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0 Rhythms & Roots Album Release Party
Villa Palagonia | “Rhythms & Roots” Album Release Party
Sunday, March 13, 6 PM
First Acoustics
First Unitarian Church | 116 Pierrepont St. at Monroe Pl.
Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201
Reservations:
(718) 288-5994 | boxoffice@firstacoustics.org
Price: $10
DETAILS
- Doors open at 4:30, at which point you can sign-up to participate in the open mic
- Open mic begins at 5 PM and ends at 5:45 PM
- Villa Palagonia takes the stage at 6 PM
- A light vegetarian supper will be available for a free-will donation.
TRANSPORTATION
By Car
Parking Garage on Clinton Street.
By Subway
Brooklyn Heights is very well served by the New York City subway system. The 2, 3, 4, 5, N and R trains all stop at COURT STREET/BOROUGH HALL. From Court Street/Borough Hall, walk north on Cadman Plaza West one or two blocks. Turn left on Pierrepont Street. Walk west two blocks to Monroe Place and you are there!
Contact: Allison Scola
646-281-4324
info@villa-palagonia.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Italian Infused American Roots Band
VILLA PALAGONIA
Hosts Album Release Concert
NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2016—Manhattan-based ensemble Villa Palagonia celebrates the release of their Italian infused world-folk album “Rhythms & Roots” with a concert. On Sun., March 13 from 6-8 p.m., Villa Palagonia will perform at First Acoustics at 116 Pierrepont Street at Monroe Place, Brooklyn Heights, New York. The cover charge is $10.
Eclectic acoustic brushed with hues from Mediterranean folk is the avenue on which the ensemble Villa Palagonia perches—yet the side streets and dusty alleyways that these musicians travel offer engaging timbres that are woven together by songs imparting tales of the old world and the new. “Rhythms & Roots” is a mix of original music performed in English and Italian alongside time-tested Sicilian folk songs.
Founded in 2013 by multifaceted guitarist Joe Ravo and multi-instrumentalist and singer Allison Scola, Villa Palagonia calls upon its core members’ southern Italian roots and American know-how to create original music peppered with elements from traditional Sicilian and Italian folk songs. Joe Ravo is a versatile guitarist who has performed alongside the likes of Dave Brubeck and Stanley Turrentine and traveled around the world as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State. Allison Scola is most familiar to folk audiences because of her performance as part of Joni Mitchell’s Blue Celebration. As a solo artist, she has released a number of recordings and performed at venues as grand as Shea Stadium, as kitschy as CBS Morning News’ Living Room Live, and as intimate as her cousin’s patio in Bagheria, Sicily where the world-renowned estate Villa Palagonia exists.
Allison’s paternal grandmother, who immigrated to New York in the 1920s, grew up in Bagheria in the shadow of Villa Palagonia. It is a place she and Joe have visited many times—and the villa itself is a site that they find intriguing and inspirational because of the remaining 72 odd and fantastic monster-statues that line the estate’s grounds. Bagheria is at the crossroads—between barons and peasants, between lemon orchards and jasmine vines, between mountains and sea, between Europe and Africa, and between ancient mysteries and modern realities. Both the historic site and the ensemble called Villa Palagonia capture a unique essence—capture a place: where north, south, east, west, and humanity collide.
For more information on the release concert, please contact Coco Wilde at 718-288-5994, or email boxoffice@firstacoustics.org. To listen to samples from “Rhythms & Roots,” please visit https://villa-palagonia.com/epk/.
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0 New York, New York Show on Radio Amica
Update: If you missed the live broadcast, listen to the archived show until 26 February 2016 at:
—
This Friday, February 19 during the 2-hour broadcast that starts at 11:04 AM New York time/17:04 Italy time, we’ll be on New York, New York a program on Radio Amica with host Sal Palmeri. You can hear it streaming at one of the following links:
http://www.radioamica.it
http://ra.radio12345.com
Tune In radio: http://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Amica-908-s63607
We hope you’ll tune in to hear our interview and live performance!
0 On Your Radar: Tues., Feb. 9 at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3, NYC
We’re very much looking forward to sharing On Your Radar with John Platt of WFUV with Sonya Heller and Jay Hitt! We hope you’ll come along for the ride with us!
