Molasses Creek Touring North in September and October. We will see you on the road!

Hey there folks,

Shows are wrapping up this month on Ocracoke.  If you are heading towards the NC Outer Banks, hope that you can see us at Deepwater Theater.  Otherwise, catch us at one of our upcoming concerts in NC, PA, MD or VA.

 Coming up this immediate weekend, Gary and Fiddler Dave grace the stage of the Heartworks Haborfestival, Saturday, Sept 19 at noon at the River Dunes in Oriental, NC.  The Heartworks organization is a non-profit that provides programming for underserved Pamlico County youth and families. We are excited to be a part of this new fundraiser for this great cause. Come show your support!

On Sept 26, we look forward to a return to the lovely land of chocolate at the Hershey Area Playhouse in Hershey PA.  Hmm-good! This will be our third appearance at this beautiful theater.  We encourage everyone to reserve their tickets early as this show usually sells out.  Today, just happens to be his birthday . . . here is a link to CBS.com article on the candymaker who changed the world. Hope to see you there!

On October 1, we continue our fall tour to the Eastern shore of MD, to the quaint town of Easton and the Stoltz Listening Room at the Avalon Foundation. The Avalon enriches the lives of over 100,000 people each year through nearly 300 events, performances, educational programming and celebrations throughout the year. They also run the local Farmer’s Market in town on Wednesdays and Saturdays (Not to be missed for fabulous baked goods and local produce.)

October 2, Molasses Creek will be in concert at the Carroll County Arts Council. Westminster, MD is the home of Common Ground on the Hill festival, so there are always lots of great folk musicians traveling through.  This Arts Council definitely has its finger on the creative pulse of the region, and always has great performances and arts shows (Backstage it is fun for us to read performer signatures on the walls of the greenroom!)

October 3^rd, we return to one of our favorite haunts in eastern Virginia, the Ashland Coffee and Tea, in Ashland, VA.  If you haven’t taken in a concert at this intimate listening room, do stop in.  We love getting to know our audiences there . . . they even sometimes show up in piratical costume! Arrgg!

            By the end of September we are hoping to have the Molasses Creek “Holy Smoke” video live on our website.  This song by our friend, Tommy Edwards, is on our new release, Waterbound.  Take a listen on this page on our website. Our friends in Italy, Andrea Tani & Alex  Martan have been hard a work.  Check back if you want to see some goofiness from the crew lugging BBQ implements and singing out to the side of Hwy 12 on Ocracoke while visitor cars stream past.

Love you folks and see you soon!

Gary, Fiddler Dave, Kim, Gerald

Molasses Creek

www.molassescreek.com

Here is the schedule in a nutshell.

Saturday, September 19, 12-1 PM
Gary and Fiddler Dave of Molasses Creek Heartworks Harborfestival
River Dunes
East Harborside Road
Oriental NC 28571 
http://heartworksnc.org/

Saturday, September 26 @ 7:00 PM 
Molasses Creek at the Hershey Area Playhouse 
Hershey Area Playhouse, Hershey, PA 
http://www.hersheyareaplayhouse.com/

Thursday, October 1 @ 8:00 PM 
Molasses Creek in Concert at the Stolz Listening Room, Easton, MD 
Avalon Foundation, Stoltz Listening Room, 40 East Dover St , Easton, MD 
https://tickets.avalontheatre.com/

Friday, October 2 @ 7:30 PM 
Molasses Creek in concert with the Carroll County Arts Council 
Carroll County Arts Council, Westminster, MD 
http://www.carrollcountyartscouncil.org/attractions_artscenter_events.asp

Saturday, October 3 @ 8:00 PM 
Molasses Creek in Concert at Ashland Coffee and Tea 
Ashland Coffee & Tea, Ashland, VA 
http://ashland.shop.ticketstoday.com/calendar.aspx

Molasses Creek January and February Travels and St. Louis Adventures

Hello there Molasses Creek friends,

Molasses Creek prepares for launch up the St. Louis arch

We are writing to you from the hallowed halls of the Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City Missouri.  Molasses Creek is attending the conference today through Saturday, meeting and greeting around 2000 folkies from around North America.  What fun!  We will be doing four showcases and participating in workshops and events throughout the weekend.  We will even be doing a song on Chrstine Lavin’s webcast on Friday!

