Finger Lakes GrassRoots Culture Camp Schedule Announced! Music, Workshops & More

GrassRoots Culture Camp at Trumansburg Fairgrounds on July 16-19

Four Days of Music and Dance Workshops
Leading Up to The 27th Annual Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg, NY

See the full lineup and schedule →  www.grassrootsfest.org/culture-camp-1-1/

TRUMANSBURG, NY —  Over the past few decades, the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance has grown to be more than just a single event in Trumansburg, NY and this year the latest addition to the roster returns for its sophomore year: the GrassRoots Culture Camp 2017 runs from Sunday through Wednesday, July 16-19, the four days leading up to the 27th annual GrassRoots Festival which takes place July 20-23. Both the camp and the festival are held at the Trumansburg Fairgrounds.

Culture Camp is an incredible opportunity to attend four days of music and dance workshops led by many of the favorite GrassRoots performers including instructors from Donna The Buffalo, Driftwood, The Horseflies, Preston Frank and His Zydeco Family Band, Keith Secola, Balfa Toujours, Los Texmaniacs, Big Mean Sound Machine, Jennie Lowe Stearns, The Blind Spots, Richie and Rosie, Bobby Henrie and The Goners, and many more!

Culture Camp Coordinator and co-founding member of Donna the Buffalo, Tara Nevins, says, “GrassRoots Culture Camp offers first hand learning experience with masters of traditional and contemporary art forms, including music, dance, visual arts, and culinary arts in a fun and positive setting, promoting community and the importance of tradition and culture in our society.”

The workshops, along with themed nightly dinners and dances, provide an opportunity to immerse oneself in an intimate learning experience and to enjoy a few extra days of fun before the festival begins. Workshops include fiddle, banjo, guitar, the art of guitar and cello, bass, mandolin, accordion, improvisation, singing, children’s sing song, country songs old and new, cajun songs, songwriting, father and son duo, Native Americana, the spirit of the native american drum, Moog synthesizers, Afrobeat drumset rhythms & concepts, bodhran, scrubboard, triangle, dance, acrylic painting, yoga, youth percussion, and youth square dance. Advanced musicians as well as beginners are welcome!

PREVIOUS CULTURE CAMP ATTENDEES SAY:

“What an amazing experience Culture Camp turned out to be! Rarely is there an opportunity to immerse yourself in music while learning how to make it. The nightly shows in the dance tent were fabulous! The dinner cuisine was superb! My favorite workshops were Songwriting and Duet Singing. I left Culture Camp feeling inspired and energized!” –Phyllis Atwell

“In all honesty, last year’s Culture Camp was a major life experience for me. I was able to work and jam with with professionals, such as Jeb Puryear. At my level of playing as an adult learner, I never thought that I would have had that opportunity. I received individualized instruction from the very talented Joey Arcuri of Driftwood. I don’t think I’ve put down my upright bass since. I look forward to Culture Camp to rejuvenate the inspiration and motivation for another whole year. Culture Camp is such a beautiful way to ease into the excitement of the music festival….the feeding of my soul through music, education, arts, culture, and friends that have become family.” –Ni Lu

“My Culture Camp participation was a combination of learning, experiencing, and interacting with people up close and feeling the joy of what they do and bring to GrassRoots. It’s truly rewarding!” –Jeffrey Schriber

Watch Tara Nevins (of Donna The Buffalo) talk about GrassRoots Culture Camp

WORKSHOPS WITH INSTRUCTORS FROM:
Donna The Buffalo
Driftwood
The Horseflies
Preston Frank and His Zydeco Family Band
Keith Secola
Balfa Toujours
Los Texmaniacs
Big Mean Sound Machine
Jennie Lowe Stearns
The Blind Spots
Richie and Rosie
Bobby Henrie and The Goners
Jones Benally
Laila Belle
The Grady Girls
plus many more…..

NIGHTLY DANCES (Open to the public)

Sunday July 16th – Bobby Henrie and The Goners (rarified rockabilly, swing and everything in between)

Monday July 17th – Balfa Toujours – (“Balfa Always”, carrying on the legacy and tradition of the Balfa Brothers. Cajun music at it’s best.)

