Episodes
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We ended out our 13th Annual Deepwells Music Festival the same way we ended our first outdoor concert 13 years earlier – with Long Island’s most prolific band, Miles To Dayton. The M2D recipe is simple: four-part vocal harmony, clever songwriting, improvisational violin and cello, and an infectious rhythm section that stirs up the creative stew. Having built a large grass roots following of fans young and old, Miles to Dayton has headlined performances at the Patchogue Theater and sold out the Boulton Center, with notable gigs at the Paramount Theatre, Great South Bay Music Festival and the NoFo Rock and Folk Festival. They’ve been the featured artist at the Acoustic Long Island Podcast and Summer Concert, emerging artist at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and have performed in intimate listening rooms such as Club Passim in Boston, and the Living Room in NYC. Equally at home in the acoustic or full band setup, m2d has shared the stage with the likes of The Infamous Stringdusters, Rhett Miller, The Subdudes, Jorma Kaukonen, The Dirt Farmer Band, Tom Paxton, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, and Richie Havens, to name a few. Photo courtesy of Steve Caputo.
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After our first act, Sir Cadian Rhythm, set the energy on full tilt, our second act took it to an even higher level. Kerry Kearney, a slide guitar master, plays and works his instrument to limits that amaze even the most seasoned musician or cultured music fan. The sounds Kerry creates from his vintage, stock and custom made guitars are as unique as his song writing and original melodies. Kerry was voted “Best Guitarist of 1999” by the LI Voice and “Bluesman of the Year 2004” by the LI Blues Society. He is also the recipient of the prestigious Long Island Sound Award (L.I.S.A.) from the LI Music Hall of Fame and most recently, in 2013, he and his band mates were each inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of Steve Caputo.
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Missing episodes?
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The first of three featured acts for the night, Sir Cadian Rhythm kicked things off in grand style with an amazing set of their originals including their highly touted single, “Not Quite Done Yet”, which went viral on social media platforms and has accumulated close to a half a million streams on Spotify since its release. The hit song was featured in the blockbuster video game “Nascar Heat 2” this past fall. The bands song “Run Around Town” was also featured in the film “Back in the Day” starring Alec Baldwin. Photo courtesy of Steve Caputo.
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It was a beautiful day for our 13th Annual Deepwells Music Festival, this year featuring 100% Long Island talent. The great weather brought out a crowd of over 700 people which pretty much created the perfect setting for an awesome concert. Warming up the night was Long Island singer-songwriter, Katie Pearlman. Give a listen. Photo courtesy of Steve Caputo.
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Our August concert was on a really hot night, but we all chilled to the sounds of Toronto’s The Young Novelists. The Young Novelists craft contemporary folk songs with harmonies reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel or The Civil Wars. Their last album “made us strangers” earned them a number of accolades including a Canadian Folk Music Award for New/Emerging Artist and the Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award. They were also finalists in the New Song Music Competition and won the Grassy Hill CT Folk Songwriting Competition. This husband-and-wife duo balance tender harmonies with darkly poetic lyrics. When their songs go to their heaviest depths, they are always balanced by their obvious enjoyment for making music together. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg
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Warming up our August concert was Long Island native, Andrew Fortier – joined by his two children Andie and Cole. Together they’ve been writing and touring as the group “Tricycle.” Andrew Fortier is a New York composer and performing songwriter whose urgent voice weaves stories of a life in progress through truthful, heartfelt lyrics and haunting melodies. Andrew has worked with legendary Beatles producer Sir George Martin producing international New Zealand soprano and songwriter Hayley Westenra, who sang Andrew’s original song “I Say Grace” with the London Philharmonic, with Westenra selling over 2 million albums and giving him a great complement from a Broadway stage in New York. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg
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Jesse Terry is an internationally touring, award-winning singer-songwriter whose intimacy with audiences, sincerity, and approachability has solidified him as a favorite at festivals and live venues nationwide. With four full-length albums under his belt, The Runner, Empty Seat On A Plane, Stay Here With Me & Stargazer, Terry’s lyrical mastery, emotional depth, and soothing voice have often been compared to the likes of Ryan Adams, Jackson Browne, Paul McCartney and James Taylor, reaching deep into listeners’ hearts to envelope them in shared joy, sadness, love, and unrelenting hope. The Grand Prize winner of The John Lennon Songwriting Contest and The CMT/NSAI Song Contest, he has garnered worldwide acclaim including the elite honor of performing for US and NATO troops stationed at Thule Air Base in Greenland, and an official endorsement by Stonebridge Guitars International. Person by person, state by state, country by country, his fans, supporters, and colleagues have grown exponentially in the past few years, including at multiple gigs where he opened for major artists such as Darrell Scott, Paula Cole, Tony Lucca, Red Molly, Kim Richey, Liz Longley, and founder of Jefferson Airplane, Marty Balin. Photo courtesy of Steve Caputo.
