It is an all day music festival featuring female soloists and female-fronted bands. An exciting and provocative lineup highlights the first annual Berkshire Women’s Muse Fest, which makes its debut on August 15, 2009 at beautiful Wahconah Park, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. This daylong extravaganza will surely be a highlight of what is always a busy summer music calendar, with its amazing slate of performers doing their thing in a gorgeous setting.
The festival features two stages of girl-powered music, with solo artists and female-fronted bands in the spotlight. At the top of the list are pop-folk icon Suzanne Vega, passionate grrl rocker Melissa Ferrick, and sublime folk singer Cheryl Wheeler. These artists alone would make Berkshire Women’s Muse Fest worth the trek, but of course there’s much more. Other featured performers include acclaimed musicians like Sarah Bettens, Gretchen Peters, SONiA of Disappear Fear, Pamela Means, Lindsay Mac, Amy Petty, and Nervous But Excited.
It’s billed as a “Women’s Muse Fest,” but festival organizers welcome any and all fans of great music to attend. It will be a family-friendly experience with activities for the kids as well as vendors, crafts, and plenty of food and refreshments. In sum, the Berkshire event will be a full-on festival experience, and a memorable one at that.
As for the headliners: Suzanne Vega has been releasing cutting edge neo-folk and pop music since her debut in 1985. In performances devoid of outward drama yet still convey deep emotion, Vega sings in a distinctive, vibrato-less voice that has been described as "a cool, dry sandpaper- brushed near-whisper" and as "plaintive but disarmingly powerful."
Melissa Ferrick's inspiration flows from a love of rock ’n' roll. During her impassioned live performances, she'll occasionally crack out a Zeppelin-style riff or tinker with a little Red Hot Chili Peppers vocal improvisation. These touches, however, only sharpen the intensity of her wildly popular live shows. Ferrick ranks among an elite group of female guitarists who'll brave the stage alone and bring the house down in the process.
And then there is Cheryl Wheeler, an extraordinary artist that can make you laugh one minute and cry the next, with a canon that is as sweet, loving, sensitive and humorous as any in contemporary folk. Her performance is always reliably, and fabulously entertaining.
And let’s not forget the unsung Sarah Bettens. She first earned notoriety as the lead singer of K’s Choice, which racked up Gold and Platinum records in continental Europe and whose international radio hits include “Not An Addict,” “Believe,” and “Almost Happy.” With K’s Choice, Sarah headlined European festivals and toured the States. Now she’s a solo artist and continues to make headlines.
Tickets for the Berkshire Women’s Muse Fest may be purchased online for $25, or at the door the day of the show for $35. The festival starts at noon and music runs until 8pm, rain or shine. For more information, visit http://www.bwmusefest.com or send an email to Info@bwmusefest.com