Considering that his summer series is titled Watermelon Wednesdays in West Whately, it could be coyly suggested that Paul Newlin runs the seediest place in town.
Newlin believes that it is the completely above board/artist-friendly fashion in which he runs it that is allowing the series to enjoy its 12th annual installment this year.
“I literally keep only enough of the proceeds as I need to pay for the watermelon and insurance,” he explains. “All the rest goes to the musicians. I even try to show the musicians they are truly appreciated by providing them dinner and/or providing occasional overnight accommodations at my house across the street.”
As evidenced once again by the 2011 crop of talent, Newlin’s catering to both artist and audience is producing a bountiful harvest of high caliber entertainment. The series kicks off June 8 with neotraditional trio of Jefferson Hamer, Tashina Clarridge and Maeve Gilchrist performing a mix of traditional and original compositions. The Cliff’s Notes on that group include the fact that Hamer is a multi-instrumentalist who tours internationally through his involvement with Single Malt Band, Great American Taxi, The Murphy Beds and Laura Cortese, to name a choice few; Gilchrist is a veteran of the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, World Harp Congress (Netherlands) and Celtic Connections Festival (Scotland) and Clarridge is a National Old Time Fiddlers’ Contest winner who has been bowing since the age of 2.
Future shows include performances by fellow Watermelon Wednesday newcomers Donna and Molly Hebert-Wilson & Max Cohen (June 22) and 4 Toads in a Basket as well as returning favorites Aoife O’Donovan (Sept. 7) and The Bee Eaters (Sept. 21).
“I seem to have struck a rather rich vein of what I consider the ‘new American acoustic tradition movement,'” Newlin concludes. “I also think the performers really like playing in such an intimate setting with little or no amplification needed, but rather the medium of transmission is the air between them.”
All shows are at the West Whately Chapel and begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and, of course ,include a complimentary hunk o’ melon. For more information on schedule and advance purchasing, kindly point your browser to watermelonwednesdays.com (what were the odds of that URL being available?).
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Over in Woostah… The Alchemystics (alchemystics.com) will be looking to spread the word about their latest studio labor of love, Spread Hope, with a CD release party slated for this Friday, June 3, at the Lucky Dog.
“[We] remember our first CD release party at the Lucky Dog many moons ago,” the band said of the occasion on its website, “so it’s nice to come full circle.”
New York’s Lucid and and local reggae/roots/ska-sters Satellite Rockers get the opening nod on that one. Doors open at 9 p.m.
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Last but not least, some sad news from the Staind camp. As the band prepares for the impending release of its seventh studio effort, it appears that founding drummer Jon Wysocki has left the fold. With the band since its inception in 1995, the platinum-haired percussionist helped the Springfield-based metal-meisters amass more than 15 million units sold worldwide to date.
According to published reports, Will Hunt of Evanescence/Black Label Society notoriety has been assuming the throne for recent Staind shows.
In the meantime, singer Aaron Lewis used his Twitter account to quell calls for Wysocki’s return.
“Stop telling me to call Jon. You have no idea what’s going on—he chose to leave,” he posted on May 23.
Lewis later revealed that the annual It Takes A Community Foundation concert will be a two-night affair at Look Park this year. On Friday, Aug. 19, things will be a little bit country, the following night, Aug. 20, a lotta bit rock ‘n’ roll.”
Send correspondence to: Nightcrawler, PO Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email: Garycarra@aol.com.
