Submitted by Amy Albert
(March 27, 2023) — The Buttonwood Tree at 605 Main Street in Middletown presents the following events in April 2023. For information on all shows, visit www.Buttonwood.org or call (860) 347-4957. Email: TheButtonwoodTree@gmail.com
For the entire month of April, 2023, we will be showcasing the woodcut/screen print artworks of Ryan Kalentkowski, founder of Sternapress. Join us for the opening art reception on April 2, 2023 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Ryan Kalentkowski is a printer and hand-painter and holds a BFA from Paier College of Art. His recent body of work examines personal relationships to birds by way of expressive mark-making through hand-painted woodcut print. The imagery is inspired by observation, interaction and symbolism, as well as a childhood obsession to study, mimic and share space with birds. Figures and movements are exaggerated and abstracted throughout drawing, carving, printing and painting, often honoring areas of imperfection. Through this varied and repetitive process, the birds are forged into recurring characters in narrative glimpses.
Saturday, April 1, 2023/Fela Kuti-Style Afro-Soul Group Gentleman Brawlers. NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO SEPTEMBER 22, 2023.
Friday, April 7, 2023/Singer-Songwriters Caroline Cotter and Ben Cosgrove. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $25. Caroline Cotter’s songs are steeped in reverence for the natural world, with roots in New England and a deep love for the road.“Home on the River” is the second full-length major release from Cotter, a sweetly expressive Americana artist who has found a true home on the road and on diverse musical stages throughout the world. Co-produced by Cotter and Jeff Oehler of Beehive Productions and recorded in scenic Saranac Lake, New York, as well as in Kansas City, Missouri, “Home on the River” emphasizes both the freedom of wanderlust and a sense of place. Ben Cosgrove is a traveling composer-performer whose “compelling and beautiful” instrumental music explores themes of landscape, place and environment. Ben’s fourth studio album, “The Trouble with Wilderness,” an evocation of different expressions of nature and wildness within the built environment, was released in 2021. It has been called “beautiful and fascinating” (The Maine Edge), “deeply impressive” (Independent Clauses) and “immediately evocative and fully arresting… brim[ming] with technical mastery and emotional capital” (Seven Days).
Saturday April 8, 2023/Drag Show, Hosted by Mz. Clementine KuLayd. Show starts at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $20. Flavorful, vibrant, comedic, passionate, and spicy, Mz. Clementine KuLayd has performed all over Connecticut and Massachusetts, bringing enjoyment to audiences of all ages. Their enthusiasm, life experiences, cultural background, and vision will bring a diverse array of performers and performances to The Buttonwood! Mz. Clementine uses drag to bring awareness and advocacy of LGBT+ and Black identities. This month she is joined by Giganta Smalls and Bleach, who are local drag artists in the area. This month’s theme is “funny,” so be ready to have a gut-busting time with our performers and their comedic chops. Drinks and Snacks will be available for sale in the venue. A fun and entertaining time will be had by all!
Friday, April 21, 2023/Folk Duo Mark Koschwitz & Brian May. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $15. A lifelong music fan/musician, usually far more comfortable accompanying others from the shadows on harmonica, or spotlighting them as host of the original music showcase, Shoreline Music Monthly, Mark Koschwitz does, occasionally, step to center stage to play a few of his own, self-penned tunes, typically a blend of folk, rock, and blues, and often infused with an optimistic, or at least hopeful, message, his songs are reflections of lessons he’s learned along the way. Brian May has been performing around New England since 1965. He’s been associated with the Jim Shepley Band and currently Sweet Summer Sun. This is his fifth appearance at the Buttonwood Tree and first since 2016.
Saturday, April 22, 2023/Americana-Blues Artists Hunter Skye, and Still Rivers. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $15. Hunter Skye is an electrifying singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has been known to perform live with all of them as needed. Hunter released three albums in 2021; an island beat/glitch-pop project, a Celtic bluegrass LP, and a roots-blues/deathcore zombie apocalypse concept album based out of 1945. Hunter is based out of New York but travels throughout the Northeast for shows, but is willing to go farther. He usually performs alternative/folk, with a switching cast of musicians from piano, percussion, to fiddle, with him pulling duty on acoustic guitar, piano, ukulele, mandolin, Irish bouzouki, and other fun instruments.Still Rivers is Mike and Chandra Rivers, Connecticut residents who have been making music since their very first date. It wasn’t too long after that date that they knew they’d be married. And although it was a while before they began releasing music and playing out publicly, the music never stopped at home. The duo loves harmonies and acoustic music.
Friday, April 28, 2023/Scientist-turned-Comedian Ben Miller. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $15. A show that is equal measures hilarious, educational and deeply personal, New York City-based scientist turned stand-up comedian Ben Miller takes you on a journey that explores everything from milk to thermodynamics with a wit and humor that makes these topics both approachable and delightful. Miller has been working for the past six years, performing at all the top clubs in New York, such as Broadway Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Caroline’s, and The Stand. In addition, he has performed in the New York Comedy Festival and Boston Comedy Festival. He has a degree in Materials Science and Engineering, and was an Artist in Residence at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, the first ever stand-up comedian selected by the National Parks Arts Foundation.
Saturday, April 29, 2023/Don White. Show starts at 8:00 p.m. Admission is $20.Don White is equal parts storyteller-comedian-author-troubadour-folk singer-songwriter and has been bringing audiences to laughter and tears for 30 years. White’s arc as an award-winning songwriter and performer has taken him from his industrial hometown of Lynn, Massachusetts across the country as a hitchhiker, through Boston’s comedy clubs and coffeehouses, and onto the stage with greats like Arlo Guthrie, Taj Mahal, Richie Havens, Patty Larkin, Bill Morrissey, Tom Rush, Loudon Wainwright III, and Christine Lavin, with whom he toured for eight years all across North America in a co-bill called “The Funny Side of the Street.” At every point, White has been the ultimate observer, infusing his work with his experiences as a husband, a father, a seeker, and a joker.
