Jerry Moore's Children of God

We’d like to express our appreciation to the many individuals and organizations that so graciously gave their time, enthusiasm and resources, helping to make the August 15 concert and Zero-Carbon fundraiser a resounding success. Heartfelt thanks go to the in-kind sponsors—Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, Sun Mountain Solar (Larry Brown, on-site solar tech!), Naomi Graphics and Hurley Ridge Market; and the Eco-Raffle sponsors—Cameron Design, H. Houst & Son, Oriole9 Restaurant, Overlook Mountain Bikes, Paul Alexander Construction Co., Pondicherry Yoga Arts, River Rock Health Spa, Rondout Savings Bank, Sunflower Natural Foods Market, Susun Weed, SweetHeart Gallery, Village Green Bed & Breakfast, Woodstock Music Shop and Woodstock Chimes®. A great debt of gratitude is owed to Steve Walter and to the musicians—the Blues Magoos, Hubert Sumlin and band, Ellen McIlwaine, Marc Black and band, Jerry Moore and the Children of God, and the Robbie Turner Band. Thanks go also to the Bearsville Theater—Peter Cantine, Lisa Hantes, Robert Frazza, and other members of the staff. Rick Schneider of WKZE was a knowledgeable and adroit emcee; we thank him and the whole of WKZE for their support. Chuck Ballantine and Chris Andersen, we thank you for your audio assistance.

Further, we’re grateful to Barry Samuels and Ellen Shapiro of The Golden Notebook and Jody Bryan of H. Houst & Son for lending us sidewalk space to sell the Eco Raffle tickets . . . and to the Eco Raffle ticket buyers for supporting Woodstock’s Zero-Carbon Initiative with their purchases. Thanks go also to Steve Burnham for delivering the solar trailer and to Mannajo Greene of Clearwater for her help in securing the trailer. We very much appreciate assistance received from the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts in publicizing the Roots events. We thank the Woodstock Environmental Commission and Jeff Moran for helping us establish the best use of the Eco Raffle funds. Last but certainly not least, we thank Representative Maurice Hinchey, Senator John Bonacic and Assemblymember Kevin Cahill for their letters of support.

Weston Blelock and Julia Blelock

Clearwater Solar Trailer

The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater solar trailer will be arriving at the Bearsville Theater on Friday, August 14 . . . just in time to power the soundstage and light show at Roots of Woodstock Live Concert on Saturday, August 15. Larry Brown of Sun Mountain Solar has graciously agreed to act as the on-site solar tech for the event. The Roots concert is a 40^th anniversary Woodstock festival celebration and zero-carbon fundraiser.

Roots of Woodstock Live Concert  

Sound-Out Era Celebrated on August 15

Woodstock, NY—August 6, 2009—Roots of Woodstock Live Concert, a fortieth anniversary celebration in Woodstock, represents a return to WOODSTOCK’s Sound-Out roots. The Sound-Out mini festivals of 1967 through 1969 drew musicians such as John Herald, Tim Hardin, Kenny Rankin, Richie Havens, Paul Butterfield and Van Morrison. They came together to jam in an open field on the outskirts of Woodstock. As Michael Lang acknowledged in the newly published Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, “The Sound-Outs were kind of the spark for the Woodstock Festival.”

On Saturday, August 15, at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, the Blues Magoos, Hubert Sumlin and band, Ellen McIlwaine, Marc Black, the Robbie Turner Band, and Jerry Moore, with The Children of God, will play straight sets and jam sets in the old Sound-Out tradition. Doors will open at 7 p.m.; the music will begin at 8 p.m. and go all night. For the Blues Magoos, Ellen McIlwaine and Jerry Moore, the concert will be something of a reunion, as all are Sound-Out veterans. Blues hall of famer Hubert Sumlin and band will perform in a nod to Sound-Out alumni Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry. Woodstock troubadour Marc Black was strongly influenced by the music of Sound-Out performer Tim Hardin. Robbie Turner, who attended the original Sound-Outs, will participate this time from the stage.

Part of the night’s proceeds will support Woodstock’s Zero-Carbon Initiative, passed in 2007. The Clearwater solar trailer will power the soundstage and a sixties light show. Steve Walter, formerly of The Cutting Room in New York City, has been instrumental in booking the music acts. According to Walter, “The Bearsville Theater is a wonderful performance space and has great acoustics. Given its indoor setting, this will be an intimate WOODSTOCK. Expect a great party and surprise guests.” 

