Musical Delights of Sues Garage at Union Grove Distillery

ARKVILLE — The Catskills has a storied history of attracting incredibly gifted entertainers. As the

years go on, this area has continued to attract musicians settling down here in our mountain

villages since the beginning of modern civilization. Sue’s Garage is a four-year endeavor of the

best of the sixties and seventies popular rock n’ roll music that sparked an exciting evening of fun at

the Union Grove Distillery in Arkville. 

Suzanne Pastor who is a dear friend and committed supporter of the band that bears her name

explains the origins, “When they committed to perform in September 2020 at a political

fundraiser in my backyard, they asked me if they may practice together in my garage, which is

quite roomy.  The original group consisted of other members, all friends, all residents, all great

musicians.” Over the past four years, the band has experienced several iterations by losing a

beloved keyboardist who passed away and going through several drummers. The current group

consists of Scott Blum on drums and percussion as an award-winning performer and TV, radio,

theater, opera and studio session percussionist. Dorothy Blum is an accomplished percussionist

performing with bands in Florida as well as being an educator with the Association of Florida

Teaching Artists teaching drumming and watercolors. Tim, lead guitar; Maggie, violin; dan, bass

guitar, and the rockin’ Tom Fetterman and Bonnie MacSaveny, vocals. Dan Kruger the bassist and vocals is from north New Jersey who performed rock, blues, country, R&B bands throughout the seventies and

eighties for many years fits in perfectly. Maggie who used to work in the banking industry

provides the magic of her violin skills with flowing bridges between verses and sweet elegance

woven into their songs, along with magnificent solos that wowed the crowd. Tim Mukherjee who performs spectacularly on guitar has a PHD in music from Harvard University. Tom and Bonnie who share most of the vocals both have an extensive background on and off Broadway performing. The Union Grove Distillery audience members enjoyed fabulous covers from the likes of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’, the Barrett Strong classic ‘Money (That’s All I Want)’, Jethro Tull’s ‘Locomotive Breath’ with a rippin’ violin, and Bonnie’s incredible singing with Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Somebody to Love’ just to name a few from this amazing evening of timeless classics performed so magnificently.

Sue Pastor shares a bit more about the chemistry of the group, “Our bonded friendship among

everyone is further solidified after every practice when they bring it inside to dinner or lunch or

after-practice snacks which gives everyone an opportunity to meet-and-confer about the music,

the strengths/weaknesses, and friendly chatter about practically everything, not always

exclusively music.  This is one of the best parts of our relationship because we learn and laugh

and have great moments together.  Often not only the band is at this table, but other friends/fans

join the party as well. We all agree we are a lucky group who found not only a

beautiful place to live but to enjoy an amazing circle of friends, which gets bigger and bigger

when music fans join up at gigs and at our after-practice ‘table talk’. This community is full of

great folks!” 

The group may be taking a break from performing until next spring, but it will be

worth the wait to catch this spectacular group in 2025, keeping an eye out with the Mountain

Eagle for their return.