Broken Wing Barn presents Mary Flower and Happy Traum

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Doors open 6pm, show at 6:30

Suggested donation $20 (all proceeds go to the performers)

Food and drink will be served

RSVP to this email

1389 Route 212, Saugerties, NY 12477

Please note we do not have advanced ticket sales. To reserve seats, send a request to gregcornell@live.com.

Mary Flower: "A national treasure in your own back yard."--Jorma Kaukonan

Happy Traum: "Laid-back and bluesy, like an autumn hike down a Bearsville back road...."--Chronogram Magazine

This summer Happy Traum stopped by our White Feather Farm to pick up his grandson Hudson, who was working for us. Would we be interested, Happy asked, in hosting the superlative guitarist and vocalist Mary Flower at Broken Wing Barn? She would be in town for the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers' Showcase at the end of October and was looking to pick up a gig, and Happy said he would be pleased to join her. How could we say no to that offer!

When we saw Mary play at last year's Luthiers' Showcase, we were impressed with her finger picking guitar style and lap-slide prowess. She is inventive, dexterous and mesmerizing. She mixes rootsy acoustic-blues guitar and vocal styles that span a number of idioms, from Piedmont to the Mississippi Delta, with stops in ragtime, swing, folk and hot jazz.

An internationally known and award-winning picker, singer/songwriter and teacher, Mary was born in the Midwest, and later relocated from Denver to the vibrant Portland, Oregon, music scene in in 2004. She has played at folk festivals and concert stages domestically and abroad, including Merlefest, Kerrville, King Biscuit, Prairie Home Companion and the Calgary Folk Festival, among many. Watch her videos here and here.

Woodstock's own Happy Traum is a renowned folk singer, writer, teacher, recording artist and first-rate finger style guitarist. He began playing guitar and 5-string banjo as a teenager, and was an important participant in the legendary Greenwich Village folk scene of the 1950s and ‘60s. He was a student of blues guitar legend Brownie McGhee, a major influence on his picking style. Happy has since appeared and/or recorded with Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, John Sebastian, Larry Campbell, Eric Andersen, Allen Ginsberg, Jim Kweskin, Maria Muldaur and many other major figures in the folk music world. Happy and his brother and musical partner Artie were also the authors of several instructional books for guitar (of which we had several in the late'70s!) and ran Homespun Records, which offered recorded instructional courses on dozens of instruments. Watch a Happy video here.

To reserve seats, please reply to this email and let us know how many you would like!

UPCOMING AT BROKEN WING BARN

December 2018: We would love to have an informal gathering of musicians, music lovers and those looking for some cheer around the holidays. Maybe we'll sit around in a circle and trade songs. Let us know if you would be interested in playing and what instruments you could bring. We definitely need a stand-up bass player!

March 2018: Jackie Bristow with Cindy Cashdollar

June 2018: Sylvia Rose Novak

About Broken Wing Barn:

Sarah Johnson and Greg Cornell moved in May 2017 to a farm in Saugerties NY, 65 acres of woods, creeks, orchards, vegetable gardens and a greenhouse--but what really sold them on the place was the old Dutch barn. Built in the 1740’s, the barn’s original post and beam interior was preserved during a renovation by the previous owners, then insulated and sided from the outside, creating a unique structure that is not only beautiful to the eye, but to the ear as well. When you cross the threshold, you may feel like you’re walking into the past--but with heat. And air conditioning. Sarah and Greg knew it would be the perfect place for intimate musical concerts, where friends and family could join them in celebration of soul-stirring music, and share the bounty of their organic farm: “peaches in the summertime, apples in the fall,” as well as cider, maple syrup, honey from the beehives, eggs from the chickens, vegetables from the garden, all raised and grown on the land around Broken Wing Barn.

A word about the music you will hear: most of it will be acoustic, original and flowing from a branch of American roots music, but most of all it will have soul.

We ask for a donation at the door of $20 dollars, all of which will go to the performers. Food and drink will be served.

Our first concert was on Sept. 23, 2017. Our plan is to present four concerts in 2018 (one for each season).

We have a limited number of beds for overnight guests, let us know early if you would like to stay over.

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3-Date Mini Tour, Farming, Running a Venue

We are about to embark on a three-date mini-tour (May 2, 3 and 4) down South to North Carolina, Virginia and Baltimore. We will be a trio on this tour with Amanda Homi (vocals and percussion) and first-time Brother Zach Swanson (bass) joining Greg. Our pals He-Bird, She-Bird, a great acoustic Americana band from Long Island, will join us for all three dates. And our other pals Pluck & Rail, a rollicking duo from Westchester County, will be joining the bill May 4 in Baltimore. 

May 2: Isis Music Hall, Asheville, NC. This is a 150-seat venue, one of the gems of the Asheville music scene. 8:30pm-10:30pm

May 3: Mango's Bar and Grill, Moneta, VA. On Smith Mountain Lake, near Roanoke. 7:30-10;30

May 4: Four Hour Day Lutherie, Baltimore, MD. Very pleased to be back at this very intimate listening room, a working lutherie. 7:00-9:30.

