CountryNY

Grace and The Victory Rides To Play US Debut

For their first live US appreance, Grace and The Victory rides are set to play the opening night of the 20 Summers Music Festival on May 16th. The festival, which takes place in Provincetown, MA, includes elements of live music, theater, writing, and art. For more information, visit the website. 

Tall Heights To Tour With Wild Child

 

Folk duo on the rise Tall Heights will be heading out on a spring tour supporting Wild Child. To see all upcoming dates, visit the band's website here.

Jennifer Knapp Launches Pledge Music Campaign

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Jennifer Knapp has launched a campaign with Pledge Music to fund her new album! Read below to see Jennifer's own introduction to the project and learn how you can get involved. 

Check out some of the great shots we got at this year's FarmAid at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center!

http://countryny.typepad.com/photos/farm_aid/

Farm Aid 2013: A Musical Review

Saratoga, New York (September 21, 2013) - Farm Aid, the annual benefit concert in its 28th year, was

Dave Matthews and Jack Johnson during the pre-performance Press Conference. (c) Chris Lovell, 2013

held this weekend at The Saratoga Performing Art Center, in order to raise money for family farms. The brainchild of singer-song writer, Willie Nelson, Farm Aid looks to assist small family farms that he felt were being ignored by federal farm policy in favor of industrial farms. Through the years, all but the initial messages of the concert, and Nelson himself, have changed drastically. Now taking on the bigger issue of environmental policy, and fracking rights throughout the country, artists take to the stage to combat the destruction of our environment.

 

     Board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews took to the stage along with thirteen other groups to support this cause. Nelson even brought along his youngest son Lukas Nelson, and his band The Promises to perform in the concert, which has been running longer than he’s been alive.

   Half way through the evening’s main performances, a fourteenth guest made a surprise appearance, and serenaded the audience with “This Land is Your Land”. Pete Seeger, 94 years old, took the stage with the four Farm Aid board members huddled beside him. None of them brought out their guitars, allowing Seeger and his banjo to take the lead. He guided the crowed, and even added a verse to the iconic song, which had never been sung before, culminating the moment with "New York was made to be frack free."

Pete Seeger, 94, performs for a surprised Farm Aid crowd. (c) Chris Lovell,2013

     The 94 year old marked the emotional high point for this eleven-hour event, even sweetly adding, "Friends, I'm ninety-four and don't have much voice left, here is a song I think you may know. I think if we sing it together we'll make it a good song." That was the theme of the night, good songs, to benefit a good cause.

     On the topic of other surprise, but flawless musical surprises, a solo acoustic of "Small Town" was performed by John Mellencamp, resulting in a huge response from the adoring crowed, many of them latching on to their fellow audience members to scream that iconic lyric, “hold on to sixteen as long as you can”.

     Following Mellencamp, Neil Young, who triumphed as the most politically outspoken artist of the

Willie Nelson performs the final set of the night. (c)Chris Lovell, 2013

night, opened with Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind". As his set wore on he added Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain," Ivory Joe Hunter's "Since I Met You Baby," and Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe", before Willie Nelson closed the show. The founder and artist did so with the help of both his son on guitar, and his sister at the piano, surely to stress the fact that Farm Aid is, and will always be first and foremost about the family. 

 

 

 

 

Written by Contributing Author, Kellyrose Marry. 

Farm Aid 2013 Calls on All Eaters to Contribute to a Healthier Food System

Saratoga Springs, N. Y.  — Standing with family farmers and more than a dozen artists, Farm Aid uses the platform of its annual benefit festival to urge all Americans to play a role in strengthening the country’s food system.

Farm Aid board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews emphasized the critical responsibility of businesses, policymakers — and everyone who eats — to help grow the Good Food Movement. More than 25,000 fans attended the sold-out event, hosted at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in Saratoga Springs, N. Y.

“Every time we eat, we determine the direction of our food system,” said Nelson, president and founder of Farm Aid. “Farmers are doing their part. When we all stand with them and do our part, we can bring about change that’s good for all of us.”

Curt Ellis, filmmaker and founder of the nonprofit organization FoodCorps, moderated a discussion about the challenges family farmers face and strategies for a strong Good Food Movement. Chuck Curtiss of Willow Marsh Farm in Ballston Spa, N. Y.; Ben and Lindsey Shute of Hearty Roots Community Farm in Clermont, N. Y.; and Jayson Rosado of GrowNYC’s Youthmarket joined Nelson, Mellencamp, Young and Matthews, along with Jack Johnson and Farm Aid Executive Director Carolyn Mugar, for the conversation.