0 Rhythms & Roots Just Days Away
The release of our debut album “Rhythms & Roots” is just days away. Stand by for how you can become part of the music!
Meanwhile, mark your calendars! We’ll be performing for WFUV John Platt’s On Your Radar on February 9 at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3, in Philadelphia for the Sicily: Language, Art, and Culture on February 11, and at First Acoustics in Brooklyn for our Album Release Party on Sunday, March 13!
Join us!
0 January 9, 2016 at First Acoustics
Join us on Saturday, January 9 in Brooklyn for a very special house concert! Reservations are required, so don’t delay in saving your spots.
First Acoustics House Concert
Villa Palagonia and The Levins
Saturday, January 9th, 2016
Doors open at 7 PM, Music at 7:30 PM
Address will be given upon reservation
Brooklyn, New York 11218
Call 718-288-5994 or
Email boxoffice@firstacoustics.org for reservations
Price: $25
Hosted by Coco and Bruce Wilde, the First Acoustics House Concert will be a wonderful way to warm up your heart during this (now) cold month of January. Join Villa Palagonia with The Levins for a delicious, intimate show.
House opens at 7:00 PM. Music starts at 7:30 PM.
Dinner will be served by buffet.
$25 for Dinner and Live Music
Call First Acoustics for a Reservation 718-288-5994 or email boxoffice@firstacoustics.org.
*Address of house concert will be given upon making reservations.
0 Hear Songs from Rhythms & Roots
The official release of Rhythms & Roots is in early 2016, but you can hear it already on New York's best folk radio programs.
As we prepare to release Rhythms & Roots to the world, we are feeling so blessed that it’s receiving radio play with some of our favorite DJs. Tune in to WMSC (90.3 FM, Montclair, NJ)’s “Radio Nowhere” with Joltin’ Joe, “It’s All About the Music” hosted by Brian Norton with guest host Gordon Nash on WFDU (89.1 FM, Teaneck, NJ), and John Platt’s “Sunday Supper” on WFUV (90.7 FM, New York, NY) to hear their picks from the record!
Acoustic Live! in New York City called Rhythms & Roots “A rich tapestry.”
Slated for release in early 2016, news on how you can get your copy coming soon!
0 Villa Palagonia Celebrates Lucia
Join Villa Palagonia for the Feast of Santa Lucia!
Sunday, December 13 from 3 PM to 6 PM at Eolo Seasonal Sicilian Kitchen, we’ll be celebrating the patron saint of eyes, sights, light, and wheat with a concert featuring music from our new album, Rhythms & Roots, along with a few seasonal favorites. We’ll have a few pre-release copies of Rhythms & Roots available for purchase for your holiday gift shopping.
LA FESTA DI SANTA LUCIA
When: Sunday, December 13, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
What: Feast, short folk music concert, presentation about Santa Lucia, purchase gift baskets from Gelsomino Imports, LLC
Where: Eolo Seasonal Sicilian Kitchen, 190 Seventh Avenue, between 21st and 22nd Street, New York, NY
Price: $75/person, includes unlimited food, wine, entertainment, tax, and gratuity
RESERVE YOUR SPOT TODAY
Call Eolo Seasonal Sicilian Kitchen to secure your reservation:
646-225-6606
Learn more details about the feast at Experience Sicily.com.
0 We’ve Got Rhythms & Roots
Yes, the rumors are true! Our debut record, Rhythms & Roots, is finished–well, almost. We are getting ready to put it out to the public, but we need your help. We are rolling this out slowly because we are hoping to generate some additional funding in order to… well, get it out to the public!
Making a record, as you might imagine, costs a lot of money. We’ve invested thousands of dollars thus far, and now, as we prepare to officially release Rhythms & Roots, we are hoping our friends and fans will contribute a bit more for it so we can vociferously tell the world about it with help from a radio promoter and publicist. To do that, we’ll be launching a PledgeMusic campaign in the days ahead. So, stay tuned for details about how your participation in the launch of Rhythms & Roots (and what you’ll get for contributing a little more for your copy) will reap you!
