music

Frost Ridge Campground closed out its abbreviated 2014 concert schedule Saturday night with headliner Jason Michael Carroll (pictured above).

Carroll was originally booked for a date earlier in the summer, but it was cancelled following a court order triggered by a pair of lawsuits filed against Frost Ridge. Judge Robert C. Noonan eventually modified his order after the legal process started to drag on.

Joshua Scott Jones, formerly of Steel Magnolia (below), opened the show.

Photos by Peggy Barringer.

Conductor Raffaele Ponti, who has been the musical director of the Genessee Symphony Orchestra for 15 years, announced yesterday prior to the start of the season-opening concert, that this will be his final season with the GSO.

Ponti recently relocated from Rochester to Florida as his career continues to advance.

The GSO board will announce soon plans for hiring a new conductor, its 14th in its 67-year history.

Above, Ponti with GSO Board Chairman Paul Saskowski.

Below, some photos from yesterday's performance at St. James Episcopal Church, Batavia.

The Genesee Symphony Orchestra opens its 2014 season at 4 p.m. tomorrow at St. James Episcopal Church, Batavia.

Raffaele Ponti will conduct the orchestra for a program titled "Reformation Symphony." The guest artist is organist Ann Emmans. Pieces include Felix Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 5, and Camille Saint-Saens, Symphony No. 3.

Tickets are $15 each and available at the door.

The GSO will also debut its 2014 fundraiser, a raffle for a pair of 1/4-carat each diamond stud earrings created by Lambert's Design Jewelers in Batavia.Tickets are 1 for $5 and 3 for $10.

Drawing will be at the April concert.

These photos are from today's rehearsal.

Publisher's Note: This should have been published yesterday, but the afternoon got unbelievably busy and I wasn't able to get to it. Apologies to Paul.

The Farm, the Nashville-based band featuring Krista Marie, from Alexander, released a new single and video today, "Mud." I think we can be pretty sure it wasn't shot in Bethany.

Country star John Michael Montgomery plays Frost Ridge tomorrow night.

Montgomery's gig is one of two originally scheduled for the summer that were moved to October as a result of a pair of lawsuits pending against Frost Ridge.

At the beginning of the concert season, Judge Robert C. Noonan barred live music shows at the venue, but as legal manuvuers played out, Noonan lifted his order pending further proceedings.

The case is still pending, the shows will go on.

Jason Michael Carroll headlines Oct. 25.

For more information visit TheRidgeNY.com.

The Marshall Tucker Band played Frost Ridge on Saturday. Photographer Peggy Barringer shared these photos.

Photographer Amanda Earl attended the Rascal Flatts concert at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Thursday.  She said the band played great and the fans really enjoyed the show.

Alexis Theriault, age 2, enjoyed the show as well.

Hanna Wells, center, with her aunt, Mary Beth Uetz, and grandmother, Carol Sawyer. They drove from Oswego to see the show in the VIP section. Amanda said, "Hanna sang and danced along to every single song with true enthusiasm this evening. She even caught a guitar pick tossed out into the crowd by Joe Don Rooney." Hanna became a fan of the band when she first heard the number-one hit song, "Bless The Broken Road."

He said it last year. Frost Ridge is a special place. Phil Vassar, a singer-songwriter with more than 10 Top 10 hits to his credit, said it again this year.

"It's very homey," Vassar said in an interview before his show Saturday night. "Everybody is so nice. You're just hanging out. We talk, even during the year, we look forward to seeing you guys come back, we talk and text each other. So it's fun. You get to hang out with your friends and play music.  There's nothing better than that. It's not like going to some venue where you just go in. It's got real character and real people. I love it."

Vassar loves it so much, he asked to come back this year.

Just a month ago, it didn't seem like Vassar's show this year would even be possible. Frost Ridge was locked down as a live music venue by a court order stemming from lawsuits filed by the Town of Le Roy and a pair of neighboring property owners.

As the lawsuits wind through the hearing process, taking longer than expected, Judge Robert C. Noonan lifted his ban on live music for a show last week and Saturday's Vassar concert.

The suits allege live music isn't allowed at the campground -- and even question the legality of the campsites themselves, while owners Greg and David Luetticke-Archbell and their lawyer contend that all of the current activities are grandfathered in, or are "prior, nonconforming uses."

Vassar takes a pretty straightforward view for the lawsuits, calling the controversy, "very silly."

"You have a lot of people who really want something and just a small number of people who don't," Vassar said. "I don't know about government, but it seems like to me it's by the people, for the people, all right. It's pretty simple. It seems like if you've got a majority who want something and it's a great thing. I don't understand it.  

"It's not like it's an every night deal," Vassar added. "It's a real special place. It's a special place to play music. You just kind of hope that everybody just kind of lets it go and has some fun. You know, people are stiff. I hate it. I hate it. I'm over it. People just need to get a life."

Through three sets of music -- the Kentucky Moonshiners, the Morgan Twins and Vassar -- several hundred music fans did have a life. And it was a party, especially with Vassar on stage making sure everybody had a good time.

The Morgan Twins are from Rochester and have appeared on such shows as The Voice and American Idol.

While Vassar was still on stage performing, a check of the sound level at Oatka Trail and Conlon Road, near the homes of plaintiffs -- the Cleere and Collins families -- found that once again, the crickets were louder than the music.

The next scheduled show at The Ridge, if it's allowed to proceed, is the Marshall Tucker Band, Sept. 6.

A fan brought in a homemade cake during the meet and greet with VIP patrons before the show.

Bottom photo: by Peggy Barringer. David, in red, and Greg, joined Vasar, along with the Morgan Twins, on stage for the show's final number, a sing-along of "Piano Man."