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Jason Ringenberg will perform at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts in Greenfield on Sept. 23.
Scott Willis | Submitted photo
GREENFIELD – A founding father of Americana music and an artist who’s been playing the genre since before it became a term are coming to perform in the city’s downtown.
Jason Ringenberg and Kevin Stonerock are co-billing the concert at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St., Greenfield. Tickets are $15.
After leaving home in Illinois and arriving in Nashville in the 1980s, Ringenberg formed Jason & the Scorchers, which performed a mix of rock, punk and country. They went on to play festivals, open for The Ramones and be featured on MTV. After going solo, Ringenberg developed Farmer Jason, a children’s musical character that eventually landed a public television show garnering four Emmy nominations and one win. He has released about two dozen albums and DVDs during his time with the Scorchers, as Farmer Jason and solo.
Kevin Stonerock is a musician based in Henry County, Indiana.
“I kind of feel like I was Americana before it was a term,” he said.
He chuckled as he recalled his days pitching record labels in the 1970s. Stonerock would go from one who said he was too country, to another who told him he was too rock ‘n’ roll, then a next who labeled him as too folk.
“They didn’t really know what to do with it,” Stonerock said. “And so I just started not worrying about it, just do what I like.”
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Stonerock last played the Ricks in 2017 and has been wanting to return ever since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the release show he planned for an album he finished in 2020.
He first met Ringenberg at the 2015 Indiana State Fair, where they were performing near one another.
“We stayed in touch ever since,” Ringenberg said.
Ringenberg was playing his Farmer Jason character and Stonerock was performing one of his living history programs, another one of his artistic pursuits.
“I got acquainted with him, and he’s a super nice guy,” Stonerock said. “I really liked him and became familiar with his music, and I liked that as well.”
The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel recently asked Stonerock to put on one of his history programs for a group of children. Thinking that particular audience would be a bit too young for his program, he thought of Farmer Jason and referred Ringenberg. That show is the day after the one Stonerock was planning at the Ricks, so he asked Ringenberg if he’d like to play too, and his friend was happy to accept.
Ringenberg is looking forward to performing in Greenfield for the first time.
“It’s going to be a good night of music,” he said. “Kevin’s going to do a full set, and so will I, so folks are going to get their money’s worth there.”
Stonerock agreed.
“We’ll probably play for about an hour apiece,” he said. “We both do pretty much all original music. I’ve got quite a lot to choose from, and so does Jason; he’s had a long career, he’s been pretty successful. It’ll just be a good time for all I think. I know Jason has some fans in Indianapolis, and I’ve got a pretty good following around here, so the hope is I can get some new fans and Jason can get some new fans. If that happens, it’ll be successful.”
It’ll be good to be back at the Ricks, too, he said.
“It’s a good listening space; people come there to hear music,” Stonerock said before adding with a chuckle, “They don’t have a liquor license, so that’s not why people come. And it’s got good acoustics and a nice big stage.”
The venue is nostalgic for him as well.
“I remember seeing movies in that theater as a kid,” he said. “I like the fact that communities are re-purposing these old theaters and not just letting them go by the wayside.”