Welcome to Black Potatoe

The Matt Angus Thing performs with Anthony Morgan's Inspirational Choir of Harlem.

Lindsay Mac is a girl you’ll not likely forget. The obvious is that she is the girl who straps her cello to her body. Like a guitar, she strums and plucks it while singing. “A classical education gone horribly wrong” is usually the gist of the local headline. Yet what you’ll remember about this musician might not be the obvious. Beneath the headlines the single most valuable bow in Mac’s indie-music-making quiver is her songwriting. Her songs of love, bewilderment, protest and reverence are what move Lindsay’s fans to drive long distances, to pre-order CDs a year in advance and to spread the word to friends on opposite coasts and throughout the world. And thank God because that cello surely gets heavy.

JOHN GINTY PERFORMS JIMI HENDRIX BAND OF GYPSYS ON THE HAMMOND ORGAN!!
A Black Potatoe Festival veteran, organist John Ginty has brought a few different versions of his band to the festival over the years. From the percussion driven Ginty Band, to last years "Hip Hop Trio" performance, John always brings a high powered, exciting set. This year will certainly be no different. Accompanied by Dan Fadel on drums, and Michael Fadel on bass guitar, John will perform the famed Jimi Hendrix record "Band of Gypsys" in it's entirety, on a Hammond B3 organ!!! This is a ONE TIME ONLY appearance Saturday night at Black Potatoe Festival. Do Not Miss IT!!!!

Brian Stewart is a Singer/Songwriter in the truest sense. Live, he will literally sing his heart out. Back in the confines of his home, he furiously writes songs. And not just one style of songs. In a single set you can hear pop, rock, soul, alt-country and folk. "I'm a music lover," Brian simply states. "The reason I do what I do is because I love music, as a whole, what it does for people," he continued. From a large set of influences, Brian began playing shows regularly in late 2007 and is quickly becoming known throughout the mid-Atlantic region. A massive growth as a songwriter and a person spurred the creative process for the well-crafted May 2009 release, Unravel the Romance. It touches on all things human: relationships, struggles, triumphs, home, the road, etc. And it's all been neatly tucked into one package. On stage, these songs come to life. Ever the inspiring performer, Brian by himself is captivating. Whether it's just for the music, the down-to-earth nature that exudes or the between-song jokes, the entertainment is undeniable. The energy and musicianship ignites coffeehouses, clubs, theatres and festivals alike with his signature "gritty, yet glistening" tone. "There is nothing better than when a set and an audience move and feel together," says Brian.

JIM WEIDER, former member of the legendary group "THE BAND" is a Master of classic Telecaster Guitar.ProJECT PERCoLAToR represents Jim's newest musical venture into a powerful groove & atmospheric guitar driven band. The All Star Line up Featuring "RODNEY HOLMES"- Drums (Santana&Steps Ahead), "MITCH STEIN"- Guitar (Dave Sanborn Band) &"STEVE LUCAS"- on Bass. Jim blends rock & blues, with funk & jazz groove's combining modern drum loops and samples, to playing beautiful melodic ballads .The band's Amazing
improvisation and chemistry from worldwide touring ,plays a show both exciting and mesmerizing!

ProJECT PERCoLAToR is a new musical direction for Jim, with Big Guitars with Modern Grooves! A powerful show that's both exciting and mesmerizing! For a quick listen check out the below link provided. Jim was featured on numerous albums, films, videos and television appearances. Highlights included a 1990 performance with The Band and Ronnie Hawkins at The Berlin Wall concert produced by Roger Waters of Pink Floyd; several cable TV specials (notably "The Bob Dylan Tribute" at Madison Square Garden; "The Road," a 1994 pay-per-view concert telecast from the Woodstock '94 Festival; and a 1995 appearance on the A&E Biography documentary "The Authorized Video Biography The Band"

In Boston's old neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, the tracks of the Heath Street train line lie unused between the hospital and the arbor. Heath Street began in the local coffeehouses, where Boston sound engineer Scott Fruhan and Alaskan fingerstyle guitarist Karl Huth, then students at Harvard, began to craft a vivid, lyrical folk sound with catchy pop instrumentation. With both musicians now in New York City, joined by Nick Donin on bass and Nick Brown on drums, Heath Street tells the stories of the paths crossed by millions of city-dwellers in changing neighborhoods. Self-titled LP 2007. New album expected in winter 2010.

Boris Garcia’s artful songwriting bends musical genres with whimsy, honesty and emotion. Their performances are fueled by fiery multi-instrumentalists that seamlessly fuse Celtic, Americana, Bluegrass, and Jam with pop sensibilities into something all their own. “Outlaw Mystic” is what Relix magazine called their sound, Dirty Linen magazine says that “Boris Garcia is alone in it’s self created own class”, “an intoxicating blend of Americana, Bluegrass, and Jam”. Currently touring in support of their third release, Boris Garcia’s “Once More Into The Bliss” has garnered critical acclaim and national appeal on both radio and stage alike.

Viva Boris!!!

