“Beyond a Simple Folk Song” Concert 2026
July 25 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Saturday, July 25th at the Redeemer Church, 90 Route 32 south, in New Paltz.
Show begins at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:30.
Admission is $20 at the door, with a discount for members, $15.
This year, Beyond A Simple Folk Song will be commemorating and celebrating Hudson Valley and Catskills history with songs in coordination with America’s 250th birthday. The six local songwriters, Bill Buttner, Kurt Henry & Cheryl Lambert, Lisa Markley, Fran Palmieri, Dorraine Schofield, and Sharon Klein, will be tasked with writing 3 songs with historical themes such as:
- The burning of Kingston
- Stories about indigenous people, the Esopus and Lenape.
- The legacy of Sojourner Truth
- The legend of Rip Van Winkle
- (In)famous murders in the Hudson Valley
- Stories of the Albany Post Road
- The Rosendale cement mines
- Immigrant stories; Kingston in the industrial age
- Stories of the D&H canal
- Stories of who is buried in the Kingston African burial ground
- Henry Hudon’s trip up the river that bears his name
- Hudson Valley railroad history
- The building of the Ashokan reservoir to supply NYC with water
- FDR and Elenor, our most famous couple
- The Clearwater and the legacy of Pete Seeger
- The spectacular return of the bald eagle
- Hudson Valley farmers (12th generation Kelder/Osterhaut, Davenport, etc.)
- The Gilded Age in the Hudson Valley
- Haunted and abandoned houses and buildings (Overlook Mountain house, Bannerman Island)
- Ice boating on the Hudson
- The ice industry and ice houses.
The performance will be done “in the round”, with collaborations between the songwriters encouraged. Three performers will be playing in each of the 2 sets, with a 15-20 minute intermission. This format is sure to create an intimate, magical setting reminiscent of a traditional “house concert” or “salon.” Kevin Becker will be presenting 2 instrumental pieces he has composed, after the intermission and before the next round. What makes these pieces special is that the melodies are derived from five songs written by four distinct HVFG songwriters from across our 47 year history.