Caramoor Celebrates American Roots Music with an All Day Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Press Representatives: Lois Cohn Associates
Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts
Celebrates American Roots Music with All-Day Festival / Saturday, June 29

Performances by the Del McCoury Band, David Wax Museum,
John McCutcheon, Heritage Blues Quartet, The Stray Birds, Doug & Telisha, Spuyten Duyvil, and the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus

KATONAH, NY – The American Roots Music Festival, a daylong celebration of folk, string band, country, blues, gospel, and bluegrass music, returns to Caramoor on Saturday, June 29. The one-day-only event is headlined by the world premiere of The Del McCoury Band’s new project, “Del McCoury Sings Woody Guthrie,” featuring unheard and unsung words of Guthrie set to music by the great bluegrass musician. In addition, he will perform his trademark Bluegrass standards and favorites.

Beginning at 12:00 noon, the family-friendly festival takes place throughout the grounds of Caramoor and provides a day of live music and activities for adults and kids. Festival-goers can lounge and picnic while enjoying folk-rock band David Wax Museum, traditional folk music icon John McCutcheon, blues and gospel group Heritage Blues Quartet, rising stars acoustic string band trio The Stray Birds, Nashville-based country duo Doug & Telisha, alternative/traditional folk band Spuyten Duyvil and the heralded Walkabout Clearwater Chorus.

The day continues with the Social Music Hour at 6:00pm – an all-ages workshop and sing-along with some of the festival performers.

Headlining the festival at 7:30pm in the Venetian Theater is The Del McCoury Band and the debut of “Del McCoury sings Woody Guthrie.” To help bring new life to the work of American folk poet Woody Guthrie, his daughter, Nora Guthrie, gave Del McCoury exclusive access to the archives of her father’s unpublished work. Now, with the support of Woody Guthrie’s family, The Del McCoury Band will perform an evening of never-before-heard lyrics written by the “Dust Bowl Troubadour” set to new music by Del McCoury and including a multi-media presentation featuring Guthrie’s original words, drawings and other materials from the archives that inspired this performance.

"The Del/Woody project is a real treat for us to present at Caramoor. What better way to celebrate the roots of American music than a new collaboration between American icons,” said Maggi Landau, Artistic Director of American Roots Music. “Del McCoury is a much-awarded American treasure who, over the past 50 years, has continued to popularize bluegrass music. His willingness to experiment, to bring folk and rock and other forms of music into the bluegrass fold, explains his appeal to hard-core bluegrass fans as well as people who don't know anything about bluegrass. Woody Guthrie is America's folk poet who continues to inspire singer/songwriters everywhere. Although long gone, he lives on through his published words and music and now has a whole new body of songs thanks to Del."

The American Roots Music Festival is appropriate for all ages. Picnicking is encouraged; festival-goers can bring their own picnic, purchase food or beverages on site or order a picnic in advance for pick-up at Caramoor by calling Great Performances® at 212-337-6055 or visiting www.greatperformances.com/caramoorpicnics.

TICKETS
American Roots Music Festival: Daytime-only tickets are $25. Full festival tickets (which include the evening show) are $35, $45, $55. Children under 18 are half price for both daytime only and full festival tickets.
To order tickets, call the Box Office at 914.232.1252 or visit www.caramoor.org.

PRESS CONTACT
For press tickets, images, artist information or interviews, contact Brittnee Walker at 412.601.2474 orbwalker@lcohnpr.com.

PROGRAMS
SATURDAY, JUNE 29
AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC FESTIVAL
$25, $35, $45, $55, children under 18 half price

12:00noon – 6pm (on Friends Field and at the Sunken Garden):
David Wax Museum
John McCutcheon
Heritage Blues Quartet
The Stray Birds
Doug & Telisha
Spuyten Duyvil

6pm (on the East Lawn):
The Social Music Hour

7:30pm-10pm (in the Venetian Theater):
The Del McCoury Band, Del McCoury sings Woody Guthrie

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
For information about The Del McCoury Band, visit: www.delmccouryband.com
For information about David Wax Museum, visit: www.davidwaxmuseum.com
For information about John McCutcheon, visit: www.folkmusic.com
For information about Heritage Blues Quartet, visit: www.heritagebluesorchestra.com
For information about The Stray Birds, visit: www.thestraybirds.com
For information about Doug & Telisha, visit: www.dougandtelisha.com
For information about Spuyten Duyvil, visit: www.spuytenduyvilmusic.com
For information about the Walkabout Clearwater Chorus, visit: www.walkaboutclearwater.org

ABOUT CARAMOOR

“We built a home, my husband and I, not to be old or new, just to be beautiful. And we built it for music.” ~ Lucie Rosen

Caramoor, the country estate of Walter and Lucie Rosen, was where they built their home and filled it with treasures. Enjoying the pleasure their friends took in the beauty of Caramoor with its art collection, gardens, and musical programs, in 1946 the Rosens established a public trust to open Caramoor to the community. Their musical evenings were the inspiration for the Caramoor Summer Music Festival, now in its sixty-eighth year, and the ongoing Music in the Rosen House series.

Since its founding, Caramoor has gained international renown as a cultural institution, presenting music of all types and inspiring artists and audiences alike.

Caramoor enriches the lives of its audiences through intimate, innovative and diverse musical performances of the highest quality. Education is a valued component of Caramoor’s mission, and Caramoor offers programs for the mentoring of young professional musicians as well as curriculum-based programs for school children emphasizing music, history and visual and decorative arts. Caramoor is often described as “a Garden of Great Music,” where audiences are invited to explore the beautiful grounds and gardens, discover the fascinating collection of period rooms and antiquities in the Rosen House, and enjoy beautiful music in the Music Room, Spanish Courtyard and Venetian theater.

Concert Venues and Gardens
Summer concerts take place in two outdoor theaters: the 1,714-seat, acoustically superb Venetian Theater and the more intimate, romantic 558-seat Spanish Courtyard. In the fall and winter all concerts are presented in the magnificent Music Room in the Rosen House. Caramoor’s gardens, also used for concerts, are also well worth the visit and include nine unique perennial gardens. Among them are a Sense Circle for the visually handicapped, the Sunken Garden, a Butterfly Garden, the Tapestry Hedge, and the Iris and Peony Garden.

GETTING TO CARAMOOR
By car from the West Side of Manhattan and New Jersey, take the Saw Mill River Parkway north to Katonah. Exit at Route 35/Cross River. Turn right and, at the first traffic light, make a right turn onto Route 22 south. Travel 1.9 miles to the junction of Girdle Ridge Road. Follow the signs to Caramoor. (For detailed directions call 914.232.5035 and press 4, or online at www.caramoor.org). Parking at Caramoor is free.

By train, take the Harlem Division of the Metro-North Railroad to Katonah, New York. Taxi service from the station to Caramoor (5 minutes away) is available.

CREDITS

Performances are made possible, in part, by
ArtsWestchester with funds from Westchester County Government.
Performances are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts
with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
The 2013 International Music Festival is supported in part
by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

CARAMOOR CENTER FOR MUSIC AND THE ARTS IS LOCATED AT
149 GIRDLE RIDGE ROAD, KATONAH, NEW YORK 10536.

ALL PROGRAMS AND ARTISTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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