People have written about roads for as long as they’ve been around. And before there were roads, they still wrote about travel and about landscape. Landscape is the stage upon which our greatest experiences and desires play out. Steve Gunn’s music has always embraced expanse and movement. It springs from the simple and profound relationship between humans and their environment. Eyes On The Lines is his most explicit ode to the blissful uncertainty of adventure yet.
Gunn’s roots in the underground run deep, from his days in GHQ to his collaborations with Black Twig Pickers and Mike Cooper. He’s toured and recorded with Michael Chapman, and released two remarkable duo albums with drummer John Truscinski. His solo ventures, emerging over the past decade and culminating most recently the highly-acclaimed Way Out Weather, have been pastoral, evocative affairs. Here he embraces his urban surroundings through a series of songs that fully showcase his extraordinary ability to match hooks to deftly constructed melodies. Gunn is a consummate guitarist, that rare fingerpicker who can harness the enigma of the American Primitive vernacular without lazily regurgitating it. His playing is inventive and… [ show more ]
Satomi Matsuzaki plays bass and sings, Greg Saunier plays drums, John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez play guitars. But what is Deerhoof really? Hell if we know. Pitchfork went so far as to label Deerhoof as “the best band in the world. ” From their humble beginnings as an obscure San Francisco noise act, they’ve become one of indie music’s most influential bands with their ecstatic and unruly take on pop.
The band’s fearless inventiveness has made them one of the most inspiring and important groups making music today. Throughout 2017, Deerhoof will be releasing a variety of music as part of Joyful Noise’s Artist in Residence including a new proper Deerhoof album (details forthcoming).
Bettina “Poet Gold” Wilkerson: NYS Dutchess County 2017 Poet Laureate, recipient of the 2016 Dutchess County Executive’s “Artivist” Award, 2016 Dutchess County Athena Award Honoree by The Chamber Foundation, Inc., the 2016 recipient of the Exempt Firemen’s Association Black Heritage Committee’s “Outstanding Community Service Award” for Extraordinary Contribution and Dedication, and the 2014 NYSCA Individual Artist Tier Grant Awardee for Dutchess County. Gold, as she is affectionately known, is a rare talent, original, grabs you by the heart and says “Recognize.
Living with a chronic illness since childhood, Poet Gold, or as she is affectionately known as “Gold”, brings through her poetic performance a soul-searching insight about the human existence, love, dreams, challenges, and triumph.
Poet Gold believes that the arts exist not only to entertain, but also to educate, and elevate the human spirit. To fill her passion of mentoring and fostering young talented minds, Gold has collaborated with educational institutions, arts and youth development organizations such as R.E.A.L. Skills Network, Inc., Mill St. Loft, Breaking Barriers, Mid-Hudson Heritage Center, Arts Mid-Hudson, The Lincoln Middle School (Passaic, NJ) and The Berta A. Dreyfus Intermediate School 49 (Staten Island); and through her mentoring and poetic performances, she has touched over a thousand middle and high school aged students engaging them in understanding the direct connection between literacy, goal setting, and the achievement of their dreams.
Poet Gold was the “Artist-in-Residence” for the “Leadership Overnight Camp” hosted by Rural & Migrant Ministry, has served as host for the 2016 RMM Rural Women’s Assembly, hosted the 2015 NYS Women’s Rural Conference and spoken at renowned organizations such as YAI National Institute for People with Disabilities (The Women Stepping Up Employee Resource Group), Omega Institute 2014 “Women Serving Women Summit”, and has inspired women with her words for the Women’s Leadership Alliance International Women’s Day.
Poet Gold’s spoken word performances are countless, and her poetic work has been featured at Arts Westchester-SHE Exhibit (part of “HER”), Barnes & Noble (Poetry Month 2016), Howland Cultural Center (You are My Blue, I am Your Red), and Queens New Music Festival/Tenri Cultural Center.
Presently, Poet Gold is the Host for “POELODIES” at the prominent venue-The Falcon, Marlboro, NY, and “Newburgh’s Open Mic”- at The Wherehouse in Newburgh, NY. Her book, “When My Soul Speaks, I Scribe…poetry” is available on www.amazon.com.
