Thank you, Artists

Local 845 would like to give thanks to the bands and artists of 2010, including:

Adam Levy
Al Hemberger
Andy Stack
Art Labriola
Ben Senterfit
Bill Kelly
Bill Malchow
Bliss Blood
Booth
Buddy Traina
Chris Lind
Citizens Band Radio
Gato Loco
GRASS
Hank and The Skinny 3's
Hil Hawke
I'm Better Now
Jack Grace Band
Jake Holmes
Jen Clapp
Jesse Lege
John Brodeur
Kaiser Cartel
Kim & Reggie
M Shanghai String Band
Margaret McDuffie
Marty Jimmons Band
Matt Keating
Milton
Nelsonvillains
Open Book
Pete Seeger
Pre-War Ponies
Ramblin Jug Stompers
Ray Bonneville
Readnex Poetry Squad
Rebecca Pronsky
Space Ghost Cowboys
Susan Wright
Swear and Shake
Tao Seeger
The Big Takeover
The Fleshtones
The InBetweens
The Jo's
Tiki Daddy
Tin Pan
Todd Giudice
Tracy Bonham
Yarn

NY Times features Tracy Bonham, dropping by Beacon Riverfest

NY Times' writer Nate Chinen met up with Tracy Bonham at Beacon Riverfest in June.

The story comes out Sunday July 11.

Go Tracy!

Thank you!

Thank you to the nearly 2,700 in attendance our first time out. A heartfelt thanks to some extraordinary folks who worked really hard to make this happen: Luc Stampleman, Stage Manager; Nick Poholchuck, audio engineer; Damian McDonald and Cold Spring Sound; Kelly Ellenwood, Volunteer Coordinator; our 40+ volunteers; Dan Weise, graphic design; Sommer Hixson, Media Relations; Jennifer Clair, Vendor Coordinator; the vendors; Mark Price, City of Beacon Parks and Recreation; Mayor Steve Gold; Linda Hubbard and everyone at BACA (Beacon Arts Community Association).

This was a free rock and roll concert in a city park, unlike anything that's ever been done in this location. Financially, it was made possible by a lot of great people in a community who shared a lot of faith in what was for many months little more than a notion. Thank you to everyone who took a chance on this. Our sponsors: City of Beacon, BACA, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, WKZE 98.1 FM, Open Space Gallery, Electric Windows, The Piggy Bank Restaurant, Marion Royael Gallery, Beacon Pilates, Home Cooking NY, Royal Carting. Additionally, we held three fundraising events, two of which were concerts where not only the talent but the venue (the Howland Cultural Center) were donated. Thank you to Jen Clapp, Todd Giudice, Al Hemberger, Dan Fisherman, Art Labriola, Susan Wright, Margaret McDuffie, Jake Holmes, Creek Iversen. Thank you to Rob Penner for shooting the event; and to Mark Westin for capturing it in motion.

Thanks to the Beacon Riverfest Year One lineup. The Fleshtones, Tracy Bonham, and Yarn together served up three courses of rock.

Many others came through in all sorts of ways, flipping pancakes, writing checks, loaning equipment, supplies, hardware, and sweat. We should all feel satisfied. This sort of thing can be done here in Beacon.

Thanks to everyone who traveled to Beacon for the day. We hope you'll come back again.

the order

The music begins at 2pm, in the following order: Yarn, Tracy Bonham, The Fleshtones.

These are approximate start times:
1) 2PM yarn
2) 3:40 tracy bonham
3) 5PM fleshtones

Local music writer sums it up.

Only two days to go, and here's another fine moment in the countdown to Beacon Riverfest 2010. John Barry writes, " Beacon, a well-traveled crossroads for centuries...is likely to be stomped upon once again by visitors when the city hosts its inaugural Beacon Riverfest celebration, a free concert featuring Grammy-nominated musician Tracy Bonham, rockers The Fleshtones and Brooklyn-based alt-country jam band Yarn."

Read the story.

We'll see you on Saturday.

In Roll Magazine

Did we mention ROLL MAGAZINE ? (This link opens the mag as a pdf)

"...it turns out that Beacon has been steadily developing a music scene,
thanks to Stephen Clair’s Local 845...A solid line-up for the first of
hopefully many Riverfests." Roll Magazine, June 2010, page 39.

NY Times on Beacon Riverfest

Sunday June 13 2010

In the Westchester Arts Section

Now the summer festival season around here is officially official.

