Raven and the Wren take flight at Casita del Polaris

Hailing from Central Pennsylvania’s Happy Valley, Raven and the Wren will perform at Casita del Polaris on Thursday night.

The roots-rock band is touring to promote its debut CD, “Friend of Failure.” The group includes singer-guitarist Natty Lou Race, guitarist Jason “Junior” Tutwiler, bassist Bob Hart and drummer Chris Rattie.

Race wrote the songs, many of which explore dark places. “I write what I know,” she said on the band’s website. “It doesn’t mean that I’m a sad person. I think shame, guilt, death, uncertainty of faith — these are all part of the human experience. I think death is the last thing we should worry about. It’s the only thing we all know for certain is going to happen to us. I don’t understand why there’s such a fear around it.”

The band has a variety of influences, as Hart recently told the Centre Daily Times.

“Natty Lou loves Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt, Patty Griffin. Junior comes from the Rolling Stones, Mississippi Fred McDowell and the other blues masters,” he said. “Chris loves Springsteen, Gillian Welch, R.L. Burnside. I come from a pretty wide scope of influences, from John Coltrane to the Beatles to Schoenberg, and everything in between. And, although you may not be able to hear all of these influences in every Raven and the Wren song, they are there informing us every step of the way.”

To learn more, visit ravenandthewren.com.

There’s no cover charge for the 9 p.m. show, but donations are welcome.

Kitestring releases new EP

Saturday, Kitestring will play a release show at the Haunt for its new EP, “A Decade Late and a Dollar Short.”

The band includes guitarist Josh Ross, bassist Corbin Miller, drummer Phil Shay and guitarist Marty Farchione. The quartet describes itself on its website as a “versatile acoustic rock band from upstate New York that plays original music with influences ranging from ‘90s alternative, Americana, to blues and soul. … The songwriting explores the normal and sometimes mundane aspects of life and relationships and finds magic in the small moments.” Visit www.kitestringband.com to learn more.

Big Upstate and Bigfoot will round out the lineup for the 9 p.m. show.

Moog remembered

I spent a few hours Sunday afternoon in Trumansburg attending a few of the MoogDay activities, which celebrated the legacy of electronic music pioneer Robert Moog in the village in which he had his factory in the 1960s.

That included unveiling of a commemorative marker in front of Little Venice Restaurant (the former site of the R.A. Moog Company) at 49 E. Main St., as well as fascinating talks at the Ulysses Historical Society by Trevor Pinch, David Borden and Moog’s daughter Michelle Moog-Koussa. It’s cool that such important, influential instruments were designed and built right here in Tompkins County.

I wasn’t able to attend the later music-related events at Atlas Bowl, where DJ Charcoal Heart spun Moog-related tunes, or at the Rongovian Embassy, where a few bands performed on Moog instruments; I did see a few cool videos on Facebook afterward, though.

The day was organized by Village of Trumansburg historian Michele Mitrani, the Village of Trumansburg and the Trumansburg Area Chamber of Commerce — thanks again to all of their efforts to commemorate Bob Moog’s legacy.

‘Smile for Peace’

It’s no surprise that Yao “Cha Cha” Foli Augustine titled his latest solo album “Smile for Peace” — it’s rare to see eternally cheerful vocalist for Mosaic Foundation NOT smiling.

Last Friday, in conjunction with his birthday, Cha Cha played a CD release show at Casita del Polaris. But we weren’t able to get together until after my deadline for last week’s Soundoff, so I thought I’d make up for it this week — especially since Cha Cha is performing at the Big Splash Sustainability Fair in Owego this weekend with the Ndor Band, which includes members of Big Mean Sound Machine.

Cha Cha has long been involved in the Ndor EcoVillage in his native Ghana — the new album is aimed at raising more funds for the project. “While Mosaic Foundation was on break, it was time for me to get a couple of works done and to work on raising funds for the project in Ghana, so I consulted Trevor Thorpe, who had a studio and we came up with six songs,” said Cha Cha in an interview at Stick and Stone Farm, where he works during the week.

