Written by Ronnie Sweeting —
MARIPOSA — Music on the Green rolls on into the second weekend of June, presenting Old Timey /Americana music from The Hilltop Howlers on Friday, June 9, and Franklin & Friends playing multi-genre original music on Saturday, June 10, at the Mariposa County Art Park stage.
Gathered around a single condenser microphone like an old time radio show, The Hilltop Howlers perform a Roots style of Old Timey/Americana that’s pure as a Sierra mountain stream.
Singing and playing traditional instruments (guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro), this group is a conglomeration of players assembled from a handful of popular Sierra bands – The Trespassers, The Jespersons, Tarantula & The Turtle Doves, and others – brought together by their mutual love of this distinct American style of music.
This will be the debut of this roots music collective, who’ve already headlined The Plow & Stars and other San Francisco /Bay Area venues.
Playing original music in a cowboy jazz, folk rock style, band leader Glenn Franklin has a unique musical heritage from the coast to the Sierra foothills. Franklin’s father was the late, world-renowned minstrel Cousin Jack Franklin — local music merchant, Mariposa’s Honorary Mayor and Ambassador of Good Will. Music on the Green and The Art Park are dedicated to Cousin Jack.
Joining Franklin – along with sister Cheryl and other special guests – will be band-mate /songwriting partner of 10 years, Bill DeWitt. DeWitt’s late father, music impresario and artist Bob, was the founder of the Fine Gold Trust and brought internationally known folk musicians and counter-culture poets to Mariposa from the early sixties up to the first decade of this century.
Glenn and Bill both received an education in music from being surrounded by the culture from an early age. Songs that Bill and Glenn have written over the years – together and individually – will be performed with a full band Saturday night.
A complete schedule of the talent performing throughout this summer season (along with a brief description of each) can be found at www.mariposaartscouncil.org.
All performances begin at 7 p.m. at the Mariposa County Art Park, located on Highway 140, between 4th and 5th Streets, in historic downtown Mariposa, Calif. Free parking on 5th Street along the Creek Walkway to the Park, also providing handicapped access.
The shows are free to the public – tips for the performers will be solicited, encouraged, and appreciated.
The Mariposa Arts Council, sponsor of Cousin Jack’s Music on the Green, is funded in part by Mariposa County, the California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Music on the Green, the free summer concert series, is brought to you by the Mariposa County Arts Council and its many fine sponsors.
The MARIPOSA COUNTY ARTS COUNCIL, INC. is an incorporated not-for- profit organization, created to promote and support all forms of the cultural arts, for all ages, throughout Mariposa County.
