Gregg Cagno
Encyclopedia
Gregg Cagno is an American songwriter and touring performer in the singer/songwriter and folk
genres. www.greggcagno.com
, and now lives in New Hope, Pennsylvania
. He is a 2006 ASCAP award winner in the folk category, and was a finalist in the Kerrville Folk Festival
's prestigious New Folk competition. Gregg has performed throughout North America in venues including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
' Millenium Stage, Godfrey Daniels, Club Passim
, Eddie's Attic
, and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
. He currently records for Black Potatoe Records.
Mostly appearing solo, or as a duo with his wife Maggie, Cagno is sometimes accompanied by Bill Levinson on keys, percussionist Dave Anthony
, or Jimmy Heffernan
on Dobro. In addition to performing, Gregg teaches songwriting and guitar workshops for the NJ State Teen Arts Festival and Young Composers festival.
Gregg's song "In Her Own Eyes" (co-written with Robert Meitus
) is in the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings archives with the FAST FOLK catalog. The title track of his first CD "Backroad Driver" was featured on NPR
's Car Talk
. His tune "Just the 3 of Us" was an award winner at the 2002 South Florida Folk Festival
.
Cagno learned his craft, and perfected his smooth baritone voice, as a teenager playing and volunteering at the Godfrey Daniels stage in Bethlehem, PA. He began playing out regularly while a student at Rutgers University
, and became a core of New Jersey's flourishing acoustic scene in the early 1990s (loosely centered around musician Spook Handy's weekly open mikes at New Brunswick
's Corner Tavern). It was during this time that he met and began occasionally performing with Linda Sharar
. After college, Cagno moved to Hoboken
, New Jersey and quickly established himself as a leading figure in what was then one of the most important alt music scenes in America.
In 1995, Cagno teamed up with Sharar and Christian Bauman
(Cagno and Bauman attended North Hunterdon High School
together) and the bands The Marys, Big Happy Crowd and The Amazing Incredibles to create the musical collective Camp Hoboken. The name Camp Hoboken came from Cagno's regular camping spot at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. The artists collaborated on songs and performances until 1999, and released two recordings. Sharar, Cagno, and Bauman often toured under the Camp Hoboken name, frequently with the late Rachel Bissex
. In interviews with National Public Radio and on Vin Scelsa
's Idiot's Delight
, Bauman said that the Camp Hoboken era was the basis for his third novel "In Hoboken" (2008) and that the character of James was loosely based on Gregg Cagno.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
genres. www.greggcagno.com
Career
Born in 1969, Gregg grew up in Clinton, New JerseyClinton, New Jersey
Clinton is a Town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on the South Branch of the Raritan River. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 2,719....
, and now lives in New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, formerly known as Coryell's Ferry, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 2,528 at the 2010 census. The borough lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. A two-lane bridge carries automobile and foot traffic across the...
. He is a 2006 ASCAP award winner in the folk category, and was a finalist in the Kerrville Folk Festival
Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
's prestigious New Folk competition. Gregg has performed throughout North America in venues including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
' Millenium Stage, Godfrey Daniels, Club Passim
Club Passim
Club Passim is a folk music club in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was opened by Joyce Kalina and Paula Kelley in 1958, when it was known as Club 47 , and changed its name to simply Passim in 1969...
, Eddie's Attic
Eddie's Attic
Eddie's Attic is a music club in Decatur, Georgia. Founded in 1992 by Eddie Owen, it is a venue for both local musical talent and musicians of some acclaim who often got their start in the Atlanta area. Artists who developed their fanbase at Eddie's Attic include Shawn Mullins, Sugarland, Indigo...
, and Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival formerly held at the Long Hill Farm in Hillsdale, New York, USA. In 2006, the event moved to nearby Dodds Farm, just off Rt. 22, five miles north of the Rt. 22/Rt. 23 intersection in Hillsdale, on...
. He currently records for Black Potatoe Records.
