

She and Wiancko are both members of the Silkroad Ensemble. She traveled to the United States to study jazz and improvisation at Berklee, steeping in the breadth and diversity of Boston and New York’s music scenes. Gilchrist was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and her background includes traditional Irish and Scottish music. Maeve Gilchrist, a Brooklyn-based harper and composer participating in this year’s ACF artist residency, will be working on new material to share with audiences. While their specific approaches may differ, the artists on the bill for Antenna Cloud Farm this season are unified in their aim to deliver transporting experiences. “How do we make art in a way that supports each other and supports the community, and that is mindful about the kind of healing society needs and the kind of healing live performance and music can bring to our communities? I believe we’re in service of the communities we live in and play for.” “What is a way of being in the industry that is more community-minded, and less based on competitive structures?” Wiancko reflects.
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In her teaching experience, Wiancko says she frequently encountered questions from students she felt “institutions are not set up to answer.” These included how to establish a music career in the 21st century, how to have a holistic life in music, and how to consider one’s wellness or mental health alongside creation and performance. focusing on the essence of creativity, the humanity of it, and doing it with an egalitarian approach.

He links that intention of building connection to the festival’s ethos, characterizing ACF as the “antithesis and an immunization against profit-driven mainstream pop, or whatever you want to call the artistic festival stages with helicopters and fog machines.
The band’s goal, hartigan says, is “to create a space where people can see and realize their humanity and get to a higher consciousness.” “It’s my biggest passion to support other artists who are using their practice and their talents to actually make the world a bit of a better place,” she says.įor royal hartigan, drummer and bandleader of jazz quartet blood drum spirit, which will perform in the July 1 Music Walk, ACF is “a physical space, a psychological space, and an artistic space where people can get together and explore untraditional ideas.” In their music, blood drum spirit fuses jazz with Asian, South Asian, and West African influences. Wiancko explains how the lineup reflects that intention.
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There was a certain feeling about Franklin County that felt special and warm, and felt full of possibility – a place where growth and building something from scratch seems viable.”Īntenna Cloud Farm is rooted in an intention to use music “as a catalyst for societal change and community resilience,” as described on the festival’s website. “We didn’t move to this area for any specific job,” she says, “or any specific teaching position or institutional reason. The transition to western Massachusetts allowed her to stay “within striking distance” of the city, and offered an aura of potential. Wiancko is originally from California and spent most of her adult life in Brooklyn. Every year, I feel like I’m honing in on my vision and I’m able to steer the beast a bit more in that direction.” “This is like my side project gone berserk…. The summer event, which also includes a tuition-free experimental music institute, began from “a vision of creating a musical hub in Franklin County,” Wiancko says. The outdoor festival grounds belong to her and her husband, fellow composer Judd Greenstein, and the indoor concert and residency spaces are parts of their house and property’s cottage. In August, ACF will hold partner events with the 10th Annual Pocumtuck Homelands Festival at Unity Park and Stone Soup Café in downtown Greenfield.įor artistic director Michi Wiancko, an accomplished composer and violinist, ACF isn’t close to home – it is home. The season kicks off July 1 with the Antenna Cloud Farm Music Walk in Turners Falls, a one-day special event with jazz, world music, and more at Unity Park, Great Falls Discovery Center, Spinner Park, and Peskeomskut Park. An indoor venue on the grounds with room for around 60 people will play host to more intimate performances. Mainstage performances run throughout July, bringing folk, classical, and new music to the farm’s sweeping green space, with room to accommodate a couple hundred people. GILL – Perched on the hilltop site of a 100-acre former dairy farm, Antenna Cloud Farm will unfurl its sixth season of music, artist residencies, and community building this summer.
