Ryan Matter Band To Headline Saturday’s Summer Harvest Fest

MORRIS—Butternut Valley Alliance has announced that the Ryan Matter Band, a Texas blues power trio now based in the Utica area, will headline the lineup of performers and other attractions at this year’s Butternut Valley Summer Harvest Festival. The festival will be held on Saturday, August 17 from noon to 6 p.m. in Rathbun Park, 117 Main Street, Morris.

According to a media release, lead singer/songwriter Ryan Matter got his start while working at a live Texas music venue, where he met artists on the Red Dirt Music Scene who, on seeing the fire in his eye and hearing his unique sound, encouraged him to release his music. Matter’s sound is a fusion of the music that cultivated him as an artist, including Social Distortion, The Ramones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Cross Canadian Ragweed.

The full schedule of Summer Harvest Festival performances is: Khalil Carney, noon to 1 p.m.; Elysian Blue, 1:15-2:45 p.m.; Otsego School of Dance and Performing Arts, 3-3:15 p.m.; the Ryan Matter Band, 3:30-5 p.m.; and Local Seisiún, 5:05-6 p.m.

Other attractions include the Morris Farmer’s Market, free food and ice cream, numerous exhibitors and arts and crafts vendors, goats for petting, antique tractors, door prizes, face painting, rock painting, raffles, and more, officials said.

Food options include Philippines-style lamb stew by The Empire House Hotel & Fine Dining in Gilbertsville, burgers and “dogs” by Gates-Cole Insurance Agency in Morris, ice cream by Get The Scoop in Morris, and cider sampling by Uncommon Kind Cidery in New Berlin.

This year marks the 14th edition of the festival, which began in 2009 and has been run every year since then, with the exception of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and 2021, due to flooding. First-time Event Manager Gabi Eklund—whose father, Bob Eklund, was instrumental in the founding of the BVA and the Summer Harvest Festival—said, “I am really excited to be a part of this event. I predict it will be the best ever!”

BVA Chairperson Ed Lentz agreed and added, “We’re very happy to be putting on this event again. It’s a good time, with plenty of attractions for kids as well as young and not-so-young adults, and a good chance to meet with friends, old and new, from throughout the watershed and beyond.”

Limited parking is available in the firehouse parking lot, where an area for persons requiring assistance will be provided. Other parking is available behind Naylor’s on Main Street, with on-street parking on Main and Church streets, Lentz said.

BVA is a 501c3 charitable community organization, the mission of which is to encourage the Butternut Creek watershed to become an even better place to live, work and play. BVA activities connect communities, protect the environment and promote the arts.

For more information, contact Event Manager Gabi Eklund at gabbimusic1@gmail.com or (607) 201-9772 or BVA Chairperson Ed Lentz at edlentz@mac.com or (607) 435-8566.