The iHeart Community Calendar

Worldbeat Troubadour Zoe Lewis to Open Oswego Music Hall's New Season Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014.
 
The Oswego Music Hall is excited to open its 38th season Sept. 27th at 7:30 p.m. with a folk festival favorite: singer-songwriter, troubadour, storyteller, and adventurer Zoe Lewis.  That Saturday, Lewis will demonstrate why she's been called "a band in a body," playing jazz, jump jive, Latin grooves, swing, international folk, and funk originals on anything from the piano to the spoons!
 
Winner of the Colorado Rocky Mountain Folks Festival "Troubadour Award" in 2003, "New Folk Winner 2002" at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas and 2001 Falconridge Folk Festival Audience Favorite, Zoe Lewis has performed around the world and toured with well known musicians, including Judy Collins, the Indigo Girls and Nancy Griffith. Originally from England, Lewis now resides in Provincetown on Cape Cod, MA, where she performs every summer. Her music is upbeat, amusing and perfect for young and old alike. She's traveled around the globe to over 70 countries, picking up world-beat grooves and stories on the way; jumping box cars, riding on freight boats and has even played music with an elephant orchestra in Thailand. "Her fast-paced lyrics poke fun at modern society and praise the rambling delights of childhood, secret worlds, and wandering love." 
 
Zoe Lewis studied music as a youngster and toured with a London Latin jazz band initially.  When she went solo, she performed in pubs and worked in South America and the Caribbean before coming to the U.S..  She's popular at many colleges, including Princeton, Williams, and Rensselaer Polytechnic, as well as folk clubs, coffee houses, music festivals and pride marches.  Lewis plays original songs on guitar, piano, harmonica, ukulele, penny whistle, accordion and human trumpet and has released seven recordings since 1994. 
Lewis has taught songwriting workshops at festivals and in schools.  According to her website, her "workshop  'Music in our Pockets' encourages people to redefine their meaning of music; there's music on the streets, on our bodies, in nature, even in our pockets if only we open up our ears."  Loose change and a set of keys can be used to make wonderful noise. With the help of African calabash, Jamaican steel pans, gourds, coconuts, trash cans, thumb pianos, conch shells and musical saws, she demonstrates her point.
 
What have some music critics have said about her performances?
"She stormed the main stage playing everything from swinging folk and Latin jazz to acoustic funk and sprightly celtic-flavored tunes. Her boundless energy was hard to ignore."-OTTAWA XPRESS, Canada
With a kind of "comic grace, Zoë treads fearlessly through acoustic funk, jazz and even a randy New Orleans shuffle."- Valley Musics News, Sacramento, CA
 
Check out Zoe Lewis' music at http://www.zoelewis.com and then treat yourself to a lively performance at the Music Hall on Sept. 27th.  Shows start at a new time this year, 7:30 p.m. instead of 8:00 p.m..  The venue is the same cozy spot:  the McCrobie Civic Center, 41 Lake Street, Oswego. The atmosphere is intimate with candle-lit tables surrounding a small stage. Desserts, snacks, popcorn and beverages are available for purchase.
Ticket prices for this event are $14 if purchased in advance and $16 at the door.   Children 12 and under are half-price; under 5 are free.  Tickets can be purchased on-line at http://oswegomusichall.org/ or at the river’s end bookstore, 19 West Bridge Street in Oswego.  Holders of tickets purchased before 1 p.m. on the day of the concert will have preferred seating.  After 1 pm, seating will be general admission.  For information about money-saving Season Tickets or becoming a member or a volunteer, go to the website or contact Membership Secretary, Carol Forrest at 343-2988.
 
The Music Hall’s next show, Sat. Oct. 11, will feature two leading Canadian acoustic performers, Dave Gunning co-billed with James Keelaghan. The Music Hall has been run entirely by volunteers from its inception over 37 years ago.  Volunteers can earn admission to shows through different tasks.  Free Open Mic shows are held on Friday nights before all Sat. shows.   This is a popular place for local and regional talent to be heard.
 
Music Hall concerts are made possible in part with funding from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. For more information call 315-342-1733 or access the Music Hall website: http://oswegomusichall.org