A Night at Tess’ Lark Tavern: A Benefit Celebration Featuring The “House Bands” of The Lark Tavern

The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio presents:
A Night at Tess' Lark Tavern: A Benefit Celebration featuring the "House Bands" of the Lark Tavern

with Albany Poets; Jim Gaudet & The Railroad Boys; Keith Pray's Big Soul Revival; MotherJudge & "The Best Damn Open Mic EVER!" Band; Ramblin Jug Stompers; and special guest Bryan Thomas 7 p.m. Thursday, June 10, The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio 339 Central Ave, Albany, 518.465.5233, ext. 4; www.thelinda.org, $15 at the door.

In the early morning hours of May 6, 2010 a fire ripped through Tess’ Lark Tavern, effectively gutting the historic building while also gutting the heart of downtown Albany’s artistic community. For years prior to the fire, owner Tess Collins had made an unusual commitment -- creating a home for artists of all walks by hosting meetings, events, benefits and performances by the city’s best and brightest, as well as by the region’s promising unknowns and up-and-comers.

Now it’s time for the artists and the community-at-large to give back. This is being done most visibly through a series of benefits staged by those touched by the graceful, generous hand of Collins and her well-loved staff. Few have felt that touch more deeply than the “House Bands” of Tess’ Lark Tavern. These groups of musicians and poets have made the Lark Tavern their true home, with long-running residencies based on monthly (or in the case of MotherJudge, weekly) performances.

It’s safe to say that host band Ramblin Jug Stompers and jazz icons Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble would simply not exist without Collins, as her venue was the incubator which allowed these groups to grow and develop into important elements of the region’s musical scene.

BSE’s debut album, “Live at the Lark Tavern,” stands as a testament to the 17-piece group’s wildly successful and long-running First Tuesday stand. Gaudet has used his First Monday slot as a laboratory for introducing a plethora of new songs while honing his band’s bluegrass kick. The Jug Stompers recently celebrated their fourth anniversary of Third Monday performances on the stage that birthed them. And Albany Poets have made their Last Monday Poets Speak Loud the place to be for spoken word in the Hidden City.

Thomas’ name-dropping number “MotherJudge” is a tribute to the venue’s legendary open mic host and the many careers she has fostered and launched on Wednesday nights at the Lark for well over a decade.

The theme of the “House Band” benefit at The Linda is “A Night at Tess’ Lark Tavern,” and it will mark the first time that the Lark’s resident favorites have been on one stage (graciously donated by WAMC) together in one night. Representatives from Albany Poets will read from their work between sets by the bands, and Thomas -- the evening’s special guest -- will sing “MotherJudge” to introduce the closing performance by "The Best Damn Open Mic EVER!" Band, which includes John Brodeur, Albie and Bob Buckley (who are also members of various area bands including Lark Tavern favorites, These Are The Hits).

Admission for “A Night at Tess’ Lark Tavern” is $15 at the door (although larger donations will be gratefully accepted). There will be no advance ticket sales. All proceeds from admissions, donations and CD sales will go directly to Tess’ Lark Tavern. Doors open at 6 p.m.

“A Night at Tess’ Lark Tavern” is a Mystery Tramp Production made possible through the kind sponsorship of WAMC, WEXT, Metroland and Nippertown.com.

For more information, contact event producer, Michael Eck/Mystery Tramp Productions
518.432.6634, mandhand@aol.com.

www.thelinda.org, www.exit977.org, www.metroland.net, www.nippertown.com, www.albanypoets.com, www.jimgaudet.com, www.keithpray.com, www.myspace.com/motherjudge, www.jugstompers.com, www.bryanthomas.com, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Albany-NY/Tess-Lark-Tavern/82894676935

V0x at The Fuzebox on Friday, May 28

R.M. Engelhardt’s VoX open mic series continues this month on Friday, May 28 at The Fuzebox (12 Central Ave., Albany).  Last month R.M. began using the open mic for poets and musicians as a fundraiser for various causes.  This month’s event will help raise money for the rebuilding of Tess’ Lark Tavern.  Here is the information from Mr. Engelhardt:

V Ω X
________________

AT THE FUZEBOX

Friday May 28th 2010

ALBANY NY’s Open Mic

For Poets & Musicians 8pm

12 Central Avenue

Your $4.00 donation

Goes towards a great cause now each & every month!

This Month's Cause Is :

Tess’ Lark Tavern

__________________

Hosted By Poet R.M. ENGELHARDT

$4.00 donation requested

Last Friday of Every Month

This is just one of the many events that are happening in the area to help raise money for Tess and her staff after the devastating fire that went through the building last week.  Be sure to check back for more information on upcoming events and how you can help.  Albany Poets is hosting a special edition of Poets Speak Loud on Monday, May 24 at Valentines as way to show our support.

Poets Help Now! A Benefit Open Mic For Tess’ Lark Tavern

POETS HELP NOW!  A BENEFIT FOR TESS AND THE STAFF OF TESS' LARK TAVERN!

For over five years Tess' Lark Tavern has been the home of Poets Speak Loud.  What started out in January 2005 as a monthly open mic for poetry has become much more than that, it has become a family.   Through the support and generosity of Tess and the welcoming, warm hearted nature of her staff, the Lark Tavern has become a home not just to poets on the last Monday of the month, but the entire community. 

Over the years, the Poets Speak Loud open mic has featured local poets such as Emily Gonzalez, The Poet Essence, Cheryl A. Rice, Michael Eck, Mother Judge, Rich Tomasulo, Alan Catlin, A.C. Everson, Jil Hanifan, Nicole Peyrafitte, R.M. Engelhardt, Dain Brammage, Amanda Rose, Josh McIntyre, Philip Levine, Rachael Zitomer, Pierre Joris, Will Nixon, Don Levy, Robert Milby, John Weiler, Jason Crane, Carolee Sherwood, Carol Graser, and many, many more.   This time we are featuring the Lark Tavern!

Now is your chance to give back and be a part of the rebuilding of Tess' Lark Tavern.  On Monday, May 24, at Valentines (upstairs) POETS HELP NOW. 

This is an Open Mic Event.  Come on out, share your words, thoughts and experiences for Tess and her Staff!

Sign-up starts at 7:00pm.  We will begin the open mic at 8:00pm. Get there early as we are expecting a big crowd!

$5 Donation at the door and ALL proceeds are going to Tess and the staff of Tess' Lark Tavern to use for the rebirth of the Tavern.

This event is lovingly brought to you by Albany Poets.

Poets Speak Loud Temporarily Suspended

As you may have heard, the local arts community suffered a major setback yesterday morning with the fire at Tess' Lark Tavern.  The damage was extensive, but the structure of the building is still in tact.  Due to that tragic event, we at Albany Poets have decided to suspend our open mic POETS SPEAK LOUD.  PSL was born at Tess'.  It is part of the integrity of the Lark and we would not feel comfortable temporarily moving the event to another venue.  In the coming weeks and months, we will be working very closely with Tess and her dedicated staff  in the rebuilding, renovating and reopening of the Lark.  Albany Poets is in this for the long haul.  We will be planning events down the road based on the wants and needs of Tess and the staff.  In the meantime, there are a number of sites available if you wish to donate as well as benefits planned.

We will be continuing ALBANY POETS PRESENTS: NO GIMMICKS OPEN MIC, at Valentine's on the first Tuesday of each month and PROFESSOR JAVA'S WIDE OPEN MIC  at Professor Java's, on the second Monday of each month.  We will be updating throughout the process of rebuilding and the next POETS SPEAK LOUD will be a huge event.  We look forward to this process and rebirth.

Thom Francis
Mary Panza
Keith Spencer