The Wildlife Conservation Society has announced the lineup of a free community concert series happening from August 22-29, as part of Cycle Adirondacks – the first fully supported road-cycling tour of the Adirondack Park and surrounding region. The concerts are open to the public.

The eight-night series will feature live music and other entertainment in the tour’s overnight towns. From bluegrass to bike stunts, the community concert series features homegrown musical acts as well as national artists. Each venue will also offer a beer and wine garden with local craft beverages, food concessions and a local vendor village.

Riders are currently registered from nearly 30 different U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Registration remains open until August 22nd.

Cycle Adirondacks 2015 Summer Concert Series

Sat., Aug. 22 – Riverside Park, Saranac Lake, NY
The Wiyos, with opening act Crackin’ Foxy, 7 p.m.

The Wiyos have been rolling for over a decade. They were one of the first “old-timey” bands to emerge on the national scene in the first wave of acoustic bands riding the renewed popularity of early swing jazz, rural folk, old-time blues and Appalachian music. Crackin’ Foxy is a ukulele-driven ensemble featuring close three-part vocal harmony and tight instrumental arrangements. The Saranac Lake-based sextet is inspired by early 1930s swing but plays with a fresh and joyful energy all its own. Influences include the Boswell Sisters, Anette Hanshaw, Bessie Smith, Cole Porter and Django Reinhardt, as well as Vaudeville and Hawaiian music.

Sun., Aug. 23 – Clifton-Fine School, Star Lake, NY
Clifton-Fine Summer Arts Series: Lipbone Redding, 7 p.m.

Lipbone Redding weaves funky rhythms, catchy original songs, brash humor, soulful singing, and inventive guitar playing with exotic and percussive vocal sounds such as throat singing, bass and beat-boxing, and his astonishingly realistic lip-tromboning. The result is an experience that is hypnotic, groovy and, for a solo artist without the aid of electronic effects, amazingly complete.

Mon., Aug. 24 – Erwin Park, Boonville, NY
Canal Street String Band, 7 p.m.

With three voices, fifty-five strings and a pair of cow bones, The Canal Street String Band puts a brand-new shine on some seriously fun old American music. Fiddle tunes….sea shanties….cowboy songs….canal ditties….mountain music….western swing…and originals too, with banjo, fiddle, twin mandolins, string bass, dobro, guitar, octave mandolin, assorted “pocket” instruments,  and three-part harmonies.

Tues., Aug. 25 – Village Park, Camden, NY
Driftwood, 7 p.m.

From the Binghamton, New York’s music scene comes Driftwood, a band with a rock n’ roll soul and a folk art mind. Carving out a name for themselves with electrifying live performances, they bring one of the most unique, raw sounds to the Americana/roots music scene. Incorporating upright bass, banjo, acoustic guitar and violin, the ghost of traditional American folk music lives in their palette.

Wed., Aug 26 – Hiltebrant Rec Center, Old Forge, NY
Woody Pines, 7 p.m.

No stranger to fans of the new folk music coming from all corners of the USA. Alongside artists like Old Crow Medicine Show and Pokey LaFarge, Woody Pines continues to forage through the secret world of old 78”s and to write new chapters in the Anthology of American Music. Integrating sounds from Leadbelly to Bob Dylan, from Woody Guthrie to Preservation Hall, Woody Pines belts out songs with a distinctive vintage twang.

Thurs., Aug. 27 – Hiltebrant Rec Center, Old Forge, NY
Bike Stunts, featuring Sam Perkins and Carsin Willson

Sam has spent more than half of his life riding trials. He grew up riding on rocks all over his hometown of Lake Placid. Currently living in Plattsburgh, Sam continues to push his riding level on his backyard training grounds. Carsin has been riding for 15 years. He has traveled Europe, USA and Canada for competitions and shows, and is also ranked in the top 10 in Canada for trials riding.

Fri., Aug. 28 – Athletic Fields, Long Lake, NY
Alex Smith with Don Woodcock, 7 p.m.

Alex Smith grew up in Long Lake in the heart of New York’s Adirondack Park, and his music strives first and foremost to echo the people of that area. He builds songs from a blend of traditional folk harmony and strikingly modern lyrics, confronting today’s most pressing issues with grace while paying homage to the masters who came before him.

Sat., Aug. 29 – Riverside Park, Saranac Lake, NY
EMEFE, 8 p.m.

A New York City-based seven-piece funk-pop outfit, EMEFE is about breaking through static, the indefinable noise and clutter of everyday life. Known for their incredible live performances, EMEFE’s beats are a cross between Fela Kuti and Prince, with vocals reminiscent of the Talking Heads’ candor and the Beach Boys’ lushness… all with a unique pop sensibility.

Cycle Adirondacks Tour Options

Option 1: The Full Ride: Days 1 through 7—A week-long event. Total mileage for the event will be 400-500 miles, depending on options, with daily route ranging from 50 to 75 miles. Daily elevation gains range from 2,700-4,500 feet. Price: $1,495

Option 2: The Big Four: Days 1 through 4 –The routes average 74 miles a day. On this option, riders start at the beginning of the event in Saranac Lake and ride four full days. On Wednesday evening, Day 5, bus and bike transport will be provided back to Saranac Lake. Price: $850

Option 3: The Easy Three: Days 5 through 7 – A good shorter-mileage option, and also an attractive choice for families. The last three days, which include a layover day in Old Forge, can be as little as 145 miles total, or less than 50 miles a day average, or riders can stretch out each of the last two days to 65 miles. With this option, on Wednesday, Day 4, riders and bikes will be transported from the start/finish line in Saranac Lake to Old Forge, and then finish the rest of the event. Price: $650

For more information on these options and also those available to junior riders and non-riding Travel Companions, visit www.cycleadirondacks.com.

Registration includes three catered meals daily, free beer tastings each night, nightly live entertainment, a wellness area offering free massage, free local shuttle services, fully stocked rest stops, camping spots, hot showers, baggage service, on-course safety support, activities for non-riding companions and more.

In addition, WCS wildlife experts will be on hand all week, on the route and in camp, to provide information to participants on area wildlife and natural history.

The 2015 tour starts and ends in Saranac Lake, the headquarters of the WCS Adirondack Program, and includes overnight stops in Star Lake, Boonville, Camden, Old Forge and Long Lake. There will be a “layover day” in Old Forge where riders can pedal an optional route or take the day off the bike and enjoy the amenities available in the towns of Old Forge and Inlet.

Registration fees will cover infrastructure and rider services, and will also support WCS’s programs in the Adirondack region, including community grants to multiple nonprofit groups in each host community. WCS’s mission in the Adirondacks is to promote wildlife conservation and healthy human communities, and it has achieved this by using a community-based approach to conservation since 1994.

Photo provided.