We did it, folks

A quick shout out to say that as of Sunday night, we reached our KICKSTARTER goal of $2,000. Thank you again to all the backers who pledged.

Beacon Riverfest in the current issues of:

Hudson Valley Magazine

Chronogram

Nippertown!

...and ... Broadway World

And here we are. It's June 2010. Time to rock this thing. Send your friends to Beacon Riverfest. They can become fans of Beacon Riverfest on Facebook. They can also sign up to get updates.

We tweet.

Beacon Riverfest 2010 needs YOU!

We are looking for some fine folks to lend a hand at Riverfest 2010 on Saturday, June 26! If you haven't heard, Local 845, in partnership with the Beacon Arts Community Association (BACA) and the City of Beacon is producing a FREE and phenomenal concert at beautiful, breezy River Front Park. Three bands will headline on one center stage in a landmark event for our fair city and we need YOU!

Some of the "jobs" include:

* Gate Greeters
* Tech Support
* Local 845 T-Shirts & Merch
* Mingling (!)
* Pre-Concert Postering & PR
* and of course....Post-Concert Cleanup, either on Saturday or Sunday.

We need volunteers all day, and will be staggering short shifts so you can help out AND be free to enjoy the concert.

If you love Beacon and if you love music, we'd love to have you the team. BACA Board Member Kelly Ellenwood has stepped up to coordinate the volunteers, so if you are interested, please e-mail her at kellenwood@optonline.net

TIKI THURSDAY SUMMER SCHEDULE

The Tiki Thursday 2010 schedule:

LIVE MUSIC! ON THE DECK! HAPPY HOUR AND BEYOND!

Music runs 6-9PM, rain or shine
PIGGY BANK RESTAURANT
448 Main Street, Beacon, NY (845) 838-0028

JUNE 3 THE M SHANGHAI STRING BAND
JUNE 10 FOLKFOOT
JUNE 17 G.R.A.S.S. (The Gowanus Reggae and Ska Society)
JUNE 24 CITIZENS BAND RADIO
JULY 1 JACK GRACE BAND
JULY 8 MILTON
JULY 15 TIN PAN
JULY 22 MARGARET MCDUFFIE
JULY 29 JESSE LEGE AND BAYOU BREW
AUG 5 THE M SHANGHAI STRING BAND
AUG 12 BILL MALCHOW BAND
AUG 19 THE BIG TAKEOVER
AUG 26 STEPHEN CLAIR BAND

The NEw YARN album

Yarn's new record, Come On In, just debuted at #30 on the Americana chart.
We'll see them soon.

I don't know about you but I am like all bagel-madness right now

hey. there's a lot to do in this town. and i know you might be wondering what i'll be up to this weekend, so here's what i'm thinking. it's kind of like a list of stuff that i think would be cool to check out, and i totally will if my wife says it's ok. i should start resting up now if i really want to do all this, but that'll probably never happen, so i've already taken twice the usual amount of b complex. come find me or let me know where you'll be.

friday may 7

friday night is easy. you go to the piggy bank. good free music and stuff to drink. buddy traina will be at the piggy bank playing some music from 8 to 11.


saturday may 8

in the morning, there's my daughter's dance class, it's not really in beacon, more like fishkill, but it's what i'm doing

then there's hanging out at common ground farm at stonykill, also not quite in beacon, but close

the craft stand at bank sq gets started today. will have to score last-minute mother's day gifties here or land in major doghouse

erica hauser & ian wickstead talk about stuff at the beacon institute in the afternoon and i don't want to miss that

later in the afternoon i want to check out the clear light ensemble @ school of jellyfish

champions of breakfast i think will be totally worth seeing @ gallery g and there might be stuff to eat or drink and there's furniture you can actually nap on

then, dandy lions are going to play music at blackbird attic and i admit this announcement probably fills you with as much intrigue as it does me

i'll be playing songs at 9 at beahive. it's their anniversary + a community cat coalition to-do and fundraiser. a regular mixer deal

at midnight I'm pumped for late-night carbo-loading at beacon bagel, which is so freaking rock and roll

Bonham—Beacon Riverfest synchronicity

Tracy Bonham's forthcoming record getting and giving attention at Hot Indie News.

Tracy Bonham Live video

tiki thursdays

Remember Tiki Thursdays last summer? Seems like years ago; and also seems like last week. Live bands, drinking, dancing, dining ...OUTSIDE at the Piggy Bank. This summer there will be even more surprises.

