O+ Festival

O+ Takes Austin: SxSW Music Festival 2012

admin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:03:58 +0000

SxSW violin werewolf

FYI y’all, the South by Southwest music festival is totally insane. But I elbowed my way happily through the cacophony of indie rock goth punk rockabilly bike cart latenight pizza music mingling utter havoc to spread the good word about O+ in all its glory.

Had a great time talking to (and listening to) the magnificent Patrick Watson, who is a major Hudson Valley fan (Patrick — the fandom is mutual!) and man would it be magical to see him rock the Old Dutch Church some October… Lost in the Trees, hailing from North Carolina, and Brass Bed, from rollicking Lafayette, Louisiana, each blew my mind with their awesome audio powers, and I would give a limb to see them both at Keegan Ales this year. (And were that literally required of me, luckily the O+ clinic would be nearby to stitch things back up.)

Willy Mason played with a full band, who traveled south on a golden bus of magic full of handmade music contraptions, from Martha’s Vineyard. They’re continuing to tour (at the moment, in the UK with Nina Violet!) after some awesome record label action and well-deserved super-positive attention. Honored to have him on the O+ alumni roster.

Met a lot of great folks from near and far. Austin, you’ve been good to me — may O+ see you again, be it as a delegation of SxSW attendees, or better, working with our barista / music-fan / champion friend from Austin who wants to grow his own little O+ on the outskirts of town. Looking forward to that! –Alex

Lost In the Tress performs at Under the Radar. Shout-out to the absolutely fabulous Jenavieve Varga on violin.

TEDxLAF: O+ Does a TED Talk!!

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:47:47 +0000

Dr. Art Chandler speaking about O+ Festival at the TEDx event at Lafayette College in PA.

We were sooooooooo honored to be part of the TEDxevent at Lafayette College on March 3, 2012. Our own Dr. Art Chandler gave an eighteen-minute presentation about the philosophy behind O+ and how it is re-defining our community to be “We”-oriented. He spoke about what aspects of society (Culture! the ARTS!) make a mark in history, and how society can unify to support artistic efforts — a major crux of the O+ mission.

It was great to see our Lafayette College connection Jim Toia. The O+ Art Committee had a ball collaborating with Mr. Toia and his students last year on wheatpastes for the 2011 festival (evidence of which still graces the back walls of BSP).

More about TEDxLAF: “In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. These events are called TEDx[name], where x = independently organized TED event. Here, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.” –TEDxLAF at Lafayette College in Easton, PA

O+ Delegation to TEDxLAF: Alex, Kevin, Denise, Joe, Lisa, and our friend from Lafayette College Jim Toia

Friday Jan. 13th – A Benefit Show @ BSP in Uptown Kingston!

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:56:29 +0000

This Friday the 13th, The Lounge at BSP (323 Wall St., Kingston NY 12401) will co-host a rock show with O+. Suggested $10 admission pays the performers and contributes to our efforts for the upcoming 2012 fest.

11PM: Geezer (Kingston)
10PM: The Bloodletters (New Paltz)
9PM: The Dead Exs (NYC)

RSVP on Facebook. Come out and dance!

O+ 2011 Music Photos

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 20:25:59 +0000

O+ team member and top-notch photographer Kevin Buso got some great shots of O+’s festivities this year, including the parade, Willy Mason and Nicole Atkins and Keegan Ales, and the beautiful showcase at the Old Dutch Church. Check some out below, and see the rest on Facebook! Thanks Kevin!

O+ celebrates 2011 success with PITCHFORK MILITIA tonight at BSP!

admin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:03:16 +0000

The Second Annual O+ Festival was a raging success. Thanks to generous contributions of time and services by the Hudson Valley’s art-loving health care providers, we were able to connect 134 festival participants with 43 dentist appointments and 272 hours of office visits including primary care, chiropractics, physical therapy, massage, acupuncture, optometry, counseling and more. More than 1,000 festival attendees and donors helped make it happen — your donations funded clinic expenses, dental hygienist services, insurance policies for operating a pop-up triage clinic during a music festival(!), and other operation costs. Please visit our website for a list of sponsors who helped bring O+ to our community for the second year in a row. Thanks to all who came out, and all who sent your support from afar. We look forward to sharing O+ 2012 with you next October.

