Brooklyn-Based String Band Playing Back-To-Back Shelter Island Shows

On Saturday April 23rd, Sylvester Manor Educational Farm will offer a double dose of Cricket Tell the Weather, an innovative singer-songwriter based acoustic string band from Brooklyn, New York. Performances will take place at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Manor’s intimate music room.

“We are thrilled to bring music back to the Manor House with such an exciting, urban bluegrass band,” expressed Tom Hashagen, Musical Events Producer at Sylvester Manor.

Cricket Tell the Weather was founded by award-winning songwriter Andrea Asprelli (fiddle, vocals), who after moving from Colorado to the East Coast, found inspiration from Northeast bluegrass communities spanning across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.

“[Asprelli’s] down-to-earth, unaffected vocal delivery is refreshing, and both Jeff Picker’s and Goldstein’s solo[s] will give you chills,” noted New York Music Daily.

Andrea, who took home top honors at the 2011 Podunk Songwriting Competition, encountered New York native Doug Goldstein (banjo) while attending one of the area’s bluegrass festivals. His style encompasses melodic and classic bluegrass, as well as influences in old-time, Classical, and world music. Guitarist Jeff Picker joined the band in 2015, and Sam Weber accompanies Cricket Tell the Weather on bass.

The band has toured the Northeast, showcasing their unique sounds at bluegrass and folk festival and concert series circuits including Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Del Fest, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Joe Val Bluegrass Festival, and Strawberry Park Bluegrass Festival. They were honored with the Neighborhood Arts & Heritage Grant from the City of Bridgeport twice, and along with their music, Cricket Tell the Weather helps spread bluegrass by leading workshops to students of all ages under their “American Roots Revival” workshop series.

The band released its independent eponymous debut album of original music in 2014. Cricket Tell the Weather was recorded at Signature Sounds studio in Pomfret Center, CT. “[Cricket Tell the Weather] is an acoustic quartet that draws inspiration from a handful of sepia-toned styles, but plays original songs aiming to showcase a contemporary voice…,” said Jeremy Goodwin of The Boston Globe. “Though the players’ instrumental chops are in evidence, Cricket’s self-titled debut LP, released last year, is very much a song-based affair.”

Tickets are $20.

Sylvester Manor Educational Farm is located at 80 North Ferry Road in Shelter Island. For more information, call 631-749-0626 or visit sylvestermanor.org.