I'm thinking about Tiki Thursdays—and some piggy bank favorites to help start those summer weekends early (and there are never enough summer weekends).

What are some of the best things about Tiki Thursdays at the Piggy Bank? Free live music for one...

Hello my dear friends here, there, and way out there,

As some of you know, I having been working since the end of last summer to produce a big F-R-E-E outdoor concert on the waterfront here in Beacon, NY this summer.

And that show will be called Beacon Riverfest, a name that sounds like something that had been there all along.

And so, the City of Beacon signed on as a partner. But they don't have any money, but they are a big help in other ways. And BACA, the local arts organization, signed on. But they don't have any money, despite which they are also a big help. I continued to pound the pavement, the internet, and one morning, I even got my wife to make several hundred pancakes with me. And that pancake party Jennifer and I held in our home clinched it. Knee-deep in maple syrup, borrowed griddles, and blown circuits, we began to realize that with the support of such a great community, we were going to make this happen.

It's been uphill at times, but this thing, this Beacon Riverfest, is actually really happening. I mean, we've got some sponsors. A nice logo too.

And we announced the bands: The Fleshtones, Tracy Bonham, and Yarn. June 26. In the daytime. In Riverfront Park, Beacon, NY. Take the train to the show.

We had a benefit concert at the Howland Center, we had a pancake party, there will be another concert on April 30, some wonderful sponsors have come on board, food and craft vendors signed on, some amazing volunteer staff have helped to build it. And here I sit with my Excel spreadsheet, and I can tell you we will need another little bit of ch-ching to get close to breaking even.

PLEASE HELP US KICKSTART THIS PROJECT
After reading this, I hope you are planning to attend Beacon Riverfest on June 26, and in the meantime, I'd be grateful if you could throw a little something in our tip jar so that we can pay the bands the day of the show. We set up a little fundraising gizmo on a website that helps you do this sort of thing. It's easy and it's legit. It's called KICKSTARTER. You make a pledge now, and you don't get charged until enough super people like yourself have helped us reach our goal.

Please help us reach our goal, and then we can put the rock to work. And you should come to the show of course.
Email me with any questions. And please share this note.

Thanks,
Stephen Clair
Beacon Riverfest

Come to the launch party April 30

Save money and buy advance tickets: Click on LAUNCH PARTY TIX


BEACON RIVERFEST LAUNCH PARTY & CONCERT

FEATURING AN ALL-STAR LEAGUE OF LOCAL MUSICIANS, SINGERS AND PERFORMERS

APRIL 30
8PM / DOORS 7:30


A BENEFIT FOR BEACON RIVERFEST

JEN CLAPP, TODD GIUDICE, STEPHEN CLAIR, AL HEMBERGER, ART LABRIOLA, DAN FISHERMAN, SUSAN WRIGHT, JAKE HOLMES, AND MORE SUPER AMAZING GUESTS

HOWLAND CENTER
477 MAIN ST

Step right up! The latest sponsor for Beacon Riverfest

Marion Royael Gallery takes a stand.

Thank you!

Advance Ticket Alert

Last week, we began to let the world know about Beacon Riverfest. We let the cats out of their respective bags, announcing the bands, launching press releases into the eventosphere. We followed up. We're following up. It's amazing what can happen when you unleash a thing.

We announced the bands, and we turned around and got a couple more sponsors. Traction! Momentum! I put a down payment on the stage rental. Full speed ahead, y'all! This s%#^'s fo'real. But there is still more, much more, ever so muchly more money to raise.

That is a good reason why we are having this LAUNCH PARTY/CONCERT on April 30 which you need to be at. This event also features a pretty awesome lineup—only this lineup will be on stage together for most of the night, a sort of local ALL STAR BAND, if you will. We kicked off this whole BEACON RIVERFEST project with a similar concert/fundraiser last November—and the night was a downright religious experience. Please plan on being there at the Howland Center on Friday April 30. The Howland Center is very generously DONATING the space, and the musicians are donating their time and talent, which means every cent that comes in the door goes toward Beacon Riverfest.

It filled up last time, so we encourage you to purchase tickets in advance. Not only is it easy to buy tickets online, but you can also save five bucks. You can purchase them at beaconriverfest.com. You can do it right now. Click on LAUNCH PARTY TIX.