As WBAI radio host Bob Fass says of the sixties Sound-Outs in his foreword to Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, “They were to be a party, a happening . . . The blues guitar and the honky-tonk piano met the electron. And with the light shows and the confluence of various liberating potions, there was a feeling that a new cultural mix was taking place  . . . The Chicago police rioters and the anti-warriors, the Rosebud Nation, Steam Punks and multimedia macrobiotic artists all came to the party in Pan Copeland’s field. She danced to the pipes of Pan and all came to the party call Sound-Out.”

For more on the concert and the Sound-Outs, see www.rootsofwoodstock.com. To purchase 8/15 concert tickets visit www.bearsvilletheater.com or call 845-679-4406.

 About Roots of Woodstock LLC

 The concert’s producers are Weston Blelock and Julia Blelock of Roots of Woodstock LLC. The Blelocks are also publishers of a related WoodstockArts book, released in July: Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to “Woodstock.”

 About Steve Walter

 Concert booker Steve Walter was a managing partner of The Cutting Room from 1999 until earlier this year. Acts associated with the club include Sting, Donovan, Melanie and many others.

About the Blues Magoos

 The Blues Magoos opened nationally for the Who in 1967 and charted at #5 on Billboard with “(We Ain’t Got) Nothin’ Yet.” Their album Psychedelic Lollipop was released in the late sixties. In 1968 they appeared at the Woodstock Sound-Outs, and these days they continue to perform in the New York area. In a recent show they played at The Fillmore in New York City with The Zombies.

 About Hubert Sumlin

 Born in 1936, Hubert Sumlin is one of the most influential blues guitarists of all time. He started his climb to fame in 1955 when he became a guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf’s band, and is best known for his work in the sixties on such songs as “Built for Fortune,” “Shake for Me,” Goin’ Down Slow,” Killing Floor,” and Wang Dang Doodle.” Rolling Stone has him on their list of 100 greatest guitarists, and Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Robbie Robertson and Jimi Hendrix have all cited his playing as a source of inspiration. In May 2009 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

 About Ellen McIlwaine

 Ellen McIlwaine plays a hot propulsive slide guitar and has a big voice to match. In the early sixties she opened for Odetta, Richie Havens and Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village. In 1968 she arrived in Woodstock, New York, with her psychedelic band, Fear Itself. Here she played at several of the Sound-Outs. In the 1970s she recorded a string of albums for Polydor that won her a cult following. In 1987 she became a resident of Canada and is an active participant on the Canadian blues and festival circuit.

 About Marc Black

 Marc Black has been in the Woodstock area since 1969. He was “Folk Artist of the Year” on ABC Radio’s Fame Games, and a Kerrville Festival “New Folk” winner. Over the years Black has collaborated with such musicians as Warren Bernhardt, Steve Gadd, Art Garfunkel, John Sebastian, Garth Hudson and Richie Havens. He is now a Woodstock poet and troubadour with his own group, the Marc Black Band. In this show he will perform as a solo act.

Contact: David Salidor

Phone: 212-245-5909

Email: DSalidorCompany@aol.com

Woodstock at Woodstock Live Concert

Concert Team Books Initial Acts

Woodstock, NY—June 16, 2009—Weston and Julia Blelock, producers of the August 15, 2009, Roots of Woodstock Live Concert at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, today announced a preliminary lineup for the 40^th anniversary tie-in event. Music acts booked so far include the Dave Mason Band, Hubert Sumlin and Ellen McIlwaine.

 Steve Walter, former managing partner of The Cutting Room in New York City, is booking the acts. He has secured the services of Lucas Light Show in Manhattan to evoke the spirit of the sixties. According to Walter, “I’m really pleased with the way the concert is coming together. We’re looking to mix up the show with some sixties acts, more contemporary artists, and a few surprise guests.”

 Part of the proceeds from the concert will fund Woodstock’s Zero-Carbon Initiative, passed in 2007. The Clearwater solar trailer has been retained by the concert’s producers and will power the soundstage. Larry Brown of Sun Mountain Solar has agreed to act as the show’s on-site solar technician.

 The concert team is working with a media partner to record the event. Concert developments can be tracked at www.RootsOfWoodstock.com. 