Lee Odom A native of NC study music industry and clarinet performance at Appalachian State University, other woodwind instruments including flute and bass clairente., Lee ventured to NYC in 2011 where she quickly found her way into various musical communities. First starting out as “Sweet Lee Trio” Lee “Sweet Lee” Odom has performed with Don Byron, The Karl Berger Improv Orchestra, Participated in the Jamaica Jazz Festival, Jamaica Queens; also theArts for Arts Vision Festival. The music by Sweet Lee and her accompanying bands has been sending lighting vibes throughout the boroughs of New York. With a fusion of Jazz, Hip-Hop, Classical, and free improvisation, Sweet Lee keeps the groove groovin’.A melting pot of musical styles…jazz, funk, blues and soul, all to make one….GROOVE
Daniel A. Villegas is a bilingual Latino Emcee and Poet with both spanish and english in his repertoire. He uses his verses and rap in such a style that separates himself from many other talented emcee’s. He seeks something new, something fresh and something unique with his delivery in his music and hopes that the listener will go back and forth from Spanish to English with him as he interweaves his Hip Hop. He regularly steps outside the prescribed lifestyle matrix and embarks on a journey to promote greater individual & group consciousness with his audience wherever he performs.
Quiet mindulness is a skill we all need to learn in our over-stimulated lives. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s defines mindfulness as a “means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”
It all starts with noticing your breath and this simple quiet peace flows into everything else the practitioner encounters.
My plan is to place pillows and/or cushions (and a few chairs for those not able to sit on the ground) with a sign that simply reads “Free Med-O+-tation” This will be self guided with printed pamphlets describing the benefits of even a few minutes of meditation, including simple directions stating to simply focus on the breathing, and when you find yourself distracted, acknowledge it and focus on your breathing again.
This event directly inspired by this example of street meditation in Barcelona:
Bio:
Paralegal by day and general busy body the rest of the time, Cathy Schmitz stays active within her local community. She is current Treasurer of Arts Mid Hudson and also volunteers for the Poughkeepsie Public Library District and Barrett Arts Center, maintains POKLIT, hosts literary readings and salons in Dutchess County, and is involved with many other community groups and organizations. She has a degree in Literature from Bard College and also earned a Business Degree in Paralegal Studies from Dutchess Community College. She enjoys all types of art including but not limited to written, visual and musical arts. She lives and meditates in Poughkeepsie with her husband, the abstract artist K.D. Schmitz.
Using plant generated music, this class will explore our deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us. The class will include a discussion about plant consciousness and how using the magnetic fields of our heart we can connect more deeply with one another and nature as a whole. We will be using group exercises, music and guided meditation to deepen the experience of coherence with ourselves and the environment.
Bio:
Heidi Reagan and Peter Coates are cofounders of Chords of Connection, a company that dynamically combines energy healing and plant generated music. They are both artists and educators with a deep combined background in metaphysics and sound therapy. Heidi is an Insightful Muse with pragmatic tools, fine-honed over twelve years of life coaching. Peter is a qualified sensei of the Japanese Koto and a cutting edge recording artist.
The Yoga Centro method synthesizes Hatha yoga postures, pranayama, meditation, Eastern philosophy and community engagement to restore balance to the mind and body — essential keys to happiness and health. This is a yoga practice for everyone, even people brand new to yoga.
Bio:
Yoga Centro is a new yoga studio based out of the Art Centro building at 485 Main Street. Meghan and Robin, the founders, reside in the Hudson Valley and wanted to bring their approach to the practice to the people and the community of Poughkeepsie.
The method synthesizes purposeful movement, conscious breathing, Eastern philosophy and a focus on attention and body awareness. The goal of the practice is balance and optimal function of the body and mind— and ultimately to find happiness and good health.
Exercise and a “yoga body” is not the goal of the method, but improved physical fitness is a natural by-product of coming to class regularly. You will find that your body will change but the most remarkable change will be in the mind. This yoga practice is a portal to a calmer, steadier, and more undisturbed mind.
We live by four guiding principles at Yoga Centro – accessibility, compassion, integrity, and humility.
Meghan and Robin are both 200 hour certified with an additional 30hour Katonah yoga training. They focus on safety and alignment in both of their classes, ensuring that the practice is available and safe for everyone!