Mostly appearing solo, or as a duo with his wife Maggie, Cagno is sometimes accompanied by Bill Levinson on keys, percussionist Dave Anthony
Dave Anthony
Dave Anthony is an American stand-up comedian, writer, actor and podcaster. Anthony has lived in San Francisco, New York City, and currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Heather, and their son, Finn...
, or Jimmy Heffernan
Jimmy Heffernan
Jimmy Heffernan was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Glenmore and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1945 until 1953...
on Dobro. In addition to performing, Gregg teaches songwriting and guitar workshops for the NJ State Teen Arts Festival and Young Composers festival.
Gregg's song "In Her Own Eyes" (co-written with Robert Meitus
Robert Meitus
Robert S. Meitus is an American guitarist, singer, and lawyer.He played in West Lafayette, IN and Los Angeles, CA with the alternative rock band East of Eden in the mid-eighties and later in 1990, formed folk rock group The Dorkestra in New York City, which recorded three albums, 100 Flowers,...
) is in the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings archives with the FAST FOLK catalog. The title track of his first CD "Backroad Driver" was featured on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Car Talk
Car Talk
Car Talk is a radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States and elsewhere. Its subjects are automobiles and repair, and it often takes humorous turns...
. His tune "Just the 3 of Us" was an award winner at the 2002 South Florida Folk Festival
South Florida Folk Festival
South Florida Folk Festival is an annual music and arts festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States sponsored by the Broward Folk Club.-External links:*...
.
Cagno learned his craft, and perfected his smooth baritone voice, as a teenager playing and volunteering at the Godfrey Daniels stage in Bethlehem, PA. He began playing out regularly while a student at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, and became a core of New Jersey's flourishing acoustic scene in the early 1990s (loosely centered around musician Spook Handy's weekly open mikes at New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
's Corner Tavern). It was during this time that he met and began occasionally performing with Linda Sharar
Linda Sharar
Linda Sharar is an American folk singer/songwriter. She began singing, playing guitar, and writing songs as a teenager, inspired by James Taylor and Neil Young. While attending college at the University of Virginia and playing soccer for the school, she performed at open mikes in Charlottesville,...
. After college, Cagno moved to Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, New Jersey and quickly established himself as a leading figure in what was then one of the most important alt music scenes in America.
In 1995, Cagno teamed up with Sharar and Christian Bauman
Christian Bauman
Christian Bauman is an American novelist, essayist, and lyricist. A former soldier, Bauman is arguably best known for his critically acclaimed 2002 debut novel The Ice Beneath You, about the return of a young American soldier from Somalia...
(Cagno and Bauman attended North Hunterdon High School
North Hunterdon High School
North Hunterdon High School is a four-year public high school located in Clinton Township, New Jersey, serving students from six municipalities in northern Hunterdon County as one of two high schools in the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District...
together) and the bands The Marys, Big Happy Crowd and The Amazing Incredibles to create the musical collective Camp Hoboken. The name Camp Hoboken came from Cagno's regular camping spot at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. The artists collaborated on songs and performances until 1999, and released two recordings. Sharar, Cagno, and Bauman often toured under the Camp Hoboken name, frequently with the late Rachel Bissex
Rachel Bissex
Rachel Bissex was an award-winning American folk singer/songwriter...
. In interviews with National Public Radio and on Vin Scelsa
Vin Scelsa
Vincent Anthony Scelsa, better known as "Vin," was born on December 12, 1947 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He is the host of a freeform radio show known as Idiot's Delight....
's Idiot's Delight
Idiot's Delight
Idiot's Delight is a 1939 MGM comedy film, with a screenplay adapted from the 1936 Robert E. Sherwood play of the same name, by Sherwood himself. The movie stars Norma Shearer and Clark Gable. It is notable as the only film where Gable sings and dances, performing a version of the Irving Berlin...
, Bauman said that the Camp Hoboken era was the basis for his third novel "In Hoboken" (2008) and that the character of James was loosely based on Gregg Cagno.
Discography
- Backroad Driver (1994)
- Tales From Sixth & Clinton (1997)
- Present Moment Days (2000)
- Simple Gifts (2002)
- Worth The Wait (2012)