Rosin up the bow

Music and history are two of my main interests, and June is shaping up to be an exciting month on both fronts. Here's what's cookin':

- From 1 to 3 p.m. this Sunday, my old-time music duo, The Bentwood Rockers, will perform at the 13th annual Rhubarb Festival at the Nellis Tavern in St. Johnsville. The pie-baking contest will begin at noon, so start rolling those crusts and warming up your ovens!

- At 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 9, I'll be at Johnson Hall State Historic Site (in a non-musical capacity) for the ribbon-cutting ceremony dedicating the site's newly restored walking paths. Wanda Burch, Peter Betz, Noel Levee and I will sign copies of the book "Celebrating Johnstown" for history buffs. There will be copies for sale at the event, as well.

- On the afternoon of Saturday, June 20, The Bentwood Rockers will play music at the Johnstown Historical Society's ice cream social celebrating its new exhibit. Look for a feature story about that in an upcoming edition of the paper.

Roland Vinyard and I have been spending the last several months building a repertoire of antiquarian Americana for your listening pleasure. We play several hits from the '60s and '70s (the 1860s and 1870s) and a few newer tunes (say, up to the 1930s) ... so performing at historic venues such as the Nellis Tavern (circa 1747) and the Johnstown museum is right up our alley.