Tuesday July 18th – Los Texmaniacs – (Grammy-winning Conjunto band, incorporating elements from rock & roll and jazz while still honoring the roots of Conjunto Tejano)

Wednesday July 19th – Preston Frank and His Zydeco Family Band – (From Soileau, Louisiana, the finest in Creole/Zydeco music)

TICKETS AND DETAILS

ALL INCLUSIVE 4-DAY ADMISSION – $125 – This ticket includes four days of workshops plus nightly dinners & dances. Youth (15 and under) $65

SINGLE DAY FULL ADMISSION – $40 – This ticket includes one day of workshops plus nightly dinners & dances.
DINNER & DANCE ONLY – ONE NIGHT – $30 – 6:30 PM each night

DANCE ONLY – ONE NIGHT – $15  – 8:30 PM each night

CAMPING OPTIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FOR AN ADDITION FEE

LOCATION: Trumansburg Fairgrounds, Rt 96, Trumansburg, NY 14886. Info: (607) 387-5090

 

Listen to an interview with GrassRoots Culture Camp Coordinator Tara Nevins on WHCU radio  → http://whcuradio.com/morning-newswatch/grassroots-culture-camp/

You can find the event on Facebook: www.facebook.com/events/1766466600330369/

FOR COMPLETE GRASSROOTS CULTURE CAMP INFORMATION, THE SCHEDULE, TICKETS PRICES, AND FURTHER DETAILS, GO TO: www.grassrootsfest.org/culture-camp-1-1/

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Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival Lineup 2013 announced!!

Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival Lineup 2013 announced!!

July 18-21, 2013 Trumansburg Fairgrounds, Trumansburg, NY

Donna the Buffalo, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Festival au Désert – Caravan for Peace (Feat. Mamadou Kelly, Tartit, Imharhan), Rusted Root, Rubblebucket, John Brown’s Body, Spam Allstar, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, Chatham County Line, The Sim Redmond , Driftwood, Suénalo, The Duhks, Jim Lauderdale, Preston Frank & his Zydeco Family Band, The Horse Flies, Keith Secola & the Wild Band of Indians, The Believers, Kevin Kinsella, Jennie Lowe Stearns, The Mad Tea, Nery Arevalo, The Double E, Bubba George Stringband and lots more

For the full lineup, please visit: http://www.grassrootsfest.org/festival/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&page_id=27

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Living the Festival Dream: One GrassRoots Festival Per Season…

Living the Festival Dream: One GrassRoots Festival Per Season
To every season, there is a GrassRoots Festival…

2013 GrassRoots Festival Dates:
Feb 21-24 –Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance – Miami, FL
April 18-21 – Shakori Hills Spring GrassRoots Fest– Pittsboro, NC
July 18-21 – Finger Lakes GrassRoots Fest – Trumansburg, NY
October 10-13 – Shakori Hills Fall GrassRoots Fest – Pittsboro, NC

It begins…

About 22 years ago, Ithaca-based band Donna the Buffalo and some of their friends saw a void in their community.  AIDS was a new and deadly disease and people were uneducated about it and how to prevent it.  As artists do, they decided to use their art to spread the word and make a difference – they created a festival. In the summer of 1991, The Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival was held on the fairgrounds on the edge of the small town of Trumansburg, NY.  Folks danced, listened to great music, created and witnessed art, met up with old friends, found new ones, and shared ideas.  The festival was a hit, and the profits went to AIDSwork of Tompkins County to help spread the word about the terrible, yet preventable, disease.

Since then, the not-for-profit festival in NY has grown continuously and has given funding to socially and environmentally responsible organizations including: Doctors Without Borders,  Musicians For World Harmony, Ithaca Free Clinic, Ithaca Ballet, Hospicare of Tompkins County, Boy Scouts Of America, LACS Katrina Relief Group and more.  Not just another music festival, GrassRoots became synonymous with not only being the region’s premiere music event but a community that cares about each other and the world around them and are passionate about music and culture in a very human way.

