SACKETS HARBOR — “Come Together: A Gathering of Voices” will be a night of amazing musical entertainment coming to Historic Sackets Harbor next month.
The family-friendly concert will be held Saturday, July 20, 2024, from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Sackets Harbor Ballroom, 103 West Main St., Sackets Harbor, and bring together an amazing and world-renowned range of creative and diverse artists that spans musical genres happening in the grassroots of our times. Believing we can all come together for a safer, kinder world and to reconnect with our music and our hometown communities in the North Country.
“We’re so excited to work with Margaret Coe at the Sackets Harbor Ballroom to host this event,” said organizer Sheila Barney-Pullus. “It’s such a beautiful space and perfect for a concert that will showcase some really amazing talent.”
“Come Together: A Gathering of Voices” — sponsored by TeXchromosome.org: Advocates for Women in Music, Sackets Harbor Ballroom and Station WBVS, Inc. — will feature Kay & The Miracle Cure, including outlaw country blues buster Kay Miracle, Austin powerhouse and North Country-raised Americana singer-songwriter Penny Jo Pullus, and singer-songwriter musician Linda McRae; highly-rated recording artist and North Country native Joe Medwick with special guests indie roots-rockers Tex and Yo; and rockabilly legend Rosie Flores.
The event will be emceed by Sandy Torres from WWNY Channel 7 News and include a guitar raffle, 50-50 drawing, prizes and more, including food by Joe and Emily Filley of The Cheese Store of Northern New York.
“Joe and Emily are providing some amazing food for this event and we are extremely thankful for their generosity,” said Ms. Barney-Pullus.
“Come Together: A Gathering of Voices” coincides with the Can-Am Festival, which will have fireworks that night at 10 p.m. as the concert closes.
“We couldn’t think of a better time to host this concert than during the Can-Am Festival when so many people are already coming to see what that festival has to offer,” said Ms. Barney-Pullus.
It all happens to raise money for two great nonprofit organizations — the Volunteer Transportation Center and the Resolution Center of Jefferson & Lewis Counties. The Volunteer Transportation Center provides crucial rides to medical appointments free of charge for those with transportation challenges in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties. This is done through the dedication of time by volunteer drivers and through the generosity of people and organizations in the community. The Resolution Center of Jefferson & Lewis Counties provides conflict intervention services which include alternative dispute resolution, advocacy for child victims of abuse or neglect, a peer-led court for youth offenders, supervised visitation for children separated from their parents/families, and licensed mental/behavioral health counseling and psychoeducation services.
“We feel both the VTC and the Resolution Center are very worthy causes to benefit from this event,” said Ms. Barney-Pullus. “Like the event implies, it’s all about coming together and what better reason to come together than to help two organizations that help our community so much?”
Jeremiah S. Papineau, Director of Communications and Foundation Director for the VTC, said he is grateful for the VTC to be chosen by Ms. Barney-Pullus to benefit from the concert.
“Sheila has an incredibly huge heart and we greatly appreciate her choosing the VTC to receive a portion of the proceeds from what looks to be an amazing event,” he said.
Jennifer Huttemann-Kall, Executive Director of the Resolution Center of Jefferson & Lewis Counties, echoed that sentiment.
“We’re so very grateful to Sheila for raising money for our organization through this event,” she said. “The money raised will help us greatly with the work we do here in our community.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
KAY & THE MIRACLE CURE
Kay & The Miracle Cure consists of outlaw country blues buster Kay Miracle, Austin powerhouse and North Country-raised Americana singer-songwriter Penny Jo Pullus, and singer-songwriter musician Linda McRae.
Kay Miracle’s musical roots start with the Ghost Town Ramblers, channeling her outlaw country blues heroes mixed with the influential folk rock songs by the pioneers of the folk rock movement into her own Americana sound.
Her musical career has spanned many performances and, today, she leads Kay & The Miracle Cure. From live performances to studio sessions and supporting various causes, Kay continues to touch fans around the world with her distinct brand of songwriting backed by performances that embrace her passion for creating original music.