Citing a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that industrial livestock agriculture is contributing to increased human antibiotic resistance, Mugar said there is new urgency for all Americans to fight for a safe, healthy, family farm food system.

“Farm Aid artists have all sparked a movement that many have now joined,” said Mugar. “Farmers, community leaders, food businesses, schools, parents, chefs and eaters young and old are seizing opportunities to make changes that support family farm agriculture. The possibilities for good food grow exponentially when we all step up in whatever way we can.”

Farm Aid 2013 featured performances by Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, and Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, in addition to Jack Johnson, Amos Lee, Jamey Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Pegi Young & The Survivors, Carlene Carter, Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, Bahamas, Sasha Dobson, Jesse Lenat, Insects vs. Robots and The Blackwood Quartet.

HOMEGROWN Concessions® brought family farm-sourced foods to concertgoers including organic burgers and corndogs, grilled cheese with family farm bacon and local tomatoes, and antibiotic-free pork chop sandwiches, poutine with organic fries and homemade gravy, and Chipotle Mexican Grill’s beef barbacoa chili. Seasonal menu items included grilled local non-GMO corn, a garden green vegetable wrap and local fresh fruit sold at GrowNYC’s HOMEGROWN Youthmarket. Dessert offerings included fair trade coffees and local cider donuts, ice cream and maple cotton candy.

Farm Aid’s HOMEGROWN Village featured hands-on educational activities; concert attendees learned agrarian skills such as curing bacon, growing mushrooms and making cheese. Farm Aid partnered with the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York to help meet the needs of the hungry across the region by collecting nonperishable food items from concertgoers at the main entrances to SPAC.

“Farm Aid 2013 Live Presented by Amy’s Kitchen,” aired from 5 to 11 p.m. EDT at farmaid.org, and Willie Nelson’s SiriusXM channel 56, Willie’s Roadhouse, also aired the show live. Farm Aid’s first-ever official festival app allowed users to view the entire Farm Aid 2013 schedule and add artists, workshops and artist briefings to make their own personal schedule for the day.

Farm Aid 2013 is sponsored by Chipotle Mexican Grill, Amy’s Kitchen, Farm Family Insurance, Horizon Organic, American Harvest, Rudi’s Organic Bakery, Organic Valley Coop, Applegate, Greener Fields Together, EcoScraps, PLOTSAVER, Taste NY and Dean’s Beans.

Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid’s work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family farm food. Since 1985, Farm Aid, with the support of the artists who contribute their performances each year, has raised more than $43 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

Contact: Maria Enie, [email protected]

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Farm Aid 2013

We are heading out to cover this year's Farm Aid straight from Saratoga Performing Arts Center this coming weekend! Stay tuned for updates, photos and more throughout the entire weekend. Watch the live feed of the concert,presented by Amy's Kitchen, on FarmAid.org starting at 5pm on Saturday, September 21st.   

Americana Artist Dawn Landes Tour

 

Earlier this summer, Dawn Landes took her music, a unique blend of French language and decidedly American roots instrumentation, to the people of Europe, along with Sylvie Lewis. Now, Dawn is bringing the magic back home, with dates in the U.S through September. Find her tour dates here.

The Abrams Brothers' "Northern Redemption" Music Video on CMT Pure

  As The Abrams Brothers finished up their first U.S. Tour in March, the music video for the title track to their album, "Northern Redemption", saw heavy rotation on CMT Pure.

George Strait Tells Us Why Love Is Everything In A Rare Interview

George Strait will release his highly anticipated 40th studio album, Love Is Everything, on May 14 on longtime label home MCA Nashville. The King of Country music rejoined veteran producer Tony Brown to co-produce the album, which features 13 new tracks, including the lead single "Give It All We Got Tonight." Strait co-wrote three songs alongside his son Bubba Strait and legendary songwriter Dean Dillon on Love Is Everything including "That's What Breaking Hearts Do," "The Night Is Young," and "I Believe," in addition to a self-penned track "I Just Can't Go On Dying Like This." Love Is Everything will be available in stores and at all digital retailers.