The four-part concert series will feature Japhy Ryder on August 7, Twiddle on August 14, Roots of Creation on August 21, and Barefoot Truth on August 28. Bands will be playing at the K-1 Gondola at Killington Resort every Saturday from 4 to 6 pm in August. Guests can enjoy the family-friendly music while winding down from a day of mountain biking on Killington Peak, playing golf, hiking on the Appalachian Trail, or fishing at Kent Pond.

Select restaurants and retailers in Killington will be partnering with It’s Cooler in the Mountains to offer specials on activities to encourage concert guests to spend the day and evening in Killington, like the Pico Mountain Adventure Center, golf, food tastings, and mountain biking.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to bring people to Killington Road, build on the tradition of summer music in the mountains, and provide another reason for families to spend their weekend with us,” says Seth Webb, Economic Development and Tourism Director for the Town of Killington.

More information on the concert series is available online at  www.DiscoverKillington.com.

***UPDATE***
Persons in Rutland or Mendon wishing to come to the concert series without the hassle or concerns of driving themselves can call Gramps Shuttle to reserve free door-to-door transportation. The free ride promotion is limited to the first 50 guests for the August 7 concert. When getting on the shuttle, each person will pay $15 and receive in return a $15 voucher good at participating restaurants in Killington on the concert day.…. thus making your ride free.

Rides are first come – first served, and reservations must be made by Friday, August 6 at 3:00 pm. Call NOW 802-558-1543 to reserve a space. You may also email gramps.shuttle@comcast.net and leave your name, address, number of persons, desired pickup time and phone number. Pickups from Rutland will be scheduled around 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm. Return rides will be scheduled around 8:30 pm and 10:00 pm.

Gramps Shuttle will drive guests from their home to the concert venue, then to a restaurant of their choice. After dinner, guests simply catch the shuttle back to their home – it’s door-to-door service without the worries of drinking and driving or trying to arrange timing with everyone in your party.

Participating restaurants where your $15 voucher will be honored include Choices, Moguls, McGraths, On the Rocs, Birch Ridge Inn, Hemingways, Lookout, Grist Mill, Pasta Pot, Ovations, Casey’s Caboose and Outback. There’s dining to suit every taste and budget… with many specials being offered.

Concert goers will enjoy live, family-friendly music, the large outdoor patio area, free lawn games and activities, and the ability to start their concert experience with a mountain-biking or hiking ride up the K-1 Gondola.

Additionally, Killington Resort and EDT have partnered to create a raffle to win a free 2010-2011 Pico Mountain Season Pass. Concert goers may enter the drawing one time per concert for a total of four chances to win the pass, good for every day during the coming ski season.

The Eighth Annual Sol Harvest, The Manifestivus, will take place July 9 and 10, 2010. The Manifiestivus is Vermont’s party of the summer, featuring Common, Toubab Krewe, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars and John Brown’s Body, just to name a few – as well as some of Vermont’s finest local talent.

Our mission is to create a international world music festival which lifts peoples’ spirits in a way that it promotes evolution of the self through music, art and culture. Our vision is to create an elevated vibe that reminds us that we are one with each other, the land and all things.

The Manifestivus is held on 93 acres of breathtaking land in Cabot, Vermont, six hours north of New York City and three hours from Boston or Montreal. Set on a gently rolling hillside meadow surrounded by forest, the timber stage creates an unforgettable vibe which hosts 2000 dancing, smiling, loving faces under the moonlit sky. “Festivus” as it’s been dubbed, was founded by Toubab Krewe bassist David Pransky, and takes place on his family land. The Manifestivus is also managed by Carlo Rovetto of 1lb Productions and Positive Pie.

The “forward thinking, groove-heavy” (Jambase) Toubab Krewe based in Asheville, NC will perform both nights with an additional Toubab and Friends performance on Saturday. Friday night will also include a rare backwoods performance by grammy winning, film icon, and all around rock star, Common. Other performers include John Brown’s Body, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars, Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad, DJ Ben Arsenal, Sarazino, Bajah and The Dry Eyed Crew, Manchilde, DJ DonP, D’Moja, Japhy Ryder, Casio Bastard and Rough Francis. The family-friendly event offers on-site camping, medical facilities, vendors of authentic African and Ital food, as well as local arts and crafts. The site also boasts hiking trails wind through beaver ponds, marsh and woodland forest, and a large swimming pond. The 200 + children that attend the festival have an entire supervised area devoted to fun, games and culture.

A limited number of $55 early-bird tickets will go on sale Saturday, May 15 @ High Noon Eastern on The Manifestisvus Website: www.manifestivus.com. Get ‘em while they last – once they’re gone ticket’s will be $75 in advance and $90 at the gate.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The Sabu School in Conakry, Guinea, a children’s school for Sierra Leone refugees, and will also go to supporting Toubab Krewe’s African teachers, their families, and the preservation of musical traditions of West Africa.

