Starring at the Folk Project Festival, Oct. 5-7: Jeremy Kittel, not your average fiddler

Jeremy Kittel
Jeremy Kittel
0

 

Experience live music in a new way.

That’s the invitation from organizers of the 2012 Folk Project Fall Festival, and they could not have picked a better poster boy than fiddler Jeremy Kittel, whose musical explorations range from Celtic to classical, with detours into jazz and rock.

At The Minstrel in Morris Township last year, Jeremy and his eponymous folk band launched into mesmerizing interpretations of Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy), showcasing an old-timey instrument called a hammered dulcimer.

Which suggests that Festival-goers are in for some pleasant surprises from Oct. 5-7, when the Jeremy Kittel Band joins an impressive lineup of performers at the acoustic music retreat near Hackettstown.

Three concerts and more than 40 workshops are scheduled for the Columbus holiday weekend. Patrons can mingle with Jeremy; jazz guitarist Grover Kemble; blues guitarist Little Toby Walker; the folk duo Magpie; and an entertaining brother act, the Lords of Liechtenstein, in a rustic setting that promises to be intimate: Attendance is limited to 150 people. Meals and lodging are included with a three-day ticket.

“What’s not to love about hanging out, playing great music, eating great food, in nature?” said Jeremy, 28.

REGISTER HERE FOR THE 2012 FOLK PROJECT FESTIVAL

His résumé attests to his eclectic tastes.  He has a master’s degree in jazz violin from the Manhattan School of Music and a National U.S. Scottish Fiddle championship. The University of Michigan, his alma mater, gave him its Emerging Artist Award in 2010.

Jeremy Kittel
Jeremy Kittel

A longtime member of the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, Jeremy also has toured or recorded with Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, My Morning Jacket and Jars of Clay, among others.

He has played at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, performed with numerous orchestras, and appeared on NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, too.

Jeremy can’t pick a favorite genre. His challenge is “trying to figure out where everything intersects, to give a presentation that’s enjoyable to play and enjoyable for the audience as well.”

Since attending his first music festival at age 11, Jeremy has played at Bonnaroo and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. This will be the Brooklyn resident’s first Folk Project Festival in New Jersey.

“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone,” he said. “I have a real love for being involved in the community and having the community being tightly woven with music. I always leave these things having learned a lot myself.”

Expanding your musical horizons is a given at the Folk Project Festival, according to Festival Chairman Mark Schaffer.

“It’s better than lessons,” Mark said. “Music is around every corner. You’re immersed. It’s an immersion you don’t get in an hour lesson.”

Please click icon below for captions.

Workshops for singing and for playing guitar, mandolin and fiddle are geared to enthusiasts of all ages and abilities. Audience members sometimes land onstage with their new musical mentors.

“It’s a thrill playing for someone who’s your hero,” said Mike Agranoff, chairman of The Minstrel concert series and an accomplished performer. He described the Festival as “a getaway in the country, with a community of like-minded people, engaging in a like-minded pursuit.”

Jeremy plans to give workshops about Balkan rhythms, and how they have been absorbed by Irish and American music. Don’t worry–it won’t get too academic.

“The best way to be learning is to have a good time,” he said.

He’s serious about that. Ask him anything about music. Anything at all. Like… what’s the difference between a fiddle and a violin?

“A fiddle burns longer,” Jeremy said.

 MORE ABOUT THE FOLK PROJECT FALL FESTIVAL

 

The Jeremy Kittel Band
The Jeremy Kittel Band stars at the Folk Project Fall Festival, Oct. 5-7. From left: Jeremy Kittel, Nathaniel Smith, Josh Pinkham and Simon Chrisman.

 

 

LEAVE A REPLY