On our way out to here we stopped by to visit Rock and Melissa Jones in Delaware, OH, performed a fundraising concert at the Bethany Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake, IL for Fiddler Dave's childhood friend, Carrie Smith, and spent a day wandering the streets of St. Louis visiting Jim and Margie Allen.  Thanks to all our friend for hosting and feeding us and helping us on our way! Here are some pictures from St. Louis.

Molasses Creek passes through St Louis!

At the top!

 

            January was a busy month, making final preparations for the international radio launch of our new album, Something Worth Having.  This week has been the first week for DJ airplay so we are just beginning to receive reports from around the country.  We are crossing our fingers that it makes a big hit!  While at Folk Alliance we will be meeting some with Kari Estrin, our radio promoter, and spreading the word amongst friends and colleges.

            Mid-January we had a wonderful mini-tour through North Carolina and up through Virginia to Maryland.  On Thursday, January 16^th, we traveled to Tyro, NC (south of Winston Salem, NC), and had a day of residencies culminating in an evening community concert where we were joined by choirs from the Tyro schools.   

Fiddler Dave gets his head eaten by a the Tyro mascot

These talented Junior High School students really impressed us with their talent, focus, and interesting questions.  Thanks for hosting us, especially to their faithful music directors, and to Keith Stanek for lining everything up for the fundraiser and providing awesome Lexington style barbecue!  We miss it already!

A fine looking Tyro Chorus

            On Friday, we journeyed to Ashland, VA for a packed out show at the Ashland Coffee and Tea.  This has become one of our favorite stops.  They have an incredible calendar of talented folk artists, and director, Kay Landry provides some of the best house sound we have encountered on the road!  

Molasses Creek at Ashland Coffee and Tea, VA

We also love to visit our friends, Ed and Lynda Leslie who host and feed us like we are long lost children returning from a world tour.  Hmm! It is hard to leave their home . . . and boy did we bake a great fig cake!

Preparing for baking the fig cake with Lynda

Shes a goodern

 

Beautiful Cooper's House

            From Virginia, our next stop was at the Cooper’s House Concert Series near Baltimore, MD.   

Myra and Steve Gnadt are longtime folk musicians and supporters who have an incredible program in their historic home.  They also make a mighty tasty quiche!  We found out that Steve and Myra know John and Mary Ellen Golden from their days living in Wilmington, NC.  Steve and John used to have a radio show together and Mary Ellen’s beautiful watercolor paintings could be found in every nook and cranny of the Cooper’s House.  Steve and Myra’s warm welcome and the sold out crowd turned a bone chilling evening into a warm and festive celebration.  Thank you folks!

            The final stop on Sunday in our January weekend tour was a return to Bett Padgett’s house concert series in Raleigh, NC.  Bett and Bill Padgett have one of the longest running housing concerts we know of and Bett is also a wonderful songwriter and guitarist, and president of the NC Lighthouse Society which makes frequent trips to Ocracoke Island. Thanks to Bett and Bill for hosting another magical evening, and all the fans who came out to fill the sold out show!

            At the end of January, Amy, David and Lachlan headed to Florida for a family trip where they visited friends, saw manatees and made a stop at Universal Studios in Orlando.

Lachlan at the Blue Man Group

Hogsmeade Village is a must too!

And of course, some fine Florida fruit!

            We have quite a bit of touring coming up in March.  Here are the details.  Hope to see you out on the road!

