The summertime season has wound down on Ocracoke Island as the kids head back to school. Now there is touch of cool in the air, and island residents can take a breather and make plans for off season projects. Molasses Creek is eyeing Gary's Soundside Studio and plotting a new recording. Fiddler Dave just planted lettuce, kale, and spinach seeds for his raised garden, and the fig trees have about run their course of fruit, and the baby loggerhead turtles have climbed out of their nests and made their way into the pounding surf.
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| Baby Lettuce & Spinach hope for a mild winter. |
Molasses Creek assembled in Franklinville, NC (Gerald Hampton’s home base) for a
Friday rehearsal, after which we attending an incredible dinner at the Goat Lady Dairy, and a Saturday ceremony. The weekend went over with a hitch. Congratulations
to Rebecca and Dillon!
Upcoming Performances
At the end of this week on September 14th, Molasses Creek with be hosted
by the Wilson Arts Council in Wilson, NC for a 7:30 PM concert at the Boykin Center. We hope to see you there for a fun evening of song and shenanigans! For more details visit http://www.wilsonarts.com/.
If
you are headed to Ocracoke Island in September, make sure to plan an evening at
Molasses Creek’s Deepwater Theater on School Road. Monday, Fiddler Dave joins his wife, Amy
Howard, and father-in-law, Philip Howard, for an evening of “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet: Strange Stories and
Tales from Ocracoke Island.” Amy and Philip are descendents of William Howard, the quartermaster
on Blackbeard’s ship, so you know they have some interesting tales. On Wednesday nights Molasses Creek hosts
the Ocrafolk Opry, featuring local musicians and storytellers, and on Thursday is
an all Molasses Creek show.
For show details visit http://www.molassescreek.com/deepwatertheater.cfm.
Although Molasses Creek will be
performing at quite a few private events off of Ocracoke in these next couple
of weeks, our next public performance after this Friday’s concert in Wilson is on Wednesday, October 10th at Ashland Coffee and Tea in Ashland,VA (near Richmond). Friday (October 12) we will be doing residencies and a concert at the Avalon Theater in Easton, MD. The next weekend we will be at the first annual Outer Banks Seafood Festival on October 20. At the end of October, Molasses Creek
will appear on Saturday, October 27 at the RA Fountain General Store in
Fountain, NC, and then on Sunday, Oct 28 at a community concert series at Music at St Alban’s Church in Davidson, NC.
On Thursday, November 1st, we will be at Baldwin Station in Sykesville, MD for a performance with Uptown Concerts, and then will scoot up to Pennsylvania for a concert and potluck with the Susquehanna Folk Music Society at the Fort Hunter Centennial Barn (Friday, Nov 2), and a Saturday evening performance at the Hershey Area Playhouse in Hershey, PA (Nov 3). The following week we are headed to the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference (read more below).
Molasses Creek's Fall Touring Schedule in a Nutshell
Saturday, Sept 14,7:30 PM ~ Arts Council of Wilson, NC
Wednesday, Oct 10, 8 PM ~ Ashland Coffee and Tea, VA
Friday, October 12, 8 PM ~ Concert at the Avalon Theatre Stoltz Listening Room, Easton, MD
Saturday, Oct 20 ~ Outer Banks Seafood Festival, NC
Saturday, Oct 27, 8 PM ~ RA Fountain General Store, Fountain, NC
Sunday, Oct 28, 3:00 PM ~ Music at St. Albans, Davidson, NC
Thursday, Nov 1, 8:00 PM ~ Baldwin Station, Sykesville, MD
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
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 ***
***If you are traveling to Ocracoke Island, NC June-Sept, Molasses Creek performs every Thursday night at their own Deepwater Theater ***
Retreat to Molasses Creek’s Home Island of Ocracoke for the 6th Annual Ocrafolk School!
Would you like to
rehearse and jam with Molasses Creek, be a part of a recording in Soundside
Studio, eat great food and just 'hang' with the Ocracoke musicians? You should
sign up for "Exploring Ocracoke Music" w/Gary Mitchell, a class offered
this year as a part of the Ocrafolk School, October 14-19.
