Up a dirt driveway in Trumansburg, New York, amongst a patchwork of grass and snow, I could see a red barn perched welcomingly against the sunset-streaked horizon. Bohemian sun and moon decals ornamented the outside walls, and a row of solar panels lined the roof. Through the top window, illuminated by the glow of lights strung between the battens, the outline of a crowd was visible: Friends, family and townspeople gathering to enjoy an evening of Americana tunes.
I arrived at Sunwood Recording Studio on Saturday evening with only a vague idea of what I was getting into. Especially given the recent closure of The Downstairs Ithaca, a beloved venue for small local artists, I was intrigued by the emergence of a new intimate performance space in town. Two local acts were on the nightly lineup: Louiston and Jenny Stockdale & the Wax Matches. As soon as the picturesque barn came into view, I knew I was in for a very unique and wholesome experience. After climbing the steep stairs to enter the loft space, I was greeted by knicknacks studding the windowsills and guitars mounted along the walls. A hodgepodge of folding chairs, ottomans and couches in the center of the loft made up the ‘house.’ To my left, near a rickety ladder leading to an attic storage area, a door stood open to reveal a studio with an impressive display of recording equipment. The far section of the barn served as the stage, where Louiston was tuning their instruments and chatting merrily with audience members.
Led by Lou DePietro on acoustic guitar and vocals, Louiston is a local act made up of performers from the Ithaca and Trumansburg area. The band describes their sound as "folk n' roll,” citing Neko Case and Sam Cooke as some of their influences. A performance from Louiston promises crisp acoustic guitar motifs, a satisfying groove laid down by drummer Chris Ploss and bassist Joey Arcuri and the melodic piano riffs and vocal harmonies of Colleen Countryman. Every number in their set was introduced by DePietro with an origin story, making the performance feel like a conversation between the audience and the musicians. I was delighted to discover the down-to-Earth demeanor of the band extended beyond the stage. While checking out the Louiston t-shirts and stickers, I struck up a lovely conversation with Countryman about the performance and their connection to Sunwood. I learned that the band recorded their most recent record there, but this was their first time performing in the makeshift venue. I met DePietro not by approaching him, but because he shook my hand and thanked me for coming to the show! I told him I loved the intimate nature of his performance, and he expressed that the Ithaca music scene craves “third spaces” — where the goal is community and conversation and art can be shared in a casual way. When I asked him about the origins of Sunwood, he pointed me in the direction of their drummer Chris Ploss, the owner and chief audio engineer of the studio.
Ploss grew up playing music in his family’s old barn loft, taking advantage of the crisp acoustics created by the open space. It was after his parents renovated the space to add the rooftop solar panels that he realized his old music haven had the potential to be something more. Sunwood Recording began as a side hustle, but now recording songs and albums for local artists is Ploss’ full-time job. As a fellow townie, I told Ploss I was interested in knowing whether he thought of Sunwood as a potential new venue to replace long-gone town favorites like The Downstairs and The Haunt. “It’s a recording studio first and foremost,” he said, “but I like to think of this as a house show or house party kind of situation.” He compared shows he’s done in Ithaca to a gig he played recently in Buffalo: “I’m so used to playing for an hour, or two hours, around here … it was a totally different mindset.” After three quick sets from three different groups, he told me that everyone took advantage of the record store/bar venue to keep hanging out. “It was more of an evening; less music, but more community … that's something I’d like to see in Ithaca,” he said. Ploss opened Sunwood’s doors to the community to curate a personal connection between passionate musicians and those who enjoy their music, a unique experience when compared to larger venues like The State or The Hangar.
As someone who grew up surrounded by the Ithaca music community, my personal connection to this performance runs deep. I heard about the Sunwood show from Jess Caporizzo, a member of Jenny Stockdale & the Wax Matches, whom I’ve known since our piano lessons in middle and high school. The band, led by Jenny Stockdale, consists of Caporizzo, her husband Mike Caporizzo, Justin Roeland and Cass Barbour. From the first note, the uniqueness of both the musicians and the loft space rang true. The vocal harmonies were clear and resonant with very minimal amplification, and I could hear every plucked guitar string and the deep vibration of the double bass. Halfway through their set, the lights were dimmed so that only the string of bulbs between the rafters provided illumination. Seeing my mentor and friend share her original music made the performance that much more special. Sunwood Recordings emulated the kind of warm, cozy atmosphere that you expect to find in a small town hole-in-the-wall where you’re bound to see a familiar face, and even people you just met feel like longtime friends after one conversation. It reminded me of how lucky I feel to still be a part of the Ithaca community and have a chance to watch it grow and change. I am an advocate for the third space as a way for Ithacans to come together creatively, and I hope that the nature of these performances encourages Cornell students to get off campus and experience the music that unites us as one town.
Maya Blanchard is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a staff writer for the Arts & Culture department and can be reached at mblanchard@cornellsun.com.
