Judy Kass Album Release at Bethany Arts Community - Friday, November 14th

Judy Kass Album Release Show: "New Skin"

Friday November 14, 2025

Bethany Arts Community

40 Somerstown Rd, Ossining, NY 10562

Show Starts @ 8PM | Doors @ 7:30PM

$20 General Admission

Join Judy Kass together with guest artists, Pat Wictor, Glen Roethel, Mark Dann and Amy Soucy for a celebration of her recent album release, “New Skin” which debuted #4 on the Folk Alliance International Top Albums Chart (July, 2025).

We’ll share a performance of the full album, an eclectic mix of 12 songs that speak to various aspects of navigating life during unprecedented times. Filled with relatable narratives and rich harmonies, the evening promises an unforgettable journey into Judy’s latest music with some fun twists and turns along the way.

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ABOUT JUDY KASS & GUEST ARTISTS

New York based singer-songwriter, Judy Kass, quickly draws in her audience with soulful vocals, no-nonsense lyrical storytelling and genre-bending exploration of guitar and piano. Her original music blends generous amounts of folk, jazz and blues with songs that cover the full gamut of mood and experience. A finalist in a number of song contests, (Philadelphia Songwriters Project, Rhode Island Songwriting Association’s 2017, and South Florida Folk Festival’s 2018 Singer Songwriter competitions), Judy was also named a Top 5 Winner in the Singer/Songwriter category of the 19th Great American Song Contest, and a First Place Winner in the contest’s 2019 Singer/Songwriter category. Her song, No More Crying, co-written with Glen Roethel and Amy Soucy, with whom she also performs as a member of the trio, “Us!”, was named a Gold award winner in the Open Category of the 36th Mid – Atlantic Song Contest.

Judy’s latest solo album release, New Skin is an eclectic mix of songs that speak to various aspects of navigating life during unprecedented times –from reframing involuntary detours and moving through painful changes to poignant observations on the state of our fragmented world.

As in her first two albums, Better Things (2014) and Beyond the Ash and Steel (2016), Judy’s talents as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and arranger shine in lyrical narratives, exquisite melodies and rich harmonies that showcase her transporting voice and command of her instruments.

New Skin which features co-writes with renowned artists Sloan Wainwright, Glen Roethel, Dan Berggren, Jon Shain and Kellie Lin Knot, was co-produced by celebrated folk musicians Mark Dann and Pat Wictor. It debuted at #4 on the Folk Alliance Top Albums Chart for July 2025.

Pat Wictor – Co-Producer & Guest Artist

Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Pat Wictor makes his home in many musical worlds. Grounded in rural blues and gospel traditions, Wictor’s lean, poetic songs and expressive guitar playing are seasoned with jazz, pop, improvisational surprise, philosophy and social commentary.

Pat’s most recent CD, FLARE, a meditation on political division in America, was called “brilliant” by WFUV’s John Platt, and reached #1 on the Folk-DJ charts. Wictor currently tours solo and in a variety of duos, and sometimes appears as a side musician with friends. He is a music educator of note, teaching workshops on guitar, songwriting, body percussion, and vocal and instrumental improvisation.

Mark Dann – Co-Producer, Recording Engineer, Guest Artist

A much sought after recording and mastering engineer, multi-instrumentalist Mark Dann is a legend in the folk world having worked with a long list of top artists throughout the years. When not mixing and mastering in his Woodstock studio, Mark can be heard playing bass, baritone and acoustic guitar in several ensembles in the Hudson Valley region as well as on national and international stages.

Glen Roethel – Guest Artist

Glen Roethel is an award-winning singer-songwriter, sought-after entertainer, accompanist (guitar and vocal), music producer, harmony arranger, teacher, and mentor. He accompanies Sloan Wainwright in concert (also with Mother Tree), performs solo or in ensemble with his acoustic trio, Us!, and empowers hit singer-songwriters across the country with design, marketing, tech, and livestream support. ~ glenroethel.com

Amy Soucy – Guest Artist

Amy Soucy is a Beacon, NY-based contemporary folk chanteuse who writes evocative songs exploring the kaleidoscope of human experience (dreams, longing, forgiveness, and healing) and sings them in a voice that’s been called “powerful,” “comforting,” and “angelic.” In 2016, she was selected for a coveted spot in the Emerging Artist Showcase at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and took home first prize in the CT Folk Songwriting Competition. www.amysoucymusic.com

Pete Seeger - God's Counting On Me, God's Counting On You (Sloop Mix)

Sing Sing Sing

Celebrating Two Decades of Tribes Hill

Sing Sing Sing

We're gathered here tonight
to do a sacred thing
sing sing sing, sing sing sing
sing sing sing, sing

It says in the Bible somewhere
that singing is praying times two
and whenever angels show up
it always seems that's what they do

We're gathered here tonight
to do a sacred thing
sing sing sing, sing sing sing

millions of pilgrims every day
visit Mecca and I've heard it said
when you hear their song
millions singing all at once
it's a sound you'll never forget

We're gathered here tonight
to do a sacred thing
sing sing sing, sing sing sing

the Navajo and Cherokee
Lakota and Cheyenne
Shawnee, Pawnee, Crow and Cree
all had one common thread
beside the one Great Spirit and the one Mother Earth
they all raise their voices for all that they are worth

We're gathered here tonight
to do a sacred thing
sing sing sing, sing sing sing

Words and music by Fred Gillen Jr.

I told Fred recently that I have always considered Sing Sing Sing an anthem for Tribes Hill. I asked if I could use it for a special music video celebrating over two decades of our music community of kindred folk. I am currently going through our archives and will be posting the video soon. I also asked Fred if he could share with us how the song came about. Here is what he had to say:

"Memory is unreliable and I wrote Sing Sing Sing in 2007 or so. What I do remember is at the time I’d just spent a bunch of time with Pete Seeger. One night Steve Kirkman drove Pete to and from a concert with a kids choir that Turk had organized. After we dropped Pete off Steve and I were talking about how easy Pete made it look to teach 400 people how to sing his very complicated song “Take it From Doctor King.” I was thinking that no amount of practice would ever help me pull off something like that but that I’d like to write a song of my own which was easy to teach to a room full of people. Usually it’s hard to write from an intention, but in this case I wrote ABOUT singing, and it worked! Since then the song has been sung by many people with and without me (including Pete, with Sue Wright and her Sargent Elementary students.) From being in the songbook at a church in Toledo to me teaching the audience at Patan Durbar World Heritage site in Nepal to Solar Punch playing it in Haiti, I think the song really is a connection between the Hudson Valley (and the spirit of Pete) and the world."