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Showing posts with label Blues on the Bridge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blues on the Bridge. Show all posts
We've had grey skies the past several days (plus rain) where I live in the Southern Tier of New York. I am craving blue skies and sunshine so why not devote today to a beautiful, sunny day we had earlier in September?
Here are some photos taken at a music festival in Binghamton, New York on September 14.
Taken from the Washington Street Bridge, built in 1886 and now a pedestrian only bridge. This is considered a historically important bridge. It was closed to traffic in 1969 but there is another bridge nearby, also connecting downtown with the Southern part of Binghamton.
The bridge in this picture is not the Washington Street bridge, but the Riverside Drive Bridge aka Memorial Bridge, built in 1923, carrying Riverside Drive.
A portion of the Washington Street bridge. I have other pictures elsewhere on my blog but my focus (so to speak) was on the clouds and sky..
The other bridge connecting downtown Binghamton with Binghamton's south side. I love the reflection in this piture.
One more, also from the walking path along the river.
I'm not ready for the gloom of fall and winter. Please, blue skies, come back soon!
The month of festivals lasting from mid-August to mid-September (and even a bit beyond this year, due to at least one rain delay), continued Saturday with our 23rd annual Blues on the Bridge. This free concert each September brings both local bands and talent who have performed with nationally known artists to downtown Binghamton, New York.
It seemed like things were so normal. Well, maybe they are. The new normal, that is.
But first, the good stuff.
This bridge, built in 1886 and currently only used by pedestrians, was the original bridge the concert was held on. It's now held on a much sturdier bridge
The signature statue at each annual concert.
Of course, free is not free. This event takes a lot of fundraising and t-shirt sales (I proudly own several of the t-shirts from over the years), advertisers, and other promotions. But we are so fortunate to have this September music fest.
People of all ages comes out. The weather is usually great.
But then, the world intrudes. Today is the anniversary of a good friend's death and this year I'm missing her and my wisdom.
Yes, I know what she would say about my mood today. She would tell me to put on my big girl panties and face the world, just like she did during her second and final battle with cancer.
But I also wonder what she would have thought about our current world.
A city of about 58,000 people in southwest Ohio continue to be terrorized by bomb threats against schools, a hospital, and a college, as the latest episode of what can happen when your city is in the bulls eye of social media, as memes continue to go viral. I will not mention what the topic of discussion is but, if you don't live in the United States and haven't heard of Springfield, Ohio, you will quickly find out what is happening if you do a search.
Ukraine. The Middle East. Other places at war.
And the more trivial.
The continued list of major league baseball players who played in my youth but are now dying, grows bigger. Just think, this year - Bud Harrelson, Carl Erskine, Ken Holtzman, Jerry Grote, Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, And now, Eddie Kranepool, back on September 8. Like me, he was from the Bronx. He played his entire major league career for the NY Mets. He was only in high school when the Mets signed him. 18 years with the Mets, more than anyone other Mets player. What amazes me is that I didn't even know he had died until about four days ago.
I feel like I am getting older by the minute and, come to think of it, I am.
The September 15 death of Tito Jackson, founding member of the Jackson 5 and sibling of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, added to today's blue mood. At least I found out about his death right away.
We can wish we lived in happier times, but happier times tend to be an illusion.
We are at war with each other, and I thought it was appropriate to post a 2021 song from Tito Jackson, called Love One Another.
If only we took his advice.
Enough with the sadness. Now, I'll take my friend's advice and start the day.
Last Saturday (September 16) was the annual Blues on the Bridge music festival in downtown Binghamton, New York.
The bridge the festival used to be held on (it's a different, nearby bridge now, because the festival outgrew the original bridge) casts a shadow on the river.
A commemorative statue called The Skirmisher. Hundreds pass it every day without knowing its interesting history. There is a time capsule under this nearly 100 year old statue, which commemorates those area residents who served in the Spanish-American war and has been moved twice since its erection.
The man who designed this statue also designed the west pediment of the U.S. Supreme Court building.
Nearby, shadows at the entrance of a short pedestrian tunnel which is part of the riverwalk also in downtown Binghamton, New York.
You would never think these pictures were taken on the edge of a New York State downtown, would you?
Welcome to the City of Binghamton, New York and its annual Blues on the Bridge festival. No music today; this is all about watching the sky.
This is the South Washington Street Bridge in Binghamton; it was built in 1886 and is closed to vehicular traffic due to its condition. I walked across it many times when I worked in downtown Binghamton. When the festival began 21 years ago, it was held on this bridge but outgrew it years ago.
