Art & Music
In The Woods
Upcoming events.
Come join us under a canopy of trees. At all our events a basket is passed and we ask for a $10.00 or pay-what-you-can donation. Please bring cash. Please check our Facebook Page if the weather looks iffy.
Opening May 13th - October 9th 2023!
Scroll down for calendar.
ELSA!
ELSA stands for Ecological Land Stewardship Academy ecolandacademy.org
Our opening day will be a great opportunity to meet the director of ELSA Daniel Sheridan, go foraging and more. Stay tuned for more info on the way…
Wild Swan Band
The Wild Swan Band performs a graceful mix of Celtic songs, jigs, reels, and waltzes along with original songs and covers in the Celtic/Folk rock tradition.
:) Jon Garelick- mandolin and bazouki, vocals
Sarah Underhill-vocals
TG Vanini- fiddle, vocals
Ian Worpole- guitar, vocals
Nick Collins
Nick Collins is a local accordionist who has been delighting audiences in and around the Hudson Valley for over 10 years. Playing a wide variety of traditional and popular music in many styles, Nick is thrilled to return to the Rail Trail Café!
Rachel Loshak
Come celebrate Mother’s Day with one of the sweetest voices in the Hudson Valley. More info coming!
Kate Prascher
Kate Prascher is a singer and multi-instrumentalist best known for her evocative songwriting. She was thrilled to be named a 2021 IBMA Songwriting Showcase finalist. Inspired by her Tennessee roots and influenced by master song crafters like Hazel Dickens and Gillian Welch, Kate is a versatile and engaging performer. Her songs are outspoken and sometimes tender, by turns playful and heart-piercing. Ink 19 described Kate’s "delicate and expressive singing" and “intangible vintage feel".
Madelaine Grace
Sonic Elixirs is a heart beat. A pulsation dedicated to expressing the unexpressed and hidden parts of our inner nature. A frequency, permeating and inspiring authenticity. Our intention is to imbue love into one another, the land, our earthen bodies and the wispy tendrils of our spirit as we bridge the worlds of material and etheric; of performance arts, visual arts and healing arts. Our goal is to add to the vitality to the world through space holding, authentic creative expression, and compassion.
To find more on this project:
or on Instagram: @Sonic_Elixirs
Opening the Heart to Summer Kirtan Festival –
FIVE HOURS OF CHANTING!!!
Rail Trail Cafe – Memorial Day Weekend –
Saturday, May 25 (Rain date: Sunday May 26) 12-5
WEATHER WILL DECIDE THE DAY - CHECK RAIL TRAIL CAFE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS.
Come to the Cathedral Under the Trees!
Come Chant, Dance, Pray!
Come celebrate the beginning of another magical summer of Chanting!
Join the Spirit Brothers, Ned & Lynn, Radharani, Mirabai, Seth Lieberman, and other Hudson Valley chant leaders!
Also Featuring Wonderful musicians:
Steve Gorn, Robert Bard, Avinash and many more!
WE CAN'T WAIT!
Community Climate Roundtable Discussion with Jenny Bates
Come join us with special Jenny Bates for a community discussion. Let’s shape our futures with discussions that matter, tap into our collective intelligence!
Eastern Spaghetti
Bio: Spaghetti Eastern Music
Can acid jazz and blues-fired guitar instrumentals co-exist with ambient soundscapes a la Fripp & Eno and intimate DADGAD-tuned vocal ballads straight out of the Nick Drake/John Martyn playbook? They can and do in Spaghetti Eastern Music, the critically-acclaimed solo project of Saugerties & NYC-based guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Sal Cataldi.
