Ralph White                               Amy Annelle                         Over a Carboard Sea

MV & EE                                    Whiffletree                               Factory Seconds
artwork by Amy Moon Offermann Sims

Summer Sonic Tonic of Music and Art at Waterfall Arts August 14

For its tenth anniversary year, Waterfall Arts has concocted a “Summer Sonic Tonic”, an exciting afternoon of music, art, movies, friends and food on Saturday, August 14 from 2 to 8 pm. The event takes place at Waterfall Art’s Montville site at Kingdom Falls.

Six bands will play sets throughout the afternoon in a mix of neo-classical, folk-cosmic-blues, neo-traditional, music from days gone by, a rag tag horn ensemble, original songwriting and big sound.  The performers are Amy Annelle, Ralph White, Whiffletree, MV & EE, Factory Seconds and Over a Cardboard Sea.

Other activities throughout the afternoon feature Cinema 589, a series of locally made movies and videos shown in the Main Studio. The mystic Sarabell will read the fortunes of past and future in the shady fir grove. There will be a Kids’ Activities tent with face painting and crown and costume making. Dancer Shana Bloomstein will perform an original dance piece. Suzanne Southworth will do glass bead demonstrations and Judith Tingley of hoopmaniacs will share the joy and fun of spinning and twirling hula hoops.

Over a Cardboard Sea is a 4 to 9 piece band from Portland, Maine that plays American popular song from the golden age of Tin Pan Alley (1890-1939). Comic songs, novelty tunes, and tear-jerkers from the era of wax cylinder recording come to life when this ukulele-led line-up takes the stage. Four-part harmonies and bad jokes make this group of ragtime rascals a must-see.

A true hidden American treasure, Austin, Texas native Ralph White has traveled many back roads in inspired pursuit of the ancient roots of music, from Canadian apple orchards to African villages and lonesome Irish moors. An original member of punk bluegrass mavericks (and Texas Music Hall of Fame inductees) the Bad Livers, White plays a wooden six-string banjo, violin, button accordion and kalimba. He has performed with a diverse group of folk and avant-garde musicians: Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Jandek, Eugene Chadbourne and Michelle Shocked,

Whiffletree, the classically trained cello/fiddle duo of Seth and Tyler Yentes from Monroe, play a rich and rhythmic original sound suitable for dancing and dreaming in lilting and gritty tempos ranging from tango to jigs and reels.

Amy Annelle has been called a High Plains Angel whose original songs are sparse, transcendent and powerful. With guitar and haunting voice she remains true to roots music while taking it into a new dimension, exalting what grows and is built on American soil.

Factory Seconds is a New England-based rag-tag horn band of up to 20-odd and awesome members playing danceable folk music from Klezmer, Gypsy, and Circus music traditions. Part of the new  street band movement emerging around the world, the Factory Seconds honk their horns and beat  their drums to celebrate life and freedom, to arouse and encourage fellow travelers, to warn of danger, announce  milestones, and just have fun.

MV & EE, is a Vermont-based group with Matt Valentine, his partner Erika Elder and a rotating cast of additional musicians. They play "lunar ragas" with celestial imagery combining Appalachian folk and rural blues with electrical experimentalism, big sound jams and guitar excursions into the unknown.

Now in its tenth year, Waterfall Arts runs centers for art and design in Belfast and Montville, with exhibition spaces, art classes ranging from hot glass to wood sculpture, dance, painting, drawing, green building design and ceramics, studio rentals and art, music and community events.

Waterfall Arts Montville is located at 52 Kingdom Road, 15 miles west of Belfast, just off Route 3. The gates open at 1pm with the first performance scheduled to begin at 2. Rain date for the event is Sunday August 15 with the same start time. Admission is $8 per person, with free admission for kids under 14. . Visitors are welcome to walk the grounds, visit the waterfalls, gardens, outdoor sculptures and studios. The annual Montville Field Day is also held on August 14^th beginning at 9 am. Attending both the Summer Sonic Tonic and the Field Day supports two local organizations and makes for a great Montville immersion day.

John’s Ice Cream of Liberty and Shameem Highstreet will be on hand with delicious multi-cultural refreshments for sale. Sponsors for this annual event are Bangor Savings Bank, Michelle Morrow DMD and Roots and Tendrils with support from Peavey’s General Store, Liberty Graphics, the Beetle Shop, Garden Spirits and the Belfast Co-op Store. For more information, call Waterfall Arts at 207 338-2222 or visit www.waterfallarts.org.

Business Supporters:
Peaveys General Store
Liberty Graphics
Garden Spirits
Belfast Coop Store
Beetle Shop