Who’s getting excited for Grassroots this year? Bring your dancing shoes and get ready with us for Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance season with a pre-party at South Hill Cider!

Tenzin and Emmett with Rye Makepeace will be playing on the stage from 5:30-8:30pm

Cover at the door $10

Tenzin Chopak is a singer songwriter and artist based in Ithaca, NY.  Chopak grew up in Oak Ridge, TN where he was steeped in music through is father’s church and supported by his family to pursue his love of art and songwriting.  In 1999 after some years of study, he traveled to McLeod Ganj, India to continue his interest in Tibetan Buddhist practice and language.  There he received the name Tenzin Chopak upon ordination as a monastic.  After some years living at a mediation retreat center in upstate NY, he returned to lay life and continued to be known by his Buddhist name.  In 2011 Tenzin re-entered the world of professional music and subsequently recorded six studio albums: three under his ensemble name Rockwood Ferry, and three under his own name.  Chopak has performed in a wide variety of guises, in acoustic ensembles, solo, in experimental electronic music settings, and also as a composer of commissioned soundtracks for environmental conservation films for various national Parks such as Lake Clark in Alaska and Big South Fork in Tennessee.  

Currently, he most often performs either solo or with pianist Emmett Scott.  Chopak’s original music has been described by No Depression as a “singular sound” and by audiences and critics alike as “mesmerizing” and “stunningly beautiful”.

Emmet Scott

Pianist Emmett Scott teaches private students out of Ithaca, NY and works with musical theatre students at SUNY Cortland. In the past he has toured with renowned bands such as Big Mean Sound Machine and Dreamt, while continuing to perform with Swamp Kids and New Planets.

Rye Makepeace

Influenced by music from across the country, Rye Makepeace performs a "rhythmic americana" version of his collection of original songs.  With Rock at the core, you will hear undertones of Cajun, Blues, Bluegrass, and Country.