Cataldi’s much-varied sound is the product of an insatiable musical soul and a record collection rivaling the Smithsonian’s. His debut album, “Sketches of Spam,” the 16-track, 69-minute, genre-surfing release from (Bad Egg Records, 30003), was an hour-plus journey through contrasting moods, with instrumentals inspired by 70’s Miles, Krautrock, Ennio Morricone, Bhangra, Fripp & Eno and ECM’s icy guitar great Terje Rypdal giving way to bare-bones acoustic vocal tunes – ones oft anchored on unusual tunings, with narratives that chart the course of difficult loves, in styles that range from Brit Folk to Bossa Nova. In 2020, Cataldi followed this with a trio of acclaimed atmospheric singles that have been heard around the globe, “Her Lemon Peel Raincoat – Because It’s Raining,” “Peace Within” and “And This is Their New Hoax,” a COVID-19 musical editorial featuring samples of President Trump’s most noted denials to Cataldi’s soundpainting guitars and synths. His February 2021 release, “Blues for A Lost Cosmonaut,” is a well-reviewed nine-minute plus maxi single again in the ambient mode while October 2021’s, “Solo Guitar Score for 2x2x4,” is a bold solo electric guitar score to a dance piece recorded live at the Avant-Garde Arama Festival in Woodstock, inspired by his work with the guitar orchestra of Rhys Chatham and his love of Fripp and “White Light, White Heat”-era Velvet Underground. In June2022, Cataldi released a new single in the acoustic singer-songwriter mode, “I Believe In Love,” one which received great press featuring “NY Slice” song of the day on WFMU. In January 2023, he followed with a duo of instrumental singles, “A Scanner Darkly” and “A Fresh Kill,” which also received significant airplay and press. In October 2023, he released the acoustic ballad, “Sweet Home Anywhere” and a funky instrumental “Jungle Blue.” In December 2023, he released “health,” a solo guitar score for a film by director/American Ballet Theater dance, Hanna Bass.
Spaghetti Eastern Music has received consistent critical raves, for live performances and the selective release of early mixes of works now fully realized on this debut disc. The New York Times says “the funk-tinged original instrumentals and acoustic vocal tunes have a beat unmistakably his own” while Time Out New York writes: "Cataldi's largely instrumental, Eastern-influenced jams are infused with some delicate guitar work and hauntingly moody atmosphere." Newsday adds: “Mad scientist-guitarist-keyboardist Cataldi brings da funk and throws it in a mixer with electronica, bebop and blues.” Called “truly excellent” by The Village Voice, “a wild ride, a fun name for some very good music” by Radio Woodstock, “beautiful and unique” by WFUV’s Mixed Bag, “triumphantly funkified” by UPI, “a stimulating soloist” by The New York Press and “a jazz virtuoso without the need to prove it” by Aquarian Weekly. Almanac Weekly’s John Burdick proclaims: “a unique voice, a surprising blend of exploratory fusion, electronica and indie song craft, from the Ennio Morricone overtones anticipated by his handle to currents of Krautrock, techno, modal folk and various world music styles” while Chronogram Magazine labels Spaghetti Eastern “cool, inspired, sophisticated, melodic and transcendent, a wave of sonic warmth and light.” East Coast Rocker/Rolling Stone writer John Swenson, the man who penned the liner notes to Frank Zappa’s “Shut Up n Play Yer Guitar,” may have put it best, “he’s the hippie guitarist playing to another dimension.” Hudson Valley One recently called Cataldi’s music: “Part Sergio Leone fever dream, part Ravi Shankar raga, a whirling dervish of musical creation,” while Psychedelic Baby Magazine labeled it “the perfect sonic tonic for these troubled times.”
The authority on all things Beatles, The Beatles Examiner recently praised the album’s “sharp soaring guitar jams” and called the distinctive cover of “Ticket to Ride,” “incredible, a wonderfully moody re-imagining” of the Lennon classic. Huffington Post dubs it “the perfect soundtrack for New York City life,” while WFMU’s Irene Trudel calls it “charmingly melodic and off-center,” while popular Zappa fan sites Idiot Bastard and United Mutations gave raves to his reinvention of “Sleep Dirt,” a Zappa acoustic instrumental rarity, which appears on the CD as “Nap Dust.” Cataldi’s music has enjoyed airplay on radio including WFUV’s “Mixed Bag,” SiriusXM, WKCR-FM, Radio Woodstock, WFMU, Oakland’s KALX, NYC-area college station including WCWP, WDFU, WVRK and WHPC and many more. The CD’s title is a lighthearted tribute to Miles Davis’ atmospheric classic, “Sketches of Spain,” one ripe for this digital overload and lunchmeat age!