In other news, Greg Cornell has moved to the country and taken up the farming life in New York's Hudson Valley. White Feather Farms is raising chickens, keeping bees, producing maple syrup and growing several acres of fruit and vegetables that will be sold at farmers' markets. And on the grounds of the 65-acre farm is a Dutch barn, built in the 1740's and renovated by the previous owners, with fantastic acoustics, so we just had to start presenting concerts there. We call it Broken Wing Barn, after the song written by Sarah Johnson and Greg Cornell. Recent concerts have presented The Cornell Brothers, Cole Quest, Keenan O'Meara, Megan Lui and The Brother Brothers. We are very excited to announce that Molsky's Mountain Drifters will play Sept. 22, just in time for the fall harvest, so you can expect some freshly pressed cider to be served. Led by fiddle legend Bruce Molsky, and featuring the virtuosity of Stash Wyslouch on guitar and Allison de Groot on banjo, the band is steeped in American music traditions. We hope to see you there.

Upcoming Shows, Video Release, EP Release

VIDEOS of three songs from Come On Home will be released in June 2017. Shot at Greg Cornell's apartment on Union Square in NYC, the videos capture the feel of the band playing live, thanks to the wizardry of the folks at Beehive Productions, who have gained renown for the quality of the sound and visuals on their acoustic-music videos. Beehive will also release an EP of the audio on their sound label, The Bee-Side in Aug. 2017. The band was also selected to perform in September at the Connecticut Folk Festival in New Haven.

UPCOMING SHOWS:

Saturday, May 6, 8-10pm: radio interview/session on WAMC Albany, The Hudson River Sampler hosted by Wanda Adams Fischer.

Saturday May 13, 7-9:30pm: Edwards Opera House, Edwards, NY

Thursday, May 18, 7:30pm: The Green Growler, Singer-songwriter series, Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Sunday, May 21, 4pm: House Concert in NYC. Contact gregcornell@live.com for details. With Run Come See, a great band from D.C.

Video Shoot with Beehive Productions in Dec. 2016

The renowned audio/visual company Beehive Productions will shoot videos for three songs off Greg Cornell & The Cornell Brothers' recently released album, Come On Home, in NYC in Dec. 2016. The band is very excited to be working with company founders Sue Bibeau and Jeff Oehler, who formed Beehive in Saranac Lake, NY, in 1995, and who have made state-of-the-art recordings and videos for some of the country's top folk and Americana acts, including Kaia Kater, Lula Wiles, Anna Egge and Mark Erelli. They are great at capturing the intimacy and nuance of a true, live-music performance. 

New 10-song album, 2 singles released

Come On Home album release on Mother Church Pew Aug. 2016

Broken Wings first single release on Breathing the Core July 2016

Heavenly Rain second single release on Mind Equals Blown July 2016

CD Release Party Aug. 2 in NYC; 2 Singles Released

The Cornell Brothers will celebrate the release of their new 10-song album, Come On Home, at one of NYC's best-loved venues, Rockwood Music Hall's Stage 2, this Tuesday, August 2, at 10:00 pm. There is no admission but there is a $10 drink minimum.

Produced by the band's fiddle player Adam Moss and engineered and mixed by 3-time Grammy winner Justin Guip, the music ranges from bluegrass, to blues, to country, with the occasional electric guitar and pedal steel adding some weight to the acoustic sound the band has been honing for the past six years.

The album has been getting some attention prior to its release, on the heels of the release of two singles: Broken Wings, which Greg Cornell co-wrote with his girlfriend Sarah Johnson, had an exclusive premiere on Post to Wire and a review on Breathing the Core. The second single, Heavenly Rain, premiered on Mind Equals Blown, where reviewer Connor Feimster has this to say about the song:

As for the song itself, Cornell visits the deep, looming sense of longing that’s often tied to bluegrass or folksy tracks. “Heavenly Rain” takes no prisoners and steers clear of any overused clichés the genre(s) may beg to offer. Cornell’s band The Cornell Brothers may keep his musical boat afloat, but if you listen closely enough, you might begin to hear some new twangs with each listen, making pieces of it stand out amongst the rest of the genre.

For more upcoming shows and events, click here.

NEW ALBUM RELEASE IS NEAR...and upcoming shows...and a Great Cause

NEW ALBUM: The release is nigh! Come On Home, our new 10-song album of originals, is at the manufacturer, and will be available--online at CD Baby, iTunes and on this site--before the official August 2 release date. The sound of this record is just what we were after, which is why we chose to work with three-time Grammy winner Justin Guip (he won for his engineering and mixing of Levon Helm's final two records). And my good friend Adam Moss (producer) found just the right musicians and developed arrangements that brought out the best in the songs. It has a simple, clear sound where every voice and instrument is heard, and the stories are allowed to be told. Most of the songs rely on our usual acoustic instruments (Grant Gordy and me on guitar, Adam on fiddle, Dave Speranza on stand up bass, Zack Bruce on mandolin, Jason Nazary on drums) and my vocal companions (Adam and Amanda Homi) singing harmonies. But we got a little wild on a couple, adding electric guitar (Will Graefe), organ (Marco Benevento), piano (Sam Reider) and pedal steel (Phil Sterk). And there are some haunting contributions by David Moss on cello and and Alec Spiegelman on recorder.  The diversity of the songs required all these great contributors, so we were able to pull off styles that include bluegrass, old timey, blues, country and a bit of rock 'n' roll. 