In the meantime, here is a list of the tracks on Rhythms & Roots to whet your appetite. Earlier mixes can be heard on the Music page. Lyric sheets and more details coming soon.
| 1. | Baciami Caro | Allison Scola and Joe Ravo |
| 2. | Palermo | Allison Scola and Joe Ravo |
| 3. | Cu ti lu dissi | Rosa Balistreri |
| 4. | Boots | Allison Scola and Joe Ravo |
| 5. | Pizzicarella (Devo ballare) | Allison Scola and Joe Ravo |
| 6. | Michelina’s Song | Allison Scola and Joe Ravo |
| 7. | Aphrodite’s Dancers | Allison Scola and Joe Ravo |
| 8. | Breathe Free | Allison Scola and Joe Ravo |
| 9. | Abballati! Abballati! | Traditional Sicilian |
| 10. | Anna & Luca | Traditional with English lyrics by Allison Scola |
| 11. | Marco il barbiere | Allison Scola (Italian translation by Vittorio Tavini) |
| 12. | Vitti ’na crozza | Traditional with lyrics by Francesco LiCausi
|
| 13. | Marco the Barber (Bonus Track)
|
Allison Scola |
We can’t wait to get this out to you!
~ Allison and Joe
0 North East Region Folk Alliance – NERFA
We’ll be at #NERFA this weekend! If you’re attending the conference, please join Villa Palagonia for our late night showcases:
**Saturday Late Night, Nov. 14**
11:45 PM – 12:15 PM
Sharon Goldman Birthday Bash, Room 1517
~ ITR: Sharon Goldman, Villa Palagonia,
and David Massengill
**Saturday Late Night, Nov. 14**
1:30 AM – 1:45 AM
It’s Folkin’ Awesome, with Jess Razzi, Room 1515
~ 15 minute set of Villa Palagonia
0 Falling into the End of Summer
Villa Palagonia is very excited to fall into the end of summer. We’ve got some shows coming up, and as we are now sooooo close to releasing Rhythms & Roots, we can’t contain ourselves! Recording an album of songs always creates moments of love and moments of frustration… But when it’s in our hands, we’ll be so happy to get it into yours!
Here’s what we’ve been up to over the last month or so. (Allison, here…)
In early July, we were in Sicily were we spent some time with my cousins and visited Villa Palagonia, our namesake estate in Bagheria. My cousin Filippo Buttitta, a talented photographer, took photos of us. We had so much fun! Here’s a shot of us in the garden. Note the musician statues in the background. They are what inspired to name our group Villa Palagonia!
In late July/early August, Joe and I went to Falcon Ridge Folk Festival where we hung with good friends and enjoyed great music for the weekend. It was really hard to leave after a beautiful few days in the countryside with kindred spirits. We played a few pop-up performances, and one of them was filmed. Thanks to World One Video! Check it out here:
Additionally, we had a great time performing at The Budgiedome. Thank you Gordon Nash for inviting us!
In mid-August, we were featured once again on City World Radio with AC Lowe. AC Lowe, aka Anthony LoFaso, traveled with me to Sicily in June before Joe arrived. It was for me, a wonderful experience to visit Anthony’s ancestral town, where he found kindred spirits who spoke his familiar Sicilian language. (Tears flowed! Definitely emotion to channel for another song about connecting to your roots!)
Much of our appearance on the show (in addition to performing some songs live) was spent talking about our time together in Sicily. Check out the archive at:
Allison Scola & Joe Ravo | Villa Palagonia | on City World Radio | AC Lowe Show, August 17, 2015
On August 24, I was so excited to be featured by the National Organization of Italian American Women in their Member Spotlight. You can read the article on their blog at NOIAW Member Spotlight.
And now, we’re gearing up for more wonder and magic coming this fall. I feel so blessed to have so many terrific things happening. I hope you’ll join us for the journey!
We’ll be live on the internet via ConcertWindow.com on September 13 at 8PM, then at the Italian Feast in Tappan, NY and the Feast of San Gennaro in NYC on September 20, and live at Caffè Vivaldi at 8:30PM on Tuesday, October 20.
See the Events page for all of the details.
Please join us as we prepare to release our debut Villa Palagonia album, Rhythms & Roots! We’ve been working on it for many months… and we look forward to releasing it to you!
