(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Experience music in the Adirondacks at the Caroga Arts Collective.

(upbeat band music) And catch a performance from Misty Blues.

It's all ahead.

- [Narrator] Funding for AHA has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT Venture Fund.

Contributors include The Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi and the Robison Family Foundation.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Matt Rogowicz, and this is AHA, A House for Arts, a place for all things creative.

The Caroga Arts Collective presents over 50 performances and community events in the Southern Adirondacks each year.

I recently visited Caroga Arts to speak with their founder and artistic director, Kyle Price.

- Caroga Arts Collective is an organization that focuses on reimagining the Adirondack experience through the power of the arts.

We started in 2012 actually as a small music festival, and in 2016, got our nonprofit status.

A few years after that, we got ownership of Sherman's Park and so now we're here.

What takes place here is the Caroga Lake Music Festival, which is the core program, which is the one that's been going now for its 13th season.

And we also have year-round programs, community events, like a holiday tree lighting.

We will have things open for the community, including carousel rides.

Back in the 1920s, Sherman's was founded and so it really started out as a big band dance hall and beach.

It brought in some incredible artists, that a lot of people don't know about.

In the thirties and forties, they had Louis Armstrong here, Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Tommy Dorsey's Band, and they were all hanging out in the kind of main building next to the lake in that original dance hall.

And so there's incredible jazz history that's hidden in Caroga and no one really knows about it.

From there became more of the amusement park focus that a lot of people recognize it.

That was the cool thing about when we started diving into trying to look into taking ownership of the park, was realizing that, hey, this wasn't just an amusement park, there's actually a huge, rich musical history here and cultural history.

You have a gem right here that is really a special place.

And we've had legends across all of music and art here in Caroga.

And so it allowed us to really circle back and start to bring that history back to life and see how that could help propel the economy forward and the culture forward in this area.

I got connected to this place in Caroga Lake because my grandparents moved here in the early eighties, far before I was born.

So every school break, summer and winter break, we would come to Caroga Lake.

Sherman's was a place where we always would walk by it, we'd wanted to see what would be going on with it, and once in a while, the carousel would be open, but largely it was closed for my childhood.

And we'd hear a lot of amazing stories, but I think for people like myself, it was this kind of idea of like, what could we do if we could bring that back to life?

- He was like an old man when he was a baby.

We all used to say he'd like hang on the swing with his arm just and observe the world going around him.

So yeah, so I think he was already way ahead of the game in watching and thinking about things that could happen.

- Essentially, I come from a musical family.

My mom plays the viola, my aunt played the cello.

My dad likes to say he plays the radio.

But essentially we grew up playing music together.

And naturally when coming up here, we'd go to festivals and we would bring friends through Caroga just to stay overnight and enjoy the lake, but that was really it initially.

- We'd always drive by Sherman's growing up and he is like, someday like, "We're gonna have a concert there and we're gonna do something."

And I was like, you're crazy, that's not like, that's like, it's falling apart.

In my head I'm like, you have to get permits.

And like, he is like, yeah, it'll happen, like it'll happen, I'm like, okay.

So fast forward to college and Kyle goes, "There's the chapel down the street from grandma's, we really should just have some of our friends come and play a concert."

And I was like, "Okay, that sounds great, sign me up for that."

- And so we ended up having about, I'd say 80 people show up just based on a lawn sign in our front yard and come to the chapel, Caroga Chapel nearby.

And that's really when everything started.

And I think the musicians realized this is something special.

The audience who was there was like blown away.

And for me, I really started to connect the dots.

And so that was a really empowering thing of like, wow, our love for music and our love for arts and our love for Caroga can actually be one thing that's put together.

So right now, we don't have an amphitheater, but we get to do amazing things in this old bumper cart pavilion.

So we kind of transform it, built a portable stage in there.

We have the audience sit in the bumper cart with us and it's a really unique spot for music.

We've played orchestra concerts in there, we've done July 4th programs in there, we've done collaborations with Judy Collins and Laufey in there.

So we've done some really interesting programs.

With the glass back, you can still see the lake behind and watch the sunset.

♪ 'Cause the sun's engaged to the sky ♪ ♪ And my best friend's found a new guy ♪ ♪ I'm only getting older ♪ ♪ I've never had a shoulder to cry on ♪ (band plays punchy music) - Today is really exciting.

We are essentially playing for the first time Beethoven's fifth Symphony, and we're doing it conductor-less.

We're doing it inside the dance hall at Sherman's, so a very intimate space with 40 of, I would say, my closest friends.

- Many of us have played it certain ways and so some people are like, well, traditionally we slow down here and we're, and some of us are like, well that's in one interpretation, and then some of us have not played it that way, and you know it's funny 'cause usually the conductor is calling all the shots.

We kind of figured out our own interpretation together.

- The community aspect is really what defines this place for me.

And it's both that, you know, Kyle has handpicked some of the, both the best quality musicians in terms of artistry, technical ability, but also musicians that are incredibly kind, generous, supportive, and really flexible in what they're able to do.

So really cool artist community.

And then an amazing community, a larger community of patrons, supporters, concert goers.