The festival is non stop (well, nearly) music provided by local bands and is free. This was actually its 20th year; it was cancelled in 2020 due to you-know-what. Just a few feet from the celebrations and the music is a different world. One could call it a hidden world as it is hidden from you if you just come for the music. Shall we go look?
Near here, two rivers join together: the Chenango and the Susquehanna. On the right is a little bit of downtown Binghamton.
Overlooking Confluence Park where the rivers join.
Taken from the South Washington Street bridge.
More of downtown Binghamton. The white building sticking up in the middle of the photo is the tallest building in Binghamton. It's our State Office Building.
This is a dam on the Susquehanna just before the Chenango merges with it.
And another photo taken from the South Washington Street Bridge.
Yesterday, Binghamton, New York's largest free music event, Blues on the Bridge, took place. It was a 20th anniversary celebration a year late (as the festival was cancelled in 2020, along with so much else.)
Some things were the same. This bridge is no longer used for the festival-the festival outgrew it. This is the South Washington Street Bridge, built in 1886. Here is some of its history.
Musicians set up on a nearby bridge instead and that is where most of the crowds gather.
But, unless you are familiar with downtown Binghamton, you may have missed some of the best sights.
If you go down a path on one side of the South Washington Bridge, it's an easy walk to a small park called Confluence Park. Here, the Chenango River flows into the Susquehanna River, hence the name of the park. For some reason, despite how much I wanted to listen to the music, it seemed so loud that I wanted some peace, so I went down there for a few minutes.
One could say you needed to be a member of "The In Crowd" to know about this little urban oasis.
There was a man with a young boy fishing, and I didn't want to disturb them, so I didn't walk down to the lowest part of the park. But I got some pictures, nevertheless.
Memories came back to me, of the times I used to visit Confluence Park with my guest photographer. The four photos after the Chenango River Promenade are hers, taken in 2018.
The Chenango Promenade leads us on a path from the park to one edge of downtown Binghamton. Let's take a short walk.
Some wildflowers from one of our 2018 walks, taken by her. These would be in bloom now.
Mr. And Mrs. Duck (taken by her in March of 2018). You'd never know you were in downtown Binghamton, New York.
Confluence Park sign.
Thanks go to my guest photographer for these last four photos.
I also got this photo, near the Chenango Promonade underpass, of a pollinator garden. The bridge in this photo is where the festival takes place.
Speaking of the "in crowd", Jazz pianist Ramsey Lewis passed away on Monday. He was 87.
This was his big crossover hit with his trio, the Ramsey Lewis Trio. "The In Crowd", from 1965.
Another great one has joined the jam sessions in musical heaven.
RIP.
Want more music? Join me tomorrow for another episode of Music Moves Me, and come hungry!
Today is Friday the 13th, but it is also your lucky day.
You are about to see some sky pictures I took on Sunday while attending the Blues on the Bridge festival in Binghamton, New York.
Puffy clouds are coming our way.
Near Confluence Park where two rivers, the Susquehanna and the Chenango, meet. Note the reflections in the left part of the little waterfall.
Doesn't the river look peaceful?
The river is pretty low, too. The day I took these pictures was the eighth anniversary of our floods of September 8, 2011. You wouldn't have been allowed to take a picture at the same site.
Speaking of that flood, perhaps living at this corner isn't the best idea.
Come with me on a brief visit to a music festival in downtown Binghamton, New York today.
The festival used to be held on this historic bridge, but outgrew it years ago. It's still held on a nearby bridge.
Let's take a walk over the bridge, which spans the Susquehanna River. Here, you can see still another bridge. Two rivers run through Binghamton, the Susquehanna and the Chenango.
Before we get to the festival, let's visit a native pollinator garden planted by the Sierra Club.
Here's the bridge the festival is held on now.
And now, we're here.
What a beautiful day for a music festival this was. The music ranges from blues, to classic rock, to Southern rock, to hard rock.
Nothing free is free. This year, I got to meet the festival organizer, Tom Darpino. We ended up buying three T-shirts and when he saw that, and the T-shirts spouse and I were wearing from previous Blues we have attended, he was so happy. He explained he only gets about $2.75 out of each T-Shirt sale. Free really isn't free, and I'm happy to say the T-shirt tent was busy all afternoon. (There is also a lot of support from local businesses.
