Caffe Lena
Greetings – When is the last time you saw Wal-Mart promote a sale at Target? Or Nike suggest you try Hoka’s new running shoes? You didn’t—because in most industries, guarding your turf is job #1. In the arts it’s different. You’ve probably seen “We Recommend!” messages, like the two at the bottom of this email, letting you know […]
Greetings – This month (and every month) we’re celebrating diversity and everyone is included, because there’s no other way to do folk music. Folk is music for all of us, made by us, telling our story. “Midnight Special” was written in a jail cell. “Which Side Are You On?” was written for poor, abused Harlan County […]
Greetings – I don’t have data to prove this, but careful observation leads me to believe that nothing motivates an Upstate NY audience to turn out for a show like bad weather. It’s almost like you take it as a fun challenge when snow, ice and rain come crashing down between you and the music you […]
Bettye LaVette – an Xperience Interview – by Liam Sweeny. Bettye LaVette is, according from the New York Times, “one of the great soul interpreters of her generation.” In the words of George Jones, “truly a ‘singer’s singer.’ With a sixty year career span that traversed Motown from it’s birth. She is coming to Caffe […]
Greetings – Every other little venue from that music scene so beautifully depicted in the recent Bob Dylan movie, A Complete Unknown, either closed or stopped being a folk club–except one: Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY. Nobody can quite put their finger on the magic formula that has kept this place going all these years, but it […]
Greetings – While we always keep the music fresh, and we have a staff and stage full of energized young people, you may agree that Caffe Lena feels like it lives outside the highly-charged, rapidly changing world of today. One way we hang onto that precious quality is by sticking with some traditions that we hope you appreciate: an all-volunteer […]
Greetings – Arlo Guthrie once called Caffe Lena “a bridge between the generations.” That’s a great compliment, and certainly something we aspire to. Folk music is tenacious–and fragile. There’s nothing apart from communities like this one to keep the grassroots music tradition going. Bringing children into the fold is a must. On one side of this week’s generational […]
Greetings – Every type of art is ignited by the human experience. Folk music, with its union ballads and civil rights anthems, songs of struggle and defiance, is especially called upon to document our unfolding story. A folksinger needs to comment on what’s happening, but also understands that the audience needs respite from the exhausting news cycle. It’s certainly an […]
Interview: JOZIAH LONGO & TINK LLOYD (The Slambovian Circus of Dreams) By: Rob Smittix Photo Credit: Rich P Russo RRX: How are you? JL: Pretty good, man. I’m happy to do this, I’m in an interview mood. I was just reading an Earl Slick interview, somebody sent me so… RRX: Nice. So we are in […]
Greetings – Yes, this is your Monday morning newsletter arriving on Wednesday morning. I’m just returning from a few days in the folk music mecca of North Carolina, home of bluegrass, Appalachian mountain stringbands, Piedmont blues, as well as more pollen than I’ve ever seen in my life. While I was away, two new show managers […]
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