Feb 23, (Sun), 7:00 PM, Molasses Creek in concert, Oak Creek House Concert, Stillwater, OK

Feb 24 (Mon), Molasses Creek residency at Stillwater High School, Stillwater, OK

March 1 (Sat), 7:30 PM ~ Molasses Creek at Music Across the Sounds, Mattamaskeet High School, Swan Quarter, NC

March  2 (Sun), 3 PM ~ Concert with the Randolph Community Concert Association, Sunset Theatre, 234 Sunset Avenue, Asheboro, NC

March 7 (Fri), 8:30 PM ~ Purple Fiddle, Thomas, WV

March 8 (Sat), 7:30 PM ~ Molasses Creek at Songspace, First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, PA

March 9 (Sun), 1:30 PM ~ Molasses Creek participating in Marcy Brenner’s Dead Girl Walking presentation event, Undercroft Gallery First Unitarian Church, 605 Morewood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.

March 12 (Wed), 7 PM ~ Molasses Creek concert at the Franklin Regional High School, Pittsburgh PA

March 15 (Sat), 7:30 PM ~ Molasses Creek at the Hershey Area Playhouse, Hershey, PA

March 16 (Sun), 10 AM~ Milton Hershey Founders Hall Auditorium, Hershey, PA.  Molasses Creek will participate in the Sunday morning service and then will give a short concert after the service.

March 18 (Tues), 7 PM ~ The Outer Space, Hamden, CT

March 21 (Fri), 7:30 PM Salmon Brook Music Series, South Congregational Church, Granby, CT

March 23 (Sun), 7:30 PM ~ Concert at the Holyrood Episcopal Church, New York, NY

March 24 (Mon), Time TBA ~ Molasses Creek in concert at the Indian Road Cafe, Indian Road Cafe, 600 W 218th St #3, NY, NY

March 25 (Tues), 12:30 PM ~ Molasses Creek in Concert at Filomen M. D”Agostino Greenberg Music School, Lighthouse International, 111 East 59th St. NE, NY, NY.  Workshop at 2:30 PM

Tales from "Something Worth Having" Photoshoot, Ocracoke Christmas Happenings, and an Update on our Indiegogo Crowd Fundraising Campaign

Hi Molasses Creek friends!  What a busy time we have had these past couple of weeks! Before we move along to the top news stories, here are some upcoming concerts in January.  Hope to see you out on the road!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

  Molasses Creek Residency and concert in Tyro Middle School Auditorium, Tyro, NC, 7 PM.

Friday, January 17, 2014

 Molasses Creek at Ashland Coffee and Tea, Ashland, VA, 8 PM

Saturday, January 18, 2014

 Molasses Creek at Cooper's House Concert, Columbia, MD, 7:30 PM

Sunday, January 19, 2014

 Molasses Creek House Concert in Raleigh, NC, 7 PM (please contact us for details at info@molassescreek.com)

Molasses Creek's Thanksgiving Photoshoot for "Something Worth Having"

 We had a warm Thanksgiving on Ocracoke this year and rounded up our island concerts with a sold out show at Deepwater Theater.  Gerald Hampton, his wife Beth, and his mother Nancy came to Ocracoke to spend the holiday with kids and grandkids. 

On Sunday after Thanksgiving, we rendezvoused with Justin Casey and Randy Woolard for a photoshoot for the new album.  Last time we did this was in 2012 for An Island Out of Time.  Much warmer this round!  In 2012 we shivered up and down the beach, trying to look casual while the wind cut through our thin dressy clothes.  We didn’t exactly sweat this year, but the weather was beautiful.

We shot most of the photos around the Ocracoke Lighthouse property, even venturing inside for a few pictures.  

Great acoustics!

 Twas quite a treat and the acoustics inside the lighthouse made us want to record an album in there. 
After we finished at that location we shuffled our gear over to the historic Hurricane House, another place that we love.  Many thanks to the National Park Service and to Bobby Woodwell for allowing us to search for inspiration around their places!