The acts on the bill have not always been pop-darlings or the coolest “hit” of the year, they are artists with a conscience, who have something to give the audience that lasts longer than the moment in which songs are heard.  Featured genres include: World, Roots Rock, Americana, Bluegrass, Latin, Old-time, Zydeco, Cajun, Blues, Folk, Country, Hip Hop and Jazz.  World music heroes like Africa’s Hugh Massekela, Oliver Mtukudzi, Seun Kuti (accompanied by his father Fela’s band Egypt 80), and Tinariwen; Reggae pioneers like Burning Spear and Toots & The Maytals; Hip Hop social activists Arrested Development; Folk and Country greats Merle Haggard, Lucinda Williams, and Old Crow Medicine Show; Latin artists Maraca Y Otra Vision and Sierra Maestra, Native Americans Keith Secola and Deer Clan Singers; and others The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Ani DiFranco and Rickie Lee Jones all have graced the GrassRoots Festival stages. Artists that make a difference, that educate and feed the soul.

The journey continues…

In 2003 a group of organizers from the New York festival, including GrassRoots Festival Organization founder Jordan Puryear, decided that they had such a great thing going, they should share it with as many people as possible.  With a vision for a GrassRoots for every season the organization moved south to central North Carolina.  The region is well known for its music, from its history of Old-time, Bluegrass, and Folk music to a thriving indie college scene; here was a perfect atmosphere in which to create another GrassRoots Festival.  They discovered a 75-acre old farmstead outside of Chapel Hill and on Earth Day weekend of April 2003, the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance was born.  Four days of music, dance and art in a green, idyllic setting.

The Spring and Fall Shakori Hills GrassRoots festivals, from their inception, reached out and included local non-profit and advocacy groups and helped present their missions to audiences.  Shakori Hills also presents a safe and friendly place that is very welcoming to families.  Sara Waters, festival co-coordinator shares, “The kids’ area is outstanding, with activities from crafts to learning how to play instruments, kid-focused bands, and storytelling, to making masks and painting umbrellas for peace, there’s even a festival-wide game of capture the flag and a parade consisting of giant, ornate puppets and any number of percussion instruments.”

There are four stages, including two in large outdoor fields, a more intimate cabaret tent and a large, 10,000 square foot dance tent.  Some of the artists who have performed at Shakori Hills include: Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Avett Brothers, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Oliver Mtukudzi, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Sam Bush, Rusted Root, Nickel Creek, Richie Havens, Ralph Stanley, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Nnenna Freelon.

As with the New York festival, there is a Healing Arts area with Yoga, Tai-chi, massage and  movement workshops.  At Shakori Hills there is also a “Sustainability Fair” where area pioneers in Earth friendly technologies and practices come to share and present their ideas. “Attendees can camp out and stay for all four days or just come in for an afternoon.  Everyone finds something here that they are interested in. They may come for a favorite band and find they have a new love of  Zydeco dancing or an interest in gardening or biodiesel,” Waters recounts.

A new adventure…

With their newest motto (taken from a fortune cookie) at heart– “If at first you succeed, try something harder.” –the organizers packed up and moved south yet again.  Historic Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami, Florida is now the home to the third, and winter season, Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance.  When asked about what was behind the creation of the southern-most GrassRoots Festival, Puryear says, “Well, it is a dream come true!  Creating four seasons of GrassRoots Festivals was an idea inspired by the turn of the century mark in 2000 and us wanting to do something really great.”

Like it’s big sisters, the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival has adapted to the local culture, celebrating it and learning from it.  The festival organization has spent time not only planning a festival, but becoming familiar with the local community, finding out what the festival can bring to the table that might be missing or underestimated locally.  The GrassRoots festivals not only add to their surroundings, but they strive to make it so the event becomes a place for the local community to celebrate itself, unite in understanding as well as in fun.

The first Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival featured among others: Chaka Khan, Del McCoury, Arrested Development, Suenalo, Locos Por Juana, Keith Frank & His Soileau Zydeco Band, Jahfe and Donna The Buffalo.