(upbeat band music) - What we hope to see over time is, continuing to enliven the property with an amphitheater that essentially we've designed with TRW and Consigli, these two firms that are really well known in the region and nationally.

So we've received a lot of great state funding and a lot of contributions from donors in the region to help jumpstart these projects.

You should come to visit Caroga Arts because I can guarantee you, you'll see something you've never seen before.

And whether it's musically, whether it's experiential with taking a carousel ride and listening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, or getting to talk to the artists up close and personal, I think there's something unique for everyone.

(upbeat band music) (audience applauds) - Please welcome Misty Blues.

(Misty Blues play "Days Gone By") ♪ Why don't you ♪ ♪ We can sit back and reminisce about those days gone by ♪ ♪ And we can sit back and reminisce about those days gone by ♪ ♪ Why don't you go and taste from that backwards stew ♪ ♪ Made from that recipe papi left in his will ♪ ♪ Why don't you take a taste ♪ ♪ Taste from that backwards stew ♪ ♪ Then from that recipe papi left in his will ♪ ♪ Why don't you give me a ride in old grandad's whip ♪ ♪ The one that cranks and nearly broke your hip ♪ ♪ Why don't you give a me ride in old grandaddy's whip ♪ ♪ The one with that crank start nearly bust your hip ♪ ♪ I like to play dress up and bring grandma ♪ ♪ It was so vile of me and it won't ever get old ♪ ♪ Do some dress up ♪ ♪ It will never get old ♪ ♪ Never get old ♪ ♪ Never get old ♪ ♪ Never get old ♪ (band plays "Yes I Will" by Misty Blues) ♪ I'm gonna walk to my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna walk to my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ Now that I've made this proclamation ♪ ♪ I'm gonna figure out my destination ♪ ♪ I'm gonna walk to my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna run to my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna run to my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ By that high new song I became ♪ ♪ Like the day I was born but with some new fancy sneakers ♪ ♪ Run to my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna skip to my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna skip to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ Like a schoolgirl playing those blacked out peeps ♪ ♪ I'm gonna spring to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna fly to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna fly to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'll go and buy a first class ticket ♪ ♪ In the lap of luxury, I'll surely take it ♪ ♪ I'm gonna fly to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna swim to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ I'm gonna swim to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ Folks don't do that well ♪ ♪ I'll overcome 'cause I'm in his spell ♪ ♪ I'm gonna swim to see my baby, yes I will, yes I will ♪ ♪ Yes I will ♪ ♪ Yes I will ♪ ♪ Yes I will ♪ ♪ Yes I will ♪ (Band plays "How The Blues Feel" by Misty Blue) ♪ We can get slow now ♪ ♪ Holding on to love ♪ ♪ It was never enough ♪ ♪ Now you know just how those blues feel ♪ ♪ You can get happy ♪ ♪ Basking in the sun ♪ ♪ Sipping and sitting ♪ ♪ All day long ♪ ♪ I'll take the wheel ♪ ♪ Then I'll show you just how those blues feel ♪ ♪ You can get lost in an empty room ♪ ♪ Best find yourself ♪ ♪ Or change your tune ♪ ♪ There's never a reason ♪ ♪ Keeping it real ♪ ♪ And that's just how those blues feel ♪ ♪ You can get old ♪ ♪ Playing forward track ♪ ♪ Keep running ♪ ♪ At that red light ♪ ♪ The last sentence ♪ ♪ With the last meal ♪ ♪ And that's just how those blues feel ♪ ♪ And that's just how those blues feel ♪ ♪ And that's just how those blues feel ♪ (band plays "I Ain't Buying" by Misty Blues) ♪ Honey, I ain't buying ♪ ♪ What you're trying to sell to me ♪ ♪ Honey, I ain't buying ♪ ♪ What you're trying to sell to me ♪ ♪ I know I've been feeling a long long time ♪ ♪ What you're claiming to be free ♪ ♪ Mama seen Tony ♪ ♪ Never going blind ♪ ♪ Promise you the moon and then he'll sing another two ♪ ♪ Honey, I ain't buying what you're trying to sell to me ♪ ♪ I know I've been a long long time ♪ ♪ But what you're claiming to be free ♪ ♪ Papa he done told me ♪ ♪ Watch what he proclaim ♪ ♪ DoN't believe a player and never trust a day ♪ ♪ Honey, I ain't buying ♪ ♪ What you're trying to sell to me ♪ ♪ I know I've been feeling a long long time ♪ ♪ What you're claiming to be free ♪ ♪ Honey, I ain't buying ♪ ♪ What you're trying to sell to me ♪ ♪ Honey, I ain't buying ♪ ♪ What you're trying to sell to me ♪ ♪ I know I've been feeling a long long time ♪ ♪ What you're claiming to be free ♪ ♪ I know I've been feeling a long long time ♪ ♪ What you're claiming to be free ♪ ♪ I know I've been feeling a long long time ♪ ♪ What you're claiming to be free ♪ (upbeat music) - Thanks for joining us.

For more arts, visit wmt.org/aha and be sure to connect with us on social.

I'm Matt Rogowicz, thanks for watching.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funding for AHA has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT Venture Fund.

Contributors include The Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi and the Robison Family Foundation.