Clouds that forever stampede the endless sky, shadows gliding over canyon walls– the West is a vast expanse of magic and mystery. American artists from John Ford to Frederick Remington to A.B. Guthrie have used film, canvas and the printed page to convey the essence of its unique landscape and mythology.
Thursday, August 8th
6:30 to 8:30pm
Marc Berger’s life has been about pursuing twin passions: creating and recording his American roots songs, and exploring remote areas of the desert and mountain West. After signing his first publishing contract while in law school, he fronted rock bands and performed regularly in New York City clubs like CBGB, Wetlands, and The Knitting Factory. All through this period, he’d find ways to get into the West, picking up details from fellow wilderness junkies about off the beaten path locales and filing them away for future reference. On one of these trips, he became intrigued by the cover of THE BIG IT, a book of short stories by A.B. Guthrie he found on a revolving paperback rack in a Navajo reservation trading post. It got him thinking about using his travels to create a set of songs in the cultural tradition of writers like Guthrie and visual artists like John Ford and Frederick Remington. Marc and Co-Producer Mike Ricciardi now present RIDE, ten cinematic recordings reflecting Marc’s romantic connection to the American West and exploring the value of its myths to contemporary culture.
Marc has performed at Austin’s South by Southwest Music Festival and The Kerrville and Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals and has opened shows for Bob Dylan and other national acts. His song THE LAST ONE was a staple of Richie Havens’ concerts and has been quoted in the NY Times and featured on The CBS Evening News.
Inspired by Marc’s lifelong love affair with the American West and produced by Marc and Mike Ricciardi, RIDE now presents ten cinematic recordings capturing the vastness and romance of the West while exploring its deep roots in the American psyche. From the haunting message and beat of “Twister” and the soul-shaking challenge of taming a wild horse in “Take it on the Chin”, to the sexy, mind-blowing, middle-of-nowhere encounter of “Time Waits For No Man” and on through seven more scenic stops, RIDE takes you on a dusty tour of the Great American Frontier.
Sugar Loaf Crossing
1405 Kings Highway
Sugar Loaf, NY