Jessie Haynes Official Website

LAST 2 shows of the summer, folks! Dockers Waterside Wed Aug 27th 'THE GOODS' ... AND LABOR DAY WEEKEND, SUNDAY AUG 31st 'THE AQUA GIRLS' ... September 18th Original Voices at the Vail welcomes featured performer: JOHN BRZOZA & FRIENDS! ... September 27th Jessie Haynes in concert at PPD 2008 - Fall Harvest Festival, Battery Park, NYC ...

Last month's OVaV was a smashing fun time with the energetic performance of Black Limo! Check out the details in my Bloooog: www.myspace.com/originalvoicesatthevail

This is an evening of original music with open mike & featured performers held in the 'black box' at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall. September's feature will be the one & only John Brzoza & Friends! October we are looking forward to the return of Jeremy Sears, November welcomes Last Charge of the Light Horse and mark your calendars for December - I'll be hosting my 6th annual Toys for Tots Benefit Concert at Original Voices!

Nestled between the North and South Forks, on the Peconic Bay waterfront, downtown Riverhead is poised to become a new music and arts center for the East End.

Sure, there are a number of empty storefronts - including the abandoned 900-seat Suffolk Theatre - giving the area a semi-rundown vibe, but there are clear signs of a burgeoning original music scene that's struggling to grow. Eastenders Coffee House schedules an original music act - covering all genres, from blues to indie folk - every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And though they recently cancelled their weekly open mic night, owner Diane Reeve has hinted that it might come back in the fall.

Across the street from Eastenders is the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, an intimate and historic 220-seat theater, which also has a smaller, black box theater - the home of the new open mic series, "Original Voices at the Vail." It's held the third Thursday of every month and includes a different featured performer each time. "We're really looking to create a scene," said Jessie Haynes, a singer-songwriter and one of the organizers of the series. "We're not cliquey. This isn't a club house." She said they're always looking for new musicians - of all genres - to join the open mic. Though it just began five months ago, the series usually attracts between 30 and 35 musicians and listeners from east of Patchogue, predominantly coming from the two forks.

The waterfront is also home of the annual Riverhead Blues Festival, and the East End Arts Council, though it focuses mainly on visual arts, holds occasional music programs, including a weekly outdoor drumming class, and the Mosaic Street Painting Festival, which melds together all of the arts and features performances by local musicians.

Riverhead was an artistic powerhouse as little as 10 to 15 years ago. In fact, at a point, Town legislation maintained that the apartments above the shops that lined Main Street were for artists and musicians only. This legislation was altered about eight years ago, when the artistic population began to dwindle, said Vincent Tria, who sits on Vail's Board of Directors.

Reeve thinks the main reason for the lack of a cohesive arts scene in recent years is because of the development of the Tanger Outlet Center and other big box stores along County Road 58, which forced the mom and pop shops in downtown Riverhead to shut down because they couldn't compete. In order for there to be a vibrant music and arts scene, most of the storefronts need to be occupied. "There's a tremendous, tremendous amount of potential," Reeve said. "I've been waiting for Riverhead to come to life and I think it will in its own time. There's a whole lot of potential here."

"I really feel like it's going to happen. It has that artsy in the making kind of vibe," Haynes added.

And a lot of things are scheduled that will transform Riverhead - Riverhead Resorts will be built on the old Grumman site, Atlantis Marine World is planning a hotel of its own and, next week, a local developer will raze a dilapidated building on Peconic Avenue to make way for brand new shops and a restaurant facing the waterfront. The Town also recently took over control of the Suffolk Theatre - which Tria, Haynes and Reeve think could become a Stephen Talkhouse for the area.

These changes could bring in the foot traffic needed to transform the downtown from merely a handful of single destination attractions into a destination unto itself, much like Port Jefferson or Greenport Village. "Riverhead will eventually become a tourist attraction," Tria said. "In not too many years, we'll be able to offer people a lot."

And when this happens, the local music scene will be in a place where it has everything it needs to grow.

For more information about what's going on at the Vail or Eastenders, go to vail-leavitt.org and eastenderscoffeehouse.com.

If you're a band or musician interested in being featured in our new music column, email tiffany@danspapers.com.

It's been a fantastic summer at Dockers on Dune Road! I can't tell you how much fun I've had & how much I've enjoyed all the cool people who've come down to cheer us on. Annie Morgan is an incredibly talented singer & I had no idea how funny she was to work with. She keeps me smiling & inspired. We'll be back in the fall/winter somewhere!