Sal’s other current project, Hari Karaoke Trio of Doom, is a duo co-lead with Kansas City-based drummer D. Hitchcock, which includes guest appearances by legends like Eno/Brand X bassist Percy Jones. HKToD has released two critically acclaimed discs, “Escape Velocity” (1999) and “Geolago” (2002). Collector, Cataldi’s former “heavy metal bebop quartet,” released another genre-leaping critic’s fave, the all-instrumental “Almost Live” in (1999). Both of these bands have performed frequently in New York and beyond, at progressive clubs like the Knitting Factory. Cataldi recently teamed up with Alaskan playwright and poet Mark Muro as the Vapor Vespers for two critically-acclaimed new album of sonics and storytelling called “One Act Sonix” and “Ghosts Before Breakfast.” He is also half of the edge-pushing improvisatory/ambient electric guitar duo, Guitars A Go Go, with Hudson, NY-based guitarist Rick Warren, which released their debut disc, “Travel Advisory” in May 2020. He is also a member of the Hudson Valley space/surf rock quartet, spaceheater.
Cataldi is also remembered for the role he played in one of the most popular, kamikaze bands of the early-to-mid-90s downtown scene, the “clown pop princes of Brooklyn,” Frank’s Museum. This band was a popular attraction at New York-area clubs including CBGB, The Ritz, Tramps, Coney Island High, Lone Star Roadhouse and Maxwell’s in Hoboken. Cataldi’s guitar work and songwriting with the Museum can be found on four Brooklyn Beat compilations and two full-length CDs, “Den of Antiquity” (1992) and “Make Coffee, Not War” (1993). Cataldi was also featured on the 2010 release of Rhys Chatham’s 200 guitar orchestra, “A Crimson Grail” (Nonesuch) Live at Lincoln Center. Cataldi is also a journalist whose writing has been featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, NYStateMusic.com, No Depression, Adweek, Inside+Out Upstate NY, Huff Post and others. He is also host of Reading Is Funktamental, a monthly show about books about music on WGXC 90.7 FM.
Contacts: Cell: 516.236.3817 Email: spaghettieasternmusic@gmail.com
Web: https://open.spotify.com/artist/73gcZJVIpQIMaQSOtKzA8C?si=yu_qtKbQTuCkkfOlTd8Apg
Spaghettieasternmusic.bandcamp.com
Live Performance Videos: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLau0iuwO-klW64b-8Zv_R7BqEDnsnBTqw Updated 3/24
Indigenous Peoples Day: Honor the Earth
Neetopk Keetopk ( Algonquin for My friends Your Friends ) a grass roots collective will be co-hosting our event.
Please join us for an afternoon of music, song and story. Joining us will be the Rondout Valley Human Rights Club led by Diana Zuckerman.
Diana Zuckerman
(845)389-3779
dianazuck@yahoo.com
Spanish Teacher and Human Rights Club Advisor, Rondout Valley HS
Coordinator, Amnesty International Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter
Commissioner, Ulster County Human Rights Commission
Accordian in the Trees
Peter Wetzler is returning to the Rail Trail Cafe to play music to the trees and insects and wind and all the magical sounds and people that inhabit the wonderful escape from the world that is The Rail Trail Cafe. Using solo accordion with subtle (and not so subtle) electronic enhancement Peter will continue his explorations of harmony and melody and capturing the moment in improvisation."
Liana Gabel
As anybody who has seen one of her intimate – but exciting – concerts can tell you, Gabel doesn't need a drummer to drive her songs. Her tap dancing keeps the beat as well as any percussionist could.
Shokoloko
Joakim Lartey (percussion, voice, electronics) and Richard Carr (electric violin) invite you to an afternoon of open improvisation in sound, melody, rhythm and movement.
There may be a surprise guest or two…
Cancelled!Jeanne Nametz with Rob Stein
We invite you to step into the landscape of the soul for an afternoon of beautiful, ancient Irish music…
Jeanne Nametz is a singer and songwriter who performs sean nos (ancient Gaelic songs) and writes music to Irish poetry and prayers. Her music is inspired by walking Ireland’s sacred sites for over two decades. Jeanne’s vocal presence invokes “…a thread of humanity's culture that transcends time and place with her song and the beauty she embodies in making magic.” G.W.
Rob Stein is a guitarist extraordinaire who brings an artistic passion to Irish traditional music. He recently returned from a 10 year residency in Ireland where he performed, recorded and produced music. He brings a love of the Irish landscape into everything he plays.
