Eclectic Global Music Fest ‘Sound Waves’ Begins August 19 at White Feather Farm in Saugerties

Editor’s Note/Update:  Due to concerns over Covid-19 Delta Variant, theSound Waves concert with Sxip Shirey at White Feather Farm is being rescheduled from August 5 to September 9.

Sound Waves at White Feather Farm is a new global music series that will be held Thursdays, from August 5 – September 23, at Broken Wing Barn in Saugerties. The open-minded line-up will present world-class artists in genres ranging from Gypsy jazz and Afropop to Latin Boleros and Native and African-American folk, soul and gospel. 

sound waves

The Sound Waves series is being produced by Saugerties-based Isabel Soffer of Live Sounds and globalFEST and Olivier Conan of Barbés Brooklyn, in partnership with White Feather Farm, the site of the acoustically-resonant, 280 year-old Broken Wing Barn.  The Sound Waves line-up includes:

August 5 – The World of Sxip Shirey

Sxip Shirey tests the edge of music using his vast imagination to create playful and mischievous songs using familiar objects, mutant instruments and reconfigured sounds. he acoustic beauty. “Sxip Shirey’s imagination for sounds, sound combinations and textural color makes him one of the most curious combinations of composer-sound designer-performer meets storyteller-curator.” — CD Baby  “Eclectic and original” – NPR’s Fresh Air.

August 19 – West Africa Dance: Mandingo Ambassadors

The Mandingo Ambassadors was founded by griot-guitarist Mamady Kouyaté in 2005.  A veteran of the great orchestras of the golden age of Guinean dance bands in West Africa, Mamady is a living library of musical science inherited from his ancestors and from a half century of experience as an arranger, band leader, accompanist and soloist. Representing a musical tradition that stretches back hundreds of years, Mamady plays with a melodic virtuosity that pulls in listeners. “Dazzling vocal and guitar patterns over a rhythm section that is like a perfect system” – NYTIMES.

August 26 – Martha Redbone: Native American and African American Soul, Blues and Gospel
Martha Redbone is a Cherokee-Choctaw and African-American singer-songwriter, composer and educator known for her unique gumbo of folk, blues, and gospel fused with elements of traditional Native American music from her childhood in Harlan County, Kentucky and infused with the eclectic grit of pre-gentrified Brooklyn.  “Americana’s next superstar”– Village Voice.

Sept 2 – Stéphane Wrembel: Django l’impressioniste

Wrembel may be the foremost interpreter of Django Reinhardt in North America. Whether sticking to the French master’s arrangements or taking the music into new territory, Wrembel has always treated Django like a classical composer rather the cliché paragon of swing and speed the master guitarist has often been portrayed as. In addition to Wrembel’s work as a film composer and performer (he wrote the theme song to Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris and scored Allen’s last movie) Wrembel has delved into the study of Django’s “Improvisations” – the solo pieces that Django recorded throughout his life which were precisely scripted and more akin to classical preludes than jazz improv. Wrembel painstakingly transcribed and memorized the entire cycle, highlighting the influence of Ravel and Debussy on the music, as well as the original compositional approach. Wrembel released the album Django L’impressionniste back in October 2019 – a stunning work, which he premiered at the prestigious Lyon Opera house, in France.  “A revelation” –  Rolling Stone Magazine.

Sept 23 – Miramar: The Golden Age of Latin American Boleros

Miramar draws its inspiration from the golden age of romantic music, primarily that of the Latin American genre known as the bolero which was made popular by Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican combos of the 1950’s. Also referred to as “trio music,” the term bolero became synonymous with various slow to medium grooved Latin American dance rhythms. As the popularity of the bolero thrived, it also expanded and fused with other musical styles to create sub-genres of bolero-rock, jazz and disco. Miramar simply furthers expands the tradition through their own interpretations and exploration through new compositions with hopes to enrich a new audience that may be previously unaware of the genre. “Turn the lights down low, clear out the living-room carpet and find your dance partner for this one”—NPR Music

Limited tickets are available for Sound Waves. Please consider carpooling as parking is limited. Doors open at 7, show at 8, hang out with us after the show! Ticket buyers must show a vaccination card or negative covid test within 72 hours to attend without a mask, otherwise a mask is required.

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