And, now that we’ve caught our breath, of course, we’re ready to celebrate! This Thursday October 27th, we invite you to join us for the Hudson Valley’s own riotous “apocabilly” ensemble Pitchfork Militia, presented by LiveLIVE! and O+. Party starts at 7:00pm at the Lounge at Backstage Productions (323 Wall Street, Uptown Kingston NY), $8 suggested donation goes to the band and future O+ events. Keegan Ales’ custom O+ Oktoberfest will be on tap, and we’ll be dancing! (You’ve been warned.)

Pitchfork Militia has been rocking the region since 1995. With a blend of country, blues, rock and punk, the band terms itself “Apocabilly”. This rockin’ three-piece is in turns funny, raging, satirical and silly. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s loud! Give them a listen at myspace.com/pitchforkmilitia.

RECAP:

1. Thank you, thank you!

2. Pitchfork Militia!!

3. It’s happening the day after tomorrow! Oct. 27, 7pm, 323 Wall Street Kingston, NY 12401, $8.

More at opositivefestival.org, facebook.com/opositivefest and twitter.com/opositivefest

Keep up with our friends at LiveLIVE! as they continue to bring great music and events to the neighborhood at livelive.us.

THANK YOU.

admin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:00:22 +0000

THANK YOU to all who contributed to and attended the second annual O+ FESTIVAL
in Kingston, NY this Columbus Day Weekend, Oct. 7-9, 2011. Thanks to an inspiring community
effort and the generous participation of over 100 artists and musicians and more than 40 health care
providers, this year O+ was able to help connect 134 un- and under-insured people with 272
hours of medical care and alternative wellness services in multiple disciplines, and 43 dental visits.
Join us next October for the third annual O+ Festival.

O+ Tech: QR Codes Guide You Through the O+ Art Walk

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:01:09 +0000

This year, our friends at Evolving Media Network have programmed QR codes to accompany every O+ wheatpaste installation! You’ll see a black and white box pasted next to each work — download a QR scanner app on your smartphone to capture the code, and be carried by the auto-magic of the Internet to info about the work, the artist and more on the O+ Contributing Artists 2011 Mobile Info Site.

Get a QR Code App!
• For Android
• For iPhone
• More

O+ Music Previews at the Farmer’s Market Tomorrow!

admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:22:27 +0000

Get a dose of rollicking live music tomorrow a.m. at the end of Wall Street, with your coffee and local produce. Spirit Family Reunion on Maxwell’s Patio at 12:00 Noon, and Kingston’s own El Front at 1:00pm.

Shows all day! See you everywhere Uptown!

O+ KICK-OFF PARADE, FRIDAY (10/7), 6PM, UPTOWN KINGSTON

admin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:01:12 +0000

The parade kicks off at O+ 2011 this Friday (10/7) 6PM @ the Kirkland Hotel (corner of Clinton and Main streets, uptown Kingston). The Lady Esther Gin (http://www.sparklingkisses.com/) will be leading the way, followed by a 12-piece samba stomp band* from Bard College. There will be a pack of hula hoopers mixed in with parade goers, and the Gypsy Sky Brassband will be bringing up the rear with an entourage of belly dancers. There will be bubbles galore and maybe even our own O+ horse for The Lady to ride in on. The parade will make its way down Main St. past the Old Dutch Church and onto Wall St where it will end at Maxwell’s Patio. After a brief pause to officially ring in O+ 2011. The Lady will then lead the parade over to BSP to introduce the first band of the Festival, Brooklyn based Young Magic. See you at the Kirkland, Friday at 6!

* The Bard College Sambistas is a new musical ensemble that performs and reinterprets the musical tradition found in Bahia, the Afro-Brazilian heart of Brazil, and throughout the country. The sensual rhythms of the Bard College Sambistas will make you shake your booty, flail your arms, and scream in pleasure as they take you on a rhythmical journey to Brazil and back (minus the cost of the $1,200 plane ticket).

Between You And Me: Opening at Oo on Friday, 5pm

admin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:06:54 +0000

Oo Gallery will open its fifth show to the public on October 7th, 2011: A special exhibition in conjunction with O+ 2011.
Entitled ‘Between You and Me,’ this exhibition of photographers is guest-curated by Capricious magazine, a publication dedicated to emerging fine art photography. Work by: Alana Celii / Tanyth Berkeley /Agnes Thor / Sophie Mörner / Andrew Laumann / Dani Levinthal / Aaron McElroy / Lindsey Castillo / Erin Jane Nelson