Along with the wave of musicians who’ve moved to the area in recent years, critical elements of music infrastructure are now bobbing just below the surface. Noteworthy indie label Dromedary moved to Kingston four years ago, and is this weekend celebrating 30 years of existence with a music festival, Drom30.
“Every time I look at the bill for this festival, I get excited,” says Dromedary founder, Al Crisafulli. “There’s so much indie rock royalty, but also a lot of exciting new bands — it’s a great blend.”
The festival kicks off this Friday night at Tubby’s in Kingston with Yung Wu, Speed the Plow, and DJ Jeff Economy.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played in Kingston,” says Glenn Mercer of Yung Wu. “We played a show near our home base in New Jersey recently, and we played in Hoboken last summer, but this will be a special rare appearance for both Yung Wu and Speed the Plough. We don’t have any other shows planned.”
For those who aren’t familiar, both bands share members with The Feelies, who’ve had an outsized influence on American indie music since debuting with Crazy Rhythms back in 1980. Yung Wu’s one official release, Shore Leave, is itself a classic.
On Saturday and Sunday, the festival shifts to Catskill, with shows at The Avalon, Left Bank Ciders, and Spike’s Record Rack.
“Catskill seemed like a practical location for the Saturday and Sunday events,” Dromedary’s Crisafulli explains. “It’s easier to stagger the performances between The Avalon and Left Bank Ciders so that people can get back and forth and not miss any of the acts.”
Headliners over the weekend include Lotion, Das Damen, Antietam, and many other classic indie bands [see complete list accompanying this article.]
While some of these bands have continued somewhat under the radar, others are resurfacing specifically for the festival. Known for well-crafted power pop, Lotion is playing together for the first time in years.
“The rehearsals have been about reviving muscle memory,” says bass player Bill Ferguson. “It’s funny to come upon later songs that have complicated timing or subtle chord changes, it’s like we were setting a trap for our future selves.”
Drom30 actually marks Lotion’s first-ever appearance in the Hudson Valley.
“When we were active in the 90s, we really bought into the Sonic Youth-ness of being a New York City band. We kind of thought everything north of the Bronx was crystal shops and hippies,” Ferguson admits. “But now, it’s like all of gritty-indie New York is alive and well upstate.”
Still, Al Crisafulli didn’t relocate Dromedary Records to Kingston because he was looking for gritty.
“Kingston has been an oasis,” he says, “a progressive community of amazing, creative folks, and everything within close enough proximity that we are immersed in it. We wanted to be a part of a community where we could learn and grow, and also contribute.”
Drom30 is a particularly good showcase of bands that were peaking during a certain sweet spot spanning the 80s and 90s, perhaps the height of the indie scene. This raises the question, sort of like how “Modern Art” now belongs to history, is “Indie Rock” becoming something from a fixed time period? What is its future?
“Listening to music used to be a much more active thing. Discovering new music took effort, and I think was much more rewarding,” Crisafulli says. “I’m starting to see a gravitation back to recognition of the craftsmanship involved with creating music and producing it on physical media. People are seeing live music, buying records, listening to actual human DJs, reading zines.”
To prove the point that Drom30 is looking forward while looking back, the line-up also includes the likes of Overheard, an emerging band from Kingston with an indie sensibility but a folk twist.
“Al at Dromedary was one of our earliest advocates,” says Erin Barth-Dwyer, Overheard’s singer. “We’re so grateful for the support he’s given us. We admire his passion and his taste, it means a lot that he considers our music worthy of a lineup among so many seminal acts.”
Asked about the potential for a new, more intergenerational music scene, Bill Ferguson is optimistic.
“I feel like we’re on the cusp of something new,” he says. “The generation gap is a thing of the past. Kids now have access to pretty much everything recorded, and they’re accepting of everything. It could be a great reshuffling, players of all ages working together.”
So, who knows? Maybe all that free music online will prove to have an artistic upside after all.
Friday 9/15: Yung Wu & Speed the Plough at Tubby’s, tickets $25.
Saturday 9/16: Antietam, Sleepyhead, Cathedral Ceilings, Das Damen, French, Dots Will Echo, Civic Mimic, Joy Cleaner, Guy Capecelatro III with Carrie Bradley, Bela Koe-Krompecher
Sunday 9/17: Lotion, Madder Rose, Stuyvesant, The Mommyheads, Jenny Toomey & Friends, Overheard, Dippers.
A single $60 ticket covers both Saturday and Sunday, with shows at the Avalon, Left Bank Ciders, and Spike’s Record Rack, all in Catskill.
See website for more details: dromedary-records.com
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