Current Season
Joe Crookston - November 17, 2024, 4pm
Doors open 3:30, music at 4pm.
Joe Crookston is an American folk singer from Randolph, Ohio. As of February 2023, he has released four albums and one EP (Chapter) on the Milagrito Records label:
- 2004's "Fall Down as the Rain"
- 2008's "Able Baker Charlie & Dog"
- 2011's "Darkling & the BlueBird Jubilee"
- 2014's "Georgia I'm Here"
- 2023's "NINE BECOMES ONE chapter 9 [start brave]" (February 19, 2023)
Joe is a force of nature on stage. He is in his power AND he communes with his audience and welcomes them into the magic.
From touring with Gordon Lightfoot, headlining major US festivals, receiving Folk Alliance International "Album of the Year," releasing NINE BECOMES ONE (2023) to being named Folk Alliance International Artist-in- Resident, Joe is on fire. He's played with Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams, David Francey, John McCutcheon, John Gorka, Judy Collins and 100's more. His songs are are being made into award winning films. Watch this trailer for Brooklyn in July.
He'll surprise you. He awakens the cynics. He's plumbing for lyrical gold.
His rhythm is infectious. In concert, he is funny as hell one moment and transcendent the next.
HE BELIEVES IN STORIES
Come to a show. Visual, artful and surprising. Brooklyn in July, Oklahoma towns, rattlesnake tails, turbary thieves, meter maids and drunk roosters. At the end of the night, you'll leave inspired. "The Long Note" is a phrase in Irish culture. "The Long Note" is that place of resonance and transcendence where the music, the voices, the instruments, and the community ALL come together and unite.
THERE IS A LONG NOTE & JOE IS REACHING FOR IT
Whether he's weaving through lap slide songs or fiddling an American Southern tune, he'll draw you in. It happens every time. Watch a YouTube video...it's fine, but it’s not the same. You gotta come to a show. With unwavering courage to be himself, he is literate, poignant and funny as hell.
He lives in Ithaca NY, and tours regularly in the US, Ireland and Canada.
$20 per person - BUY NOW via My River Tickets
Best quote~ "I hate folk music, but I absolutely LOVE Joe Crookston's music.!"
Landscapes in Focus: The Art of Joseph Bilger
Opening Reception & Artist Talk: September 29th, 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
On Exhibit: September - December 2024
Admission: Free and open to the public
The Arts Nest is thrilled to present a solo exhibition by local artist Joseph Bilger, showcasing his evocative landscape works from September through December 2024. The exhibition offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the serene and captivating natural scenes depicted in Bilger’s art.
Experience the evocative landscapes of Joseph Bilger in this captivating solo exhibition. Joseph's work transports viewers into serene natural settings, capturing the beauty and tranquility of the world around us. The exhibition features a stunning collection of oil landscapes that highlight the delicate interplay of light and shadow, along with a series of watercolors inspired by his travels to Guadalupe. Each piece is a journey through nature's splendor, reflecting Joseph's deep connection to the environment and his keen eye for detail. Join us to explore these visual narratives that invite you to pause, reflect, and immerse yourself in the beauty of the natural world. CURATED BY JODI SIBILIA
Boogie Boo with April Mae and the June Bugs Thursday Oct 31, 2024, 7-9pm
Doors open 6pm
Tickets $30 Buy Tickets Now on My River Tickets.
A Thematic Live Music Experience! Dance the Evil Spirits Away!
Vintage Jazz Swing | Americana | New Orleans Skiffle | Rockabilly
"This music channels and transports your into the energy of the season! - Marisa Liza Pell, Internationally Renowned Medium, TV & Radio Show PersonalityCash bar - food by Annie's Ruff Cut!
Costume contest - prizes for Most Original, Best Impersonation, Best Cartoon, Best Steam Punk, Best Couple and Best in Show
By JONATHAN CHARLES FOX
“Susannah” is an opera in two acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University.
Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of “Susannah and the Elders,” though the latter story has a more positive ending.
The opera’s story focuses on 18-year-old Susannah Polk, an innocent girl who is targeted as a sinner in the small mountain town of New Hope Valley, in the southern state of Tennessee.
The opera was awarded the New York Music Critics Circle Award for Best New Opera in 1956 and was chosen to represent American music and culture at the World’s Fair in Brussels in 1958. And now, “Susannah” has made its way to The Delaware Valley Opera Center in beautiful Lake Huntington, NY.
As for the opera’s inspiration, “Susanna and the Elders” is a narrative included in the Book of Daniel by the Catholic and Orthodox churches. It is one of the additions to Daniel, placed in the Apocrypha by Protestants; Lutherans, Anglicans and Methodists regard it as non-canonical (not sanctioned) but “useful for purposes of edification” according to Wikipedia.
