Concert series to return
with Oshima Brothers

By GREG KLEIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

The last time the Oshima Brothers were in Cooperstown, they played as the opening act for Caitlin Canty at the Otesaga Resort Hotel and it was a show they said they will never forget.

“It was a beautiful place,” Sean Oshima said during a phone interview the brothers did with Iron String Press on Friday, May 14. “I remember the magnificence of that place.

“I remember the last time we played the show in Cooperstown, we were the opening act, so we played a shorter set before the set from the main artist,” he continued. “They crowd was so great, we ended up playing an encore, which doesn’t usually happen when you are the opening act. It was special.”

Sean and his brother, Jamie, will return to Cooperstown and the Cooperstown Concert Series for a return performance.The show will take place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 22, in The Otesaga’s ballroom.

It will not only be the first concert series show in more than a year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it will also be the brothers’ first show “back on the road.”

“We’re so excited to be back,” Sean said. “We have played a few shows in Maine, but this is the beginning of us getting back to touring.”

The hiatus has been productive for the brothers, but also hard. As the Canty show showed, they felt they had been making great progress reaching new fans and promoting their music. But like everyone during the pandemic, they found new challenges to working.

“We’ve gotten through with some luck and a lot of hard work,” Jamie said.

“We’re excited for the concert and to be able to see people’s faces again,” Sean said. “We want to show people what we have been working on, new songs, new arraignments and a lot of exciting things for us.”

Sean, 27, and Jamie, 23, grew up in a musical family in a rural town on the coast of Maine. They migrated to Portland, where they said there is a growing music and arts scene.

Their influences come from the music their parents listened to, they said, and it shaped their brand of music, which they call “contemporary folk and acoustic pop.”

“Our parents loved to play music and loved to listen to music,” Sean said.

“I know I learned to play the drums to Beatles records, thanks to our parents,” Jamie said. “There was definitely a love of harmony and a lot of music with drums, guitar and piano.”

The brothers said they are big baseball fans, but did not get to see the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum the last time they were in the village.

“Maybe we can go this time. That would be fun,” Sean said.

Growing up in Maine, where Boston is the biggest city in the region, the boys are avid Red Sox fans, they said.

“We’re big baseball fans,” Sean said. “We root for a team that it might not be popular to root for there.”

Because of the pandemic rules, there are only 140 tickets available to the show and mask-wearing and social distancing is required.

Tickets are $15 and may only be purchased at www.cooperstownconcertseries.org.

Concert series officials said because of the limited number of seats, it is unlikely there will be tickets available the day of the show or at the door.