In the Hurricane House

Finley Woolston and the Joyful Band of Singers visit Ocracoke Island

This last Friday we had a real treat on the island when the voice of Public Radio East, Finley Woolston and his Joyful Band of Singers presented us with an energetic concert of Choral Music for Advent and Christmas through the ages.  The performance was a musical journey from Gregorian Chant to the Renaissance, early Latin and German, Traditional English and American, Modern Carols and Gospel.   The lights on the towering Christmas tree at the Ocracoke United Methodist Church illuminated the singers on stage, creating a glowing setting for the audience that packed the church.  Thanks to Finley and crew for sharing their talents with Ocracoke, and to Ocracoke Alive and the Ocracoke United Methodist Church for helping to bring them here!

Molasses Creek's “Something Worth Having” Indiegogo Campaign Off to a Good Start.  Come stay on Ocracoke and have dinner with us!

Since our last newsletter, we shot a mini-film and launched a crowd fundraising campaign to raise $10,000 in support of the promotion of our new album, Something Worth Having.  In the first ten days you helped us raise $4025/10,000.  Great job and thank you so much!  As of this post date on 12/12/13, we had 20 days to go (Dec 31) and were a little over 40% of the way there.

            There are some great Patron rewards for donations towards the campaign, for all levels of contribution.  We wanted to highlight  the “Ocracoke Island Retreat” level of sponsorship, for lovers of Ocracoke Island.  Although at $1500 it is a more significant patronage, the reward (A WEEK’S STAY ON OCRACOKE ISLAND FOR YOU AND UP TO 5 FRIENDS + MOLASSES CREEK COOKS YOU DINNER) is the going rate for a cottage retreat on the island. 

Availability for the cottage for this reward is September-April.  Fall is an incredibly beautiful time to come to the island . . . the water is warm, the crowds are low, the shops and incredible restaurants are still open.  What a treat to surprise someone with for Christmas!  If you have any questions about any of the Patron Rewards, feel free to contact us at info@molassescreek.com. Many thanks to Fiddler Dave’s parents for their willingness to donate time at their rental cottage to help us raise some money!  Also, many thanks for spreading the word about our quest amongst your friends.  We tried to make the video entertaining enough to be a reward in itself! Click on the panel above or below view the latest in Patron rewards!

Molasses Creek Fall Road Stories

Heading out on the early ferry on a fall morning.

Hello dear friends,

Although hurricane Sandy is barreling along our direction, the weather has been absolutely stunning these past two weeks.  Fiddler Dave neatened up the garden and put in the fall greens (lettuces, kale, spinach, garlic), Gary can see the cormorants making their daily flights to fishing grounds from his soundside home, Marcy has been focusing her creativity on her book, Louie has been whipping the Ocracoke Jazzcasters into shape, and Gerald Hampton has been catching up with his instrument repair projects when not driving back and forth to Ocracoke for performances (and to check up on grandbaby Issac).  This weekend, Molasses Creek will appear on Saturday, October 27 at an event at the Swan Quarter Courthouse from 12-1 PM, at 8 PM at the RA Fountain General Store in Fountain, NC, and then at 3 PM on Sunday, Oct 28 at a community concert series at Music at St Alban’s Church in Davidson, NC.

Also coming up next week . . . on Friday, Nov 2 we will be up in Pennsylvania for a concert and potluck with the Susquehanna Folk Music Society at the Fort Hunter Centennial Barn, and a Saturday evening performance at the Hershey Area Playhouse in Hershey, PA (Nov 3).  On Sunday, November 4th, we will be at Baldwin Station in Sykesville, MD for a performance with Uptown Concerts,.  The following week we are headed to the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference for an official showcase!

A baby peeper frog perched on a potato plant.

It's a small garden, but it's home!

Here's What Has Been Happening . . .

On September 14, Molasses Creek traveled to play for the Wilson Council of the Arts in Wilson, NC.  The performance was held downtown at the Edna Boykin Cultural Arts Center.  What an incredible space!  The community of Wilson has obviously put a lot of love into restoring the old vaudeville theatre (originally built in 1919).  Thanks so much to all the friendly folks who helped to put on the show.  We had a great time!

Would you let her in? I don't know if I would . . .

Louie discovered that they moved the Hatteras Lighthouse to Wilson!

