Roy Blumenfeld was born in the Bronx, grew up in Yonkers, and spent weekends as a teenager at his family’s home on Ohayo Mountain Road in Woodstock.
Now 82, Blumenfeld will return Friday, July 24, to perform at Bearsville Theater with The Blues Project, the band he co-founded more than six decades ago.
The show begins at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $27.15 to $45.15.
Blumenfeld, the only original member in the current lineup, will be joined by Ken Clark on keyboards, harmonica, accordion, and vocals; Mark Newman on guitar, mandolin, and vocals; and Tim Eschliman on bass and vocals. Guitarist and vocalist Guy Valic will fill in for David Aguilar.
Asked what the Bearsville audience can expect, Blumenfeld, who lives in Sonoma, Calif., said, “They can expect kind of a little time machine.”
The set will span the band’s history, from its mid-1960s work to songs performed by its current lineup.
The Blues Project rose to prominence in Greenwich Village in 1965, playing sold-out shows at Cafe Au Go Go alongside John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters, among other musicians. Its former members include Al Kooper, who played organ on Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”
During a telephone interview this week, Blumenfeld described the original band as “a trailblazing jamband with guardrails.”
“We would play actual songs that had a beginning, middle and an end,” Blumenfeld said. “However, the middle may have been really stretched out.”
Jazz was another influence, Blumenfeld said, and the band’s music was “pretty open-ended.”
That range defined its 1966 album, “Projections,” which moved among folk-rock, soul, rock ’n’ roll, blues, and jazz. The following year, The Blues Project performed at the Monterey International Pop Festival in California.
The band’s latest release, “Live 2025,” was recorded at two Northern California venues in spring 2025.
Blumenfeld said the Bearsville set will feature “the nuggets, certain songs that were iconic.”
Asked why listeners should take a chance on the current incarnation of The Blues Project, he said, “We’re carrying the torch. We’re eclectic and interesting. If somebody wants to take a chance, take a chance. It will be a worthwhile chance, I think.”
John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.
