Milkweed Electric w/sg the North & South Dakotas

Milkweed is a band that was born on Main Street in the quiet post industrial city of Binghamton NY.  It is the collaboration of three artists – Joseph Alston, Jacqualine Colombo and Peter Lister.  Without committing to one genre Milkweed has pulled from many of the great aspects of American music and created their own brand of American song and story telling.  Whether it is blue grass guitar flat picking, Chicago blues harmonica, Irish ballads or Jersey shore folk songs, Milkweed weaves together the sounds that make up the rich tapestry of American music history. With their lyrics they set themselves apart from the norm, taking the simple stories of everyday people and telling them through the lens of dreams and what it means to be a human.  The root of the bands sound is in the use of three part harmony to impart a sense of importance and depth to their lyrics that brings the listener into their songs and feel invested in it.

The North & South Dakotas

Formed in early 2011 by original members Zack Hay (Guitar & Vocals), Colin Hunt (Bass), and Mark Retajczyk (Guitar & Vocals), The North & South Dakotas set out crafting a sound that paid homage to the spirit of old time american music, mountain folk, and singer-songwriter traditions.  The band spent many years as a five-piece with drummer Mike Graves, and the past two years as a more traditional bluegrass quartet with utility man Nayt Patenaude (Dobro, Banjo, Mandolin), the band has continued on with an ever-rotating cast of string players from the Upstate NY region.  In this more intimate setting, the band continues to write original, genre-sweeping music that makes use of their trademark vocal harmonies and the musical sensibilities of each band member’s different background.