– For immediate release –
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May 13, 2013, Brewster, NY. What do Bikers and Native Americans have in common? At first look you could think: opposite ends of a spectrum. Up close you find out some Bikers are Native Americans, and vice versa. Even closer you find out some Bikers and Indians also serve, and have served, next to each other in peacetime and combat. Zooming in you find out that 22 percent of Native Americans 18 years or older are veterans, the highest per capita representative of any ethnic group in the Services.
Last Saturday, May 11th, 2013, in Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park, Bikers, Native Americans, Veterans, Friends, people from far, people close, vendors and producers, all took a risk on the elements undercover in the Park’s 32 x 130 foot pavilion-transformed-to- concert-venue. In the spirit of Woodstock, where rain stopped nothing, the brave stuck it out through a Scottish mist that went to rain to clearing, to come out the other side unscathed and ecstatic having experienced a bunch of firsts:
*The first Nimham Mountain Music Festival produced by H. G. Fairfield Arts to benefit two Mid-Hudson Valley veteran projects – the 13th Annual Chief Daniel Nimham Intertribal Veterans Memorial PowWow this August 17 & 18, 2013 and the U. S. Military Veterans Motorcycle Club NY4’s documentary aimed at curbing veteran suicides, “Bomber, PJ, & Beartracks.”
*The first time Kent, NY’s Nimham Mountain Singers have opened for a music festival and the first time a dog has sung a traditional song moving the crowd to tears.
*The first time Bethany Yarrow, Rufus Cappadocia, and Brahim Fribgane have played for Bikers, Native Americans, and Veterans together; the first time the Bikers, Native Americans, and Veterans have heard anything like what shook them up onto their feet with standing ovations for Bethany’s powerful vocals and messages, Rufus’ uncharted over-the-top cello turned percussion instrument, and Brahim’s mystical/magical rhythms hand-pounded off a box (a cajón from Peru). *The first time a clapping, dancing crowd of weathered enthusiasts would hear Martha Redbone exclaim to those cheering their voices hoarse, “Who knew Bikers would like me [& Martha Redbone Roots Project]?”; as she leapt into another song, fiddle blazing, bass viola thrumming, Teddy’s banjo picking, and a drummer named Butter laying it all down. The crowd stomped for more as Martha Redbone gladly sang them into another frenzy.
And *The first time the unadulterated unabashedly full-out rock’n’roll band Iron Cobra followed native traditional singers, a musical legend’s daughter’s world changing music, and a fiddling Appalachian string band led by a Shawnee/Chocktaw/African American woman who’s sung for US Presidential Inaugural Balls; and it all seemed quite a natural progression of themes and music, oddly and surprisingly enough for all present.
Bikers, Native Americans, Veterans, Friends, people from far, people close, vendors and producers, at H. G. Fairfield Arts’ first Nimham Mountain Music Festival know once the word gets out of just what kind of music and spirit was present in the gorgeous Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park this past Saturday, even more people next year will get to have the same chance to experience their own firsts.
Click here to download this press release
Nimham Mountain Music Festival to benefit veterans May 11th.
30 April, 2013; Brewster, NY. H. G. Fairfield Arts Center presents the Nimham Mountain Music Festival on May 11th at the Putnam County Veterans Memorial Park in Kent, NY, to support the 13th Annual Chief Daniel Nimham Veterans Memorial PowWow and to raise money to help with the costs of “Bomber, PJ, & Beartracks,” a documentary about a veteran who was a Navy Seabee and is a biker, a veteran who is a comedian who served as a Navy Medic with the Marines, and a Marine who is a Cheyenne & VietNam veteran, and their incredibly surprising connections.
The Nimham Mountain Music Festival, the first of its kind at the Putnam park, features the Smithsonian Institute award winning Martha Redbone Roots Project band direct from the New Orleans Jazz Festival and en route to Lincoln Center. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s John McEuen has produced Redbone’s latest album “Garden of Love”, which has earned kudos from music critics such as The Village Voice proclaiming Martha Redbone is “poised to be America’s next superstar.” Bethany Yarrow (the daughter of Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, & Mary), Rufus Cappadocia, and Brahim Fribgane will also be playing as a trio at the festival: Donald Effman from All About Jazz says “Bethany’s voice is stark and powerful and calls forth the jazz & blues tradition and takes a listener around the world;” Rufus is renowned for his cross-cultural collaborations, taking the cello into previously unexplored realms; and Brahim is a Moroccan percussionist who has performed with greats like Puerto Rican conga player Giovanni Hildago, Pete Seeger, Paula Cole, and Harry Belafonte. The trio slides seamlessly between groove, world, blues, and traditional folk music. Opening the music stage with be Putnam’s own Nimham Mountain Singers (the Host of the Nimham PowWow) and closing the night stage will be the Hudson Valley’s own rock’n’roll powerhouse Iron Cobra.
Kids will be thrilled with the Pied Piper Pony Rides. Vendors will be there for last minute Mother’s Day shopping. Food vendors include BBQ, Indian Tacos, gelato, and deli fare. The Open Jam Session Tent invites area drummers and musicians to sit in and play 2-6pm. The gates open at 2pm, with music on stage from 6-10; suggested donation is $25 at the gate. For more information or to register as a vendor, call 845-363-1559 or email office@HGFairfieldArts.org.
The documentary “Bomber, PJ, & Beartracks” with the US Military Veterans Motorcycle Club is a project aimed at helping veterans cope with PTSD and others effects of war. This film encourages healing of veterans and their families through humor, humanity, and heart. The film project dovetails with H. G. Fairfield Arts’ third year of working with Brewster Navy veteran PJ Walsh in their joint initiative Courage Continues At Home III. Their tour includes following the USMV MC NY4 from Wurtsboro, NY, to Oklahoma for a rendezvous with Cheyenne-Arapahoe US military veterans, while en route to the National Presidents’ Meeting of the USMV MC in San Antonio, TX. Come rally as a community! Have fun, dance, eat, drink, be merry, and show our communities we take care of each other.
