Ellen McIlwaine @ the Roots of Woodstock concert

“An Air of Magic—Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival: The Backstory to “Woodstock,” an article by David Bouton that appears in the winter 2009 issue of Kaatskill Life, offers a great review of the Roots book and concert. Bouton begins with, “[The festival] happened here in the Catskill Mountains. It did not take place at Berkeley, or in the Golden Gate Park near San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. The historic, famous, somewhat spontaneous Woodstock peace, music and arts festival of 1969 in the Catskills was not a fluke either in its nature or its location. Yes, the event eventually was held in Bethel, NY, 70 miles away, but the festival is and forever will be called “Woodstock,” reflecting its origins, its geographical location, its nature, and inherent outlook and attitude: that of the community of Woodstock, NY.”

In writing about Roots of Woodstock Live Concert, Bouton continues, “The performers energized our minds, upped our heartbeats, and had people dancing not only in the aisles but among photos of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix in the theater’s lounge. In true Woodstock style, some from the stage wondered among the crowd and visited with us. Although the concert began at 8 p.m. and the town of Woodstock drifted off to sleep on that wispy foggy evening, the concert in the Bearsville Theater had no time limits and went on through the night.”

David Bouton sums up, “If you missed the concert with its enhanced emotional understandings as to where ‘Woodstock’ came from, you can still find answers to the larger picture of ‘how come?’ with the words of the original townspeople and the library of historic photographs in the Blelocks’ book.”

Also appearing were a local local gospel-infused jam band called Children of God, the 2009 version of the Blues Magoos (!), and the folk-blues singer/guitarist Ellen McIlwaine. (So far as I know, this Children of God has no connection to the notorious mind-control/child-bride cult of the same name. That organization’s founder/ruler, the demonic Tony Alamo, is now incarcerated — for life, I hope — although that hasn’t stopped his zombie believers from scuttling through the streets of the East Village in the pre-dawn hours, inserting their poisonous “literature” under the windshield wipers of parked cars. But I digress…)

Ellen McIlwaine released two Polydor albums, Honky Tonk Angel (1972) and We The People (1973), that were among my wife’s turntable favorites as an Oberlin College undergrad.  I dimly recalled seeing this artist live, probably in Minneapolis circa 1973-74, when I may have dismissed her as a Bonnie Raitt wannabe. I’d barely played Ellen’s two-CD retrospective, Up From The Skies: The Polydor Years (Universal Music, now stupidly out of print) , that had been taking up precious shelf space since its release in 1998. So I had no particular expectations of this gig except that it might come as a pleasant surprise to Leslie, who’d never seen her live back in that day.

Bob Fass of RADIO UNNAMEABLE

For more than 40 years Bob Fass has hosted Radio Unnameable on Pacifica Radio’s WBAI. Fass’s show pioneered free-form radio. He has welcomed them all—the famous as well as the lesser known. Some of the former include Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, The Fugs, and Happy and Artie Traum.

In the late sixties Fass emceed a series of music festivals on the outskirts of Woodstock, NY. As Fass writes in his foreword to Roots of the 1969 Woodstock Festival, these were known as the Sound-Outs: “Someone from USCO called it Sound-Out because it wasn’t a Be-In.” He continues,

“We invited the best musicians we knew. Stagehands built a stage. Macrobiotic, energy-transforming food was prepared and sold for pennies a bowl. Mind-expanding goulash imported from around the world was abundant. It was a potent mix of the new and the traditional. There was a whole lot of love and whole lot of creativity and community spirit . . .”

 The festivals were open-air affairs held on Pan Copeland’s farm in West Saugerties, NY. Some of the acts associated with the Sound-Outs include Ellen McIlwaine’s Fear Itself, the Colwell-Winfield Blues Band, Tim Hardin, Don McLean, Scott Fagan, Frank Wakefield, and Cat Mother and the All Night Newsboys.

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.