Spoiler Alert: A brief synopsis of the original story provided by Wikipedia informs that “lecherous voyeurs falsely accused a fair Hebrew wife named Susanna. As she bathes privately in her locked and walled garden, a few elders spy on her bathing. The men realize that they lust for Susanna and when she makes her way back to the house, they accost her, demanding she have ‘relations’ with them. When she refuses, they have her arrested, claiming that the reason she sent her maids away was to be alone as she was having ‘relations’ with a young man under a tree.”
The reason for my attaching the synopsis is simple. Many people immediately shut down upon hearing the word “opera,” and the fine folks at the DVO would love to see that change. Gone are the days of a fat lady named Brunnhilde sporting a Viking helmet and inspiring old men to nap. Gone are the days of lovely ladies in sparkling gowns arriving in limos with men wearing tuxes and bow ties.
Gone, but not forgotten, as audiences in the Upper Delaware River region are invited to adopt a come-as-you-are dress code, sip an adult beverage at intermission and hear an American opera sung in English for all to understand.
Not only did I see “Susannah” last weekend, but I was blown away. The score, written by Floyd, is a wow, and as performed by Jessica Sandidge (Susannah), Jonathan Stinson (Blitch), Daniel Kamalic (Sam) and Ramon Tenefrancia (Little Bat) a double-wow. The singers are more than simply “in fine form,” but are incredibly skilled, wildly talented and just plain impressive, helping to make opera more accessible, simply by being amazing.
Supporting players Andrew Wannigman, Robert Flora, Marcus Huber and Christopher Fistonich are also impressive, and a layered, thoughtful standout performance from Suzanne Dvorken (Mrs. McLean) helps drive the story home.
Rounding out the cast are too many players to name here, but each adds nice touches and flair to a stylish production. It boasts a very cool, simple-yet-effective set design and construction courtesy of Barclay Lottimer, Keith Eisenstark, Steve Marisky and Dan Brinkerhoff. The costumes add to the overall production by effectively illustrating time and place.
Friday March 22, 2024 - This article originally appeared in the Sullivan County Democrat newspaper.
by Brian Chidester
Pedro Boregaard is a purveyor of beauty. His artisan jewelry business—originally located at Madison Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan, now on Main Street in Narrowsburg—celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. He is also a sculptor, a gardener, an antiquarian, and more recently, a folk singer.
His first-ever solo performance takes place tomorrow — at the Delaware Valley Opera Co.’s Arts Nest — March 23 at 6 p.m.
At seventy-seven, odds are against him to achieve notoriety or success with his music, yet he feels compelled all the same. The impetus, in fact, came seven years ago, following a partial loss of sight and a diagnosis of macular degeneration.
His first composition, “I Don’t Know What Made Me Do It,” came shortly after. It is an everyman’s tale cast in Wild West narrative tropes. Then came two more. He performed them at various open-mic nights around Sullivan County to gain comfortability and gauge audience reaction. Now he has thirteen songs. Enough for a stand-alone gig. Possibly an album.
Boregaard is lithe, even a bit gangly, save for his debonnair sense of style. He wears dark glasses on-stage and projects an air of the classic troubadour. Like the Renaissance-era memoirist Benvenuto Cellini, he basks in the creative pedigree of his parents, both of them ballet dancers. Also of his apprenticeship as a young man with the prestigious Hemmerle jewelry house in Munich.
A celebration of River Rep’s artists and audience, benefiting their 2024 season
River Rep Theatre will present its First Annual Gala Benefit on April 13 at 7pm at the Delaware Valley Opera Center in Lake Huntington, NY. A co-production between River Rep and Delaware Valley Opera, the evening will include an exciting program of staged scenes (including Yasmina Reza’s ‘Art’ and other plays in River Rep’s 2024 season), songs, and solo piano, performed by a talented lineup of local and visiting artists, including:Arthur Aulisi, Ayana Banks, Jonathan Brody, Thomas Cambridge, Matt Carpenter, Frank DeGroat, Lisa Gonsalves, Jim Fyfe, Kazzrie Jaxen, Harrison Killian, G. Oliver King, Lexee McEntee, Christopher Peditto, Gregory Thomas, Greg Triggs, Crystal Tweed and Amy Laird Webb.
A full buffet will be served, with delicious food from our sponsor restaurants - Old Foundation, Callicoon Brewery, Creek House, Santorini Mix Grill, Local Pizza, and more. A cash bar will serve beer, wine and soft drinks throughout the event.
Post-performance festivities will include a feast and celebration (dancing is encouraged!) and Silent Auction, where patrons can bid on donated goods and services, including original artwork, Splash Passes at the Kartrite Water Resort, tickets to The Forestburgh Playhouse, and much more!
Tickets $50 in advance, $60 at the door. BUY NOW at myrivertickets.com.
Learn more at riverrep.org.
it'Listen to the recent interview with Valerie Mansi and Jodi Siblia, Curator for the Arts Nest Gallery on WJFF Radio Catskill.
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