From the Hermit’s Desk
The River Rocks festival on June 20, 2026 in New Hartford Connecticut.
I’d been waiting for this past Saturday for a long time…probably since last June when I attended the first River Rocks festival. On that day I had plans and could only stay for a couple of bands. But I could tell it was a good time and couldn’t wait to experience the full day.
I got there pretty early so I could get a good parking spot, but also to familiarize myself with the layout. Knowing that there was going to be an additional stage this year, I wanted to make sure I could bounce between them in a timely manner.
To be perfectly honest, I didn’t really pay much attention to any of the vendors. I hope that doesn’t sound cold, but I really was there because I love music and I love photography; the rest was just scenery. I sincerely apologize if that offends anyone, because it is not my intent. I’m sure that all of the vendors were wonderful!
So let’s get to the music!
As stated above, there were two stages this year; the big main stage from last year where the full bands would play, with an additional smaller stage set aside for acoustic performers.
The acoustic stage was in the woods, and right beside the river. There were picnic tables, and people brought chairs and blankets to sit in the shade. Kids skipped rocks in the river. It was absolutely lovely. And the performers all sounded great.
Below are photos I took of Brother Hazel Duo, Anne Goode, Trottier Music, Kent Besocke and Joel Weik.
( My sincere apology to Darc Angels as I missed their set )
And then there was the main stage.
I had seen 4 of the main stage bands before and was excited to see them again, but was really just looking forward to seeing all of the bands.
I was not disappointed. The 4 bands I had seen previously had only gotten better, and all of the bands put on great performances. I really don’t know what else to say. I’m no music critic, so I leave that to someone else to critique every little bit of the show. As for myself, I spent the day listening to music with a camera in my hand…what more could I ask for?!
The first band to hit the main stage was a trio called Aldermaze.
Next up was Decker Bandits. My understanding is that they played their set, and then high-tailed to Collinsville where they had another gig!
Three Seater is one of the bands that I had seen before, the first time being when they played a show set up on the lanes of a duck-pin bowling alley.
I had never seen nor heard Tessa Brown before, but I am sure glad I finally did. She has an incredible voice, great songs, and the band was tight.
I have seen Pond View a couple of times. They are pretty high energy and always a great time.
Solgyres is a 10 pc band made up of some really talented folks. They sound great and they are tight.
Last, but certainly not least, was Ruby Left Step. I have seen them a number of times and I’m pretty sure they’ve had a different bass player each time. They are one of my favorite Connecticut bands.
Thanks to all of the folks who made this day possible. It was a long day, but I had a great time. Long Live River Rocks! I’m already dreaming of next year!
From The Hermit’s Desk
Alleycats show at Puddletown in New Hartford on April 17 2026
This was my first visit to Puddletown, which is an indoor nerf gun action adventure place most of the time, but on Friday night was transformed into a space for bands to play. The space was a good sized rectangular room, with padding on the walls, as well as the structural poles running down the center of the room. I’m sure these pads are in place to protect kids from getting hurt while running around with their nerf guns, but they also served to cushion any collision the dancing crowd might have with these poles or walls.
There was a small platform at one end of the room, approximately the height of a pallet, ( and in fact may have been made of pallets for all I know ) which served mainly as a drum riser. The various guitarists/vocalists stood on the floor in front of this platform.
I was wearing earplugs and standing right in front of the pa most of the night, so I can’t really speak on the true quality of the sound in this space other than to say it was loud and I could hear all of the elements from each band.
As a photographer, my biggest complaint was the lighting, or more to the point, lack thereof. There were a couple of led lights, but they were set up behind the bands, and not even pointing at any of the musicians. The result was that although I could sometimes get a shot or two of each drummer with just the available light around them, the guitarists and vocalists were so dark that I needed to use flash for the entire show. As I prefer to shoot in available light, and generally only use flash for effect, I was pretty frustrated trying to get something really good.
But I had a great time, and I hope that Alleycats continue to use this space. I really hope that they can bring a little more light next time, but either way, I’ll still be there.
The bands that played were “Jam Poetry”, “Boyscout Marie”, “Trip Wire” and “Three Seater”. I had seen Three Seater a while back when they were part of a show that took place at a duckpin bowling alley, ( with the bands performing directly on the lanes ) but the other three bands were new to me. At any rate, they were all pretty high energy ( and high volume ) and I really enjoyed their sets. To be fair, music and photography being my two passions, standing in front of a live band with my camera just pleases me to no end. As a result I am probably not the type for any sort of critique. I just thoroughly enjoyed the entire show and had a great time.
The photos…well, as I said, the light was really a challenge. I didn’t get anywhere near the amount of keepers as I usually do at these shows, and the ones I did get are honestly not up to the quality that I’d prefer my work to be seen as. But that’s a concern for next time.
Click on individual photos to see them full size.
From The Hermit’s Desk
Most people are aware of the old saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words”, and I’ve always hoped that my photographs could speak for themselves rather than my having to try and explain them. Besides, I’m not a writer, and I have no concept of what is or isn’t proper grammar, punctuation etc when writing.
But I do enjoy writing a little bit about my work, especially after an inspiring session. I find that it helps me to collect my thoughts and feelings about what it is that I am trying to do, and which direction I am headed.
My intention for this blog is to occasionally share my thoughts about my work, but to also review some of the live music performances I attend. How were the bands? What was the venue like? Those sort of things. I hope that it will be engaging despite any grammatical failings.
I will also share photos here, the goal being to have them seen in higher quality than social media allows.
Watch this space. Coming soon.
Punk House Show - 2008