Long Island folk-rock triumvirate Gathering Time has announced a special livestream performance from Huntington Heckscher Park, on the Harry Chapin Rainbow Stage (NY-25A & Prime Ave, Huntington, NY 11743), Saturday, August 15 at 8 PM ET to celebrate the September 1 release of their new album Old Friends and #1 charting debut single “Get Together.”
Hosted by the Huntington Arts Council, this much-anticipated event will be reserved for Huntington Town residents only yet will be livestreamed via Gathering Time’s Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/gatheringtimeofficial).
“We are thrilled that this concert opportunity has come up on such a prominent stage,” said Stuart Markus, the group’s rhythm guitarist. “We’ve had a very special relationship with the Huntington Arts Council for a dozen years and they’ve paid us a huge compliment in tapping us to play for their re-christened ‘Summer Of Hope’ concert series, which had been so impacted by the pandemic. Even more so that they’ve asked us to play originals alongside the songs from our new album. And we’re doubly excited at the prospect of a worldwide audience via the webcast.”
Old Friends is Gathering Time’s fifth studio album and features reimagined and re-harmonized classics from the era when folk met rock ’n’ roll. Among those is the iconic 1969 Youngbloods song “Get Together,” which the trio released as an advance single and has earned the #1 spot on The Folk Alliance International Folk DJ Chart for the month of July, 2020.
Other songs on the album include “Abraham, Martin & John,” an elegy to assassinated leaders who took strong stands on civil rights; “At 17,” which addresses the issue of teenage rejection and depression and “Hazy Shade of Winter” and “River,” which speak to feelings of disconnectedness and loneliness during the holiday season.
Not that it’s all heavy and serious. “You Were On My Mind” is about the unbridled joy of falling in love while “Hurry Sundown” is about the need to put work down, enjoy leisure time and recharge to face tomorrow. The album ends on a positive note with CSNY’s “Carry On” with its promise “Love is coming to us all”.
The official track listing for Old Friends is:
Turn! Turn! Turn! (Seeger)
Hurry Sundown (Harburg/Robinson)
Get Together (Powers)
Hazy Shade (Simon)
River (Mitchell)
If You Could Read My Mind (Lightfoot)
You Were On My Mind (Fricker)
At 17 (Ian)
Abraham, Martin & John (Holler)
And When I Die (Nyro)
Ripple (Hunter/Garcia)
Old Friends (Simon)
Carry On (Stills)
Old Friends was recorded at Wrong Side of the Tracks Studio in Oyster Bay, NY and will be released on all DSPs starting September 1.
For more information about Gathering Time, visit the band’s website, www.gathering-time.com, on Facebook at @Gatheringtimeofficial, on Twitter at @gatheringtime and Instagram at @gatheringtimetrio and at www.YouTube.com/gatheringtimetrio.
