The popular Ross Farm Music Series marks its much-anticipated return this month with two concerts on the July schedule and the strong potential that both shows will be performed on their brand-new stage. Fantastic Cat, a newly-formed group of four seasoned singer-songwriters, kick off the Series on Sunday afternoon, July 18, and Brooks Hubbard will be back at the Farm for the fourth time on Saturday, July 31. Details for these and other concerts can be found at www.rossfarm.org/events/ .
Ron Pace of Somerset Hills Classics and his team, Tom Barbieri, Jim Schmidt and Craig Tyers, have labored this summer to transform an 18’ by 8’ trailer with wheels under the flatbed deck into a stage with a sliding platform that will lock into place and double the depth of the stage to 16 feet. Pace, a member of the Ross Farm Music Committee, is donating the extensive labor to create the stage, and the Friends of the Boudinot-Southard-Ross Estate is conducting a fundraising effort to cover the cost of the trailer and materials to complete the transformation. More information on the fundraising effort can be found at Help Us Stage Our Comeback | The Ross Farm.
Fantastic Cat is made up of Anthony D’Amato, Don DiLego, Brian Dunne and Mike Montali, each of whom have impactful careers as solo artists, or in the case of Montali, with his band Hollis Brown. The four came together for a unique project where they could each bring their own element – and songs – to the table. The project was not a significant shift for each of the songwriters, but allowed a space for each to explore the music outside of solo performances. Following a livestream debut this spring and the release of a 7-inch self-titled vinyl, the band started touring this summer and will hit venues in New Jersey and New York, including a stop at the East Village staple, The Bowery Electric. D’Amato played a well-received set at the Farm back in 2019 and joined Stephen Kellogg on stage there later that year. Dunne has grown quite the following in Basking Ridge after playing at the Farm several times, including filming a Covid-safe livestream from the historic barn, empty except for the technical crew, in October 2020.
Organizers just announced the addition of an opener for Fantastic Cat. New York singer-songwriter, harpist and guitarist Lizzie No is one of the most exciting new voices in Americana music. Her 2017 debut album, ‘Hard Won,’ was hailed as “simultaneously understated and fervent” by Billboard Magazine. No’s 2019 album, "Vanity," was a hit at college radio stations across the country, cracking the NACC Top Adds Chart. Rolling Stone Magazine called the first single, Narcissus," a "crisp alt-rock gem" and a "Song You Need To Know." After dropping a surprise home-studio-made EP in 2020, Lizzie is currently working on her third studio album and sharing music and writing with subscribers at ampled.com/artist/lizzieno. This summer she will join the Basic Folk podcast as guest host.
Gates open at 4 p.m. on Sunday, July 18 and the concert begins at 4:30 p.m. Guests are asked to bring lawn chairs or blankets to spread on the lawn and are welcome to bring picnics or snacks, with a “carry in/carry out” request. A suggested donation of $20 for adults and $5 for children helps offset expenses and benefits the mission of the Friends of the Boudinot-Southard-Ross Estate. Advance registration at www.rossfarm.org/event/fantastic-cat-2021/ is strongly encouraged to help organizers plan for the event and allows the ability to share late updates, such as relocating the concert in the event of rain.
The Series will close out July with a favorite returning musician, Brooks Hubbard. Hubbard has played solo at the Farm, with his band, and in support of Stephen Kellogg. Known for an exciting mix of folk/Americana, pop, funk, rock, blues and soul, Hubbard delivered this and more in numerous livestreams during Covid, sharing his originals and covers almost every week in his “Spread Love” effort on Facebook and YouTube. Hubbard opened for blues legend Robert Cray and pop artist KT Tunstall before graduating from Keene State in 2014 and hit the road with Stephen Kellogg in 2015-2016. Soon after, an introduction to Los Angeles session guitarist and Jackson Browne band member Val McCallum led to performing several concerts together and recording Hubbard’s 2017 album “American Story.” McCallum produced and funded the album, hiring his friends, Los Angeles session greats, Bob Glaub, Pete Thomas, Greg Leisz, and Jeff Babko, to play on it.
Gates open for Hubbard’s concert at 6:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 31. As usual, the suggested donation is $20 for adults and $5 for children and advance registration at www.rossfarm.org/event/brooks-hubbard-2021/ is strongly encouraged. Guests should bring lawn chairs or blankets. Food will be available to purchase at the concert from Summer Daze Catering food truck, owned and operated by Basking Ridge resident David Manhire, offering up a fresh variety of street food and soft drinks.
Three more concerts are scheduled into the early fall, and the FoBSR is looking forward to participating in Somerset County’s Weekend Journey Through the Past on October 9 and 10, after missing the event in 2020 because of the pandemic. Keep up with all the Ross Farm activities on their website www.rossfarm.org and Facebook page at The Ross Farm – Basking Ridge. The Ross Farm is located at 135 N. Maple Avenue in Basking Ridge.
