Update 2/11/2016: Due to a member being sick, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad canceled their performance scheduled for the Waterhole’s reopening party Friday night. But never fear, Thunder Body is here!
The eight-piece Thunder Body, from Rochester, features founding members of Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad Matt and Rachel and will headline the Friday night show in place of GPGDS. According to Thunder Body’s Facebook page, the band “dabbles in American roots, funk, soul, dub, afro beat, and more.”
Local group Painted Sol and Rochester funk/soul four-piece Funknut are still scheduled to open the evening. Doors are at 8 p.m. and the show is scheduled to begin at 9.
The ‘hole opens at noon Friday, and they’re hinting at some sort of live music surprise at 1 p.m., likely a little taste of Blind Owl! Don’t miss it! It’s gonna be a great Saranac Lake Winter Carnival weekend!
Update 2/4/2016: The Waterhole has announced that funk/soul group West End Blend will play upstairs directly after the parade. The 10-piece band from Hartford, Connecticut, will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 13, directly after the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Gala Parade wraps up.
Original post:
A local musician plans to revive the currently closed Waterhole for the legendary Saranac Lake Winter Carnival.
This year’s Saranac Lake Winter Carnival runs Feb. 5-14, and it just wouldn’t be Carnival without music at the Waterhole.
Luckily, Eric Munley of the Blind Owl Band, along with girlfriend Kiki Sarko, has taken over operations at the hallowed venue, and it will open temporarily Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 and 13. The Blind Owl Band will headline a show at 10 p.m. that Saturday, which is Parade Day – the biggest day of the Carnival. Everyone comes out for the Winter Carnival Gala Parade, then hits the town and celebrates for the rest of the day.
The upstairs will be open for free directly after the parade, and Munley is still working on finding an act for that time slot. But later on that day, Maryland-based two-piece band Swampcandy will open for The Blind Owl Band in a show that is set to begin at 10 p.m. and will cost $10.
On Friday, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad will headline. Funknut and Painted Sol will join them.
Munley and Sarko will operate the two days during Carnival on a temporary liquor license, then apply for a full one after the Carnival madness subsides. They expect to open the establishment in full sometime in March.
Due to the temporary license, only the upstairs bar will be operating during Winter Carnival, though the downstairs will be open to customers sans bar.
The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival began as a one-day event in 1897, put together by patients who had come to the Adirondack village to cure from tuberculosis. It was intended to get a break from the winter’s chill and to promote outdoor sports and games. Today, it’s grown to a 10-day festival that includes sports, games for kids, an ice palace and lots of live music. The whole town comes together and celebrates in one of the best weeks of the year.
The Winter Carnival theme for 2016 is “Superheroes and Villains,” so start working on your costumes now!
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