Thursday Night Music Circle At ESRM

This is just to remind all of you who are looking for a place to play music that there is an ongoing circle right in the neighborhood. Every Thursday night beginning at 7pm musicians of all skill levels meet at the Empire State Railway Museum on Lower High Street for some acoustic fun. WCA members Dakin Morehouse and Harry Jameson are the leaders of the group. Here is a recent email I received from Dakin.

... At the Historic Phoenicia RR Station - 7:00 Thursday, as usual.
Looking forward to pickin' an singing with you.
Let's hear that old song you just learned, or the new one you just wrote.
Friendly ears to try it out on.

____

| iiiiiiii \
| llllllllll \
| llllllllllll \
| llll ( ) lll \
| lllllllllllllll \
| { *.*.*.*.*} | Dakin & Harry
| llIIIlllllllllllllll |

Directions - #70 Lower High St, Phoenicia, NY
Heading West on Rt 28 just past the Phoenicia diner it will be the first road on your right.
Going East on Rt 28 pass the Eagle and take the second entrance to Phoenicia but turn Right just before the RR tracks.
And from in Phoenicia, turn South onto Bridge St, over the Esopus then turn Left immediately after the tracks.

Heather Pierson At The ESRM

For those of you who have not gone to the Flying Cat Music Series at the Empire State Railway Museum I highly recommend it. It is a fantastic way to listen to great music in a small intimate setting and the acoustics of the room are fabulous! So check out one of their shows when you have the chance. 

Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio in Concert

for
Flying Cat Music

Saturday, August 8

7:30 p.m. (sharp), doors at 7:00

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY  12464

Admission price $15 or $13 with

reservation to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Link to artist's website
http://www.heatherpierson.com/

On Saturday, August 8, Flying Cat Music presents the dynamic Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio in Phoenicia at the Empire State Railway Museum located at 70 Lower High Street. The doors open at 7:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30 prompt. Admission is $15 or $13 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or by calling 845-688-9453.

The magic in the music of Heather Pierson is impervious to genrefication. In one three month span she was lauded in the press as both a neoclassical pianist and as the leader of a jazz quartet, but look up Heather Pierson on Sonic Bids and she's found under “Solo” “Folk” and “Acoustic.” Lone Star Magazine views Pierson as a veritable double bill, saying, “Heather is like two great acts in one, sliding from sweet acoustic Appalachian old-timey vibe with Patty Griffinesque lyrics to brassy New Orleans blues piano with a bone thrown to Bessie Smith." Heather's voice is pure and sometimes even sweet, but it also carries great power. It's a voice that could mesmerize a dragon or a dove.  A review in MainlyPiano.com captures her dynamic range, noting "Pierson’s voice is strong yet vulnerable, conveying tremendous emotional depth and passion”.

Matt Harlan At The ESRM

Matt Harlan 

in Concert

for
Flying Cat Music

Saturday, July 18

7:30 p.m. (sharp), doors at 7:00

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY  12464

Admission price $12 or $10 with

reservations to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Link to artist's website
http://mattharlan.com/

On Saturday, July 18, Flying Cat Music brings award winning singer-songwriter Matt Harlan to Phoenicia to perform at the Empire State Railway Museum located at 70 Lower High Street. The doors open at 7:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30 prompt. Admission is $12 or $10 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or by calling 845-688-9453.

Winning Singer-Songwriter of the year in 2013 at the 11th Annual Texas Music Awards and taking home the prize for Americana Song of the Year in the Billboard International Song Contest in 2008 are just two of the many honors already bestowed on Houston based musician Matt Harlan in his relatively short career. His July concert for Flying Cat Music marks Matt's return from a European tour where his Texas tinged Folk Roots sound has earned him a loyal following. Each of the three CDs that Matt Harlan has released to date hit the #1 spot on the Euro Americana Chart, an impressive accomplishment considering that Americana music is in many ways more popular in Europe than it is here at home. 

Bobtown At The ESRM

Bobtown in Concert

for
Flying Cat Music

Saturday, April 25

7:30 p.m. (sharp), doors at 7:00

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464

Admission price $17 or $15 with

reservations to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Link to band's website:
http://www.bobtownmusic.com/

Flying Cat Music is thrilled to bring back the dynamic five-piece band Bobtown on Saturday, April 25. The show will be at the Empire State Railway Museum located at 70 Lower High Street in Phoenicia. The doors open at 7:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30 prompt. Admission is $17 or $15 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or by calling 845-688-9453.

