Autumn Acoustic Afternoon Brings National Touring Acts to Basking Ridge

By Nola Hansen

The Friends of the Boudinot-Southard-Ross Estate is hosting its first Autumn Acoustic Afternoon at the Ross Farm on Sunday afternoon, October 18.

The gates to the historic property open at 3 p.m., and music starts at 4 p.m., featuring music by three extremely gifted and well-regarded musicians. JD Eicher, a talented singer-songwriter, will be on tour with Christian Lopez when they visit Basking Ridge later this month. They’ll be joined at this show by Butch Parnell, lead singer of Brooklyn-based band Runaway Dorothy.

Eicher will be appearing solo at the Ross Farm, but he also fronts his band, JD Eicher & the Goodnights. Their soaring and graceful pop-rock songcraft has garnered the group favorable comparisons to Coldplay, Keane, The Script, The Killers, and Death Cab for Cutie.

The Pittsburgh, PA and Youngstown, OH-based quartet has received an impressive outpouring of regional acclaim, earning raves from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Uniontown, PA Herald-Standard, Pittsburgh City Paper, and The Erie Times-News. Nationally, Alternative Addiction named them one of the top 10 unsigned bands, Virgin America Airlines used one of the band’s songs in the teaser for the airline’s movie, “Departure Date,” and Olive Garden used a song in a TV ad campaign.

JD and his band have shared a bill with such diverse and respected artists as Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, Maroon 5, Pete Yorn, Anberlin, Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams, Kelly Clarkson, Cartel, and Matt White, among many others. Eicher’s acoustic dates include performances on The Rock Boat and Rombello music festival cruises.

According to the band’s website, Grammy-nominated producer, Dustin Burnett (who has worked with the Newsboys, Augustana, Rush of Fools, Moriah Peters, Darling Parade), produced the band’s most recent album, “Into Place,” guiding Eicher in realizing his aspirations for a rich sonic tapestry to enhance the core band’s stellar musicianship.

Lopez’ latest video, “Leaving It Out,” is currently Number 5 on the Country Music Television Pure 12-Pack Countdown.

Rolling Stone recently wrote about him, “this 19-year-old West Virginian who sings like a pop-coated Cory Branan and looks like a spruced-up character from The Outsiders packed so much kinetic energy into his set (at Nashville’s Americana Music Fest), and sliced so many strings, that he had to finish on a borrowed guitar. While his debut LP, “Onward,” is a plucky and occasionally subdued showcase of his Appalachian roots, Lopez brings way more youthful twang to his live performances.

There may be some serious influences in there (mountain bluegrass, old gospel) and a serious producer (Dave Cobb) but, at his best, he’s a maker of smart and slick country that holds a whole lot of promise and age-appropriate fun without pandering to any radio trends.”

The Autumn Acoustic Afternoon concert will be Parnell’s second visit to Basking Ridge as he was the special guest of the Ridge High School Guitar Club in 2013. According to his bio, when Parnell originally left his North Carolina home for Brooklyn, he knew that it would take more than a few good songs and a dream to pursue a life in the arts—it was going to take a lot of hard work.

After releasing a few records, signing a record deal and making personal contacts for years, Parnell found success at music festivals like SXSW and CMJ with his band Runaway Dorothy. Runaway Dorothy toured the Midwest several times over, and each tour included a little more of the American landscape. When Butch was back home in New York City, he was constantly writing. While working on demos for Runaway Dorothy’s third album, he found himself with these songs that could stand on their own.

The story behind the new solo EP “The Brightness” is very similar to how Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska came to be. Bruce had these demos that were intended to have a full band behind them, but the songs stood better on their own without the treatments of a full band, so Springsteen released Nebraska. Parnell had originally intended for these demos to be used for Runaway Dorothy, but they also were better with out the full band, therefore, “The Brightness” was released as a solo EP.

Weather permitting, the musicians will perform outdoors near the farm’s Tack House, but the historic barn is on standby, thereby allowing a rain-or-shine event. Tickets are $25, with a discounted $10 ticket available for students, and may be purchased by emailing NolaJH@msn.com or calling 908-766-5311. A special is offered for those who also buy a ticket for the next Autumn Acoustic Afternoon on November 8, featuring Matt Hires with special guests The End of America. A ticket for both shows is available for only $40, a discount of $10.

The Ross Farm is owned by Somerset County, and an April 2015 agreement with the Somerset County Parks Commission permits the The Friends of the Boudinot-Southard-Ross Estate to conduct historical and cultural events on the property. A 501(c)3 organization, their mission is to create educational and cultural events that enhance the public’s understanding of the historical legacy of the estate and the contributions of the Elias Boudinot, Samuel Southard, and Edmund Ross families. The beautiful 60+ acre estate is located at 135 N. Maple Avenue in Basking Ridge, NJ, between Birch Drive and Maple Run. Visit the website at RossFarm.org, or the Facebook page at The Ross Farm – Basking Ridge for more information and photographs.