July Music Highlights
Sa 7/9 through 8/6- YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERTS at Maverick Concerts, featuring JASON VIEAUX, TRIO SOLISTI, FREDERIC CHIU and ANDREW RUSSO, and ELIZABETH MITCHELL, at Maverick Concert Hall, Woodstock—Although the whole “feed your baby Mozart in the womb” was a kind of faddish flash sometime in the last decade or so, there has always been definitely great value to exposing young people to the best classical music. After all, there’s a very good reason this music has lasted centuries, withstanding decades of popular whims and fashions: it’s quite often a lot of fun to listen to it being performed well. You don’t actually have to be a “young person” to enjoy these Saturday morning shows in July, but children get in free. 
(The $5 admission for accompanying adults also gets one $5 off any regular concert ticket.) First up is classical guitarist Jason Vieaux (Sa 7/9), who is not only a highly sought-after virtuoso for performance, but a dedicated and energetic educator. Then, the three brilliant musicians of Trio Solisti return to Maverick Concerts this year (Sa 7/16), with a program that includes an extremely colorful range of music from a variety of time periods and countries, demonstrating that music is truly the universal language. Piano virtuosos Frederic Chiu and Andrew Russo bring an exciting concert of music for piano duet (7/30). Both have worked extensively with young people, Andrew through a nonprofit youth educational foundation he has established in his hometown of Syracuse. Woodstock folksinger and indie rocker Elizabeth Mitchell—an educator as well as a musician— has recorded three albums of music for children, and closes the series (Sa 8/6) with heartfelt tunes by artists ranging from Woody Guthrie to Bob Marley and the Velvet Underground. Maverick Concert Hall, Maverick Rd. (just off Rte. 375), Woodstock, maverickconcerts.org. 11 AM
Sa 7/16- HUDSON VALLEY FOLK GUILD presents “BEYOND A SIMPLE FOLK SONG”, at Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, Poughkeepsie—Do you ever stop to think where folk songs come from? It’s easy to consign all origins of this genre to the somewhat distant past; so many of the great “folk” songs seem to have been around forever. But they were all written by real people, often with just a guitar, a piece of paper and a pen, and a good (usually topical) idea that needed to be spoken and heard. And some of those songs made history. But the genre itself need not become history, and the Hudson Valley Folk Guild is working to keep it in the present with a variety of concerts and dances around the region. “Beyond a Simple Folk Song” was conceived to be an annual festival of newly created music based on folk heritage, to be performed in a concert setting. A variety of six Hudson Valley composers/arrangers have accepted the Hudson Valley Folk Guild’s challenge to push the edge of the envelope by creating larger new works using folk songs, historic events, or traditional instruments to stretch their craft, while broadening the Guild’s appeal beyond its usual constituency, incorporating blues, jazz, and classical flavors to the traditional folk styles. Participants include Helen Avakian, Susan Bialek, Terry Champlin, Chris Conners, Gaia Wolf, Mellissa Holland, Vilian Ivantchev, John Martucci, Sabrina Torsjan, and Valerie Turner. Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center, Vassar St., Poughkeepsie, www.hudsonvalleyfolkguild.org. 7:30 PM
Through July- SPOTLIGHT on THE WHEREHOUSE, Newburgh—It really wasn’t that long ago that The Wherehouse proprietor Dan Brown opened his bar/BBQ/live music establishment on Liberty St., near the bluff in downtown Newburgh. But it seems like it’s been grooving there nicely for a long time now, and the joint has become a gotta-play venue on the local band circuit. Why would that be, you might ask? Well, first of all, the bar kicks ass, great service and selection. The food is damn good. Clearly somebody (or everybody) understands what “barbecue” means here, plus the non-barbecue entrées are also mighty fine. And though the back room can be cozy, it’s a fun room to rock in. OK, full disclosure: I played here with my band some weeks back, and all had a great time, and we do have some “choosy mothers.” But best of all, a bunch of people were there specifically to enjoy live music they had never heard before, and nobody got hurt! And folks, please don’t put your nose up at the “local band“ notion; there are some fine bands, great players in these ranks, well worth the minimal cover charge. The Wherehouse, 119 Liberty St., www.thewherehouserestaurant.com, 845.561.7240. All shows at 9 PM.
Through July- SPOTLIGHT on KEEGAN ALES, Kingston—Y’know, I’m liking this whole “spotlight” idea this month. So much, I’m going for a two-fer. Because venues like these that book quality regional bands, pay them, and give them good food and, yes, beer, and provide a nice space for the audience, deserve a hoisted glass and a thank-you-very-much now and then. And this one (Prost!) is for Tommy Wolf and Tommy Keegan of Keegan Ales, who not only brew some of the Hudson Valley’s best local beer, but also make welcome a really fine selection of regional groups, as well as occasionally the nationally and internationally known. It’s a fun bar, you can throw your (free) peanut shells on the ground, the sandwich-based food selection is really good, and the beer is as fresh as it gets. Thankfully, no enormous sport-screaming flat-screen TV, but they do have a good smoker’s patio for you smokers. And beer lovers: you can take a growler of your favorite Keegan concoction home, and you really should be sure to check out the seasonal selection on tap. Oh yes, and karaoke every Sunday, from 6-9 PM. Keegan Ales, 20 St. James St., Kingston, www.keeganales.com, 845.331.2739.
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