Pittsfield Folk Fest; Robby Baier; Drunk Stuntmen
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Feb. 17, 2000) - Downtown Pittsfield gets its first folk festival in memory this weekend, when the Pittsfield FolkFest makes its debut at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Sunday night at 7. Famed singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards, best-known for his 1971 top-five hit, "Sunshine", heads the bill, which also includes two premiere Berkshire-based talents, Bernice Lewis and Robby Baier. The concert is presented by Galaxy Entertainment, the same promoter responsible for the Magic Dick and Jay Geils Bluestime show last fall, as well as a series of oldies shows at the Crowne Plaza. While Jonathan Edwards, who has long called New England home, is the marquee name on the bill, Lewis and Baier are both riding crests in their careers. Lewis will be releasing a brand-new album next week, "Religion and Release," the long-awaited follow-up to her 1997 release, "Isle of Spirit." An advance listen to "Religion and Release" suggests it will mark a great leap forward in Lewis's career. It features some of her sharpest songwriting, some of which is bound to prick the ears of local listeners, as well as some of Lewis's most energetic and dynamic tunes. Look for a complete review of Lewis's new album in this space in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Robby Baier continues to rack up awards and accomplishments. Baier's most recent triumph is his nomination in the upcoming Boston Music Awards as Outstanding New Singer/Songwriter. Apparently the Boston awards, like the Grammys, leave logic behind; Baier's solo debut, "SoulTube," was nominated for Outstanding Debut in the Contemporary Folk Album category last year. How this makes him a "new singer/songwriter" we don't understand, but neither do we care – what matters is that the awards recognize Baier's talent. We'll all be rooting for Robby when the winners are announced on Thursday, April 13, at the Orpheum Theatre in Boston. Boston is finally getting around to acknowledging what we in these parts have known about Baier for several years and counting. Last month, "SoulTube" received a glowing 3½-star review from the Boston Herald. The album was also selected as one the 12 Best Independent Releases of 1999 by Performing Songwriter magazine, which will feature an in-depth interview with Baier in the March/April issue. Performing Songwriter will also include his song "Seriously" on a CD compilation. Baier is currently writing and recording his next CD, which he intends to release by the summer. In order to keep his hungry fans at bay, Baier recently released "Comings & Goings: Live At The Dream Away Lodge," a four-song cassette recorded at the Becket getaway. For more Baier info, check out his website at www.soultube.com. As for Jonathan Edwards, he has been busy writing, performing, producing other performer's albums, including recent ones by Cheryl Wheeler and Lisa McCormick, and painting. Samples of his artwork, as well as photos of Edwards performing and relaxing with family members, can be viewed on his website at www.jonathanedwards.net. Tickets for Sunday's folk concert are $20 and are available at various locations throughout the county, including Wood Brothers in Pittsfield, Juice and Java in Lee, and from the Crowne Plaza Hotel sales office at 445-8080. Peter Pan's no stunt for these Stuntmen This Saturday at 3 p.m., The Stuntmen will perform their original score to the 1924 silent film version of "Peter Pan" at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. The Stuntmen are a Pioneer Valley-based, experimental-minded roots-rock band, better known as the Drunk Stuntmen when they're not accompanying G-rated children's films. The musicians, who formed the band in the winter of 1992 in Montague and who have released several albums since then, including 1998's "Taking My Pee Pants Off" and last year's "More Bad News" and "Live at the Mercury Lounge," recorded at the famous New York nightclub, were commissioned by the Northampton Arts Council to compose the original score to "Peter Pan." The group's upcoming album, tentatively titled "We Know Karate," evinces an eclectic, dizzying talent, intelligence and musical wit, ranging from the Nirvana-like "Mr. Clean" to the Tom Petty-ish "Mud" to the Pink Floyd-ian "Clown Suit." "Freakin' In" recalls Cheap Trick and "Aftermath" gives a listener déjà vu over Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Déjà Vu." For more information on the Stuntmen, drunk or sober, visit the group's website, which includes informative links to "Peter Pan" information on the web, at http://www.fyou.com/whiskeyreader. Call 662-2111 for more info on the "Peter Pan" performance. Radio Beat Another in our series of periodic tallies of the most-played recordings -- most new, some old -- on our imaginary radio station:
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Feb. 18, 2000. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 2000. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy rogovoy@berkshire.net music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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