Good Music Makes Good Neighbors

June 8, 2024

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WHO'S WHO in MONTAGUE?

(alphabetical by first name or band name)

 

 

Butterfly Swing Band

 

Butterfly Swing Band plays exuberant, swinging, jazzy grooves.  They draw from the masters -- Ellington and Basie -- as well as contemporary artists like Diana Krall and Nellie McKay.  Bring your dancing shoes!   Montague Common Hall, set 6

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Mark Fraser & Matthew Duncan

 

Mark Fraser is a founding member of the Adaskin String Trio and the Executive Artistic Director of Mohawk Trail Concerts. He also performs frequently as a soloist and in recital.  Matthew plays piano and writes music for any ensemble willing to play his pieces. He is grateful that Mark indulges his compositional whims and his affection for the music of Paul Hindemith.  First Congregational Church, set 3

 

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James Heflin & Emily Brewster

 

[description needed]  Porch, set 5

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The Klines

 

Carrie and Michael Kline perform folk songs from the Appalachians and the West Virginia coal mines with beautiful harmonies and a unique guitar style.  They are accompanied by Joe Blumenthal on bass.  Montague Common Hall, set 2

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Montague Common Singers

 

Singing through the pandemic and beyond. Join us on our 809th day raising voices together on the Common. Easy tunes and choruses. Sing a song, share a song, or just listen!  On the common, set 3

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Montague Marching Band

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Loud, raucous, and full of fun, the Montague Marching Band is dedicated to spreading joyful music to the people of Western Massachusetts and beyond. Inspired by the Honk Festival and New Orleans style "Second Line" street bands, the band plays a lively variety of world music and funky tunes.   On the common, between sets 1 & 2 and between sets 2 & 3

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Le Chéile

 

Description needed  Montague Common Hall, set 4

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Louise Mosrie

 

“Louise Mosrie may well be the brightest young folk-oriented artist to emerge from Nashville in many a year” - Rich Warren

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"Mosrie’s compositions are thoughtful, refined creations. Given repeated listening, they will penetrate your consciousness. Spend your time thus, you’ll also be hooked.” - AW  Porch, set 6

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Myrtle St. Klezmer

 

Led by clarinetist, Jason Ditzian, Myrtle Street Klezmer is an ecstatic exploration into the past, present & future of klezmer music.  Porch, set 5

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Nectar

 

Nectar is an intimate quartet weaving together music of the Americas using bass, hand drums, guitar and vocals. Their styles include, but are not limited to latin jazz, bossa nova and samba, bomba, and interpretations of modern jazz and pop standards in a latin style.  Pergola, set 2

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North St. Collective

 

Blah  Barn, set 1

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Stephen Katz

 

Stephen Katz sings and plays mostly original compositions on cello. His groove-driven music is made possible by a strumming approach he calls “Flying Pizzicato.” The results are contrapuntal, multi-voiced textures that have been described as appearing both easy and impossible at the same time.  First Congregational Church, set 1

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Michael Nix & Gloria Matlock (with the children of Twice as Smart)

 

Michael Nix performs on Banjar, classical guitar, banjo, lute, and mandolin, throughout the United States and Asia; has recorded for the PBS series "American Experience", several independent documentaries, numerous CD projects; and his compositions are performed internationally. His music has been heard "Weekend Edition", and other NPR programs.

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Michael Nix plays on the seven string Banjar, an instrument he has designed, which combines elements of the classical five string banjo and the classical guitar. The Banjar's seven high tension nylon strings sound somewhat like a cross between the banjo and guitar or lute. Nix combines lyrical expression with an insatiable musical curiosity to forge an intriguing performance style incorporating various styles and textures drawn from classical guitar and banjo, jazz, blues, folk. His repertoire includes original compositions, jazz, ragtime, Irish and folk music, Renaissance and Baroque lute dances, and pieces from the classical banjo and classical guitar canon.  Pergola, set 4

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Renaissance Jukebox

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Renaissance Jukebox pairs 16th- and 17th-century lute songs and ballads with songs of the 20th and 21st centuries. Each song pairing illustrates a mood, image, or story common to each song across the centuries. Think of Bob Dylan, Archie Fisher, Taylor Swift, and Richard Thompson visiting the Elizabethan and Jacobean courts and finding common ground with the songwriters of that time. Renaissance Jukebox is: Meg Pash, voice and lute; Donnie Cotter, voice; Mitch Nelin, mandocello and voice; Chris Stetson, lute, mandolin, and chittariglia.  First Congregational Church, set 5

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Victor Signore & Nat Baldwin

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Victor Signore (saxophones) and Nat Baldwin (double bass) have been collaborating for the past year as a duo, developing a dynamic language across a range of stylistic tendencies within the context of free improvisation.   Barn, set 5

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Vimana

 

Vimana is an instrumental jazz-rock trio that plays original compositions that weave tight grooves with improvisational passages in a way that reflect this historical era we are experiencing together. They are: Brian Rodrigues, bass; Bruce Todd, drums; Leo Hwang, guitar.  Porch, set 2

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Nate Watson

 

Description Needed Pergola, set 1

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Rebecca Weiss & Becky Hollingsworth  

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Rebecca and Becky will be leading the contradance band and instruction. 

 

Rebecca Rose Weiss has played for contra dances around the country and recorded on a variety of albums.  She eagerly learns from elder musicians about community music and the old days and tunes, notably as mentee of David Kaynor, legendary New England dance caller and musician.  Lately, she has been following around a variety of other New Englanders in hopes of absorbing not only rock solid rhythm but also winter driving tips.  She gets especially excited about harmonizing, teaching, and composing.  https://www.rebeccaroseweiss.com

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Becky Hollingsworth’s first encounter with a piano was in an unused, unheated room in her grandparents’ farmhouse, where she would attempt to plunk out tunes on an old upright, undeterred by missing key tops, stuck keys, and keys that didn’t sound at all.  A quarter-century or so later, she discovered the exhilaration of contra dancing, which re-introduced her to the joys of banging on a piano, particularly when someone else is doing the hard work of playing the melody.  She loves to play for dances of all sizes and at multi-level sessions.  She has helped anchor numerous open band dances at the Guiding Star Grange in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and has played with the Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts (https://fiddlewesternmass.com), a wonderfully welcoming organization whose possibilities she encourages musicians at all levels to explore.  

Montague Common Hall, pre-fest (11:30)

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Zay-Tunes

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Zay-Tunes is a group of local musicians who get together to perform traditional and popular songs of the Arabic people.  They are Bob Davis, oud; Nazira Bashour, vocals; Amanda Turk, percussion; Sharon Arslanian, ney; Amy Cullen, violin; Joe Blumenthal, bass.   Montague Common Hall, set 3

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