Art & Music

Kingston Artist Soapbox Derby rolls in Sunday

Kingston Artist Soapbox Derby rolls in Sunday

Sunday, August 19: The first gravity vehicle will launch at or about 12 noon from the corner of Broadway and Spring Street, and the last…well, that depends on how well things roll this year. Remember, this is not a race, but an artistic competition, and every Derby seems to include at least one or two pieces of “kinetic art” that require a fair bit of encouragement to make it in a more-or-less straight line to the bottom of the hill.

OAR to perform at Bethel Woods

OAR to perform at Bethel Woods

Sunday, August 19: OAR has always seemed to occupy a parallel universe, a cultic otherness reminiscent of those Christian rock bands you’ve never heard of selling out 100,000-seat football stadiums. What I love about OAR is that they know it; they embrace it. Their press release states, “In effect hiding in plain sight from the world outside, the band fills arenas and amphitheaters as it crafts and releases relatable songs with big pop hooks, all of this activity going down completely apart from the mainstream. Within this universe, these songs are bona fide hits, and the band members are superstars.”

Kansas is coming to Kingston

Kansas is coming to Kingston

Saturday, August 18: If you listen to the first four Kansas albums, you will hear compositions that are every bit the equal of early Genesis in terms of counterpoint and formal design, and the music routinely rocks harder as well.

Live recording session with Kat Wright in Woodstock

Live recording session with Kat Wright in Woodstock

Saturday, August 18: Guests are invited to sit in on the mystery of studio recording as the Vermont-based retro soul/pop singer lays down a live album that will be her next release. The Burlington singer and her band work in the swanky, uptown-retro tradition of Dap-Tone and Amy Winehouse.