The rest of September we spent focused on Ocracoke Island activities and zipping off to play private events in the Raleigh area and up the beach.  October 10th, we took a mini-tour up to Richmond area to play the Ashland Coffee & Tea, and then over to Easton, MD on the eastern shore for some residencies and concerts with the Avalon Theatre.

Gerald takes a hot break!

At the Ashland concert we were beset by pirates!

Thanks to Suzanne Keller for the photos and for engineering the best ever concert attire in the history of Molasses Creek.  Wow! Did we ever feel at home . . .

Fiddler Dave had to try on a swashbuckling hat.

After an evening stop over with our dear friends, Ed & Lynda Leslie, we snaked up around DC and over the bridge to the eastern shore of Maryland where we spent Thursday afternoon at school residencies for 2nd graders at St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.  Friday morning we performed for our biggest ever 2nd grade audience (300-400 at the Avalon Theatre in Easton), and then in the afternoon we snuck in one more residence performance (hunting down mighty fine homegrown ice cream at the Scottish Highland Creamery in Oxford, MD) and finished out the day with an evening concert at Avalon's Stoltz Listening Room. Easton is a beautiful town filled with wonderful restaurants, galleries, coffee shops, and a phenomenal farmer's market.  Hunt this town down!

Schooners, in Oxford, MD (home of the Scottish Highland Creamery)

Not to be missed!  This ice cream was awesome!

Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD

 Also performing on Friday evening at the Avalon was Mike Foley, WWE wrestling star.  We caught an aftershow photo with with him down in the lobby.

Notice the authentic glowing eyes of fury!

We arrived back home on Saturday night, just in time to dive into Ocracoke Alive's Ocrafolk School on Sunday.  Gary is the director of the school, Marcy an secretary, and Fiddler Dave the assistant for the Cooking Class.  We spent a wonderful week with Ocracoke historians, wood carvers, healing arts specialists, musicians, and chefs.  Here are a few photos. 

Capt. Rob Temple takes the Ocrafolk School for a sail on Ocracoke Alive's new Skipjack, Wilma Lee

Tom Payne with some Old Drum caught fresh from the Ocracoke Working Waterman's Seafood Store!

John Ivey cleans it.

And instructs us on how to turn it into Old Drum Dinner and Fish cakes

In the carving class, Frank Boyd instructed John Golden in the carving of a dancing man.  John crafted a mini "Philip Howard" for Philip to demonstrate at the end of the week.  Philip is an island historian, Fiddler Dave's father-in-law, and a storyteller/performer at the Ocrafolk Opry.  Excellent work, John!

Finally, this last weekend Molasses Creek traveled up to Nags head to perform at the first annual Outer Banks Seafood Festival.  The event featured locally caught seafood, served by a multitude of local restaurants, as well as performances by Outer Banks bands.

Lou and Dave warm up on the Hatteras Ferry.

About 8000 folks came out!  (Photo by Joann Hummers)

That's all for this blog!  Hope to see you folks on the road or on Ocracoke if you are headed this way!

Gary, Fiddler Dave, Marcy, Lou & Gerald.
Your Molasses Creek crew.

 

Molasses Creek's Fall Touring Schedule in a Nutshell

Saturday, Oct 27, 8 PM ~ RA Fountain General Store, Fountain, NC

Sunday, Oct 28, 3:00 PM ~ Music at St. Albans, Davidson, NC

Friday, Nov 2, 6:00 Potluck, 7:30 Concert ~ Susquehanna Folk Music Society, New Cumberland,PA

Saturday, Nov 3, 7:30 ~ Hersey Area Playhouse, Hershey, PA
Sunday, Nov 4, 8:00 PM ~ Baldwin Station, Sykesville, MD
Monday, December 31 ~ First Night Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA

If you are interested in helping to promote any shows in your region, please visit our Street Team page at http://www.molassescreek.com/streetteam.cfm.  We'll send you at least 10 posters to put up and the new album as a thank you!

***If you are traveling to Ocracoke Island, NC June-Sept, Molasses Creek performs every Thursday night at their own Deepwater Theater ***