The Dam Show, featuring spectacular colored lighting, saturated with live
music of all kinds for all ages and one of the truly unique summer festivals in the    
Northeast, will make its fifth annual run from Friday, July 20 through Sunday, July  
22 at the Austin Dam Memorial Park. The park, a gem in itself, is located two miles
north of Austin, Pennsylvania on Route 872.  Major site improvements, including
landscaping, road upgrades, electrical service and a portable stage are signs of
progress since last year’s program.

 The festival will open with music of the Underground Railroad, featuring
local student singers and musicians from an area Arts In Education program
set for 10 days in July. The student project will be led by Charles Kennedy, a
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts roster artist from Erie. Opening night will also
include performances by Mark Campiglia (The Fiddle Man) from Philadelphia,
Jakob’s Hollow from Coudersport, Blue Mission Sky Club from Ithaca, NY and the
Gordon Stone Trio from Burlington, VT.

 Gordon Stone made an appearance at the second Dam Show enroute to a
Catskills festival featuring an all-star jam session with Tony Rice, Peter Rowan and
the late Vassar Clements. Stone joined those acoustic superstars on banjo and
pedal steel. He has performed and recorded everything from old time music
through bluegrass and jazz and was a regular on stage and in recording sessions
of the supergroup PHISH. Since his first local appearance, Stone has earned an
Emmy with music for a rural Vermont documentary and is working on a multiple
banjo project with the legendaryTony Trischka.

 Jakob’s Hollow, the musical project of local songwriters Steve Quelet and
Eppie Bailey along with bassist Judy Shunk has a wealth of original songs.
Among those for this year's program will be several based on the 1911 Austin
Dam Disaster. Breaking of the dam unleashed a torrent of water and logs that
killed 78 people, destroyed much of the town of Austin and left the giant ruins as a
monument to the tragic event.

 Kathryn Koch and David Nanni of Redheaded Stepchild from Buffalo and
Nashville will be making their fourth Dam Show Appearance on Saturday evening
and Sunday afternoon. They will be joined by Binghamton’s Fetish Lane, a band
likened to, “a young Buffalo Springfield.” Kathryn is blessed with a powerful and
firey voice that fills the valley.

 Dam Show featured musicians will range in age from ten-year-old Gabriel
Trimbur of Coudersport to Kenneth Dietze, energetic 94-year-old singer,
dancer and trombone man with Brother Dietze and the Dixie Boys. Making a
return this year will be Jonathan Haley, a singer/songwriting “grandson of the
Morley Band of Ulysses.” Jonathan, an accomplished classical guitarist, will be
joined by his fiance on violin.

 The Slant, a homegrown rock and acoustic group will unveil new music from
an album recorded over the past several months during breaks in college
schedules. Local members include Mark Zedonek, Brad Austin and Zach Dow.
They have been playing college gigs from Ohio to State College. They have a
wealth of new songs prepared for the Dam Show.

 Folks of all ages will be invited to participate in a hands-on drumming
workshop by all nine members of The Buddhahood Band from Rochester. Taking
the lead will be three percussionists versed in Brazilian, West African and
Middle Eastern drumming. Workshop “students” will have an opportunity to
play with the powerhouse band in the evening. And returning this year to reprise a
unique blend of music, dance and moving lights on giant ruins will be Margaret
Spahr & Anita Reda from the local Essence of Motion Dance Studio.

 Bonnie Kyofski, a Pennsylvania Humanities Council storyteller, will be one
of many features for children of all ages. She will weave local history and legends
into her stories.

 Evening performances are backed with awe-inspiring lighting on the giant
limestone ruins of the dam courtesy of Groovin’ Lumens from the Rochester,
NY area.

 The Dam Show program is hosted by Potter County Fine Arts Council. The
facility is provided by the Austin Dam Memorial Association. Both are all-volunteer,
non-profit groups. Many other organizations are involved in making the Dam Show
a success.

 This year’s Dam Show will be dedicated to Dixie Ripple. She was a founding
member of the Austin Dam Memorial Association, a community leader and an
inspiring and talented poet. She died in April after a battle with cancer. A daughter
will read a piece of Mrs. Ripple’s poetry which speaks of the past disaster but also
of a community working together with eyes focused on the future.

 Show times will include: Friday, July 20, 6:00 - 11:00 P.M.; Saturday,
July 21, 2:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M.; Sunday, July 21, 2:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

 Food will be available throughout the festival and a limited number of
campsites are available at the park.

 Tickets are $15 per day on Friday and Saturday and $5 on Sunday, with a
reduced price ticket for the full weekend and for families. There is a $5
advanced-sale discount on all but the Sunday tickets.

 Advanced sale tickets are available from Olga’s Living With Art
(www.eggdecorator.com), Coudersport; Perry’s Store, Austin; the Costello
General Store, Costello; and the Wharton Store, Wharton.

Photos, sounds, information and links to bands can be found on the web at
www.damshow.com. For more information call (814) 647-3318.



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