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 Weston and Julia Blelock are authors/editors of the forthcoming Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to “Woodstock,” due out in July. They are also producing the Roots of Woodstock Live Concert on August 15.

 Steve Walter was a managing partner of The Cutting Room from 1999 until earlier this year. Acts associated with the club include Sting, Donovan, Melanie and many others.

Larry Brown has been a solar contractor in the Woodstock area for more than 30 years. He is NYSERDA certified and his projects include installation of the solar arrays on the roof of the municipal building at 76 Tinker Street in Woodstock.

Dave Mason is most famously associated with the sixties English supergroup, Traffic, as well as numerous fellow rockers such as Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison and Eric Clapton. He now tours with the Dave Mason Band.

Hubert Sumlin is an American blues guitarist best known for his celebrated work as a sideman in Howlin’ Wolf’s band. Sumlin is cited as a major influence by many artists including Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.

Ellen McIlwaine is a slide guitar legend who performed at the early Sound-Outs in Woodstock, New York, during the late 1960s with her group, Fear Itself. She gained cult status with her Polydor releases, “Honky Tonk Angel in 1972 and “We the People” in 1973. Presently based in Calgary, Alberta, she will be making a rare US appearance.

Contact: David Salidor

Phone: 212-245-5909

Email: DSalidorCompany@aol.com

Roots of Woodstock Live Concert 

40th Anniversary Concert Brings Festival Home to Woodstock 

Woodstock, NY—May 19, 2009—Weston Blelock, author and editor of WoodstockArts’ forthcoming Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to “Woodstock,“ has confirmed a rumored 40^th anniversary concert to be held on August 15 at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. Blelock will co-produce the show with his sister, Julia, in association with Steve Walter, formerly of The Cutting Room in New York City.

Walter, whose Cutting Room club hosted a series of top-notch music acts like Sheryl Crow, Stills and Nash, Paolo Nutini and Keane, notes, “I am booking bands that will evoke the original festival energy and bring it back home to Woodstock.” Blelock adds, “The town has long been at the epicenter of music festivals-from those on the Maverick beginning in the 1900s, to the Sound-Outs in the 1960s, and the mega-concert of 1969. Simply due to space constraints, some of these failed to happen in the town of Woodstock itself.”

Part of the proceeds of the concert will fund the town’s Zero-Carbon Initiative, passed in 2007. The concert team is also in discussion with a media partner to film and record the event. According to Walter, “We want to mix sixties acts with the up-and-coming to connect with the Woodstock legacy, but also to embrace the cutting-edge vibe of tomorrow.”

Concert developments can be tracked at www.RootsOfWoodstock.com.

About the Blelocks:

Weston and Julia Blelock have had a presence in the Woodstock area since 1956. During the sixties Weston was at school in the UK, but summered in Woodstock. He attended several Sound-Outs and the ’69 festival in Bethel. During the 1990s he was a radio journalist in Canada. More recently he co-founded WoodstockArts, a publishing and production company. He is currently Vice President of the Historical Society of Woodstock.

Julia Blelock also grew up in Woodstock. She left town to pursue a marketing career in information technology, based in New York City and Los Angeles. She recently returned to Woodstock and has become an ardent promoter of area artists through her work for the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts and the Woodstock Arts Consortium. She is a co-founder of WoodstockArts.

About Steve Walter:

Managing partner and booker for The Cutting Room from 1999 to 2009, Walter is a graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music. He began his career as a lighting director at the Sunshine Inn on the Jersey shore, for acts like Procol Harum, Johnny Winter, Seals & Croft and Richie Havens. In 1999 he launched The Cutting Room, and within ten years it became one of New York’s top showcases for talent as diverse as Sting, Donovan, Melanie, Alanis Morrisette and Mary Wilson of The Supremes.

About WoodstockArts:

WoodstockArts is a publishing and production company based in Woodstock, NY. As a publisher it specializes in quality regional art books. A recent title, Woodstock History and Hearsay, is an award-winning art history of the town. As producers the company’s principals have worked on a number of local projects. One such was staging a guitar sculpture auction in conjunction with Sotheby’s/eBay in 2002 for the town’s Byrdcliffe Art Colony centennial celebration. Last August WoodstockArts produced the Roots of ’69 Woodstock Festival panel discussion and Contemporary Sound-Out. The firm is planning a July release of Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to “Woodstock.”