Tremperskill Boys put on a square dance at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts a few years ago.
The Tremperskill Boys, will offer a lively free outdoor concert of Catskills tunes, original songs, plus Irish and Scottish melodies, on Saturday, September 4 at 5 pm, sponsored by Catskills Folk Connection. Please note the time change to 5 pm. This way you can get supper from the food truck, Health on Wheels, which will be there even after the concert begins.
The concert will take place under a tent on the lawn at Dirty Girl Farm, 114 Delaware Avenue, Andes, NY 13731. Some chairs will be provided, but for your comfort bring your own lawn chairs. Should rain interfere, the concert will be postponed. Covid precautions are planned. Masks and hand sanitizer will be available at the gate, and the audience area will indicate social distances.
Originally, Catskills Folk Connection had planned to offer on this date its first in-person square dance since 2019. But the Delta variant made us change our plans, and we will hold the concert instead. As soon as the infection rate falls sufficiently, even if it is in the depths of winter, CFC will offer in-person dances on short notice.
The Tremperskill Boys band was founded in 2008 by John Jacobson with several string players, and was named for the creek that runs past John's home in Andes. In addiiton to John's fiddle the band included a guitar, banjo, and mandolin – later adding string bass, button accordion and flute, and an occasional keyboard. The current group has been together for many years: John Jacobson fiddle and calling; Dane Scudder fiddle, banjo and calling, Chris Carey banjo, Sheila Addison guitar, Amy Lieberman string bass, and Ginny Scheer silver flute. Though the genders are evenly divided, the band decided to keep their “Boys” name. They say “We’re an old-time string band – but we’re not all strings; and we’re the Tremperskill Boys – but we’re not all boys!”
The concert will include a wide variety of tunes – some fast and toe-tapping and others more mellow. They will be drawn from a repertoire of Catskills tunes, especially ones learned from Hilt Kelly, Irish and Scottish jigs and reels common in northern and southern regions, and original songs by John Jacobson. John Jacobson's songs are thoughtful. "Red Hill" reflects the experience of Catskills farmers in the face of “progress,” and "We'll Say a Prayer" is a meditation on on the prevalence of personal loss.
If you enjoy traditional music there is something for everyone to like in this concert: danceable tunes, engaging melodies, and wonderful songs. Join us on Sept. 4 at 5 pm. Dirty Girl Farm is going all out to make this Labor Day event memorable.
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