Why this dream and what it means…

The GrassRoots festivals uphold their belief in education as much as fun, in sharing as much as taking a break from the everyday world.  Waters comments on the overall dream: “The idea is to have a wonderful experience and then take that out into the world, continue what you have learned and help others to learn it as well.”   Puryear speaks about what happens in the Dance Tent of all four festivals–how there, “the artists and the audience are on the same level, sharing in something very simple yet quite profound, the movement of the body and the communication music portrays without words.  The people, both artist and audience, sharing the music, breathing the same air, dancing on the same floor, kicking up some dust, become one.”

Written by Sara Waters.

2013 GrassRoots Festival Dates:
Feb 21-24 –Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music & D ance – Miami, FL
April 18-21 – Shakori Hills Spring GrassRoots Fest– Pittsboro, NC
July 18-21 – Finger Lakes GrassRoots Fest – Trumansburg, NY
October 10-13 – Shakori Hills Fall GrassRoots Fest – Pittsboro, NC

GrassRoots festival websites:
http://www.grassrootsfest.org
http://www.shakorihillsgrassroots.org
http://www.virginiakeygrassroots.org

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Herd of it? The GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg

Great review of the GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance in Trumansburg, NY posted on Jambands.com.  I have posted a few excerpts from the article below. Please do follow the link to read the full article.

The Best Festival You’ve Never Heard Of

Published: 2010/08/25
by Cris Mullen

Jambands.com

Shhh… Don’t tell anybody

…

Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance, as it’s officially known, was established by roots rock band Donna the Buffalo as a fundraiser for AIDS research. The festival has grown over the years, now bringing in an average of 20,000 people per yearly four-day span. USA Today called Grassroots “one of the ten best outdoor festivals in the country.” But, if you don’t live in upstate New York, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of it.

Our group of originally 7-10 buddies has grown with the festival: now thirty enthusiastic die-hards with a formidable camp setup …

We’ve been camping at the same spot for a few years now and we’ve all grown quite fond of our temporary home …

…

By mid afternoon the music starts cranking up. Donna the Buffalo is the main act at Grassroots, they play three sets throughout the weekend beginning on Thursday at seven. The band has gone through some line-up changes over the years, but they continue to crank out a high energy set time and time again. We caught a little bit of that and then it was off to pay homage to a true legend of outlaw country music, Merle Haggard. He’s showing his age up there but he’s still belting out his classics.

Arrested Development was next, but most of us skipped out on that to play some music of our own. There’s some real good pickers in our entourage, who have really gotten much better as the years go by, my brother Andy being one of them. A consummate player already, he learned how to play a ferocious fiddle in about a year. It’s gotten to the point where people stop by and watch us play on their way to see the paid performers. There are probably about six or seven musicians in our herd that can and do play professionally and another ten that are good enough to strum along (I’ll put myself in the latter category, and I barely make that).

…

Some folks checked out some late morning square dancing with the Dead Sea Squirrels. Let me tell you something, if you haven’t square danced in a while, you should. It can be a great time with the right lady by your side. (A side note here, my brother Andy may be one of five people in America still writing square dance songs … he called a square dance of his own later that night.)

Next up, the Flying Clouds. They’re a regular act at Grassroots, their high energy gospel infused funk gets the crowd going every time. Great performers, great time.

Along the same lines are the Campbell Brothers. These gents have been playing an intoxicating brand of funky soul music featuring pedal steel guitars before anyone even heard of Robert Randolph. If there’s one can’t miss band at Grassroots, this is it.

Saturday morning featured the musical stylings of John Specker and his two lovely daughters in a group known as The Speckers. It was nice sit down show with the band treating us to a thick set of old-timey fiddling.

Saturday evening is reserved for our annual Turkey in a Trashcan. My father showed it to me and my brothers years ago, we’re not sure where he got it from, but we do carry on the tradition in his memory. The recipe is simple really. Drive a stake into the ground->put a turkey on it->put a trash can over it-> line the outside of the turkey with charcoal->light a match->serve in two hours. Comes out perfect every time.

Saturday night is all about the late night dance tent. No Grassroots festival would be complete without shaking your butt to the zydeco dance party with The Franks, members of Donna the Buffalo and whoever else wants to show up and rock out. The rhythm is infectious and you really can’t help but dance and until you’re too tired to do it anymore. The band plays until five or six in the morning, the brave souls who trade sleep for party time rub their eyes as the sun starts to beat down on the festival grounds.

