(Long Island, NY) The U.S. State Department’s American Music Abroad program recently selected the unique group, The Amigos Band, for a five week international tour of musical ambassadorship. But before the band sets out on its worldwide mission of musical goodwill, they’ll be featured at The Woodlands Folk Festival in E. Setauket on June 29.
The festival runs from 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and offers festival goers a line-up of outstanding music.
The Amigos Band is a three person collective dedicated to performing and creating American music through the traditions of collaboration and improvisation. Built on the belief that all strains of American music are branches of the same tree, they return to their roots and bring together every form from bluegrass to jazz. Careening back and forth between intricate vocal harmony and bursts of instrumental improvisation, The Amigos deliver daring takes on American standards and original songs that already sound like classics.
“Their harmonies are so in tune they defy technology… great swinging bebop solos, and every idiom done with love and understanding.” David Amram
The Amigos recently gave sold-out performances at New York City’s Lincoln Center and completed a successful residency at the famed Lower East Side club, The Living Room. They were chosen to appear in the premier showcase at the 2012 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) conference and are featured on the first American Folk Art Museum album.
Other performers at Woodlands 2013 include Joe Crookston, Annie Mark and Chris James and CB Jacobs and the Soul Fire Revival. Woodlands 2013 is also holding its first Open Song Competition, an Open Mic and two sing-alongs, one focused on the Beatles and one on classic folk songs. The Woodlands Folk Festival has quickly become a favorite of Long Island fans with a laid back vibe that promises great music, good food, and activities for all ages. Woodlands encourages Long Island music fans to check its website,www.woodlandsfolkfest.org, for updates on additional artists and other news.
Woodlands is hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook (380 Nicolls Road, E. Setauket, NY), a non-profit religious organization, whose mission includes support for social and economic justice. All proceeds from the festival will be used to fund UUFSB and its mission. The Fellowship can also be found online at www.uufsb.org.