...Karl Dietel has made the move from cover band to national act to budding solo career. He is best known as the keyboard player for the road-warrior touring band The Samples, having spent the last six years in a tour bus playing over 100 shows a year throughout the United States. The Clinton native has over 20 independent cd credits to his name, on keyboards, bass guitar, harmonica and as producer. He has recorded with Bernie Worrell (P-Funk) and Garth Hudson (The Band) and shared the stage with artists ranging from Brian Vander Ark (Verve Pipe) to Trey Anastasio (Phish). He is frequently a special guest player in Devon Allman's Honeytribe and The Mike Montrey Band. One part classical lessons, one part music theory (in which he earned a liberal arts emphasis from Boston University), and the life experiences of touring provides the spectrum of music from which Karl's playing is drawn. He honed his chops playing in many Hunterdon County bands, from Angus to Dyer Weed. He recently released his debut CD, “Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself,” on which his melodic sensibilities and The Stranger-era Billy Joel influences are on full display and from which "Juliet" and "Blur" have received internet radio play.

Not just another funk/world/rock/jazz/classical ensemble, Eclectica is a virtuoso groove event. This genre-defying band features the 5 time Grammy Award–winning drumming of ROY "FUTUREMAN" WOOTEN, of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and electric violin virtuoso TRACY SILVERMAN, heralded by the BBC as “the greatest living exponent of the electric violin.” Bass legend STEVE FORREST completes the ensemble.

ECLECTICA weaves sound-pieces together with a groove that is alive from the first note to the last encore, with sing-along choruses and creative jams that can lead in any direction. With 3-part vocals and inspired synchronicity, ECLECTICA is a celebration and a concert on the same stage.

Walt Bibinger of Glen Gardner is one of the premier jazz guitarists in New Jersey. His music is like meditation that frees him of troubling thoughts.He finds a deep place to be where the music is happening. "Every time I play I feel like I gave the performance of my life. It never fails. It's very spiritual." At 13, he started lessons with Harry Leahey, a legendary Grammy award-winning New Jersey jazz guitarist. He studied for 15 years until 1990. "He was my mentor.It was a great opportunity to tap into a genius"

I've been singing professionally for over 15 years. I started out in the background, singing backing vocals and an occasional full song. I've always LOVED finding those interesting harmonies. But after a while I started to want to sing more, so I found good songs that fit my voice and started taking the chance in front. I started singing songs by Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Stevie Nicks, and Sheryl Crow, to name a few. I hadn't gotten the urge to write my own material at that time...YET. Years went by, I found myself doing acoustic duos/trios, and even fronting a rock band of my own, still not very interested in writing original songs. But then one day something changed. I started feeling a little empty, like something was missing. Here I was singing other people's songs (and really enjoying it, I must add), but I felt like I had nothing to show for my dedication and hard work, so I started tinkering around with ideas for lyrics. Having majored in English at Rugters University, with a concentration on writing, I was used to writing short stories and some poetry, but never realized that writing lyrics was an art on its own. My first few attempts, now that I look back, were flops, but at the time I didn't care. It was fun to just get my ideas down on paper. But then I met a new friend, Michael Ghiggeri, and that blossoming friendship and musical partnership would change me as an artist forever. Michael had been given my name some time before as a possible singer for HIS originals. He asked me to come into the studio and record vocals for a few of his original songs. I did, and that's when our collaborative partnership began. We began writing songs together--he would write the melodies, and I concentrated on the lyrics. What resulted was beautiful songs spanning several genres. I have also collaborated with other singer/songwriters, and in the fall of 2006 I released my debut CD entitled, "Out There."

Caren Kennedy: lead vocals
Jodie Adessa: backing vocals
Ken Adessa: drums
James DeRose: guitar
Randy Artiglere: bass guitar

Kenny Collins is a long time member of the Black Potatoe family. When he is not writing for some magazine or DJing at a radio station(usually WNTI), you can probably find him at whatever is the cool show in town, or at least within 1000 miles. This year he reunited with his brother Rob for a set from the Collins Brothers.

Like most people, we grew up hoping to fill out an Armani suit with an open collar, to have beautiful slicked-back hair, and to share a starlit dinner with a deep-eyed brunette by the pool of our villa in Bogota, moments before being assassinated. Instead, we ended up in Brooklyn. The Spanish Channel is Romantic Nerd Rock: catchy uptempo songs with harmony vocals, influenced by Weezer, Fountains of Wayne, Foo Fighters, and Ben Folds.

Hailing from Sugar Hill, Georgia, singer/songwriter Katerina Hope first started
playing guitar at age 11 and was writing her first songs by age 14. She began her
career in performance in coffeehouses around Atlanta, where she also records in her
home studio. In 2008, Katerina Hope began studying at New York University, where
she is currently pursuing a degree in music. Though she has only been in New York
City for a short time, she has already begun to leave her mark on the music scene.
She plays at local hot spots such as the Bitter End and the Bowery Poetry Club,
where, after her latest set, poet Michael Rechtenwald described Katerina Hope and
her work as “the next big thing” in the world of music.