jaw harp, bones and banjo, calls square dances  and frequently lectures and presents papers on many musical subjects.  Jim has collected tunes and stories from several old time musicians and callers, written articles and presented at folk arts and museum venues.  He performs regularly at the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown and the Genesee Country Museum in Mumford, New York, where he specializes in 19th century popular and folk music traditions.

 

1:00pm Home Remedy

Home Remedy features original songs by Rosie Newton and Lydia Garrison in harmony, written on fiddle, banjo and guitar, and sometimes accordion.  Lydia Garrison was bitten by the music bug as a kid. Her mother Gay Garrison had a passion for Cajun and Zydeco music and dance which took the family to many regional music festivals, and as far as Louisiana.Lydia has played with several Ithaca, NY area bands over the years, such as the Hogwashers and Bayou Road Krewe. She toured in the U.S. and Europe with the Turtle Duhks, a trio which released their debut album “True Lover” on Sugar Hill Records.  Rosie Newton grew up immersed in the rich folk music scene of Woodstock, NY, and began playing the fiddle when she was eight. Newton attended college in Ithaca, NY, where she studied Viola Performance.  While in Ithaca, she found herself swept up by the area’s music scene, which infused her with a deep appreciation for the beauty and diversity of roots music. During this time she also developed a love for singing, and this, in addition to playing fiddle, forms an integral part of her performance.Newton currently performs in a duo with Richie Stearns, and plays with The Duhks, Red Dog Run, the Evil City Stringband, Home Remedy and occasionally The Pearly Snaps.

 

2:00pm Jessica Boss Collins and the Bosstones

The BossTones are a fiddle music trio comprised of Jessica Boss (fiddle), Darcy Collins (guitar), and Jack Metzger (bass).  Jessica Boss Collins was first exposed to fiddle music through her late grandfather, Roland Huehn, who was a musician himself.  When she was growing up, Roland took her to a local fiddle club, The Fiddlers of the Genesee.  It was at this club where Jessica met her musical mentor, Jack Metzger.  In 2007, she received her Masters in Arts Education from Western Kentucky University.  She currently teaches strings at the Canandaigua Middle School. Darcy Collins plays guitar with the BossTones.  Darcy was immersed in many musical activities starting at a young age, and has been playing the guitar with the BossTones for 10 years.  He has played performed with several local bands in the Rochester area. Jack Metzger, a veteran musician, plays bass with the trio.  He has performed with various bluegrass and other acoustic music bands throughout New York State.  In addition to playing bass, Jack is also an accomplished guitar player.  Together, the BossTones have a unique sound that audiences of all ages enjoy!

 

3:00pm Drank the Gold

From Upstate New York, Oona Grady (fiddle/viola/vocals) and James Gascoyne (guitar/banjo/vocals) play and sing North Atlantic dance tunes and folk songs. Steeped in Irish music for as far back as she can remember, Oona Grady spent many years living in Cork, Ireland, where she honed her skills as a fiddle player and Irish music specialist. Upon moving back to her hometown of Ithaca, NY, Oona immersed herself in the local traditional music scene and incorporated old time and Cajun tunes into her repertoire. Growing up outside Louisville, KY, James  Gascoyne was surrounded by music from an early age; radio, vinyl records, church music, and live concerts were a part of daily life. Finding his own musical style as an adult, James always keeps his ears open for sounds – new, old, familiar, or strange. While singing and playing guitar and banjo with Drank The Gold, he delves into the traditions of American old time and Irish dance tunes, while keeping true to his borderless, experimental musical roots. Now based in Saratoga Springs, NY, Oona and James collaborate as Drank The Gold, bringing new perspectives and innovative arrangements to the music they love. Craic agus ceol (good times and music)!

 

4:00pm Uncle Joe and the Rosebud Ramblers

Uncle Joe and the Rosebud Ramblers offers a mix of lively up tempo New England fiddle tunes, energetic old time tunes from before the Civil War and family oriented traditional folk songs that have stood the test of time. Joe Chicone comes from a tradition of banjo playing first inspired by Pete Seeger and then to more traditional music by Uncle Dave Macon. He first picked up the banjo when he was 13. Joe plays traditional old time banjo using both claw hammer and two finger up picking style. He has played in folk festivals including Union Grove and Pine Stump Symphony Folk Festival. He has appeared on the Bramble and the Rose and has been a feature artist on WVBR’s Salt Creek Show and Nonesuch. He has released two CDs. Cap Cooke is just a quiet mystery. How did he get so good? Renee Baum comes from a classical violin background. She played in numerous orchestras before shifting her knowledge to open a nationally recognized record store featuring hard to find classical and folk music. Her passion for learning traditional fiddle tunes grew out of listening to old recordings and meeting musicians coming from authentic traditional roots. Renee’s fiddling is greatly influenced by both French Canadian and New England style fiddling with a bit of old timey bowing thrown in for good measure. Robin Ploss started playing ukulele at 6, and hasn’t looked back. Now as a big boy Robin slings an upright bass. Although he’s employed as an engineer, music is his life-long avocation. Alice Ploss is famous around these parts for her vocal work with in the community,musical groups and her teaching at Ithaca College. Years of teaching school children that any one can sing has brought joy to singer and listener alike.