Djam Gong
Classical and innovative Gamelan With Bill Ylitalo and friends… more info on the way.
Liana Gabel
As anybody who has seen one of her intimate – but exciting – concerts can tell you, Gabel doesn't need a drummer to drive her songs. Her tap dancing keeps the beat as well as any percussionist could.
Ukeladies
The Ukuladies are a perpetually-touring, twin-sister, aunt, and one tap-dancing-cousin act from Regina, Canada with a lust for life and its idle curiosities. Fraternal twins Genevieve and Jimmy Lu, with Aunt Mary Louise, and Cousin Bunnie grew up together in a close and large family...that was big...ahem.
The ladies played music together under the tutelage of various uncles and an occasional grandmother who nurtured the girls' love of small instruments that make plinky sounds. Seeing and more importantly hearing their talents, a relative at a family picnic said "hey....you gals oughta get outa here and play somewhere else!!"
So, they took that advice and headed for bigger prospects....in Winnipeg! From there on, they became the infamous Ukuladies who are proud to have hit nearly every Holiday Inn on the Eastern seaboard.
Come and join the "ladies" as they play ukuleles of all shapes and sizes, toy piano, glockenspiel, fiddle, saw and much more whilst giving out party favors, leading sing-alongs and playing hits from the 30s and 40s, plus a host of originals that will tug at your heartstrings and tickle your fancy.
Light and Dark with Hudson River Playback Theatre!
Darkness balances light at this time of year. Where is the dark and light in your life, in your memories and dreams, in the world we share? Our improvisational performers enact your stories on the spot, complete with music.
All are welcome. Limited outdoor seating — feel free to bring your own folding chair. Reservations not required. Donations gratefully accepted to support the performers.
This outdoor show will be canceled in case of rain. If in doubt please check on Facebook (Hudson River Playback Theatre or Rail Trail Café.)
Hudson River Playback Theatre, a New Paltz-based nonprofit ensemble founded in 1990, has performed by invitation in New York City, Boston, Washington DC, Montreal, London, and Frankfurt. In December we'll travel to South Africa to perform and teach. Locally, we have performed in theatres, schools, conferences, migrant labor camps, and much more.
Women's Drumsong Orchestra of the Hudson Valley
Drumsong Orchestra is a women’s drum and percussion ensemble founded and directed by Ubaka Hill.
The Drumsong orchestra of the Hudson Valley performs world rhythms and songs rooted in women’s folkloric and contemporary music genres. Drumsong orchestra is a whole vibe for everyone to enjoy.
Gisela Stromeyer: Poem Journeys
This journey is through the landscape of our inner world, our feelings, concerns, our love and wisdom
We use my book Just Like That, Poems, Paintings and Practices as a guide,
We pick particular subjects for each event and the story unfolds between the spoken word, the music, the sound of the forest, gestures and movements, sometimes dance, meditation and play in a spontaneous mix.
We are a few presenters, each bringing their unique gifts to the creative encounter with the questions of life with the intention of honoring, healing and love for all.
Diving into the magic of the forest, calling the spirits to participate and sometimes they do, with a gush of wind in a moving moment or a branch falling… we are honoring all life seen and unseen.
An embrace with everything
Shokoloko
Shokoloko is an electro-acoustic improvising trio that taps into the diverse sounds and influences of America, Africa, Europe, Asia and beyond.
The band is: Joakim Lartey on drums, percussion and voice; Chris Lane on guitar and electric guitar, oud-guitar and banjo; Richard Carr on violin and electric violin.
Shokoloko is about dance, trance and community fun!
Community Climate Crisis Roundtable Discussion
Please join us for a community sharing and discussion.
Jonah Grossman
I am a 13 year old singer songwriter from New Paltz, NY. My music spans the genres of Pop, Classical, Hip Hop, and Rock ’n’ Roll.
I study classical violin with Marka Young, write poetry, dance with the Vanaver Caravan, and I am self-taught on Piano and Guitar. If any instrument is in my sight I will figure out a way to play it.
In conclusion, I love music!
Madeleine Grace
Sonic Elixirs is a heart beat. A pulsation dedicated to expressing the unexpressed and hidden parts of our inner nature. A frequency, permeating and inspiring authenticity. Our intention is to imbue love into one another, the land, our earthen bodies and the wispy tendrils of our spirit as we bridge the worlds of material and etheric; of performance arts, visual arts and healing arts. Our goal is to add to the vitality to the world through space holding, authentic creative expression, and compassion.
