Earth Day isn’t limited to just 24 hours in New Paltz; a handful of exciting events have been held recently to celebrate the holiday, including a few on campus. This past weekend, the New Paltz Music Collective (NPMC) combined forces with other clubs and organizations to host an Earth Day celebration on the Old Main Quad.
The event’s flier promoted various activities for attendees to participate in, with the main event being five hours of live music. The New Paltz Poetry Club was collage-making to craft poems out of magazine cut-outs, New Paltz Active Minds was giving away goodie bags of stress-relieving necessities and organizations such as NYPIRG and Justice is Global were also seen tabling at the event.
Spectators gathered on the lush lawn, eager to see their favorite bands perform. The original lineup included three local bands: O-Rama, Betula and The Field Service. Unfortunately, our favorite local ska band, O-Rama, wasn’t able to perform at the event due to a family emergency. Alas, Betula saved the day and began setting up a bit earlier than scheduled.
Betula, composed of Roan Martin on keys and vocals, Peter Harvill on drums and vocals, Kieran McDonald on guitar and Angelo Alamia on bass and vocals are often seen performing at local house show venue The Mouse Trap. One of their originals includes a lyric paying homage to the quirky venue, to which they’d be considered seasoned veterans.
“We decided our setlist mainly on what would be the most chill for Earth Day and would be easy for listeners to enjoy. We only picked two covers because we’re trying to move away from covering songs because as a band we get more enjoyment out of playing originals,” Martin said. “We picked [Jack Johnson’s] ‘Upside Down’ and [Carole King’s] ‘I Feel the Earth Move’ because they both felt like good Earth Day songs.”
The band has been together for almost two years, and their set-list transition from cover songs to originals has been seamless. They’ve been working on releasing music to streaming platforms, but find it difficult to balance while being full-time students and playing gigs most weekends. This summer, they’re planning to dedicate time to working in the studio and growing their name in the music community.
After wrapping up their set, the members of Betula took a front-row seat to watch their buddies in The Field Service. The crowd was gifted with a few songs played by a combination of both bands, which is always a fun crossover to witness. The Field Service has been making music together since 2021, dating back to the days of the Groovy Blueberry’s outdoor concerts.
Devin Devine was on guitar and vocals, Marshal Radulov on guitar and vocals, Jacob Nitti on bass and Chuck Crover on drums and vocals. They were sporadically joined by Rae Spiegl on vocals to add harmonies on specific tunes. The band has become much more comfortable with their stage presence since their initial debut, as they were heard making jokes to one another like siblings through the hot microphones. Watching a performance is more enjoyable when you’re certain the band is having just as much fun as the audience, and that was true of The Field Service.
“Playing outdoors allows for us to spread out a little bit more and not be all right on top of each other. It makes controlling the sound on stage much easier, which allows us to really be able to hear each other and play meaningfully. Also, the fresh air and sun shining down? Can’t beat that,” Crover said.
The third record in their digital discography, “Back for Repairs,” was released this past December. Since its release, the band has been playing the songs live as much as possible, while dabbling with some new songs for upcoming projects. They have over 5k streams on Spotify, cultivated from their 2022 self-titled album, “The Field Service” and their live album, “Live At The Berry.”
“Everybody who we talked to was super kind and seemed to really dig the music, which is cool. It’s always fun playing at a gathering like that where you’ve got all these different groups of people coming together to have a good time. Jamming with some of the guys in Betula at the end of our set was real good fun,” Crover said. With the spectacular view of Mohonk Mountain peaking over the horizon and sweet tunes filling the air, everyone who attended had a lovely time. The bands were set up directly in front of the Old Library, which must be a core memory for student performers. You can check out the NPMC on Instagram, @npmusiccollective for information on upcoming events.
