Eighth Step

Tret Fure Coming on Oct 24! Email from The Eighth Step Saturday, October 24- 7:30 PM The Addy TRET FURE One of the most prolific artists in the contemporary singer-songwriter arena, Fure began touring at 19 (in the early ‘70s),

Don’t miss TRET FURE live on Oct 24! Experience her iconic sound!
https://conta.cc/474S74s

Tret Fure Coming on Oct 24! Email from The Eighth Step Saturday, October 24- 7:30 PM The Addy TRET FURE One of the most prolific artists in the contemporary singer-songwriter arena, Fure began touring at 19 (in the early ‘70s),

Hey everyone!

Tuesday night is Open Mic at Proctors. Hope to see you all there. We think it's in Robb Alley -- first floor, but we'll send you an update tomorrow to confirm the location. It'll either be in Robb Alley, or on second floor in Guild Room.

Either way we'll have a good time.

See you soon!

Robert and Kate

Mark Your Calendars-- Upcoming Events! Email from The Eighth Step Eighth Step Members Help Bring Our Programs to You! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! CLICK HERE- SEE OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR UPDATES COMING IN OCTOBER (see below) - MADE POSSIBLE BY EIGHT

Exciting October events are coming up at the 8th Step! Join us!
https://conta.cc/4iROjdU

Mark Your Calendars-- Upcoming Events! Email from The Eighth Step Eighth Step Members Help Bring Our Programs to You! MARK YOUR CALENDARS! CLICK HERE- SEE OUR EVENTS PAGE FOR UPDATES COMING IN OCTOBER (see below) - MADE POSSIBLE BY EIGHT

A new season! Mark your calendars!

"Down By The Riverside"
Saturday, Sept 27, 7PM at the Addy, Proctors

https://secure.proctorscollaborative.org/8stepdownbyriver/34753

“If there’s hope for the human race, there’s hope for the Hudson” PETE SEEGER, Summer ‘69

The Eighth Step, founded in 1967, has long been an Upstate ‘cousin’ of Clearwater, presenting concerts celebrating the boat and collaborating on concerts, festivals and other events, and supporting its environmental message – and often its musicians - whenever possible.

In the summer of 1969, legendary folk singer Pete Seeger launched the Clearwater, a 19th-century-style sloop with a singing crew of musicians and activists. His intention was to raise awareness of pollution in the Hudson River and to petition legislation that addressed the then-burgeoning climate crisis. Over 50 years later, the Clearwater remains an interactive environmental classroom—or, in its builder’s words, “a carnival, museum, and showboat all wrapped into one.” Featuring rare interviews with Seeger himself, Down by the Riverside is a beautiful, stirring tribute to the communities of people who continue to restore and preserve this elegant symbol of the Hudson Valley. As a local story of local heroism, this documentary is an inspiring reminder of all that can be accomplished when ordinary people work on behalf of their history and environment.

The tale of the Clearwater is a parable for our time, offering hope for a fractured nation and revealing how participatory imagination can solve environmental problems and transform how we relate not only to the earth but also to one another.

Down by the Riverside has toured the U.S. from NYC to Atlanta to San Francisco and beyond.

JODIE CHILDERS is a documentary filmmaker and writer based in NYC and in Charlottesville, VA where she is an assistant professor at the University of Virginia. Producer of The Other Parade, she directed and shot Down by the Riverside, which premiered at Woodstock Film Festival in 2023 and hit art theaters this summer. Her writing has been featured in American Quarterly, the Journal of Transnational American Studies, Comparative American Studies, The Conversation, Jacobin, Transatlantica, The Pittsburgh Review of Books, Boulevard, and The Hopkins Review, among others. She holds a Ph.D in American Studies from University of Massachusetts Amherst and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Brooklyn College.

DAN MESSINA is a showrunner, director, and editor with 20 years of experience in nonfiction film and television. He directed the documentary feature Down by the Riverside, which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival, and He is currently the showrunner for the hit series The Real Murders of Atlanta on Oxygen. In addition, he executive produced Women on Death Row for A&E, and has served as showrunner, producer and editor for shows on Discovery+, National Geographic, Investigation, Discovery and OWN, among others.

KEW TEN FILMS: Born in Rust. Forged in Queens. Founded by Childers and Messina, two filmmakers born in the Rust Belt, Kew Ten is a Queens, NY-based production company that specializes in nonfiction film. Childers & Messina find unconventional and idiosyncratic stories and tell them with nuance, empathy and depth. Like the Q10 bus that links Queens to the World, Kew Ten is especially interested in powerful local stories with global ramifications.

Film Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-MPCOdV_jU&t=87s

Indie Film on Sat 9/26: Down by the Riverside
Addy at Proctors

They built a boat and launched a movement

A beautiful, stirring tribute to the communities of people who continue restoring and preserving this elegant symbol of the Hudson Valley

“A carnival, a museum, a showboat, all rolled into one” - Harvey Gamage, Clearwater builder

The Eighth Step launches its 2026-27 season with the Capital Region premier of indie film Down by the Riverside (84 min.), the story of Pete Seeger and Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, life-sized replica of 18th-19th century sloops that dotted the Hudson River, ferrying passengers and cargo from Upstate ports to NYC, at 7 pm on Saturday, September 26, 8th Step at Proctors (Addy Theatre). The film includes rare footage of Pete Seeger and the Clearwater community.

Immediately after the film and a short break, the audience is invited to join directors Jodie Childers and Dan Messina who answer questions on the making of this film; while former Clearwater Capt. Rick Nestler who tells of the boat, of Pete & Toshi Seeger, the singing boat crews and Clearwater’s Great Hudson River Revival – for decades the world’s first and largest environmental music festival, held in Croton Point, NY on the Hudson River.

“If there’s hope for the human race, there’s hope for the Hudson” PETE SEEGER, Summer ‘69

Tickets to "Down by the Riverside"
https://secure.proctorscollaborative.org/8stepdownbyriver/34753

Down by the Riverside Trailer "If there's hope for the human race, there's hope for the Hudson."...

Just a reminder of our standing first Tuesday gathering for the 8th Step Open Mic! This is our season finale, so let's really show up for each other and bring out our very best.

It's been a terrific season. Let's send it out on a high note.

Best wishes!

Kate & Robert Carreau