This festival is about so much more than music. As our group has gotten older, we’ve all got a little more mature. Some of us are married, some of us have kids, some of us bring those kids for a day or two. Grassroots is like a family and class reunion all it once. Speaking of which, my 20 year is coming up in 2012 and I may actually go when the time comes, as long as it’s not the third weekend in July.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.jambands.com/the-loop/2010/08/25/the-best-festival-you-ve-never-heard-of/

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The 20th GrassRoots Festival Kicks Off Today in Trumansburg, NY

GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance ~ A Music Lover’s Paradise

www.grassrootsfest.org

Click here for this year’s schedule

The 20th annual GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance starts today in Trumansburg, NY!!! There has been a ton of talk  about this years fest; here are a few excerpts and links to the full articles. Enjoy!

Paradise Sound

by Luke Z. Fenchel on July 21, 2010 The Ithaca Post

Four days. Four stages. Almost 80 bands and artists. All are good reasons that the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance lives up to its motto, “a music lover’s paradise.”

… old-time, world beat, sacred string, country, bluegrass, Cajun, Zydeco and even rock ‘n’ roll, in an extravaganza that brings together musicians from around the world and up the street

…The seeds for GrassRoots were sewn more than 20 years ago, when the band Donna the Buffalo invited two other Tompkins County acts to get together and perform a benefit concert to support the fight against AIDS. Gathering at The State Theatre, The Horse Flies and Johnny Dowd’s Neon Baptist performed a show that had both a social and a musical component.

…“It was fueled by the AIDS crisis at first,” Jeb Puryear noted. “But soon, it became a focal point for positive energy for tons of people around.

“We were interested in creating a musical event that had a social purpose on top of it, and they become equally important,” he added. “We were creating the groundwork for a really long thing. With each year, it grows further and further into the local fabric.”

…“GrassRoots is like a little city,” Executive Director [Jordan] Puryear said. “It’s a team effort. All of the attendees, all of the crew chiefs that volunteer their time, and all of the others that lend a hand to make it what it is.”

… “There is a sense of ownership that doesn’t really play a role in most summer festivals,” Romer said. As a result, festival organizers feel “like the audience are our bosses.”

At the end of the day, the significance of a festival relies not on the caliber of its headliner but by the quality of its constituents. It is the milieu, not the marquee that makes a gathering memorable; community rather than celebrity. Try to conjure up a mental image of Woodstock: for the most part the focus would surely center on the crowd and not the stage.

…A considered mix of the global and the local, the festival elucidates connections between zydeco and reggae, hippies and Touregs. At GrassRoots, all music is dance music, and it’s dance music from every nook and cranny of American culture. Dropping by Trumansburg this week answers the question not only what the next American music will sound like, but what community can feel like.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://theithacapost.com/2010/07/21/paradise-sound/

…. ************** ………**************…………….

Music festival celebrates 20 years

By Derrick Ek, Corning Leader , Posted Jul 20, 2010 

.

Grassroots was founded in 1991 by Jeb Puryear – the songwriter, vocalist and guitarist for the host band, Donna the Buffalo – along with a large circle of his fellow musicians, friends and family that has since become its own self-sustaining non-profit organization supported by hundreds of volunteers.

…

…“Before long, though, lots of people just came along and said, ‘Hey, looks like you need some help organizing this or that,’” Puryear recalled. “All these people with good energy, really brilliant people, put all this stuff together and make it work. The volunteerism is amazing.”

In terms of attendance, Grassroots has slowly grown to approximately 10 times its original size: About 1,500 people attended the inaugural edition, and a total of 15,000 came through the gates last year, according to the festival office.

…Puryear sees no end in sight for Grassroots, which has the feel of a family reunion sometimes, he says.

“I would like to see it go on forever, pretty much,” he said. “It’s not like this amazing trick or anything. The vibe is going good, people like to get together, they like to hang out and play music, they like to hang out and listen to music, they like camping. If you go up there, you’re going to get all of that.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:  http://www.the-leader.com/features/x700416709/Music-festival-celebrates-20-years

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