Acoustic Apple

It has been months since I've posted to this blog, so it's time for an update.  Steve and Gary have been playing out at the usual coffeehouses and restaurants on Long Island and having fun making music together.  Gary participates in a Bluegrass Jam every Tuesday night at the Barrel Inn in East Meadow and can be found most Thursday nights at the Bellmore Bean Open Mic.  Gary also attended the New Bedford Folk Festival in July and just returned from another great weekend at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.  The weather at FRFF was surprisingly good this year.  It only rained on Wednesday for one hour and on Saturday for one hour.  Bub Randall ordered the interior roads closed during the rain, and the dreaded muddy roads never materialized.  Gary participated in several song circles at the Big Orange Tarp and tried to stay in the shade for most of the Main Stage and Workshop Stage performances.  The Lounge Stage performances (inside the Dance Tent) were terrific as usual.

Gary will be jamming and volunteering at the Long Island Bluegrass Festival in Tanner Park (on the Great South Bay) this weekend and looking forward to some great Bluegrass bands.

Steve and Gary will perform next week for the third time at the Sea Cliff Beach Hut, which is a great location for watching the sun set on the north shore of Long Island.

Acoustic Apple has a very busy fall season of gigs, and we look forward to seeing some of our friends at these gigs.

From Thursday 2/14/19 through Sunday 2/17/19 Gary attended the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Framingham, MA.  This indoor festival at the Sheraton Framingham each year features top-tier bluegrass bands from all over the USA plus showcases, workshops and round the clock jam sessions in the halls, in the lobbies, in the rooms, basically anywhere there is room for 3 or more pickers to perform.  Steve was unable to attend this year, so Gary joined bluegrass buddies from the fabled "Barrel Inn Jam" in East Meadow and the "Irish Whiskey Bar Jam" in Astoria for a long weekend of bluegrass jamming.  Having returned from Massachusetts with raw fingers and happy hearts I look forward to a series of Acoustic Apple gigs at local coffee houses.

In early November Acoustic Apple will head to Stamford CT for the annual NERFA (North East Regional Folk Alliance) music conference.  700 folkies (like us) will descend on the Crowne Plaza Hotel to exchange ideas, interact with music industry agents, managers, venue operators and Radio DJs, and to make music 24 hours each day for 4 glorious days.  Gary has been attending this conference since 2004 and Steve has attended since 2016.  There are workshops and showcases and exhibits, but the most fun is gathering with like-minded musicians to schmooze, dine together, and jam all night.

The first weekend in August is always reserved for the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.  Gary headed to Hillsdale, NY on Wednesday, 8/1 to set up a campsite on Dodd's Farm.  Gary joined friends at "Pirate Camp" (one of several loosely organized encampments at the festival) and set up a canopy for protection from the torrential rains and blazing sun that follow the usual weather pattern in the summer in the Berkshires.  Sure enough, within 10 minutes of setting up my canopy the skies opened up and the heavy rains came down, turning roadways into mudways. Several more rainstorms would occur between Wednesday and Friday, but the timing of the rain was favorable and none of the scheduled performances were cancelled.  Performers included Adam Ezra Group, Dan Navarro, Dar Williams, The End of America, Greg Greenway, The Jason Spooner Band, John Gorka, The Kennedys, Kim and Reggie Harris, Ryanhood, The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Sloan Wainwright, Tom Paxton & the Don Juans, Tracy Grammer and Vance Gilbert... all folk favorites.  I got a chance to participate in a few song circles, but mainly just enjoyed all the great performances.

Acoustic Apple scored a rare treat at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington on May 18, 2018 when world-class Bass guitar player Freebo (Bonnie Raitt, CSN, Maria Muldaur, John Mayall, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, Neil Young, and more) accompanied us on stage.

After 4 days of non-stop jamming at the Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Framingham, MA we returned to LI exhausted, but happy.  We are looking forward to our "tour of the Beans" gigs this weekend.  Join us a the Bellmore Bean on Friday night and the Babylon Bean on Saturday night.

In mid-December, 2017 Acoustic Apple had the opportunity to open for Robinson Treacher and Alice Howe at the Starlight Concert Series in Northport.  Icy road conditions made the trip to Northport (normally about 45 minutes) a 2-hour white-knuckle driving experience.  Alice Howe's trip from Boston took 8 hours, but we all made it to the gig.  A brave audience welcomed us and we performed our 5-song set rather well.  We may get another opportunity at the Starlight some time in the future.  Our last few gigs of 2017 at the Bellmore Bean, Babylon Bean and Starving Artist Café all went well and we begin 2018 at the end of January with two gigs during the last weekend of the month.

Acoustic Apple attended the NorthEast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) music conference in Stamford, CT November 9-12.  This conference (aka "party") featured 700+ Musicians, Folk DJs, Venue managers, Agents, Promoters, and others involved in the business of Folk Music.  We got a chance to see, hear and meet many outstanding performers, and we spent a good deal of time jamming and shmoozing.  Acoustic Apple participated in a Tom Petty Tribute showcase, at which we performed "I Won't Back Down".  Gary joined jam sessions lasting until 4 AM each day of the conference, while Steve caught some zzz's.  With our batteries charged we look forward to our last few gigs of 2017 and a great 2018.  Happy Thanksgiving to all !

Summer ends on Friday, September 22.  While this summer has been very good for Acoustic Apple (gigs, festivals, street busking at Jones Beach, East Meadow Farm, Merrick Street Fair and NYC's Washington Square Park), it has not been kind to a lot of people in Houston, Florida, Caribbean Islands, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and other places around the world.  Between Mother Nature's fury and the rising tensions over the North Korea missile tests, it seems the world might actually come to an end.  With that in mind Acoustic Apple has a show at a new venue on Friday night; The Meadowlands Restaurant and Bar in East Meadow.  Our last gig of the summer. 

Falcon Ridge was a mixed bag of good and bad for Acoustic Apple this year.  Gary's first grand child was born on the day he planned to travel to the festival.  Everything went well at the hospital.  Mother and baby are fine, so Gary headed to Hillsdale on Thursday, August 3.  The Acoustic Apple canopy was established in Pirate Camp while the weather was good, and Steve made it to camp late Thursday afternoon, in time for the Lounge Stage performances. On Friday things turned bad.  Thunderstorms and a tire blow-out forced Gary to miss part of the emerging artist showcase.  By Friday night everything was calm and Acoustic Apple was able to join a number of good jam sessions at Pirate Camp.  Gary stayed up late to join the Front Porch song circle and the balance of the weekend was great.  Steve headed home Sunday afternoon, while Gary remained at camp until Monday morning. Next up... gig at Starving Artist on 8/18, LI Bluegrass Festival on August 19, Morgan Park Folk Festival on 8/20, gig at Bellmore Bean 8/25, gig at Northport Farmers Market 8/26, and Borderline Picnic/Jam on 8/27.