Residents of Le Roy and beyond are invited to “Jam at the Ridge” as the summer concert series continues on June 24.

The Jam at the Ridge Campground, located on Conlon Road, features a natural amphitheater set against a former ski hill. Following the Jam at the Ridge series’ Memorial Day opening, Owner David Luetticke-Archbell expressed his gratitude for the efforts of his team.

“Our business is a family business, so everybody helps everybody,” said Luetticke-Archbell in an interview with The Batavian. “If you can’t bring your two-year-old and their grandparents to our concerts, then we’ve done something wrong.”

The series, centered on country and rock music, features upcoming performances from a range of local and traveling artists. Performers of the group Them Dirty Roses, a Southern American rock band, will play a set of original songs on July 15. Their music exceeds a combined 21 million streams on Spotify’s music streaming platform for their 2017 eponymous EP.

In an interview with The Batavian, guitarist Andrew Davis introduced his bandmates. 

“We’re a four-piece; along with my guitar, James Ford is the lead singer, Ben Crain is the bass player, and Frank Ford is the drummer,” said Davis. “We are all from a small town in Alabama called Gadsden.”

Them Dirty Roses will open for The Steel Woods, an American Country Rock band. Davis expressed his admiration for the Nashville-based performers pending the Le Roy performance. 

“We love the Steelwoods, we’re all good friends,” said Davis. “We’ve played together multiple times in the past— it’s always a good time when we get together.” 

Further, Davis commented on his expectations for Them Dirty Roses’ performance at the July show.

“It’s always a high-energy rock & roll show— if you’re not on your feet at the beginning, you will be by the end of it,” Davis said. “It’s all about a good time for everybody, so we think that it’s definitely going to be a party.”

Following Them Dirty Roses’ performance with The Steel Woods, vocalists and instrumentalists of the band The Georgia Thunderbolts will perform at The Ridge on July 16. Featured in Rolling Stone Magazine’s Country Music Picks, The Georgia Thunderbolts exceed a combined one million streams for their releases on Spotify. Lead singer TJ Lyle introduced his six-member band, featuring drummer Bristol Perry, lead guitarist Riley Couzzourt, rhythm guitarist Logan Tolbert, and bass guitarist Zach Everett.

“Logan and I grew up together, and the bass player Zach was actually Logan’s neighbor,” said Lyle. “Riley and Bristol knew each other from high school.”

As for Le Roy’s performance, Lyle reflected on his experiences throughout the region. 

“We’re starting to pick up a following on the East Coast; we’ve been very well received,” said Lyle. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to come back up there. It’s where we have some of our best crowds.”

Tickets for the Jam at the Ridge concerts are available for purchase on the campground website at: https://www.jatrny.com/home. Tickets may also be purchased over the phone by calling the camp store at (585) 768-4883 or visiting The Ridge in person at 8101 Conlon Rd.

The series will resume on June 24 with a performance by Jason Michael Carroll, a country musician from Houston, Texas. 

Photo: The Georgia Thunderbolts live, courtesy of Rory Linton, 2022. Pictured left to right: drummer Bristol Perry, lead guitarist Riley Couzourtt, lead singer TJ Lyle, rhythm guitarist Logan Tolbert, and bass guitarist Zach Everett. 

Last March, some of the regular campers at Jam at the Ridge Campground in Le Roy started talking about BBQ and smoking meat and thought they should have a friendly competition.

So they did.

And they turned it into a fundraiser for Golisano Children's Hospital.

It turns out that all of the cooks participating had children or grandchildren who had been treated at the pediatric hospital in Rochester.

They raised $750.

The cooks and campers brought their best recipes for brisket, pork, turkey, and chicken.

"And everybody came in for a fellowship," said Tim Hogle, one of the organizers.

The only prize was bragging rights and those went to Doug McDaniel (first), Tim McManus (second), and "Will the Barbequer" (third).

Photo: Shelia Kingston presents a mock check to Betsy Findlay, a senior director at Golisano.  Tim McManus holds a poster of the children and grandchild of the cooks who were treated at Golisano. Photo by Howard Owens.

Harold Gage has been drawing sap from maple trees and turning it into sweet syrup for 15 years at The Ridge NY (formerly Frost Ridge) but its been a long time since his syrup has been a featured menu item at the campground's restaurant. 

That changes this Saturday and Sunday with the first of two Maple Syrup Weekends at The Ridge.

The restaurant, not normally open for breakfast on Saturdays, serves pancakes smothered in Gage's syrup produced from trees right on the campground's property and transformed in a maple shack Gage built himself for more than a decade ago.

Gage learned to make maple syrup from the previous owner of Frost Ridge, who hosted Pancake Sundays, and eventually took over the entire operation.  He now gets help from his son.

Asked what he liked about making syrup he laughed and said, "Well, it's a lot of work."

Breakfast will be served from 9 a.m. to noon this weekend and during the same hours on April 9 and 10.

Patti Unvericht, the new events coordinator at The Ridge, said next year she plans to expand the number of weekends and perhaps even bring back tours of the maple-making operation.

The Ridge is located at 8101 Conlon Road, Le Roy.

Randy Houser, a long-time friend of Tracy Lawrence, is picking up this date as a favor from one artist to another.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, Lawrence is unable to keep this date, so his buddy Randy Houser is bringing his full crew to put on the show of the summer.

Jam At The Ridge is your Family Concert and Recreation destination, according to their guests and concert fans.   With plenty of space to distance and a kid-friendly environment (children 17 and under are free when accompanied by a paying responsible adult).

Tickets are available through the http://www.jatrny.com website, by calling their store directly 585-768-4883, or directly at: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4542083

The first big concert weekend of 2021 at The Ridge NY kicked off Friday with Rochester's country singer/songwriter Claudia Hoyser. The night was also a celebration of her birthday and the release of her new album, "Red Lights Turning Green."

This afternoon gates open at 4 o'clock at The Ridge for a concert headlined by Travis Tritt. Also performing are opening acts Julian Eliza Music & Sunshine James, and the Shaun Abbott Band. VIP tickets, with special seating and pre-event party, are sold out. General admission (bring your own chair) seating is still available.

The Ridge is located at 8101 Conlon Road, Le Roy.

The band Judah played at The Ridge NY on Thursday night. We recorded one of the songs as part of our series, "The Batavian Sessions."

Judah is: Anthony Blood (vocals/guitar), Brody Schenk (guitar), Joe Fornieri (bass), and Quintin Rich (drums). Rich is a resident of Bergen.