And the Aqua Girls Sundays at the Beach Hut have been really fantastic & have become a definition of summer to me. Erin has sang her ass off all summer - Trina & Lobster Boy Alex are 2 of my favorite people to jam with on this planet - great time had by all! Thanks to everyone whose come down - your requests, laughter & boogie-ing down were awesome! Watch for more Aqua gigs this fall/winter!

I've been working on my next CD for a few months now & have found some adventurous little bees buzzing around me as I explore all the possibilities. It's so wonderful to have the freedom to record everything myself, not to mention all the amazing musicians I find I'm so lucky to be surrounded by.

So far this collection has been mainly inspired by my life long journey as a sleep walker. By sleep walking I don't really mean that I wander around my house in my pj's after hours, unaware of my experience. What I mean is that as a life long musician, and practically a life long mother, I've learned that when everyone else's day is done, I'm just beginning a new one. Not quite vampire fashion, (though when the moon is full I sometimes feel that energy!) Mostly I write songs after dark. I recorded most of The Secret Life of Cinderella while you were sleeping. And so the story continues. My Wiccan ways are finding new voice through my instruments. It's a journey I savor & I'm looking forward to what this new collection of music will have to say.

Thanks so much to everyone who came to Beltane in the Park 2008! Everyone was as fantastic as ever, from our energetic bubble faery to Karpathos (brilliant music!) to Warren & His Magic Dragon Box, who stirred my little ones imagination wonderfully, to the stunning belly dancer Calypso (thanks for watching my little one while I performed!). All of the workshops were inspiring, especially Cucina Aurora - Kitchen Witchery. And the Goddess Belly Dance workshop, which I did my best to sync my performance to, lol! I loved listening to the uplifting messages of James Gilchrist & Julie Sherwood, with their beautiful harmonies & funny comments - it's a rough life ;)! And I can't tell you how hard it was for me not to come home with a newly adopted pet from Heaven's Gate (the bunny was a big tempation for me!) The Island Harvest Food Drive was there collecting, too. I enjoyed my time with old & new friends and I know my daughter Lily (and myself) will always treasure the beautiful blessing that High Priestess Nancy Venus wrote especially for her during the ritual. Lily is still talking about the experience, even just today she brought it up. It was special. Thank you!!! Hope to see you all next year! Click here to see photos

I really miss our Open Path Gathering!!!! To refresh your memories, I got word from Chris, owner of Tugboat's North Sea House that he had to make the tough decision to close his doors just days after our Samhain (Halloween) Masquerade Party. Unfortunately for me couldn't have happened at a worst time. I had a food drive planned for November & my annual Toys for Tots concert planned for Yule (Christmas). I decided to focus on making sure our Toys for Tots happened, and surviving the holidays. Survival is key. ;) And well, here we are... Happy New Year! I don't know about you but I am still feeling a little behind in all of my work. I haven't heard a word from Chris of Tugboat's, who last I heard had high hopes of re-opening in January. And I am excited about the new monthly night of original music I'll be organizing at the Vail. But I haven't forgotten about Open Path Gathering! Far from it! I am just riding the waves of the new year & watching as the signs point me in the right direction. Any input is greatly appreciated! Please feel free to contact me! And don't forget about our little OPG myspace page - so lonely all these months! ;)

Thanks to Jay Scott we all enjoyed an amazing night of his fantastic, heartfelt & compelling music at the Patchogue Theatre for a special Sunday night version of Live in the Lobby on January 6th. I was honored to be invited by Jay to sing some backgrounds on his beautiful song, "Sometimes" (which I still can't get out of my head!) & I'm really looking forward to hearing the entire record. There was such an amazing turn out of people from all different kinds of musical backgrounds - I had a great time connecting with all of them & I highly recommend that you check out Live in the Lobby, which happens the first Thursday of every month at the Patchogue Theatre. I also want to mention that I really enjoyed the December 6th Live in the Lobby - where I was part of the songwriter's spotlight, put together by Christopher Capobianco - a true music lover, whose encouragement we all appreciate so much!

Special thanks to our players: John Brzoza, Chris Bruschi & all the boys from Papa Stitch & The Church Boys, Lisa Rose & Phil Bland, The Flamingos - (formerly FOE), Trina Michne & Tami.

Despite the freak blizzard that decided to grace us with it's presence that night, making the roads a mess and carrying equipment an occupational hazzard, we had a wonderful turn out, a wonderful time and collected 2 giant sacks of toys as well as almost $200 in much needed cash! Our Marine pals seemed to really enjoy themselves & were very grateful for our efforts.

Thanks to Kathy Dunn for taking so many wonderful pictures, and to Tom of Tom McBriens for clearing the dining room so that we could play by the fire!

Last but not least, thank you Pat Rogers, for a wonderful article, which got a lot of great feedback & has already set next years concert in motion.