By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
The Pompey countryside was alive with the sound of music this past weekend.
Affording a view of eight counties, Heritage Hill Brewhouse & Kitchen kicked off Farm Jam on Aug. 10 and continued on Aug. 11.
The inaugural, Palladino Farms-hosted event featured performances from both the Doyle-Whiting Band and Professor Louie & The Crowmatix on Saturday.
Loren Barrigar and his son L.J. hit the outdoor amphitheater the following day, dipping into such musical genres as folk and gypsy jazz while exhibiting Chet Atkins-style fingerpicking.
The weekend’s lineup had performed at the grand opening of the site, which already doubled as a brewery and farm-to-table restaurant before adding music venue to its list of capabilities.
The cold October weather forced the groups indoors at the time, adding loud acoustics and limited space to the equation.
Farm Jam served not only as a way for patrons to enjoy music with the backdrop of nature amidst summer weather, but to also provide the bands with a “re-do” of sorts.
Promoter Tom Honan of Live Space Entertainment said the weekend-long event embraced a “low-key, hang-out, no-stress, eat-drink-and-be-merry atmosphere.”
Professor Louie & The Chromatix, a roots music band, made the three-hour trip from Woodstock for Farm Jam, packing the setlist with such songs of theirs as “Blind Willie McTell.”
Honan said he first worked with Aaron Hurwitz, otherwise known as “Professor Louie,” for a show with Rick Danko at the Hotel Syracuse in the 1990s and has kept in touch ever since.
Over the decades, Hurwitz and his bandmates have collaborated with the likes of The Band, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Mercury Rev and Asleep at the Wheel.
Hurwitz—a singer, keyboardist and accordion player—said his group gets booked for anywhere from 150 to 200 gigs a year.
“You won’t see another group like us, because the group has been together so long it’s formulated its own sound and its own thing,” Hurwitz said.
The band even had previous experience performing in farmland, having played in a Canadian tobacco field earlier in August.
The Syracuse Area Music Award-winning Doyle-Whiting Band reconvened at Farm Jam for what was their second show of the year.
During their performance, the veteran Americana rock band fit in a rendition of the Ray Charles tune “Lonely Avenue,” a song Joe Whiting professes to be a favorite and one that he learned to play over 50 years ago.
Whiting, a singer and tenor saxophonist, said he appreciated the event’s inviting feel.
“I’m glad to be a part of something local like this, community-based like this and a place where people enjoy what I do,” he said.
Barbecue food, smoothies, liège waffles, beer choices and cocktails were offered over the course of the weekend.
Dan Palladino, the owner of the property, said the first-ever Farm Jam showed promise.
“It shows what we can do as we look to go on and continue it in the future,” he said.
Small Farm Show
The property at 3149 Sweet Hill Road in Pompey held a Small Farm Show hosted by Cazenovia Equipment on Aug. 17.
The event was oriented toward farmers of any type, animal caretakers and land owners looking to learn more about agriculture and how to better their daily routines.
The Cazenovia company ran demonstrations on such topics as hay production, while culinary professor Bruno Neveu of Paul Smith’s College presented a beer and food pairing in the brewery.
The night before, Eagles tribute band Another Tequila Sunrise took part in a benefit concert on the premises in the form of a barn dance. All proceeds went to the New York Agriculture Land Trust, which had worked to protect Palladino Farms and its neighboring farms through a conservation easement.