Vance Gilbert At ESRM

Singer/song writer Vance Gilbert will be playing this Sunday in the Flying Cat Music Series at the Empire State Railway Museum. If you like folk music I highly recommend attending this concert. He has an awesome voice and is really a world class performer. It is a treat to see someone of his caliber at such an intimate venue. Here is the info.

Vance Gilbert

in Concert for Flying Cat Music

Sunday, March 29

7:30 p.m. (sharp), doors at 7:00

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464

Admission price $18 or $15 with

reservations to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Link to artist's website:
http://vancegilbert.com/

Flying Cat Music is proud to launch its seventh concert year in Phoenicia with the incomparable Vance Gilbert on Sunday, March 29. The show will be at the Empire State Railway Museum located at 70 Lower High Street. The doors open at 7:00 p.m. with the show beginning at 7:30 prompt. Admission is $18 or $15 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or by calling 845-688-9453.

Vance Gilbert is a frequent headliner at Hillsdale, New York's renowned Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. He's been featured at ten of the annual festivals, and he invariably dazzles the main stage audience. Sublime as his festival performances are, they hardly prepare one for the magic and intensity of seeing Vance play in an intimate setting like the Empire State Railway Museum. After a nearly four year absence, Vance Gilbert returns to the Phoenicia Train Station for a long anticipated encore to his 2011 show that marked the resumption of the Flying Cat Music concert series at that museum in the wake of damage done there by Hurricane Irene. Like that storm, Gilbert is a force to be reckoned with. Unlike Irene, his is very much a healing energy. And though he's more than willing to ruffle a few feathers when he blows into town, Vance does so in lovely ways. 

ESRM Christmas Party

Don't forget that the Christmas festivities in Phoenicia this Saturday, December 20th include a party at the Empire State Railway Museum. The celebration at the museum is from 1:00pm to 3:00pm and features many fun things to do. There will be model trains, live music, mini-train rides, cider, popcorn and Santa himself. So go visit the museum on Saturday for some holiday fun!

Benefit For Flying Cat

Potluck Dinner & Benefit Concert

for Flying Cat Music

Sunday, December 14

Dinner at 6:00 p.m.

Music at 7:30 (doors at 7:00)

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464

Suggested donation of $10 or more

RSVP recommended to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Links for all artist at:
http://flyingcatmusic.com/2014-show-dates-and-artists/

Flying Cat Music ends its 2014 concert year on Sunday, December 14, with a gala celebration and benefit concert to help defray costs of the ongoing Railway Station Concert Series held at the Empire State Railway Museum in Phoenicia. For those fond of festive socializing, the concert will be preceded by a potluck dinner at 6:00 p.m. Admission to the concert portion of the evening begins at 7:00 p.m. with a suggested donation of $10 or more. Music will begin at 7:30. Reservations for this concert at the ESRM may be made by writing flyingcatmusic@gmail.com. For more information please email or call 845-688-9453.

Mini-Railroad Rides

For those looking for something really fun to do with young children there are mini-railroad rides at the Empire State Railway Museum on Lower High Street. Here is a video featuring WCA member Dakin Morehouse as the engineer on the ride. It looks like great fun to me! Check it out this coming weekend!

Hickory Project At The ESRM

Hickory Project in Concert

for Flying Cat Music

Sunday, July 20

7:30 p.m. (sharp), door at 7:00

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464

Admission is $15 or $13 with RSVP

to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Link to group website:http://www.hickoryproject.com/

Flying Cat Music is pleased to bring the internationally acclaimed progressive bluegrass band Hickory Project to Phoenicia on Sunday, July 20, in a concert at the Empire State Railway Museum located at 70 Lower High Street. The show begins promptly at 7:30 p.m. with the door opening at 7:00. Admission is $15 or $13 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or by calling 845-688-9453.

Group Shot Of CMRR & ESRM

Here is a group shot from the recent combined meeting of the CMRR and ESRM (both groups include many WCA members). They all work to continue to bring the railroad history and experience into our community. Both groups are all volunteer organizations that have operated for 30 years. Lookin' good!!

Free Holiday Fun Sunday!

