Each month we ask a member of the community to tell us what music they’ve been digging.
Presenting all types of performing artists for a living, I spend a lot of my time streaming a wide variety of music for the sake of research, including artists like Kurt Elling, Father John Misty, Justin Furstenfeld, and Laurie Berkner (I have four kids), and I love getting to discover artists I didn’t know about previously, like the classical cross-over quartet I learned about only a few months ago, Sons of Serendip. I am digging their uniquely ethereal renditions of popular hits as well as their own originals. Nostalgia has been a major influence in my choices lately, and I’ve been playing the R.E.M., Barenaked Ladies, Mother Mother, and Weezer catalogs quite a bit. I also enjoy the mesmerizing melodies of artists like Ruth Moody, Imaginary Future with Kina Grannis, Nickel Creek, and the Little Stevies.
All in all, I tend to crave variety over any particular artist, album, or song, but my playlist selections always include a mix of classic rock, Americana folk, ’70s and ’80s pop, ’90s grunge/alt rock, and let’s not forget the Broadway show tunes. I’ve been on a big “Dear Evan Hansen” kick recently. In addition to actively listening to music, I like to sing and play the guitar. I enjoy playing songs by Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles, Ben Folds, and a few others, but I mostly like to compose my own songs and perform them for my dog, Apollo. He’s a bit of a critic, but at least he knows not to heckle me.
Bryan Zellmer is the new executive director of Bardavon Presents, which oversees the production and presentation of events at the Bardavon Theater in Poughkeepsie and the Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) in Kingston. Bardavon.org.
This article appears in January 2025.
