Sung Locally - The Belle of Schoharie

SCHOHARIE — "The Belle of Schoharie" is an instrumental track on Tom Akstens and Neil Rossi's 2008 album Scoundrels, Trains, and Tragic Romance. The album consists of the duo's renditions of classic tunes, such as Hank Williams's "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow" and William Batchelder Bradbury's "Angel Band," made famous by the Stanley Brothers. Most of the songs on the album may be familiar to the ear and derive from the deep well of traditional American music. Fans of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman's folk albums may appreciate the guitar/mandolin pairing here, as Akstens and Rossi mine similar material. Scoundrels is the duo's follow-up to 2005's All Around the Mountain. Some may recall that traditional music and bluegrass were in the midst of a revival around the time of these recordings. Along with the Garcia and Grisman albums, Joel and Ethan Coen's O Brother, Where Art Thou? and its accompanying soundtrack had elevated the music into popular culture in ways it had not been before. But Akstens and Rossi were not newcomers cynically capitalizing on a folk revival. Both have careers that date back decades. After learning bluegrass banjo, guitar, mandolin, and fiddle, Rossi founded The Spark Gap Wonder Boys in the late 1960s and had a stint with The David Bromberg Band in the 1970s. He continues to write, record, and teach.

"Neil is one of the all-time great, and I mean great with a capital G, musicians," says Akstens, who has since changed her name to Connely, of her collaborator. Akstens emerged from the active folk scene of the 1960s in Cambridge and recalls a young woman whose name she never got, teaching her how to play "Shady Grove" on the banjo. The woman disappeared from Connely's life, but Askten's musical journey continues to this day, recently playing her first show since before Covid. "I was delighted." Akstens performed throughout the Northeast for years with Big Trout Radio, a popular trio that included guitarist Artie Traum in addition to the work with Neil Rossi. So, how was it that Schoharie inspired the talented musician? "Artie Traum and I used to take these little road trips to Shaul's and Barber's and antique shops," explains Akstens, who lived in Woodstock then. "I just enjoyed the area." As it happened, Akstens' future spouse, Susanne Murtha, lived with her family in Livingstonville. "The song is just the kind of thing where you're sitting on a porch on a Sunday afternoon or a Tuesday afternoon, noodling around," says Akstens of "The Belle of Schoharie." "I had been thinking about Susanne while I was writing the tune," says Connely. "It was serendipitous when she walked into the room." It was from there that the "old-time sounding tune" emerged, eventually making its way to the 2008 album with Rossi as well as Connely Akstens' 2016 solo album Flow.

Akstens, an educator for years at Siena College and SUNY Empire State University, published a memoir in 2022, Without Shame: Learning to Be Me, looking back at her many lives and memories as a musician, student, professor, and her experience with coming out as transgender. She has since completed a second book, yet to be published: Plant It, Grow It, Cook It: Getting the Most Out of Your Kitchen Garden. "The Belle of Schoharie" is available across most music streaming platforms. For more about Connely Akstens, visit www.connellyakstens.com.