 

5:00pm Curt Osgood, Henry Jankiewicz, and John Wobus

Jankiewicz, Osgood and Wobus, share near 100 years of performing experience between them. On fiddle, hammered dulcimer and piano, at coffeehouses, festivals, grange halls and other folk venues you can hear them presenting selections from various musical traditions including Old Timey, French-Canadian, Celtic, Americana and more. They all regularly appear with contra dance ensembles about NY state and can be heard on various recording projects.  Henry Jankiewicz started his fiddling career in Philadelphia in the 1970s, playing old-time and Irish music. After relocating to Syracuse in 1972, he joined a group that would eventually become the Cranberry Lake Jug Band. Curt Osgood has been playing hammered dulcimer for 40 years performing at numerous northeast venues, including folk festivals, coffeehouses, opera houses, and arts councils.  He performs, teaches, leads workshops and facilitates jams.  www.curtosgood.com. John Wobus is in demand as a piano player for contradances and English Country Dances. He accompanying  Cape Breton and Quebecois fiddlers and playing fiddle himself at Irish sessions and music jams.

 

Saturday Craft and Culture Artist Demonstrators

Seven Generations

Thomas Zajicek is Native American and an enrolled member of the Abenaki  Clan of the Hawk Indian tribe located in northern Vermont.  Tom spends much of his time with his family; all very active in promoting Native American culture. Tom enjoys stone carving and has made traditional and ceremonial pipes that have been sent to many places around the world. Tom is the current leader of Corning Incorporated’s Native American Council and Vice President of the Seven Generations of Stewards, Inc. 501(c)(3) that promotes Native American culture throughout the area. Thomas Cook is Native American and an enrolled member of the St. Regis Mohawk Nation from the Akwesasne Reservation. He resides and works in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York State with his wife, daughter and their Corgi. He is an admirer of history, classic and modern design and the amazing world we have around us. When not working on his art or finding materials, Tom donates his time to local charities and promotes Native American history to his local community. Tom is the current treasurer of the Seven Generations of Stewards, Inc. 501(c)(3).

 

Tuskeegee Airmen Community Educators

Michael Joseph II will present history and artifacts relating to the Tuskeegee Airmen, a group of African American airmen – including local residents of the Southern Tier – who served during WWII despite segregation and discrimination. More information TBA.

 

Beartown Banjo – David Whiting

Beartown Banjo, Newfield, NY is a builder of block rim open back banjos. Each Beartown Banjo is the product of attention and respect to the wood, and to the music.  You’ll find these instruments sleek and simple, with minimal inlay and ornamentation.  This opens the window into seeing the beauty of the wood that holds the soul of the instrument.  Remember… every banjo was once a living tree.  David Whiting be displaying a few finished banjos to look and (and play) as well various components of works in progress to illustrate how it’s all done!  beartownbanjo.com  607-275-1674

 

 

 

Sunday Performers – Irish Music and Heritage

12:30 Ted McGraw and Cathy McGrath

Both Ted McGraw and Cathy McGrath are members of the Rochester Irish Musicians’ Club (Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann) and have been playing for years for dances and sessions.  They have played at the Rochester Irish Festival, area libraries  and establishments.  It’s always an enjoyable and fun experience listening to them. Ted McGraw has been the voice of Irish music in Rochester for more than four decades as radio host, session stalwart, scholar and archivist, performer, nurturer of generations of Celtic players, plays button accordion and has been known to sing a song or two. He played with The Blackthorn Ceili Band and released a recording with them, setting the tone for Irish music in Rochester. Cathy McGrath plays Irish wooden flute, penny whistle, guitar and sings. While still in college, she was lucky enough to discover sessions at  Rochester Harps Club and has been in love with traditional Irish music ever since. In addition to playing with Ted, she is a member of four bands: Cuisle Mo Chroí, Flint Hill Folk, Steppin’ Out String Band, and the Christmas Ceilidh Band.

1:30 The Ring of Chiarraighe Celtic Dancers

The Ring of Chiarraighe (pronounced Kerry) Celtic Dancers, a group of approximately 45 local Irish dancers (both male and female), have performed in many area festivals and events throughout New York, the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania and as far away as Hunter Mountain in the Catskills and The Great American Irish Festival in Herkimer, NY. Their repetoire contains both traditional and original Irish dance forms, from hornpipes and eight-hands to Riverdance-styled numbers in hard and soft shoe. The group has been in existence for about fourteen years, and is directed and choreographed by Kerry Lea Ferguson, owner of the Let’s Dance studio in Horseheads, NY.

 

2:00 Pat Kane and West o’Clare

3:00 Kit Fallon and Scott Smith

Kit Fallon has been a figure in the traditional music scene of the Finger Lakes and
Western/Central New York for the past 40 years, as a performing fiddler, fiddle teacher, and presenter of other acoustic musicians. Currently she appears regularly at local wineries, breweries, and events with the five-member Miller’s Wheel (“foot-stompin’ fun..”) and Unholy Alliance (a duo featuring traditional Appalachian/Adirondack fiddle/banjo). But her first love is Irish traditional music and she will be joined and supported on bouzouki and concertina by Scott Smith, a well-known ceili performer from the Rochester Comhaltas scene. Added to the repertoire of traditional Irish music by Planxty, in the 1970’s, the blend of bouzouki and fiddle drives reels, lifts jigs, and gives depth and soul to slow tunes and airs.

 

4:00 Traonach

Described by Dirty Linen magazine as having “a deep knowledge and love of the music and a palpable zest for playing,” Traonach plays Irish traditional dance music at its straight-ahead best. Comprising seasoned session players from across the U.S. who now reside in Ithaca—including several who’ve been playing together for more than 30 years—Traonach delivers a high-energy performance that has audiences at festivals and concert halls quickly on their feet.