Ben Seretan (Youth Pastoral reissue show) /Little Mystery /Jackie West /Elizabeth Celeste /John-Francis Quiñonez (MC)
Mon, 19 May 2025 (EDT)
07:00PM - 10:30PM
The Avalon Lounge
29 Church St
Catskill, New York 12414
MONDAY 5/19, 7PM
$15
HOSTED BY JOHN-FRANCIS Q
BEN SERETAN
Ben Seretan never makes the same record twice. In the 10+ years he's been putting out music under his name he's pinballed wildly from 24-hour-long drones to sweaty guitar jammers, from hollered rock 'n' roll catharsis to serene piano recorded in the holler, always in search of that ecstatic joy. Last year finally saw the release of the "insane Italy album," an almost lost LP that captured Seretan and his band ripping life from the jaws of death in the hills above Venice. This year brings us both "astral projecting into flavortown," a meditative compilation of weekly tracks from his ambitious My Big Break project and the 5 year anniversary deluxe LP reissue of Youth Pastoral, perhaps his most beloved album of songs, named one of the best of the year by Pitchfork.
$15
HOSTED BY JOHN-FRANCIS Q
BEN SERETAN
Ben Seretan never makes the same record twice. In the 10+ years he's been putting out music under his name he's pinballed wildly from 24-hour-long drones to sweaty guitar jammers, from hollered rock 'n' roll catharsis to serene piano recorded in the holler, always in search of that ecstatic joy. Last year finally saw the release of the "insane Italy album," an almost lost LP that captured Seretan and his band ripping life from the jaws of death in the hills above Venice. This year brings us both "astral projecting into flavortown," a meditative compilation of weekly tracks from his ambitious My Big Break project and the 5 year anniversary deluxe LP reissue of Youth Pastoral, perhaps his most beloved album of songs, named one of the best of the year by Pitchfork.
"threatens to blow out your speakers with anthemic posturing"
“one of the most magical things you’ll hear this (or any) year”
“It’s just marvelously beautiful”
“…an undeniably dynamic examination of how human beings seek meaning, whether in a higher power or in each other.”
https://benseretan.bandcamp.com/album/youth-pastoral-deluxe
-----------------------------
LITTLE MYSTERY
-----------------------------
LITTLE MYSTERY
Little Mystery is the musical project of singer-songwriter Ivy Meissner. Propelled by a rich and dynamic voice and guitar-driven compositions, Meissner crafts expansive and diverse musical landscapes, delving into corners of her past and seeking connection in a fractured world. Little Mystery’s self-titled debut record is out now via Ruination Records.
“As charming as it is churning and emotionally charged, Little Mystery is a catchy, cathartic introduction to an insightful artist who holds nothing back in building wondrous worlds where weight and warmth collide.”
“As charming as it is churning and emotionally charged, Little Mystery is a catchy, cathartic introduction to an insightful artist who holds nothing back in building wondrous worlds where weight and warmth collide.”
- Atwood Magazine
-----------------------------
JACKIE WEST
The eponymous lyric from Jackie West’s debut album has been running through her head throughout most of her life: “Only the wind can pull my body/close to the mystery.” Before it found a home in her hazy, Julee-Cruise-like ballad “Ethereal Nature,” the line functioned as a mantra for the Brooklyn singer-songwriter. It seemed to point her towards inspiration and clarity just out of reach. The breathtaking Close to the Mystery (released May 10, 2024 via Ruination Record Co.) threads together many moments of searching and reaching out—pulled from a variety of relationships and settings, articulated through a range of musical points. Its masterful baroque-pop songs form abstract scenes in a larger story about a self and worldview taking shape; in each, West assesses different, transient versions of herself, making revisions and absorbing the changes into a fuller, more finite draft.
“West’s songs occupy a profoundly satisfying place where the songs sound like instant classics and are difficult to pin down stylistically – something of a ballad-heavy netherworld where jazz, folk, soul, and pop coexist without crowding each other out.”
– Chris Ingalls, PopMatters
“West’s songs occupy a profoundly satisfying place where the songs sound like instant classics and are difficult to pin down stylistically – something of a ballad-heavy netherworld where jazz, folk, soul, and pop coexist without crowding each other out.”
– Chris Ingalls, PopMatters
https://jackiewest.bandcamp.com/album/close-to-the-mystery
-----------------------------
ELIZABETH CELESTE
-----------------------------
ELIZABETH CELESTE
Elizabeth Celeste loves to sing and plays experimental folk music. She is currently writing her first solo-record.
Her long-time project, Camp Saint Helene, released their sophomore record, Of Earth and its Timely Delights in 2024 via Misery Mother, a record label they founded. They were also featured on a compilation album, Cosmic Waves Volume 1., released by Angel Olsen via somethingscosmic / Jagjaguwar the same year. This compilation included their single, “Wonder Now” as well as their song, “Farfisa Song”, covered by Angel Olsen.
Elizabeth also works as a photographer and enjoys writing. She is based in Catskill, NY.
-----------------------------
JOHN FRANCIS QUIÑONEZ
John-Francis Quiñonez (They/Them) is a Desert Flower & Current Resident of Providence, RI/ a Queer Writer & Multimedia Artist/ Chef at Big Feeling Ice Cream / Events Guardian/
Member of the Queer.Archive.Work. project & Binch Press/ has a collection of Poems with Write Bloody Publishing (‘22) entitled Keep Your Little Lights Alive (Poems After Kate Bush’s "Hounds of Love" & Others)/
is thinking a lot about Emerging.
-----------------------------
JOHN FRANCIS QUIÑONEZ
John-Francis Quiñonez (They/Them) is a Desert Flower & Current Resident of Providence, RI/ a Queer Writer & Multimedia Artist/ Chef at Big Feeling Ice Cream / Events Guardian/
Member of the Queer.Archive.Work. project & Binch Press/ has a collection of Poems with Write Bloody Publishing (‘22) entitled Keep Your Little Lights Alive (Poems After Kate Bush’s "Hounds of Love" & Others)/
is thinking a lot about Emerging.