The McCauley Mountain Music Festival is just around the corner—Saturday, August 6, to be exact—and area music lovers are anticipating a great show by contemporary music legends, 10,000 Maniacs, which will be headlining the day-long, multi-band event in Old Forge.
“I’m very excited about how things are gelling together for this, and we’re very pleased with current ticket sales,” festival promotor Felicity Davey, of the Adirondack Tourism Association, said.
The festival, now in its second year, has added a second stage to keep the music going in relatively non-stop fashion, all day long.
Rustic camping will also be available on-site this year.
Tickets are $25 pre-sale at Souvenir Village or Sweetcar Named Desire in Old Forge, or online at www.mccauleymusicfest.com.
They will also be available at the gate for $30 each.
Attendees will be able to enjoy nine hours of live music, dancing and over-night camping.
The gates open at 1 p.m. and will remain open for the duration of the festival.
Also scheduled to perform are Plattsburg-born band Lucid, The Nards featuring Paul Case, Jamie Notarthomas, and Jon Liebing.
This September marks the thirtieth anniversary of the 10,000 Maniacs, and as such, they can be found making their rounds around the U.S. this Summer.
Coming off of a sold-out City Winery show in New York City, the band continues to receive critical acclaim.
Columnist Dave Astor attended the July 9th show and raved in a Huffington Post article that appeared this month:
“Band members gave it all they got—playing energetically for nearly two hours, joking with each other, and engaging the audience. Heck, 10,000 Maniacs members were so engaging that they mingled with attendees after the New York show…The experience was well worth it,” he wrote.
Astor went on to describe 10,000 Maniacs as one of American music’s elite acts. He is urging the selection committee to induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“A much deserved honor,” Astor wrote.
He went on to describe the band’s influence throughout the music world, giving five examples of its greatness:
1. 10,000 Maniacs was among the first indie bands (self-producing/manufacturing/marketing its early records) and also among the first alternative rock bands.
2. 10,000 has expertly handled various musical genres…No matter what the genre, 10,000 Maniacs always manages to sound melodic.
3. 10,000 Maniacs has resolutely kept on going despite losing several members.
4. 10,000 Maniacs know how to play. [Guitarist] Erikson is a master of the instrument.
[Mary] Ramsey is so good at the viola that any symphony orchestra would be thrilled to have her.
Jerry Augustyniak, Dennis Drew, and Steve Gustafson are wonderful on the drums, keyboards, and bass, respectively.
5. While the bulk of what 10,000 Maniacs members play is their own material, they have an amazing knack for taking other bands’ songs and making them sound better than the originals.”
They are surely not an act to be missed.