To find more on this project:
or on Instagram: @Sonic_Elixirs
Levanta
Thomas Workman, Ev Mann, Timothy Hill and Gabriel Dresdale.
Levanta brings together a quartet of extraordinary musicians and unique instrumentation, featuring original compositions and improvisations with influences from Brazil to the Silk Road to the Australian outback. See Less
Doug O’Brien and Friends
Doug O'Brien is a piano player of some versatility who also sings and tells stories. He played Carnegie Hall in April of 1980 and by 1981 played in a punk rock band at CBGBs. His contemplative piano music has also been featured on Guided Imagery recordings. At the Rail Trail you are likely to hear more blues, folk and jazz with a sprinkling of Bach. He also sings songs by John Prine, Randy Newman and others.
He will be joined in September by some guest musicians who will sit in on some tunes.
Steven Pague
As a singer, songwriter, Steven Michael Pague has travelled the world bringing his uplifting, positive music and songs to venues both large and small. He creates an intimate atmosphere inspiring and inviting dancing, listening, participating in the song, sharing the vision, the dreams of longing, hope, love, light and joy. His style ranges from ballad to reggae, folk to rock and more
Cafe Closed September 7-10th
We’re going to take this weekend to catch our breath, restock and recharge for the last three weeks of the season ending 10/9 Indigenous People’s Day!
Bella Kay
Singer-songwriter and fiddler, Bella Kay, delights with a mix of heartwarming, thought-provoking originals and new takes on tunes by the likes of Courtney Marie Andrews, Hazel Dickens, and Our Native Daughters. More at @bellasinginganddancing on Instagram!
Funraiser for Happy Cat Rescue with Barely Lace
This is a fundraiser and adoption opportunity for Carrie Chapman’s cat rescue. There will be cats ready for adoption. Please bring friends and come see…
Ann Belmont & Family!
Special extended family performance! Ann Belmont guitar/vocals, Todd Anderson flute/sax, Kim Anderson guitar/vocals, and Bram Kincheloe on percussion. Brazilian standards, special arrangements, and Kim’s own songs. Lots of music!
ann.belmont@gmail.com
Guitar/vocals/composer/arrangements
Julia Haines on Harp
Summer Song/Summer Sounds
Julia Haines, Llanera(lever) Harp
Improvisations and songs, sounding in concert with the symphony of the glorious canopy of trees at the Rosendale Rail Trail with a possible surprise!
Julia Haines, contemporary bardic harper, an independent composer, a multi- instrumentalist, teacher, and music therapist loves to play live music outdoors. “The harp is an instrument of great beauty, and I love to play with beauty.”
For more on Julia Haines check out: juliahaines.com
3rd Annual Rail Trail Kirtan Festival: A Full Day of Ecstatic Chanting!
ALL DAY CHANTING UNDER THE TREES! 11AM to 7PM
Once again we gather for a full day of blissful chanting – time to enter sacred space – time to chant, dance, sing and pray together. Time to renew our connection with our spiritual selves and our sacred community of chanters! Time to drink in the blessings of the sweet Café under the Cathedral of Trees!
Many beloved Hudson Valley chant leaders will be there to offer spiritual uplift and inspiration: The Spirit Brothers, Rhadarani, Arundhati, Seth Lieberman, Ned & Lynn and others. Also we will be blessed by musicians Steve Gorn, Avinash, and many more!
Come for all day or any part of it – sink deep into the music and the mantras! Come for the Pizza, salad, burritos and rosewater lemonade – bring chairs, pillows, whatever you need to settle in for a long beautiful time together!
The kirtan festival is a benefit for the Rail Trail Café – We are so grateful to Tara and Brian and for creating and sustaining this unique community gathering place where everyone can enjoy amazing musicians, actors, poets and artists.
WE CAN’T WAIT!!!
Charlie Pattonathon
Charley Patton, also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American music and inspired most Delta blues musicians.
L evanta
Levanta brings together a quartet of extraordinary musicians and unique instrumentation, featuring original and classic tunes performed with ancient instruments… Ev Mann, Thomas Workman, Gabriel Dresdale, Timothy Hill