GIGs Jane Ross's Song Box Benefit

GIGs Munchaba Underground III

GIGs LIMSN Events


BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL
Saturday, August 20th
Tanner Park
Copiague, New York

by Russ Rogers

On a fairly mild August Saturday morning, I did what any red blooded
Bluegrass fan would do. I grabbed my mandolin and headed out to the L.I. Bluegrass festival at Tanner Park In Copiague.


This is the third annual edition of the fest put together by The Town of Babylon and BACCA, The Babylon citizen’s council on the arts (you can find about BACCA on the "affiliates" page at LIMSN.org). The line up this year was nothing short of fantastic with plenty of local talent represented. A full day’s pass was only $5 American dollars, how can you beat that!?

The show started at noon and went to about 8 pm. The acts selected this year were, Free Grass Union, Brew Flies, Blue Spruce Cloggers, Dune Grass, The Linemen, Buddy Merriam & The Back Roads, and Bering Strait.

There were plenty of concessions and craft vendors on hand as well as a live cooking demonstration by the Food Network. For the kids they had Face painting, crafts and a petting zoo, which all came at no surprise, Bluegrass festivals are mostly family events and folks tend to welcome kids to enjoy the music and share in the fun.

All really well done on BACCA's part, they didn't leave out a thing in the
planning of this event. It was perfect weather, not too hot and a little breeze off of the Great South Bay.

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I got to stop and "talk shop" with L.I.'s own, Greg and Kim of Free Grass Union. The folks that make up this fine duo are classic traditionalists and
purveyors of the art. Armed with a classic Flatiron mandolin and Martin guitar, the Great tone, musicianship and vocal work shine bright as the morning sun. The have a new CD out called "Songs from the Woodpile" which I picked up, just glancing at the song selections I knew I was in for a treat. I'm sure we will be seeing more from Free Grass Union down the road. Do yourself a favor and check them out when they are playing again, they are sure to entertain. You can get on their mailing list by e-mailing freegrassunion@yahoo.com


More of the local Bluegrass talent on the bill this time, Dune Grass featured a full set of some fine classic bluegrass music. With Upright Bass, Guitar, Mando and Fiddle, the classic instrumentation Bluegrass was founded upon. I really liked their harmony work especially on their original songs. It’s great to hear the traditional Bluegrass sound evolving and moving in forward directions. Some real nice fiddle work brought their set to a close.

Up next were The Linemen. These local area favorites kept folks feet tapping and entertained the audience with lively stage banter that got some good laughs form the audience. The Linemen original, “Bourbon and Beer” was a real standout song in their set. The Linemen have Real down-home tone and it’s right here in our own backyard, they feature excellent vocals as well as some nice harp playing to round out the mix.

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Buddy Merriam & The Back Roads went on stage and tore it up. Solid, consistent, powerful and so clean you could eat off each note. What could you from expect from Buddy, who not only was a friend and student of Bluegrass creator Bill Monroe, Is also one of Long Islands treasured Musicians. One Mando break (solo) by Buddy and your sure to be sitting there wide eyed with your jaw dropped open. He is a master of the instrument. The Back roads feature the finest area musicians you can find. Their tone is the real thing, no questions about it. The Rev. Tom Falco on guitar, flat-picking and vocals sweet as can be. Ernie Sykes Jr. on Vocals and Bass (rumored to be the last Bass player of Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, and a founding member of his Father’s band the Sykes Boys). Burning up that 5 string, "The Putnam Valley Flash" Jerry Oland on Banjo and rounding that up was Gary Oleyar on some fine fiddle playing. Buddy and The Back roads aim to please and hit the target every time. Check them out at www.backroadsbluegrass.com and be sure to hear Buddy Merriam's "Bluegrass Time" Radio show on WUSB 90.1 Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.

Bering Strait; Originally from Russia, are now Nashville music scene darlings. These folks have really made an impact world wide with what they do. A full house set up featuring Alexander Arzamastsev on drums, Lydia Salnikova on Keys and vocals, Sergei "Spooky" Olkhovsky on Bass, Natasha Borzilova on Electric and Acoustic guitar and vocals along with Alexander "Sasha" Ostrovsky on Pedal/lap Steels and Dobro, make for a rich full sound. They blend tradional Bluegrass and Country with Rock. They won a Grammy nomination for their self-titled debut. I really enjoyed their set and expect to hear more of them with their latest release “pages”. You can check them out at www.beringstraitonline.com

Be sure and check out next years L.I. Bluegrass fest, it’s a fun, full day event that’s sure to please all music fans and especially Long Islands Bluegrass fans.

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Jane Ross's Song Box Benefit
Huntington, New York
Saturday, July 23, 2005

by Mark Loebl
photography by Dee Loebl

Estelle Henrich, Jim Dexter and Bob Westcott attracted an overflow crowd at Jane Ross's Song Box. Which was OK, because the weather was superb, and with the garage door open, the 'overflow' was accommodated on additional chairs outside. And there was PLENTY of wine, cheese and other goodies.


Estelle Henrich has an irrepressible sense of humor to go with her dulcimer, Autoharp and percussion playing. Audience participation is MANDATORY.


Jim Dexter employs his mastery of hammer-on technique and unique tunings to accompany a mellow voice performing songs of great depth. My only disappointment is that he has been monetarily unable to finish his CD. I'll be patient. It WILL be worth the wait!


Bob Westcott has eschewed solo performance the last couple of years to play with The Defibrillators, so this night was a special treat. Unfortunately (for me, at least) he only did a few of his fine originals acoustic, then switched to a Strat with his band mate Robert Langley on snare for some (admittedly rousing) cover tunes.


George Trapani performed his patented sonic wizardry, including a ballistic CD player.


As Dee and I left, a POLICE CAR was pulling up. Considering how distinguished and mellow this crowd was, I thought I was hallucinating! There's always a spoilsport somewhere!



Jane Ross goes through a great deal of effort to provide a pleasant and intimate setting for acoustic performers to present their material. This evening was a benefit in the sense that the performers contributed their compensation to her, to allow her to continue hosting events.


The next show in the series has been relocated to The Conklin Barn.

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