Update!

Hello, Cortland,

I’m writing to you from the warmth of my bed. It seems that my busy schedule doesn’t omit me from catching the flu (figures).

Anyway, I wanted to write this post in order to fill you in on a little switch in momentum for the Cortland Downtown Blog. In the past, we have used this space to brood over some ideas that would increase the promise of our beloved city. Now, although we may still post on this topic occasionally, we are going to focus on the music events that will be happening here.

There will be many events that Eddie and I will be attending and writing a review of. This way we can let everyone know what they are missing out on. If you, one of our readers, has attended one of these events and would like to comment (or even write a post) just e-mail me.

Here is some information regarding some of the events that will be taking place at Cortland:

New this year to downtown Cortland is Bring Back Blues at Lucky’s, 77 Main Street, a monthly blues series that brings Chicago style blues to Cortland. This unique brand of blues is scheduled for the first Friday of every month beginning at 9 p.m. The Bring Back Blues lineup includes Bill Perry, Maurice John Vaught, Studebaker John & the Hawks, Big James & the Chicago Playboys, Eddie Shaw & the Wolf Gang and many more Chicago style blues artists.

Also new to downtown Cortland this year is the Folk Series at the Blue Frog Coffeehouse, 64 Main Street. Five folk artists from the region will be sharing their talent with Cortland at a series of Thursday night performances. The lineup includes Charlie King and Karen Brandow, Hank Roberts, Dave Lippman, FiveTwo and Red Headed Step Child.

Downtown’s existing music scene has been super-charged this year. The ever-popular Main Street Music Series that calls the Market Place Mall parking lot home on Friday nights has added some out-of-town talent that compliments performances by local favorites. The 2007 lineup for the Main Street Music Series includes Charlie Bertini, Dave Hanlon's Cook Book, Duke Robillard, The Crooners, Blotto, The Flashcubes, Hurtin' Units, Tailor Made, John Brown's Body, the Steve Morgan Band, Gabe Cummins, Rick Schell and other local talent. These performances are in part, supported by The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

The Classical music scene will also reach a crescendo this year. Arts at Grace, a classical music series at Grace Episcopal Church, 13 Court Street, includes the perennial favorites of the William J. Greer Memorial Concert, the Young Artists Showcase, the American Music Concert and later in the year Messiah as well as a summer addition to the lineup Opera Cowpokes. Opera Cowpokes combines original arrangements with classic songs of the American west in an operatic masterpiece! These performances are supported by The New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.

Thanks to Lloyd Purdy of the Downtown Cortland Partnership for all of this valuable information! I hope to see you folks at some of these events! More information will follow… Cheers!

Commenting

A lot of people are skeptical on the effectiveness of a weblog. I presume that I didn’t truly see the benefits at first, also. But, as things are exploding, I figured I would take some time to prove the cogency of such a medium.

It appears that many more people are reading this blog than I figured. Steven, a native from Binghamton, addresses our situation in his personal weblog entitled Oceans of Notions. In this post he exposes the positivity that’s erupting from our attempted merger of school and city. He goes as far as to wish this was happening in his hometown.

Hopefully, as the plan goes, we are able to create a “learning community” through this blog that many people will benefit from. The best way, and maybe the only way, to achieve this objective is through collaboration. The more people that read this blog and, specifically, the more people that comment the easier this will be. If we are able to create an active learning environment, using blogging as a medium, then the sky is the limit.

I would like to thank Steven for reading and contributing to our blog. I’m hoping that more and more people will step up and help motivate others. Every time someone voices his/her opinion we are able to more clearly identify some of this issues that we need to ameliorate.

So if you are reading this blog, then please comment; even if you just want to leave a sentence acknowledging the fact that you do contribute. Let’s all help Cortland. Cheers.

[SIDE NOTE: I will also be adding a mapping counter so that we can all view who is looking at this blog and from where.]