For musicians Lara Hope and Matt “the Knife” Goldpaugh, multitasking comes naturally.
The kazoo-playing, blues-wailing pair make up The Gold Hope Duo, a HudsonValley-based group who will bring their voices and many instruments to Bacchus on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 10 p.m.
Since the summer of 2012, the duo said they have played their mix of stripped-down upbeat rhythm and blues, country, folk and a pinch of rockabilly.
“One thing that is nice about the type of music that we both write and cover, is that it has an old-timey feel,” Goldpaugh said. “We try to go back to the roots of rock ‘n roll and incorporate old and new sounds together. This kind of sound appeals to a large demographic of people.”
She said she and Goldpaugh look forward to playing at both Bacchus and New Paltz because of the atmosphere and crowd dynamic.
“I like Bacchus because it’s got a little bit of an older demographic than a lot of the other college bars that only cater to students,” Hope said. “People really enjoy coming there to see live music.”
Dave Ellison, who books musicians and co-manages Bacchus’ bar, has worked with Hope in the past and said a big draw to The Gold Hope Duo is their sincerity as performers.
“I’d say Bacchus’ crowd is perfect for what [Lara] does,” Ellison said. “At Bacchus, the music people like has to be genuine.”
Though Ellison said The Gold Hope Duo pulls people in by embracing attention from the crowd, he can’t accurately forecast the size of Saturday’s audience.
“It’s super unpredictable,” Ellison said. “There are a lot of different factors between weather and what else is going on in town. We could be really slamming busy or moderate. It’s hard to tell.”
The Gold Hope Duo said they plan to keep “playing their butts off” and touring as much as possible.
This summer they released a three-song EP called “Ghost Town Trail” and said they are currently crafting new material for a longer record.
“We plan on doing more circus/sideshow themed events,” The Gold Hope Duo said. “And we’re always on the lookout for more non-traditional outlets that host unique events.”