Potsdam, NY, Apr 18, 2013 — The Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet will perform music of Japan, Cuba, Spain and Latin America in a concert Saturday night in SUNY Potsdam's Hosmer Hall. The concert is presented by Community Performance Series. For more than 30 years, the LAGQ have set the standard among guitar ensembles. Todd Moe spoke with founding member William Kanengiser about Saturday night's concert. The quartet, along with a guitar orchestra of 24 guitarists, will perform a Japanese composition by Shingo Fujii, entitled Shikki, written to honor the victims of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan two years ago.  Go to full article

Feb 01, 2013 — Caramelo Trio joined us live in the studio this morning to share some all original Latin contemporary music. The goup based in Potsdam, NY includes cellist Beth Robinson, guitarist Oscar Sarmiento, and percussionist Stephen Farina.

Set list: Secret Weapon, November Lament, Procrastination Tango, and Gazambo.  Go to full article

Parishville, NY, Dec 26, 2012 — This holiday week, we're taking a second listen to one of our favorite series of 2012. This May, we profiled people doing traditional work, including a North Country craftsman who builds stringed instruments and applies inlay to them in a way that is the same as it has been done for generations.

Joel Hurd, a guitar enthusiast himself, traveled to Parishville to meet Tracy Cox.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Nov 23, 2012 — A busy jazz guitarist with North Country roots is releasing a new CD this week, and will be celebrating with a house concert near Potsdam tomorrow night. Joel Hurd tells us more.  Go to full article

New York, NY, Aug 01, 2012 — Musician Christopher Battles is hoping to make his mark as an acoustic singer/songwriter in the big city. He grew up in Oswego, graduated from the Crane School of Music last spring and now lives in New York City. He studied percussion and music education at Crane, and when he's not performing on the street or the stage at a coffee house, he's a substitute band teacher.

In the coming months, Christopher Battles will share his musical journey via audio postcards. We'll hear occasional stories of his new life -- the pressures, emotional highs and lows and what it's like for an upstate troubadour in the big city.

Earlier this summer, he released his first solo EP recording, titled Miles upon Miles. Not quite a single and not quite an album, EPs are usually an artist's debut recording and contain just a few musical tracks.

Battles takes new music and familiar favorites along while busking (street performing) at subway stops. For many musicians, busking is the showbiz equivalent of an entry-level job.  Go to full article

New York, NY, May 25, 2012 — New York City has always held a special place in the American imagination. For generations, it has inspired more than its fair share of musical dreams.

Musician Christopher Battles is hoping to make his mark as an acoustic singer/songwriter. He graduated from the Crane School of Music last spring and moved from his upstate hometown -- Oswego -- to New York City. He studied percussion and music education at Crane, and when he's not busking at a subway stop or on stage at a coffee house, he's a substitute band teacher.

Next Saturday, he'll release his first solo EP recording, titled Miles upon Miles. Not quite a single and not quite an album, EPs are usually an artist's debut recording and contain just a few musical tracks.

In the coming months, Christopher Battles has agreed to share his musical journey via audio postcards. We'll hear occasional stories of his new life -- the pressures, emotional highs and lows and what it's like for an upstate troubadour in the big city.  Go to full article

Parishville, NY, May 16, 2012 — While reporting on traditional work the last couple of weeks, we learned about a North Country craftsman who builds stringed instruments and applies inlay to them in a way that is the same as it has been done for generations. It wasn't long before Joel Hurd, a guitar enthusiast himself, was on his way to Parishville to meet Tracy Cox.  Go to full article

Norwood, NY, Aug 03, 2011 — Three master guitarists from Potsdam: Paul Meyers, Danny Gotham and Richard Stephan, will be getting together for the first time as a trio tomorrow night at the Norwood Village Green Concert Series. There will be plenty of jazz standards, some original tunes and a few surprises. Joel Hurd has a preview.  Go to full article

Ray Brook, NY, Dec 03, 2009 — Kim Simmonds is heading into four decades of playing the Blues. He founded legendary British Blues band, Savoy Brown, in 1965. He recently finished a solo cd, and has been quietly and passionately painting and drawing for the last ten years. Simmonds hosts an exhibit of his guitar paintings and a concert at Saranac Village at Will Rogers, Saturday at 7:00 pm. Todd Moe spoke with him about connections between making music and the visual arts.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Jun 12, 2009 — North Country classical guitarist Lynn McGrath is moving west this month to pursue her musical career. She joined Todd Moe in the studio this morning to share music inspired by Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez, and his most popular work, Platero y yo.  Go to full article