Unlike his previous albums with Mosaic Foundation and the Ndor Band, the new record was recorded with a variety of area musicians, including drummer John-Paul Nawn, saxophonist Erik Johnson, singers Katey Collins and Rochelle Mathis, keyboardist Jon Petronzio and a few others.

“Every time someone laid down a part, it totally changed the trajectory of the song and gave me this whole new vision,” Thorpe said. “As producer I had this free rein — Cha Cha was always happy with what I wanted to do — so it was interesting how everyone’s influence changed the direction of the songs.”

As for the album’s title, Cha Cha explained: “Many years we’ve been crying for peace but are we obtaining peace in the world in which we live today? No. This album is also an awareness of what we’re supposed to be doing to be creating and working together, understanding each other, learning how to live with each other. That is the basic step toward obtaining peace. Without equal rights and injustice, we will cry for peace but (get) zero peace. It’s time we work together as united nations.”

Cha Cha notes that he’s currently in the studio with the Ndor Band to make another record, with eight songs already tracked. “It’s just like a tree, with different branches growing from one taproot,” he said.

Cha Cha hasn’t been back to Ghana in three years, but plans to go next year. He gave an update on the current state of Ndor EcoVillage.

“We bought 15 acres of land, and we have blueprints for the school and a guesthouse we’ll build for international visitors and students that will be doing international projects within the community,” he said. “The vision of Ndor is to promote rural education and sustainable agriculture, and teach the people in the community how to effectively farm the soil and leave it fertile for future generations and future cultivation.”

To learn more, visit www.NdorEcoVillage.org.

More shows

It’s a bit of a quiet weekend, given that Memorial Day is on Monday and that Big Splash is taking place down in Owego Saturday and Sunday (see my story elsewhere in Go for details). Plus, Brewery Ommegang’s summer concert season launches Saturday with Lake Street Dive and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (see my ConcertWatch column for details). But there are a few worthwhile shows in the coming days.

• Thursday, the Bombadils will return to the Rongovian Embassy. This time around, the Montreal folk band will be joined by New York poet Nick Maione for an “integrated program of Maione’s original poems, The Bombadils’ songs and instrumental pieces, as well as selections from the Celtic, Canadian, and American fiddle traditions.” The Slabtown Stringband will open the 6 p.m. show, which has a “pay-what-you-can cover” charge. Visit thebombadils.com and www.rongovianembassy.com to learn more.

• Thursday, the Destination will be the featured band at the Dock’s Swing Night, bring its high-energy blend of soul, funk, rock and R&B classics to the state. There’s a $7 cover for the 6 p.m. show, which includes a dance lesson.

• Friday, there are a bunch of cool shows around the area, including City Limits at the Dock at 6 p.m., the Ilium Works and Ithaca Bottom Boys at the Silverline Tap Room at 8 p.m., Mary Lorson and Rachel Reis at the Rongo at 9 p.m., and Baku and Take Two at the Haunt at 10 p.m.

• Saturday, Imperials, who released a cool EP earlier this year, and the intriguingly monikered Johnny “Stickerboy” Owens will team for a show at Lot 10. Owens is a solo multi-instrumentalist and printmaker from New Paltz; you can hear his music at johnnystickerboyowens.bandcamp.com. There’s a cover for the 10 p.m. show.

• Tuesday, the Jeff Love Band will play at the Firelight Campground behind La Tourelle. The soul-funk-R&B group will kick off at 6 p.m.

• Next Thursday, Valerie June will make her Ithaca debut at the Dock; the singer-songwriter’s debut “Pushin’ Against A Stone” has drawn acclaim for its mix of folk, country and blues influences. She’ll be followed by folk legend Loudon Wainwright III on Friday night. Visit www.thedockithaca.com for more information on these shows.

Catalano has covered the local music scene since 1992. Follow him on Twitter at @IthacaMusicNews, and email him at jimcat@aol.com.