Beacon Riverfest Featured on Nippertown

Visit Nippertown

Where to get info about June 26

WEBSITE
http://www.beaconriverfest.com/

FACEBOOK
http://www.facebook.com/beaconriverfest

Beacon Riverfest is happening thanks to our SPONSORS

Beacon Pilates joins Beacon Riverfest

Please welcome Beacon Pilates—our latest sponsor for Beacon Riverfest!

New album releases for both Tracy Bonham and Yarn this summer

Masts Of Manhatta, Tracy Bonham's first full-length album in five years, will be released on July 13th by Engine Room Recordings. Produced by Bonham, the album was mixed by Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Los Lobos, Lisa Germano) and features the Brooklyn-based Smokey's Roundup, a trio led by guitarist Smokey Hormel (Tom Waits, Beck, Norah Jones), as the backing band. (http://tinyurl.com/yjlaemw)

Yarn’s upcoming release, Come On In, is slated for release on United for Opportunity (UFO) on May 4, 2010. Check out the song Schenectady.

Beacon Riverfest lineup announced

Today, Local 845, Beacon’s dedicated music producer and presenter, would like to announce a landmark event for this historical Hudson Valley city. Local 845 will present Beacon Riverfest 2010, the city’s first-ever live music concert of its kind in Beacon, New York’s renovated Riverfront Park. Free and open to the public, Beacon Riverfest will be held on Saturday, June 26, from 2pm to dusk—rain or shine.

Three bands will headline on one center stage in the first of what is planned to be an annual event: “Super Rock” legends The Fleshtones; Grammy-nominated recording artist and performer, Tracy Bonham; and Brooklyn-based alt-country jam band, Yarn.

It took The Nelsonvillians to bring a little rock this way

Was it my imagination or did the bass player's amp light up from below? There it was. An orange throbbing glow from the base of the cabinet. And here I was in Beacon, NY on a Saturday night. Stone sober and having my face rocked off by The Nelsonvillians. How cool on a Saturday night—to be under the bright track lights of Zuzu's Leaf and Bean on Main Street, and have this little trio turned up so perfectly wonderfully necessarily loud. Loud loud loud. This town doesn't get enough loud. I've tried to find the place for it. Clearly, I was jonesing for some loud, and these guys, the Nelsonvillians, were actually really worth paying attention to. It's satisfying to thoroughly enjoy some live music here that I had nothing to do with.

Adam Levy & The Mint Imperials

April 2010 Schedule

Here's the April live music lineup for Local 845 in Beacon:

April 2 Margaret McDuffie @ PIGGY BANK

April 9 Bliss Blood @ PIGGY BANK

April 16 Rebecca Pronsky @ PIGGY BANK

April 18 Pre War Ponies @ HOWLAND CENTER

April 23 Bill Kelly @ PIGGY BANK

April 30 Jen Clapp, Todd Giudice, Al Hemberger, Dan Fisherman, Stephen Clair, and others @ HOWLAND CENTER {A very special concert event where all these great local songwriters and musicians come together to form a unified band to perform and support one another's songs in the rich atmosphere of the Howland. All proceeds go to Beacon Riverfest}

Local 845 for more information.

Spire studios and Local 845

Turns out, we've got a great listening room for songwriter shows --
right here in Beacon.

More on that soon. I'm really just testing to see what happens when I
post from an iPod touch.

Beacon live music in the 1st person

It's rare I stumble upon a live (or recorded) musical group where so many things are done so right and so tastefully all at once. On Sunday night Adam Levy and the Mint Imperials played at the Howland Cultural Center. This was a sparsely attended event. Perhaps this was because it was the third night in a row Local 845 had presented live music here in Beacon, NY—plus it was Sunday. No matter, Levy and his band gave and gave some more. It so happens that what they have to give is miles beyond what most of us are even used to getting, …for 12 bucks, 25 bucks, whatever.

Here is one of those instances where the songs are so good, and the band is so good, and the arrangements are so good, that the easy presentation of it all makes perfect sense. Not only was each musician, Levy on guitar, Andy Hess on bass, Tony Mason on drums, a player's player, but they each were capable of nuancing the kind of tone out of their instruments that just makes a person want to weep. They managed all this with an ease that made it all the more inviting and personal for us in the audience. This was what I would call a good use of an electric trio.

We look forward to having them back; in fact, we will have them play outside at the Piggy Bank sometime this summer. In the meantime, I forgive you for not coming out to the show if you missed it. Not only that, I suggest you go see Levy and his Mint Imperials next month when they play at the Falcon, a tremendous venue on the other side of the river.

I want to thank Rob Penner for coming by and taking pictures of the first set.