So hard to think that in another month, the leaves will be falling and it may not be so pleasant outside. But so it goes.
Do you have any free music festivals where you live?
Blues on the Bridge was held again yesterday, on a beautiful late summer Sunday. This is the 13th year this festival has been held in downtown Binghamton, New York. There always seems to be a special story surrounding it.
For example:
September 25,
2011. Still recovering from massive flooding two
weeks earlier (generators were needed to power the electrical
instruments), downtown Binghamton threw a party for itself. Even floods could not destroy what had become a Sunday after Labor Day tradition.
This year's Blues had a special story I didn't learn about until today. I'll tell it a little later.
This is the bridge the festival used to be held on, the historic South Washington Street Bridge. But the festival, free and open to the public thanks to sponsors and donations, long ago outgrew that bridge.
Here's another view of the downtown side of that bridge, now closed to vehicular traffic. Our beautiful hills are in the background.
So it is held on another, nearby bridge, but no one cares, least of all the Blues Brothers.
Near to the concert, two rivers, the Chenango and the Susquehanna, converge. This picture was taken from the South Washington Street Bridge. Hard to believe a small city downtown is just a few feet away from this natural beauty.
Concert goers enjoyed the afternoon.
Here, one of the opening acts entertains the crowd, which builds through the day. And somewhere in this crowd, there was a poignant story, the story I promised to tell.
There are some couples that show up at some of the free music festivals and dance near the stage. Some appear year after year. This year, we saw a new couple. The woman had a beautiful head of silver hair. She danced with an elderly man, coming close and coming apart. When they came apart, though, it seemed like the man was lost. He just stood there, shuffling their feet.
I read their story today. This couple, married 53 years, dance several times a week. Interviewed for our local paper, I find out why they dance.
Her husband has Alzheimer's. They dance so he can remain active.
“We need more of this,” the woman said of the festival. “To bring the people together. Because
when you’re in a group like this, everybody talks to everybody, they
say hello to everybody else.”
Binghamton may seem like a beautiful place in these photos. It can be in places, but it also has a lot of problems not uncommon to "rust belt" cities. High unemployment. Lots of vacant buildings. I don't like to dwell on the negatives in this blog, though, because there are also so many positives about the Binghamton area.
For one afternoon, those problems were forgotten by thousands of people, all dancing, eating, rocking out, and just having a good time listening to music ranging from blues to Americana to classic rock.
Sometimes, you have to leave home with a hunger to grow and develop. And then you return home, and blow everyone away.
Welcome home, Brian Wolff. Hungry to grow as a musician, you moved from Binghamton to Austin. Austin, Texas, has a thriving music scene and Brian has grown in a way he never could have if he had remained in Binghamton, New York.
Yesterday was Blues on the Bridge (coincidentally, on the second anniversary of our flooding from Tropical Storm Lee).
Blues on the Bridge is Binghamton's annual outdoor music party. There is no admission, but we (and many others) support the festival through buying T-Shirts or raffle tickets. It is a true community effort. There are usually around 13 bands, mostly local, and all high quality. There are two stages so there isn't much wait time between bands.
Although beer is sold, the atmosphere is definitely family friendly and music lyrics are kept "PG". The vibe is mellow (like we used to say back in the 60's) and there is a low key police presence - just enough to keep things - well, mellow.
Unlike September 8, 2011 when we were in the midst of torrential rains from Tropical Storm Lee, we enjoyed weather in the high 60's yesterday. By the time the music stopped (at 10pm due to a city noise curfew) it was getting pretty chilly.
We were welcomed by the Blues Brothers - sort of. (Looks like they were too busy singing.)
Crowds enjoyed the sunny weather. (The stage is down by the traffic light and a bit hard to see). There is a bridge, not visible in the photo, but the festival has grown so much it is no longer safe to actually set up on the Washington Street bridge.
Brian Wolff was flown up from Austin and was reunited with his band for a nighttime performance. It was high energy and, by the time they ended, many people were dancing.
Binghamton Mayor Ryan performed at Blues one last time (2nd from left) with the headline group Rooster and the Roadhouse Horns. He isn't running again, so I wonder if our new mayor will have any musical talent.
At one point, the organizer of the concert yelled out at the crowd "they say that Binghamton is one of the most depressed cities in our country. Look around you! Does anyone seem depressed?"
I wish it was as simple as that. But it isn't. Still, we have one heck of a music party every September, and it makes me happy to live in this area. (Check back in February, though, to see how I feel then.)
