Durham County Poets Perform Free Concert in Babylon, May 12

Durham County Poets, a lively and soulful five-piece folk and roots band from Southwest Quebec’s Chateauquay Valley, makes its Long Island debut on Thursday, May 12, as part of the Babylon Village Arts Council’s 2nd Thursday Concerts series at American Legion Post #94, 22 Grove Place, Babylon. Although admission for the 8 p.m. concert is free, food donations for a local food pantry are welcome.

Durham County Poets perform an eclectic blend of blues, folk and rock with tinges of country, gospel and swing tossed in for good measure. Its “bluesy country-folk with a lot of verve,” writes Richard Cuccaro in Acoustic Live! in New York City & Beyond. Although together only since 2011, Durham County Poets are seasoned musicians. Its members collectively have more than a century of diverse musical experience – having previously played in blues, rock, country, Cajun and vaudeville outfits.

Reflective of the variety of genres its members have delved in over the years, the band’s musical influences include a broad range of artists -- The Band, Eric Bibb, Dire Strait’s Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Reed, Leon Redbone and James Taylor among them. All of the Durham County Poets are songwriters. Either individually or collaboratively, they compose a musical potpourri of ballads, blues and country-rock songs – making for varied sets while performing in concert. The obvious joie de vivre they feel playing together is reflected in the good-time feel the Durham County Poets share with concert audiences and listeners to their two recordings to date -- Where The River Flows (2011) and Chikkaboodah Stew (2014).

Fronted by Kevin Harvey, a bluesy crooner, on lead vocals and harmonica, Durham County Poets feature David Whyte (electric and acoustic guitars), Neil Elsmore (acoustic guitar), Carl Rufh (double bass) and James Preimel (percussion).

Popular at music festivals and venues across eastern Canada and fresh on the heels of a well-received juried official showcase at the 2015 Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA) Conference, the band is now branching out more into the U.S.

"When I first heard Chickaboodah Stew last fall, I assumed the Durham County Poets, with their rootsy groove, were from North Carolina, only to find they're from the south - of Canada,” says John Platt, host of “Sunday Supper” on WFUV Radio in New York. “The CD impressed me so much that I made a point of seeing them perform at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference, and they were even better live. Kevin Harvey's soulful singing and songwriting are beautifully complemented by the solid musicianship of the rest of the band. “

Durham County Poets are “inventive in their taking musical roots and reshaping them,” says Spike Barkin, co-founder of the Roots of American Music Festival as part of Lincoln Center Out of Doors in New York City. “Soulful folk who make the listener pay attention. In my view, they deserve a wider audience.”

More information and videos of the band may be found online at www.durhamcountypoets.com. For more information on the Babylon Village Arts Council, visit www.babylonvillagearts.org or call (631) 669-1810.