James Beards in the Hudson Valley. Five years ago there was only one restaurant in the valley on the list, this year there are seven! We couldn't be more excited to share this honor with our brilliant neighbors….cheers to Efrén Hernández, Shaina Loew-Banayan, Chris Mauricio, Jean Paul Medina, Doris Choi and Nora Allen. This week, we hosted a potluck to celebrate with all of them. Needless to say, their food was brilliant and you should check out their restaurants.
Folk Feast. On Saturday, February 24th, we will be welcoming some of the stars of Oldtone Roots Music Festival to the upstairs Barn to play live while you dance and feast! In keeping with the fest’s Cajun music roots, we’ll be ladling bowlfuls game gumbo over rice. All proceeds go to Oldtone, an American roots music festival returning to Hillsdale this September. Get your tickets to Folk Feast, here.
Presidents Day Weekend. We’ll be open for dinner as usual Thursday through Monday. Reserve, or walk in on a whim to enjoy some snacks and vermouth in the woodshed- the fire will be going every night of the week!
Welcoming Smoked hake with hollandaise, butterballs and caviar to the menu. We love the simplicity and smokiness of this Stissing House classic: it shows off the fabulous butter, eggs and potatoes from our region.
American roots music includes a broad range of musical styles like blues, Bluegrass, folk, gospel, and traditional country. What makes it so unique is its largely universal appeal and its ability to speak to—and of—the human condition. The Oldtone Music Fest aims to preserve roots music through artist and audience participation—connecting neighbors, bridging cultures, and sharing insight and wisdom across generations. Get ready for a lively evening on Saturday, February 24th! We're excited to do our part to preserve traditional folkways.
We’re thrilled to have Zach Bryson headlining our benefit concert. While he lives in Nashville now, he was born and raised in Oregon and started singing in a punk band when he was 13 years old. But it was at the alternative school he attended in Eugene, OR where he learned to play the guitar when he was 15. He fell in love with the blues, bluegrass, and folk music and he realized “the music my grandpa listened to wasn’t embarrassing after all, and actually really great.” Like many, his grandfather was a big Johnny Cash fan and Zach grew up with that influence. Along the way, he learned to play other string instruments like the dobro, banjo and mandolin. Proving that most things come full circle, Zach recently had a show in Eugene where he played with the band of the teacher who taught him to play guitar, while seven other teachers watched from the audience. And in major job upgrades, he’s going from working the gate at Oldtone Music Fest a few years back to playing the festival this September!
We talked with Zach while he was in Texas, and just after he enjoyed a soak in a hot spring while watching the sunrise–a perk of being a touring musician.
What do punk rock and roots music have in common?
Oldtime and punk rock share a common mission to make music for the art of it, with little to no regard for what will sell. It’s all for the music, not the money. And both genres are big on expressing emotion.
What would you say to someone who isn’t familiar with roots music?
Why should they explore it?
Follow your ears. There are a lot of people with a lot of strong opinions about roots music (myself included) and I would encourage you to take it all with a grain of salt. If I don’t like a piece of music based on my standard for what musical quality is but you love that same piece of music because it makes you feel good or speaks to you or reminds you of being a kid cause your dad used to listen to it in the car, well I can’t help but think that matters a lot more than my opinion. Like what you like, and let the haters hate, is probably an easier way to say that.
What does it mean to you to preserve this type of music?
Really great to play in such a way that it’s a living breathing thing; some people who are so amazing at sounding an oldtime record and then there are people who are trying to do their own thing but also living in this influence; he’s now embracing the influence. This is how John Prine would have played it and that’s why i know how to play it, at the same time trying to not be anything but himself. Influenced by things, but also themselves and being genuine. He went from being a copycat to presenting himself THROUGH this tradition; filtering his experience through the tradition.
Is there a specific musician who’s a big source of inspiration?
It’s hard to choose just one. There’s John Prine, Blind Willie McTell, Paul Simon, Raymond Newman, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone…there’s so much you can draw from that it’s hard not to want to emulate everyone.
What are some unusual sources of inspiration for you?
Film is probably the first art form I fell in love with as a kid. If there’s an argument to be made that making fart noises with your mouth is an art form, then that was before film, but a close second is cinema. I love movies. Spend any time around me and that becomes annoyingly clear. Stand-up comedy as well. I’m very annoying about my love for stand-up.
From your time touring around the country, do you have a favorite spot that always hits just right?
On this tour, we’ve been playing a lot of places that we’ve never been before so I’ve found new ones that I’ll be coming back to. I have a group chat going with some other musicians dedicated just to great spots in certain towns. The Dinner Bell in Prescott, AZ was a great find, and Tacos Don Cuco in El Paso is so great we went there twice. To anyone from El Paso reading this, I know it’s a chain, but I love it and the salsa bar is unbelievable!
Favorite late night Stewart’s move (IYKYK)?
It’s often the case that walking into Stewart’s late night is like walking into a store at 2pm on Black Friday in 1999–you just kind of get what you get but a perfect dream scenario for me would be to walk in and one of the employees has forgotten what time it is and accidentally made a “fresh” batch of Mac n cheese. I don’t know if Cornell has the funding to test the Mac the way they do the milk at Stewart’s, but I bet it would rank pretty high on a national list of gas station pasta dishes.
What do you do when you’re not playing shows?
As little as possible! Mostly, I watch a lot of movies and cook and listen to podcasts. I don’t listen to as many podcasts as you’d think, driving so much on tour. I mostly love to listen to them while cooking. I definitely miss cooking dinner the most when I’m away from home. And the pancake recipe from Joy of Cooking is a favorite.
Is there something you’ve read, listened to or watched recently that left a lasting impression? And/or what is a north star source of inspiration that you’ve carried with you for a long time?
Inspiration is a funny thing. I always think I’ll go to an art gallery and see a beautiful painting and go home and write something profound. I’m sure that could happen, but usually I just overhear someone say something that has a nice ring to it, or I’ll hear them give a perspective I hadn’t considered and I stash it away in the notes of my phone. Then, when I’m sitting down with a guitar, I’ll look through them. Sometimes I have no idea why I wrote down a certain thing and I try to backfill it with what I imagine it means. I’ve gotten a lot of songs that way.
Thanks to Stissing House for being involved in Oldtone, it really means a lot to have community support and I’m very excited to try the rabbit pie, everyone says it’s fantastic!
- Zach Bryson