STS, ESRM and CMRR team up to provide some great, FREE holiday fun in Phoenicia on Sunday. The festivities start early with a Christmas play at the Shandaken Theatrical Society at 11am. Then there will be a Christmas party at the Empire State Railway Museum in Phoenicia from 1-4. And free train rides on the Catskill Mountain Railroad in Mount Tremper at 12, 1, 2 and possibly 3 (if there is enough people).  I hear that the big man himself (Santa) and his lovely wife (Mrs Claus) will also be in attendance. So come out and join your neighbors for some great family entertainment!

Films At The ESRM

There is a screening of two local films at the Empire State Railway Museum on Lower High St in Phoenicia tonight at 6:30 pm. The films are by local Onteora film students. One was shot on site and presented in the Woodstock Film Festival. It promises to be a great evening. A $5.00 donation is suggested which will benefit the ESRM.

Bobtown At ESRM This Weekend

Bobtown in Concert

For Flying Cat Music

Saturday, September 21

7:30 p.m. (sharp), door at 7:00

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464

Admission is $15 or $13 with RSVP

to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Link to artist's website:
http://bobtownmusic.com/

It will be a dynamic evening Saturday, September 21, when Bobtown performs in concert for Flying Cat Music at the Empire State Railway Museum. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. with the door opening at 7:00. Tickets are $13 with RSVP or $15 at the door. For information or reservations email flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or call 845-688-9453. The museum is located at 70 Lower High Street in Phoenicia, NY 12464.

Bobtown is a hoot and a holler, and a shiver down your spine. This vibrant five member group is deeply wired, in a pre-electrical sense, to transcendent musical roots with field hollers foremost among them. Field hollers were a pre-Civil War vocal and percussive call-and-response music, thought to have pre-dated spirituals, which originated with African-American slaves working in the fields. Bobtown founder Katherine Etzel credits her fascination with field hollers to her experience as a youth working in Kansas bean and corn fields. With four vocalists and an eclectic assortment of instruments, Bobtown will set any room to rocking when the spirit calls them, but that is just one of many penetrating moods this versatile band summons from their audience.  

ESRM Needs Volunteers

WCA members Dakin and Doris Morehouse, who spearhead the efforts to preserve the Empire State Railway Museum (Dakin is President), sent me a message to post here on the blog regarding volunteers. If any of you have some time and want to be involved please contact Doris. Here is what she had to say:

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! the Empire State Railway Museum needs docents on Lower High Street, in Phoenicia. The museum is open weekends and holidays from 11 to 4, beginning Memorial Day weekend. We are casual and you would learn quickly about the history of the station and the area and photos on the walls etc. I am there and need a second person to help at the gift shop and/or just talk with the visitors. 

  You are welcome to volunteer as few or as many days as you can. The Mini train will be running mid day on the property and the CMRR train ride is just a mile east on #28.

 Please consider donating some time with us. No experience necessary; only interest in helping preserve our beautiful station and the history of our area. 

  Call me and we can talk more about it.

Doris

688-5773 (home)

688-7501 (museum)

http://www.esrm.com

Free Holiday Party and Train Rides

This coming Sunday, December 16th the Empire State Railway Museum and the Catskill Mountain Railroad join together to bring our community a free celebration of the holiday season. Santa (who I think looks like he might have a relative in Woodland Valley) is scheduled to arrive at noon by mini-railroad at the museum on Lower High Street in Phoenicia. There will be a party there with snacks, model trains and lots of other fun from 12-3. Santa will give out free tickets to hop on the train departing at 12, 1, 2 and 3:00 from the Mt Tremper station just a short hop down the road. So come on out and join the fun! See you all there!

Reading At The ESRM This Sunday

At The EMPIRE STATE RAILWAY MUSEUM this Sunday

A talk and book signing by the author

Marie Betts Bartlett

at the Phoenicia RR Station Museum - Free!

12 noon on Sunday, the 7^th of October

The Little Yellow Trolley Car is the true story of a little trolley who brought passengers and freight from one small town to another between 1896 and 1927. The book has bold, colorful paper cut illustrations and uses engaging sounds of the trolley's travels to describe her long ago life in operation, sitting in a farmer's yard for sixty years, and the sounds of her restoration. You can cheer with her crowd of passengers when at last she runs again!

The book will particularly appeal to ages 2-8 and to the adults who read with those young people!

~ ~ ~

We will be running our MINI RR TRAINS (for exhibition) mid-day, all weekend.

The ESRM is free but donations are certainly welcome.