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Opening our July concert was The Whispering Tree. At the heart of The Whispering Tree are singer/songwriter Eleanor Kleiner and multi-instrumentalist Elie Brangbour. With their deep-reaching sound, haunting vocals and vivid lyrics, this Franco/American duo have been captivating audiences around the world since meeting in London. Keyboard Magazine said The Whispering Tree “tastily combines wistful folk, mellow rock, and pinches of gypsy jazz and bluegrass into a compelling compilation of tightly written tunes” and Deli Magazine deemed them “one of the most talented duos to take stage in NYC.”
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With a new setup of electronics and string accompaniment (Kelly Hallorin on violin and Rachel Coats on upright bass), Seth Glier amazed our Deepwells audience with some of his new material as well as some old favorites. His latest release, Birds, is steeped in conflict and contradiction; there’s grief and loss, but also strength and resilience; doubt and dismay, but also a sense of optimism as Glier confronts heavy topics and wrestles them into the daylight. The album began taking shape after Glier lost his brother, Jamie, who died in October 2015, and inspired a TED Talk performance that Glier gave in 2016. The songs range from personal to political, and are bound together by the awareness that our world is a fragile place. He has quickly become known for his passionate live sets and powerful command of both piano and guitar.
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Ethan Pierce opened our June concert with his trademark passion and vocal skills. From the Philly area, this singer songwriter counts as his influnces Damien Rice, Ray LaMontagne Sam Cook and Otis Redding He has performed at such notable places as the World Cafe Live as well as the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg
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The featured artist for Deepwells’ May concert was Heather Maloney. Massachusetts writer and song-singer Heather Maloney celebrates the release her 2018 EP, Just Enough Sun. The six songs (five new originals and a cover of Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”) were recorded as mostly single-take, live performances in a room where instruments bled into vocal mics and vocals into instruments. The result is a raw and deeply vulnerable collection songs that follow Maloney’s literate and often heartbreaking exploration of family history, childhood dreams and the adulthood realities that butt-up against them; loss, misogyny, unrequited love, poverty, and even the moral dilemma of sending monkeys into space for the sake of science. The daughter of a psychotherapist and a carpenter, Heather’s songwriting is equal parts introspective and relatable. Photo courtesy of Eric Ilasenko
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Opening our May concert was the amazing Dan Whitener – Born and raised in Washington, DC, and a current player in the New York / New Jersey / Pennsylvania scene, Dan Whitener has hit the Billboard Bluegrass charts as a banjo player with both Emmy-nominated bluegrass-hiphop band Gangstagrass and Philadelphia’s own Newgrass Americana band Man About A Horse. Dan’s latest solo project is Crossover, a five-track international collaboration recorded with some of the finest talent in North America. The EP includes entirely original songs, several of which were co-written with family, and Dan on guitar and vocals.
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Our featured act for April was The Brother Brothers – Their sound is striking and undeniably captivating. Often leaning towards the darker, moody elements of Appalachian folk, and bluegrass traditions, their songs are laden with near perfect sibling harmonies or unison singing, compelling writing, and imaginative arrangements. They tour as an acoustic duo: David on cello and guitar, and Adam on the 5-string fiddle. With individual storied music careers under their belts, the brothers have finally teamed up to bring their experiences together. They Released their EP Tugboats in January 2017 and are planning to release their follow up full length album in Fall 2018. “The Brother Brothers have been in this together for life, and their familial connection comes through in the music, harkening back to some of the greatest family harmonies ever made. They approach their poignant and often charming songs with an almost startling sense of ease, and the tight harmonies are enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. Their ability to pull the listener into their quietly energetic musical journey is a joy to behold. I can’t wait to be out on the road with Adam & David and hear their heart wrenching songs and spot on harmonies night ...