UPCOMING SHOWS: June 7 at 3:00pm, tune in to my favorite radio station, North Country Public Radio, to hear us play live on Ellen Rocco's show, The Blue Note. The station is in Canton, NY, where my sweetie and I have been living about half the time and where we both attended St. Lawrence University. NCPR's geographical range is huge, from Burlington VT to Watertown, from Ottawa to Albany, and they win awards every year from NPR for the excellence of their news coverage. 

June 19 at 6:00pm we will be headlining the weekly Norwood Village Green Concert Series, in Norwood NY (just north of Potsdam). This series attracts attendees from all over the North Country and we are very excited to be playing in front of hundreds of people.

June 25 at 8:30pm we will be back at the great Radio Bean in Burlington VT, followed by The Brother Brothers (my pals and co-conspirators Adam and David Moss) at 9:30.

July 30 in the afternoon we return to play two unplugged sets at the Huntington Folk Festival on Long Island. The headliner is the wonderful songwriter Slaid Cleaves. 

August 2 at 10pm is our official album release party at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 2, in NYC. Most of the cast from the record will be on stage to celebrate.

For details on the shows and more, click here: 

 HELP A GREAT CAUSE: My friend Nick Hillary has been falsely accused of murder in Potsdam NY. His life has turned into a nightmare due to the actions of corrupt individuals in the DA's office and the police department, and he is facing life in prison should he be convicted. His trial starts Sept. 6, and he needs financial help (no donation is too small) to pay for the astronomical costs of his defense. I've been working with him since last fall to raise money and find a great defense team, but, in what has become a sad state of affairs in this country, there's no justice without paying cash up front. Please go to this site, read the details and make a contribution for justice. I wrote a song about his plight, Song for Nick, that is included on the new album.

ALBUM TRACKS COMPLETED

The band completed laying down tracks for their second full length album, Come On Home, last week at Brooklyn Recording. With Adam Moss producing and Justin Guip (Levon Helm, Bow Thayer, David Bromberg) engineering, the recording session called on some of Brooklyn's most talented roots musicians: Will Graefe on electric guitar, Jason Nazary on drums, Dave Speranza on bass, Sam Reider on piano, Grant Gordy on acoustic guitar, Philip Sterk on pedal steel, David Moss on cello, Zack Bruce on mandolin, and the Cornell Brothers regulars, Adam Moss on fiddle and Amanda Homi on harmony vocals. The release of the 10 original songs is expected in late May.

NEW FULL-LENGTH ALBUM IN MARCH/ 3 NYC-AREA SHOWS IN FEB.

3 NYC-AREA SHOWS IN FEB. Click the button.

The Cornell Brothers will go into the studio in March 2016 at Brooklyn Recording in Columbia Heights (north of Red Hook, west of Carroll Gardens) to record a 10-song album of new songs, written by Greg Cornell (with help from Sarah Johnson, Kurt Olsen and Todd Willison). Cornell Brothers fiddler Adam Moss will produce; Justin Guip, who recorded Levon Helm's last records, as well as work by Bow Thayer and David Bromberg, will engineer and mix. 

The band has been playing seven of the new songs over the past year at their shows; three are brand-spankin' new. The lineup of musicians will also include guest appearances by some of Brooklyn's finest roots musicians. The album will be ready for release in late spring/early summer.

Some of the new songs you will hear:

Liars, Betrayers and Hellhounds: it's a love song! Really. With an upbeat country tempo, about finding true love after many futile attempts.

Broken Wings: Sarah Johnson (the true love) wrote the chorus. A white bird with broken wings comes to rest in a northern lake.... Symbolism!

The Median Song: this song was conceived in Laura Cortese's songwriting class at Miles of Music Camp a couple of years ago; birthed this past year. The class exercise was to take a dictionary, close your eyes, open to a random page, put your finger down, and whatever word it landed on, you had to write a song about. Cornell's word was "median."   It can be done! An uptempo blues.

Come On Home: Kurt Olsen wrote most of the words to this song about a man who just can't stop fighting, and the woman who loves him. A medium paced country waltz.

Trail of Tears: one of the greatest tragedies America ever committed, the story of the forced removal of tribes from the southeast to Oklahoma in the 1830's. From the point of view of a Native American girl, the story is told briefly in the film "Muscle Shoals." (You never know where inspiration will come from.) He wrote the music on a five-string tenor guitar, custom made by master luthier Tracy Cox in Colton, NY.

The Other Side of Sorrow: also conceived in Laura Cortese's class at Miles of Music Camp. Fellow camper Todd Willison came up with the melody on the verses. Some questions are asked: would you fall in love if you knew it would end in sorrow? Would you choose heaven if the path led you through hell? Well! And a line from Henry David Thoreau makes an appearance.