Mini Railroad Coming Back Soon

WCA member and ESRM President Dakin Morehouse sent me a message and some photos and videos  (see below) of the Mini RR that was running at the museum until last fall when Hurricane Irene pulled up the tracks. The volunteers at the museum have been working hard to restore service. They are almost finished. I will let you know when they are fully up and running so you can all go and pay the museum a visit and see the super fun mini.  Here is what Dakin had to say.

Just a couple shots of:
Doris and her favorite engineer (with Davy and his steamer behind),
- the pudgy engineer himself,
- and Davy - with a (friendly) cop.
Ah this second childhood is rough!
Dakin

.... and a couple U-tubes of our Mini RR at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcrmbzPFGuU  pre flood diesil

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqdiPWlmk8o   short pre flood steam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6zRppHbeu4  2011 - Dak pre flood monolog (7.6 min)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu7L5chMiYs   2012 - rebuilt post flood run

Tom Pacheco At ESRM

Flying Cat Music Presents

An Evening with Tom Pacheco

Sunday, September 2

7:30 p.m. (sharp), door at 7:00

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464

“one of the genuine troubadours of our time”

Maverick Magazine

"quintessentially American songwriter"

Dirty Linen Magazine

"If anyone deserves to be mentioned in the same hushed tones of reverence as John Prine,

Townes Van Zandt, Tom Russell, Guy Clarke and Steve Earle, it is he."

Folk Roots Magazine

Admission is $15 or $13 w/RSVP

to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

For information email as above

or call 845-688-9453

Link to artist's website:

http://www.tompacheco.com/

Flying Cat Music proudly presents Tom Pacheco for a concert at the Empire State Railway Museum on Sunday, September 2. The show begins promptly at 7:30 p.m. with the door opening at 7:00. Admission is $15 at the door or $13 with RSVP toflyingcatmusic@gmail.comor by calling 845-688-9453. The Museum is located at 70 Lower High Street in Phoenicia, New York.

Craig Bickhardt At ESRM

For those of you who have never seen one of the Flying Cat Music shows at the Empire State Railway Museum now is your chance. The series is an amazing way to seeing live acoustic music close to home. This Sunday they are presenting Craig Bickhardt. And of course Woodland Valley's own Dakin Morehouse will be on hand representing the museum and start the show. Check out some of what the folks from Flying Cat had to say about the show:

We are so excited about this one!!! Please share with all of your friends. Craig Bickhardt performance of "This Old House."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJOB2J_hwDU&feature=player_embedded

On Sunday, August 12, Flying Cat Music proudly presents Craig Bickhardt in concert at the Empire State Railway Museum in Phoenicia. The door opens at 7:00 p.m. with music beginning at 7:30 sharp. Admission is $12 with RSVP to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com or $15 at the door. For information call 845-688-9453. The museum is located at 70 Lower High Street in Phoenicia.

Craig Bickhardt is a performer and songwriter extraordinaire. Very few artists are fortunate enough to ever reach the peak of their chosen craft but Bickhardt has done so on multiple occasions, both as a singer and as a songwriter. In his long and artistically rewarding career, Craig has had his recordings released on four labels including Warner Brothers and Capital Records. In 1982, Bickhardt performed one of his original compositions, “You Are What Love Means To Me,” for the soundtrack of the Academy Award winning film “Tender Mercies.” It became the movie’s closing them.

Craig Bickhardt has a passion for telling stories and that comes through in all of his writing. Depth lurks in the melodic beauty of his songs. Hear them as they were intended, by the writer who gave them life, in the warm, acoustic embrace of the Empire State Railway Museum.

Concert Sunday At The ESRM

WCA member and ESRM President Dakin Morehouse sent me this reminder of the upcoming concert in the station this Sunday. For those of you who like live acoustic music this is a great opportunity to see some wonderful talent in your own backyard.  Check it out!

Flying Cat Music Presents

Roy Schneider

in Concert

 

Sunday, July 22

7:30 p.m. (sharp), door at 7:00

 

Empire State Railway Museum

70 Lower High Street, Phoenicia, NY 12464

 

Admission is $13 or $10 w/RSVP

to flyingcatmusic@gmail.com

 

For information email  as above

or call 845-688-9453

 

Links for music and artist information:

http://www.sonicbids.com/Profile/ArtistProfile.aspx?account_id=164887

http://www.royschneider.com/