We play at noon on Saturday 7/10.. we’ll see you there!

We have a pair of CD Release Parties this upcoming weekend:
Friday 6/25 @ Nectar’s (Burlington) with the legendary Dub is a Weapon
Saturday 6/26 @ Positive Pie 2 (Montpelier) with our friends Casio Bastard

After these gigs, every show we play this summer will be celebrating the release of this album. We are very excited to get this album out to the masses as it is the most accurate example of our live sound that we’ve managed to capture in the studio.

The digital release with Halogen Records is slated for later this summer, until then the only place to get the CD (outside of VT) is from us.

In other news, our esteemed guitarist Zack duPont just won the ‘Artist of the Month’ poll from the New England Deli Magazine.   Check out his solo work at www.zackdupontmusic.com

If the Haves are Willing (tracklist) Das Gutt Ain’t that a B Can’t Do It Brother, Be Tightrope the Fill Grinder Boob Diaper (untitled) Set Self Sail

The first of these is happening at Higher Ground on March 13, 2010 when we share the bill with the Toubab Krewe.   We are big fans of the Toubab Krewe and their brand of West African Americana, it is bound to be a show to be remembered.  Doors open at 8PM, we take the stage at 8:30.  This is an ALL AGES show, tickets are $12 in advance and $14 day of the show available here.

Just 3 weeks after that we are returning to Nectar’s to share an evening with our friends (and fellow Ropeadope artists) Otis Grove on April 9.  We are looking at the possibility of releasing our live album at this show, more info on that as soon as we have it.

We will also be playing a few other local gigs in the Vermont area.  Including Wednesday February 10 at Red Square in Burlington.  We have a habit of picking up last minute gigs at a few of our favorite venues in Burlington.  Watch us on facebook for info on those when they occur.

Like we said in the spring, we took the summer off of almost all things Japhy.  Pat and Josh spent the summer playing Reggae with Vermont’s own ‘Pulse Prophets’ while Will escaped into central NY seclusion, Jason hiked the length of Vermont and Zach continued to shred with everyone that he could (that’s what he does folks – he’s a shredder).

While technically on our Japhy vacation, Will and I continued to make moves on this new record of ours.  While yes we wanted it done last spring, we’ve kept finding ways of making it better.  In July we invited our friends Timothy K Hull and Tom Morse to add an extra pair of horns to a few tracks.  After that all work on the album got pushed back due to equipment breaking, ie: the mixing board shat the bed.  The good news is that its back and we plan on continuing the process to get this album done in the very near future.

Also in the making right now is the fabled Live at Nectar’s album that we recorded in the fall of 2008.  This album will be the last release featuring former guitarist Jeremy Kizina.  The disc has been finished, it’s pretty fantastic, and is in the hands of the folks at Nectar’s.  Due to contract arrangements, we can’t put this album out until they do… so we don’t really know when that will happen.  For the time being, you can listen to one of the tracks from this album right here
(head on over to japhyryder.com and check out the audio)

We’re playing a monthly gig at Parima in Burlington and adding a few one off gigs in the Vermont area around those, but there are no plans of anything crazy in the near future.  While working on this album there is not a lot of traveling going on.  Once its done, we might be back at hitting the road.

First, the gigs:
Friday 5/29/09 we return to one of our favorite places to play, Jimmy Mac’s in Rochester NY.  We’ll have our friends Jae Mood with us, should be a good time.

Saturday 5/30/09 we are pleased to be a part of Nelson Ledges Quarry Park’s Summer Kickoff festival out in Ohio.

Wednesday 6/10/09 we will be performing as part of Burlington’s Discover Jazz Festival.  This free show takes place outdoors on upper Church St. on the ‘Fountain Stage’ at 7PM.

Friday 6/12/09 we will be supporting the Marco Benevento Trio at Club Metronome in Burlington.  This show is open to everyone over 18 years of age and tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show (with applicable service fees)

Friday 6/26/09 we are teaming up with fellow Ropeadope artist Leo Genovese’s band in Boston at the Lizard Lounge.  Tickets for this show are $10 at the door, and it is 21+.  We are working on adding a few dates around this one, we’ll announce as soon as we can.

After these two gigs with Ropeadope, we are taking a brief break from the world of Japhy Ryder while each of us explores different aspects of our lives over the months of July and August.  While we may add a few gigs to our schedules we primarily plan to take it easy – except for Pat and Joshua.

Why are they any different?  Joshua is not only the best damn percussinoist (shaker/triangle-ist) we’ve ever worked with, but he’s a badass drummer as well.  While holding down the beats in the Pulse Prophets, he has successfully drawn Pat into that group to fill the hole left while bassist Alex Budney goes on a leave of absence.  More info on the Pulse Prophets can be found on their website, and we’ll keep you updated on what Pat and Josh are up with them as well.