Caroga Lake Music Festival

Classical Chamber Music presented by the Musicians of Caroga Lake Music Festival

sponsored by: SVAN

The Insolent Willies

sponsored by: CDL Insurance

The Insolent Willies are an upstate New York roots-rock band known for their hip-shaking mix of quirky, clever original music and unpredictable covers. The band was formed in 2017 by singer-songwriters Bill Ackerbauer (acoustic guitar, harmonica, fiddle, vocals) and Frank DeVer Pullen (bass, mandolin, banjo, vocals), and now includes Paul Gavry (accordion, fiddle, vocals)
and Evan Gavry (guitars, percussion, vocals), with occasional appearances by friends such as Mike Gowans, Jenny Harder, Dusty Elmer, David Wong and others. 

The Insolent Willies have been nominated for 2025 "Americana Artist of the Year" in the Capital Region Eddies Music Awards. and "Folk/Bluegrass Band of the Year" in the ListenUp! Awards.

sponsored by: The Flower Barn

Zorbas Trio is a dynamic musical sibling trio. Infusing: classical, jazz, gypsy, and everything in between. Original compositions and covers of the old favorites performed with style. Pianist and composer John is the youngest of the trio- . He is a virtuosic pianist and his repertoire consists classical, jazz, and anything else in between. Lead Vocalist & bassist Demetra is the second oldest of the Trio. Demetra is an incredible Bassist & Vocalist. Lead Vocalist and guitarist Callista Zorbas is the eldest of the Trio. They have recently released their first album and headlined at the Eddie Awards show at Proctors Theatre.

Fenimore Blues

sponsored by: Music Hero and Superfan Patty Wadsworth

Fenimore Blues

The powerful soulful vocals of Sherian Nolan are backed by musicians on guitar, keyboards, saxophone, bass, and drums, with one band member doubling on accordion. This combination enables the group to perform a range of styles and a varied repertoire, drawing on music notables from Bonnie Raitt to Aretha Franklin, the Neville Brothers to the Allman Brothers, Tom Petty, Rolling Stones, Linda Ronstadt to Etta James, Santana to Tedeschi Trucks.

Sparky & Rhonda

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform throughout the U.S. as well as overseas, singing songs and telling stories from the American folk tradition. Sparky Rucker has been performing over fifty years and is internationally recognized as a leading folklorist, musician, historian, storyteller, and author. He accompanies himself with fingerstyle picking and bottleneck blues guitar, banjo, and spoons. Rhonda Rucker is a musician, children's author, storyteller, and songwriter. Her blues-style harmonica, piano, old-time banjo, and bones add musical versatility to their performances. 

Sparky and Rhonda are sure to deliver an uplifting presentation of toe-tapping music spiced with humor, history, and tall tales. They take their audience on an educational and emotional journey that ranges from poignant stories of slavery and war to an amusing rendition of a Brer Rabbit tale or their witty commentaries on current events. Their music includes a variety of old-time blues, slave songs, Appalachian music, spirituals, ballads, work songs, Civil War music, railroad songs, and a few of their own original compositions.

Over fifty years of performing, Sparky and Rhonda have appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival as well as NPR's On Point, Prairie Home Companion, Mountain Stage, and Morning Edition. Their recording, Treasures & Tears, was nominated for a W.C. Handy Award, and their music is also included on the Grammy-nominated anthology, Singing Through the Hard Times. 

The Ruckers have been featured tellers at the International Storytelling Center and Festival. Sparky is a natural storyteller, having grown up hearing his father, uncles, and other family members endlessly telling tales. Sparky and Rhonda each tell solo stories, but they also tell stories together (in tandem), always adding life and humor to the characters and tricksters in their Brer Rabbit tales, Jack tales, High John the Conqueror stories, preacher tales, and family stories.

Sparky and Rhonda weave their music into captivating stories that the history books don’t always tell. Their educational programs span over three centuries of African-American history, including slavery, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, the birth of blues music, and the civil rights movement. Each era is interspersed with stories and popular songs from the time period, celebrating the diversity of the nation's history.

Grain Thief

Sponsored by: Northville Liquor Store

Grain Thief has toured the North, South, East, and West of the U.S., playing stages large and small. They have graced the stages at the Greyfox Bluegrass Festival, Hempfest, Podunk Bluegrass Festival, Thomas Point Bluegrass Festival, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, UMS Music Festival, and Rockygrass, among others. Stardust Lodge reached #17 on the Folk DJ Radio Album Chart, #4 on the Roots Music Report Folk Album Chart, and #1 on the Roots Music Report Traditional Folk Album Chart.

Source: https://grainthief.com/

The Electric City Horns

sponsored by: Music Hero Cynthia Gifford Howard Hannah Insurance