Penny Jo Pullus has been kickin’ up her boot heels coast to coast around America. If you’re lucky, you’ve seen or heard her perform. If not, you’re in for a real treat! She has the “GIFT” that is doled out to a chosen few by some higher power. She is a songwriter with an independent spirit who cannot be “pigeonholed” into any NashVegas slot. Her sultry voice can caress you with a feather or crack you with a bullwhip. Penny Jo’s accomplishments include two SAMMYs from the Syracuse Area Music Awards — a Best New Artist of 1994 SAMMY and a Best Roots Rock Group of 1995 SAMMY.
In addition, she has charted admirably on the Americana Music Chart, Progressive Country Charts and various European charts.
Linda McCrae is a singer-songwriter musician of the old school with decades of experience and manages to bend the rules and the genres proving that stripping a song clean brings one back to their roots. With her new release GOING TO THE WELL, produced by Deni Gauthier, Canadian/Nashville based Linda McRae takes a deep draw, fresh and cool, on iconic influences, covering the likes of David Bowie, Willie P. Bennett, Richard Thompson, Don Williams and Bill Kirchen.
Linda has offered six critically acclaimed solo recordings throughout her years as a solo performer and is featured on multiple artists’ albums.
More information about Kay & The Miracle Cure may be found at http://www.kaymiracle.com.
JOE MEDWICK (FEATURING TEX AND YO)
Joe Medwick is a Watertown native who was touched by music at an early age. His middle class home on Michigan Avenue was full of music day and night during his youth. His older brothers and sister filled the place with the likes of Elvis, The Everly Brothers, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and Gordon Lightfoot. His piano playing mother meanwhile leaned more toward the likes of Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole, mostly on Canadian radio stations. He has come a long way since his first band, “The Baskerville Hounds,” which became well known in the late 1960s.
Soon after, Mr. Medwick started booking local dances and after high school and college booked concerts and colleges around the northeast out of Ithaca. Artist management gigs followed as well as stints in record retail and distribution in Syracuse and New York City.
Though now based in Asheville, N.C., Mr. Medwick dearly misses Upstate New York and pays summer visits to the Thousand Islands and Canada. More information about him may be found on his website, www.joemedwick.com.
Tex and Yo are indie root rockers that have been playing together for more than 20 years. Tex Burbank is a singer-songwriter/guitar-slinger and Yolonda Bluegrass is a singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and together they blend blues, 1960s rock and gypsy jazz into meaningful and memorable songs.
Their undeniable chemistry and positive energy have attracted audiences from Los Angeles to Boston. Best known for their energetic performances and their “bring-on the-fun” attitudes, they easily inject their personalities into every song. With heart and humor they sing about “Cheap Red Wine,” dreamy “Midnight Blue” time, rights and wrongs and superficial blues songs while happily offering a bit of free advice. More info about them may be found on their website, www.texandyo.com.
ROSIE FLORES
Rosie Flores is a 2024 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Award whose career has spanned more than four decades. She jumped feet first into punk rock with her 1970s’-era band, the “Screaming Sirens” and has performed country of both the Bakersfield and Nashville varieties. She’s become well-known on the Texas singer/songwriter scene and has made a name for herself in the alt-country, straight-up rock and rockabilly circles.
In 2007, Rosie won a Peabody Award for her narration of the rockabilly documentary, Whole Lotta Shakin’. She worked with Martin in producing the latter’s 2012 album, The Blanco Sessions, which would prove to be Martin’s last recording.
Rosie Flores is a 2024 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Award Whose career has spanned more than four decades. She jumped feet first into punk rock with her 1970s’-era band, the “Screaming Sirens” and has performed country of both the Bakersfield and Nashville varieties. She’s become well-known on the Texas singer/songwriter scene and has made a name for herself in the alt-country, straight-up rock and rockabilly circles.
Throughout, she released her own work and has toured around the world. This is the second year Ms. Flores has returned to Upstate New York to lift the voices of the under-served and unheard here in our community. More information about her may be found on her website, www.rosieflores.com.
TICKETS AND SPONSORING
Tickets for the event are $45 each or $75 per couple. Admission for children 12 and younger is $10. Admission includes entertainment, bottled water, goodie bags and food from The Cheese Store of Northern New York. Details are available online at https://bit.ly/A-Gathering-of-Voices.
Ms. Barney-Pullus noted sponsors are being accepted for the event. Those interested in supporting may reach out to her at 315-782-5035 or by email at stationwbvs@twcny.rr.com.