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Meet June & the Bee: 
Lead photo and this biography were submitted directly from the musicians. Please contact us for reprints.
June & the Bee are a brother sister group hailing from Amherst, MA. Their first original musical arrangement was comprised of Eli on the beloved red kazoo and Emma June on the frying pans, respectively. Since then Eli (the Bee) has taught himself guitar and Emma June has taught herself the ukulele. June & the Bee credit their folk influence to their father, who would vivaciously sing his own renditions of "The Star Spangled Banner" and play the harmonica, when they were younger. Emma June and Eli gained much of their musical inspiration from their upbringing in the arts based pedagogy of Waldorf education.
Emma June is 20 years old and enrolled at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst as a sophomore, with a self-designed major in Arts and Education. In her spare time she is avidly creating devised immersive theatre. Eli is 17 years old, and a senior at Amherst Regional High School. In his free time he is a member of the Central Rock Climbing Team.
Emma June and Eli started performing their music in 2011, in the cozy venue of their home kitchen. After many raucous dances by their mother and many encores from their dog Sofia, they were fortunate enough to land their first gig (out of the kitchen) on to the stage of The Iron Horse where they opened for Gentlemen Hall. They are currently in the process of mastering their first EP, June & the Bee. They hope to continue to share their tunes with the world.
Read more: June & the Bee at The Iron Horse Music Hall, September 22, 2012
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- Written by: Bluebird
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- Written by: Bluebird
Dawes at the 2012 Newport Folk Festival
Photography and Review by Bluebird
This year, the Newport Folk Festival was sold out for months in advance of the show. It drew tens of thousands to Newport, Rhode Island, from all over the Northeast US and beyond. Some of these people have been attending this annual event for generations. There was a time when the budget for this global talent gathering was scarce. During these droughts, the loyal music aficionados, rock snobs and bluegrass historians, still came to support local regional music and folk traditions.
In mingling with the crowd this year and talking to fans at this event, I learned it is this core culture that keeps the bar for the acts as they come through. They talk about each band in great detail, including their connections with folk and music history, as well as regional presence. There are many terms that I learned Folk Festers use, to describe if they approve of an artist's music to be in the line-up of the Newport Folk Festival: "appropriate," "in the folk tradition," "in line with the history of folk," and, of course, ~ "Dylanesque."
Simultaneous to the folk and bluegrass that frames the permeable boundaries of this art, is a new wave of younger, Folk Fest revelers, who are jumping right in to hear their contemporary favorites. 'My Morning Jacket" "Deer Tick" and "Conor Oberst" to name a few. In a myriad of harmonies, the generational Folk followers that I spoke to, said they approved of these bands too, and hailed them as fitting into the storytelling chapters that would dawn the days to come. "Eclectic" the generational Folk Festers say of these new infusions of sound, "a fresh perspective."
And then there was DAWES!
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Mountain Park hosted a fundraiser on July 21, 2012, which will forever remain in my mind. It featured four tribute bands, The Rum Runners, Changes in Latitude, The Machine and Get The Led Out. These talented artists came together to offer the spotlight not on themselves, but on all people and their families getting treatment for cancer. The benefit was to support the Jimmy Fund , Dana Farber Institute , Allie's Five O'Clock Fund .These programs, and the families they serve, were the rock stars that night. I felt great about attending this event. What I didn't expect, however, was to witness the impact of these programs on the children who are fighting cancer. Day after day, often for years, these kids are being challenged to endure evaluations, treatments and long hospital stays. The warm summer evening and fun party crowd was perfect to lift the spirits of cancer survivors and their families, while hopefully, adding some funds to the agencies whose mission we may not pay attention to, unless someone in our circle needs them.
THE MACHINE:
The Machine delivered Pink Floyd close to the original, with their own persona, which instantly engaged the crowd.
Joe came out on stage and elegantly said, "We're The Machine. We're from New York City. We're gonna play Pink Floyd music for you."
"... later, another band will play Led Zeppelin ..." Some of the fans in this laid back barefoot crowd jokingly grumbled, because they had traveled several hours, just to see The Machine.
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- Written by: Dave "Bippy" Boyer
The Singing Element of Ms. K. D. Lang, at Turning Stone Casino, Oneida, New York
Wednesday August 15, 2012 
Review by: Dave "Bippy" Boyer, Rochester New York.
Sketch by Dave "Bippy" Boyer.
I'm a newbie. This is my first review. And my first time ever seeing Ms. K. D. Lang perform with the, "Siss Boom Bang" band. But on that, I hope it's not my last. Because basically it was a celebration of everyone just being themselves and accepting of each other.
A dear long time artist friend quickly bought two tickets to the August 15, 2012 K.D. Lang concert. And good she did that. The Showroom at the Turning Stone Casino (Oneida New York) 800 seat capacity filled up very fast. Everyone applauded warmly as K. D. Lang walked down stage dressed in a black suit with a black vest, white blouse and a bright red scarf or cravat. Behind her was her band called, "The Siss Boom Bang" band. They capably played anything from sliding steel guitar for a country sound - to base, drums, lead guitar, and keyboard accompaniment that sounded like "Leslie" spinning speakers sometimes.
Read more: K. D. Lang, at the Turning Stone Casino, Oneida, New York
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- Written by: Bluebird
July 21, 2012
Many thanks to GET THE LED OUT and Front Row Dave for making this review possible!
Mountain Park, Holyoke, MA.
FINS UP!
Mountain Park hosted a fundraiser called, SUMMER STATE OF MIND, on July 21, 2012, which will forever remain in my mind. It featured four tribute bands, The Rum Runners, Changes in Latitude, The Machine and Get The Led Out. These talented artists came together to offer the spotlight not on themselves, but on all people and their families getting treatment for cancer. The benefit supported the Jimmy Fund, Dana Farber Institute, and Allie's Five O'Clock Fund. It is these programs and the people they serve who were the rock stars that night. I knew the music would be great and the crowd would be generous.
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- Written by: Bluebird
Fort Adams State Park, Newport, Rhode Island 
July 28, 2012
Review and Photos by Bluebird
Patty Griffin can do anything.
I first saw her at the House of Blues in Boston (2011) with the Band of Joy. Harmonizing with Robert Plant, playing with Darrell Scott and ruckusing with Buddy Miller, her voice was faithfully doing what was best for the bluegrass, slow core, and Zeppelin remake songs that they engaged her to take on. She handled this record and the live set beautifully, with vocal control and wisdom.
When I left that show, after almost passing out, because I was reeling from the image of Robert Plant, hovering over us in the front row, singing "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" and "Ramble On," I had two thoughts. First, my husband who witnessed this, will never be the same again. And second, I knew I had to pursue Patty Griffin's music outside of this context, because I could imagine her solo work would be a journey to enjoy.