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Alyssa Dann opened our April show with her pristine voice and evocative song crafting. A 16 year old singer songwriter raised in the legendary artist enclave of Woodstock, NY, Alyssa is the daughter of acclaimed producer and session musician Mark Dann and his wife, Lisa Klotz. In 2016, she received a youth scholarship to the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference and received favorable reviews in the pool of professional singer songwriters. She continues to build her repertoire and hone her performance and songwriting skills. Photo courtesy of Kerrianne O’Dwyer
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The second of our three main acts at the 2017 Deepwells Music Festival, Matt Nakoa is an internationally touring singer/songwriter, recently appearing at The White House, throughout India, and regularly with folk icon Tom Rush. Growing up on a small goat farm in rural NY State, Matt discovered music as a means of teenage escape and trained to be a concert pianist. Matt was ultimately accepted as a vocalist to Berklee College of Music where he studied alongside soon-to-be Grammy winners St. Vincent and Esperanza Spalding among others. After school, Matt landed in NYC’s vibrant piano bar scene. There he quickly became a star performer at Manhattan’s famous Brandy’s Piano Bar, with lines waiting outside the door each Saturday night. Across the board his song craft has garnered awards, including a win at Kerrville Folk Festival’s prestigious New Folk Competition. Photo courtesy of Steve Caputo.
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The final act for the 2017 Deepwells Music Festival was a band from Yonkers, NY – Spuyten Duyvil. Seeing a Spuyten Duyvil (pronounced “SPITE-en DIE+vul”) show for the first time is like “throwing a cherry bomb into a lake” (Rich Warren, WFMT). It wakes you up. Their brand of original and traditional American Roots music blends Olde Time, Blues, 2nd Line, Bluegrass, and Folk Rock with a pinch of Punk Rock energy to create a uniquely modern mix. Lead by song-writing couple, Mark Miller and Beth Kaufman, this six piece powerhouse brings barn burning energy to venues throughout the East Coast and Midwest. Drop them on a large festival stage and they electrify the crowd. Place them in a listening room and their stripped down acoustic sets connect powerfully. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg
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The Deepwells Music Festival featured three main acts – the first of which was a Canadian group called Durham County Poets. Durham County Poets grew out of the lively music scene in Ormstown, Quebec, a town that was once called Durham county. They first performed at the Branches and Roots folk festival in 2011 and soon after released their debut album, ‘Where the river flows’ in 2012 with drummer/producer John McColgan at the helm. In 2014, amidst a busy year of shows, interviews and even some television, their second album, ‘Chikkaboodah Stew’ was released . With plenty of material still to be recorded and the creative juices still flowing, the Poets are forging ahead in hopes of leaving their stamp on Canadian music. Photo courtesy of Howard Greenberg.
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Our 12th Annual Deepwells Music Festival opened with a one-hour showcase featuring local Long Island singer-songwriters – including Chris J Connolly, Jess Chloe, Nick Patrick Johnsen and Kate Van Dorn. Photo Courtesy of Howard Greenberg.
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Here’s the second half of our August concert which was a lovely co-bill featuring Kirsten Maxwell and Rachael Kilgour. Based on Long Island, Kirsten Maxwell has made great strides since diving head first into her career. She is often compared to Joan Baez, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell, for her soaring vocals and retro-folk style. Kirsten gives everything to her live performances and has been described as “making love to the audience”. Although her self-taught guitar chops are minimal, she plays with such delicacy and taste that the guitar seems to be extension of her body. Her delivery creates a level of intimacy that welcomes new audiences in like old friends. With a quick wit and commanding stage presence, Kirsten gives the impression of being more accomplished than her 24 years. In April 2015, she independently released her debut album, Crimson. It has been met with great success and fans await her highly anticipated EP, to be released this Spring.
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Our August concert was a co-bill of artists Rachael Kilgour and Kirsten Maxwell – two artists who often collaborate together and who Dave had seen perform together at last year’s NERFA (North East Regional Folk Alliance). Here’s more on Rachael. Stay tuned for Kirstens performance. Rachael Kilgour is a Minnesota-based songwriter and performing artist whose sincere, lyric-driven work has been called both brave and humane. The 2015 grand prize winner of the esteemed international NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition, Kilgour has been featured at NYC’s Lincoln Center and by the ASCAP Music Cafe at the Sundance Film Festival. She was also a finalist in the 2015 Telluride Troubadour Contest. A versatile performer, Kilgour has shared stages with the likes of indie artists Haley Bonar & Jeremy Messersmith as well as folk legends Greg Brown, Cheryl Wheeler & Catie Curtis.
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