February 21, 2010 "The 3 Rix" Hudson Valley School of Folk Music" Dutch Arms Chapel, John St, Saugerties,
3-5 pm. Admission $8.00 Heritage Folk Music. Contact Bob Lusk
594-4412
The 3 RIX
Just as there is a “Hudson River School of Painting”,
whose artists like Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, and Jasper Cropsey sought to
capture and preserve an idyllic view of the Hudson River Valley, so too is there
a lesser known, unofficial “Hudson River School of Folk Music”, among which Rich
Bala, Rick Nestler, and Rik Palieri can be counted as some of its “students”.
Like those painters who created sweeping vistas of Catskill Mountain landscapes
and majestic views of Hudson River scenes, they too are creating an image with
lyrics and melodies of the lives and stories of the people who dwelled and
settled in this region long ago.
Their songs range from those sung by the first European settlers and
pioneers to the ballads made up about battles and events of the Revolutionary
War; from the shantys of sloop captains,
canawlers, and steamboat pilots, to the music of the farms, lumber camps and
bluestone quarries; from the songs of hobos, tramps, and those who “rode the
rails”, collected by FDR’s WPA Project, to the current environmental movement,
and the new songs being sung by those affiliated with the Sloop Clearwater.
Rich Bala has been collecting, performing, and recording the traditional
music of the region since 1979, and plays guitar, harmonica, and mountain
dulcimer. He has performed with Pete Seeger, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Happy
Traum, John Herald, and Eric Weissberg, among others. He also performs with his
trio, “The Barefoot Boys”, and with storyteller Jonathan Kruk as “The Hudson
River Ramblers”.
Rick Nestler is probably most well known as the writer of unofficial
anthem of the Hudson River, “The River That Flows Both Ways”. He performs with
both 6 and 12 string guitar, and tenor banjo. Besides being a folksinger,
songwriter, he is also a licensed ship captain, and has a seemingly endless
knowledge of river songs and shantys. He has often accompanied Pete Seeger at
various concerts, festivals, and events, and is one of the original members of
The Hudson River Sloop Singers.
Rik Palieri, also one of Pete’s musical “companions” for many years and a
Sloop Singer, now makes his home in Vermont. He has recorded 6 cd’s, hosts “The
Song Writer’s Notebook” (a TV program whose shows have been archived at The
Library of Congress), and published a book called “The Road is My Mistress”
about his music tours around the country and the world. He plays a variety of
instruments, including guitar, banjo, and Polish bagpipes! He has also worked
with Utah Philips, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Ralph Stanley, and Jimmie
Driftwood.
Together, “The Three Rix” will present a sampling of
songs from various periods in the area’s
lengthy and distinct history, from the earliest times to the present, and
will have you singing along and tapping your feet, and in end, leave you with a
greater appreciation and deeper understanding of the people who created the
heritage of this region, and in so doing, forged the legacy of this nation.
