While Cortland often has musicians using random spaces as music venues, only during the summer do they perform at an ice cream stand.
So Good Ice Cream, at 13 S. West St. in Homer, is beginning its summer music series at 6 p.m. today with performances by Cherry Holler and Dirty Doves.
Logan Smith, lead singer and guitarist for Dirty Doves, said the band consists of five lifelong friends who love playing rock and country music together. They played the series two years ago.
“We love the atmosphere, interactions with the crowd, and being able to put a smile on peoples faces, and of course, the ice cream,” Smith said. “Having a show at So Good provides us with a fun atmosphere, a chance for us to support local businesses and have the ability to serve our community.”
The band Modafferi and musician Steve Romer will play July 25. Brian Modafferi, who sings, plays guitar and writes for Modafferi, says their music is a combination of punk, funk and soul.
“Our music has been described as raw yet refined,” Modafferi said. “I have also been told that we sound like the funky love child of Tom Petty and Elvis Costello, or The Replacements and Sly and the Family Stone put in a blender.”
He is excited to play at So Good for the first time because it’s an all-ages show, and he loved live music when he was young, he said.
“People should check it out because we play songs that most people haven’t heard before, and it’s very unique music,” Modafferi said. “I can honestly say that we have our own thing going and we don’t sound like anyone. When people see us perform, they don’t forget it.”
The music series is sponsored by the Center for the Arts of Homer. All four shows begin at 6 p.m.
Colleen Kattau will play Aug. 8 with another to-be-announced artist. Her songwriting and performances often have been inspired by current events and social issues. She’s inspired by the La Nueva Canción, or the New Song Movement in South America, which began in the late 1950s, and contested the political dictatorships that were in place at the time.
The Ithaca-based band Second Spring will play Aug. 22 with another unannounced musician. They have previously played at Cortland Beer Company, Bru 64, the Center for the Arts of Homer and Lime Hollow Nature Center.
“It never hurts to support a local business,” Smith said.