Ocracoke Island is
known for having quite a vibrant music scene. In the "Exploring Ocracoke
Music" class, students will spend the week 'behind the scenes' exploring
and visiting the musicians, rehearsals, recording studios, history, venues and
local radio that make it all happen. No musical experience is necessary! (but
certainly welcome). Gary Mitchell is a founding member of Molasses Creek band, the Ocrafolk Opry and Ocrafolk Festival, and has made his
home on Ocracoke Island since 1978.
If you would like to focus on another class for the week,
this year’s Ocrafolk School is also offering classes in Wood Carving, IslandCooking, a Wellness Week, and an Ocracoke Sampler focusing on Ocracoke Island’s
History, Culture and Seafaring Traditions.
For more details visit the website at http://www.ocrafolkschool.org.
Reflections on a Week in Donald Davis’s Storytelling Workshop ~ by Marcy Brenner of Molasses Creek.
For Donald Davis, storytelling is a way of giving and living
life. He invites each listener to
come along, to pull deep inside for one's own stories, to personally share and
co-create the common experiences that celebrate the creative spirit. For Donald Davis storytelling "is
not what I do for a living...it is how I do all that I do while I am
living."
The Donald Davis LIFE STORY WORKSHOPS are held each year in
June, two separate one-week sessions on Ocracoke Island, NC. These experiential workshops are
designed to tap memory processes and begin to shape personal and family-based
stories. His wife Merle creates a
safe and inspired space for this magical experience. During the week the group is invited to tell stories at the
Ocracoke Preservation Society’s Porch Talk during the week (typically Wednesday
and Thursday mornings) and then hold a public storytelling evening at Deepwater
Theater.
As a
songwriter, musician, breast cancer advocate and writer, I am telling
stories. As a reader and music
lover, I’m listening to stories. I
figure all we really have are our stories! Working with Donald I’ve discovered how to “mine” my own
stories and trust the power of story.
Molasses Creek T-shirts Have Just Been Released!
We are sooo excited that the new Molasses Creek
T-shirt are in! We want to make
sure that everyone gets one . . . and so to help you out, for the first week
(until midnight on Friday, September 21), anyone who orders will get free shipping (a $6
value!). T-shirts are $20
dollars. We have the five colors
pictured below in sizes (S, M, L, XL, and XXL). Get em while they are hot!
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| The Green is this color with Black Image |
Molasses Creek to "Officially Showcase" at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in November
NERFA Showcase ~ Molasses Creek was very excited this week
when we learned that we had been awarded one of the fourteen official showcase
spots at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference in November. Each year the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference attracts
of 750 folk musicians and fans for a four day retreat at the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa in Kerhonkson, NY (south
of Albany).
The conference is wild fun with 14 official showcases as well as other conference showcases and what is termed "private or guerrilla showcases" (no monkeys or guns involved). If you would like to experience the feel of a hotel taken over by a folk festival, walking down a conventional hotel hall dodging 8 standup bassists, 14 banjo players, and other assorted instruments you have never seen before, then this is the place for you! Here are the other groups that were awarded official showcase spots for this year. Can't wait to see and meet them!
The conference is wild fun with 14 official showcases as well as other conference showcases and what is termed "private or guerrilla showcases" (no monkeys or guns involved). If you would like to experience the feel of a hotel taken over by a folk festival, walking down a conventional hotel hall dodging 8 standup bassists, 14 banjo players, and other assorted instruments you have never seen before, then this is the place for you! Here are the other groups that were awarded official showcase spots for this year. Can't wait to see and meet them!
Brother Sun, Gypsophilia, ilyAIMY (I love you And I Miss You), Zoe Lewis,Molasses Creek, Greg Klyma,The Tres Amigos, Putnam Street Trio, Ariana Gillis, Suzie Vinnick,The Stray Birds, Connor Garvey, Carolyn Waters, Honor Finnegan
That's all for now. Hope to see you out on the road or on Ocracoke Island!
Much love from your Molasses Creek crew (Gary, Fiddler Dave, Marcy, Lou & Gerald)
That's all for now. Hope to see you out on the road or on Ocracoke Island!
Much love from your Molasses Creek crew (Gary, Fiddler Dave, Marcy, Lou & Gerald)
