Buddy and Holly: poetry and song at Troutbeck

On Saturday, March 28, Troutbeck in Amenia will host “An Acoustic Evening with Buddy Wakefield and Holly Miranda,” bringing together two artists who carefully employ language — to tell stories, to shape songs and to search for truth.

The two artists met last August at the memorial service for their dear friend, poet Andrea Gibson.

“We kept bumping into each other in those really funny, awkward, weird moments that can happen at a funeral,” said Miranda. “We knew we really liked each other and wanted to spend some more time together.”

That connection continued over the winter when Miranda enrolled in one of Wakefield’s online poetry courses.

“I just thought maybe I should do something totally out of my comfort zone to kick-start some creative flow,” she explained. The class introduced her to a structured prompt and feedback process which, in the end, sparked new material. “I’m not a poet,” said Miranda. “And I’m definitely not a student,” she continued, laughing, making reference to herself as a high school dropout. “So, this was a new process for me. And I really liked it.”

Born in Detroit, Miranda burst onto the Brooklyn music scene in the late ’90s and has since collaborated with a wide constellation of artists from Lou Reed to Karen O, Leslie Gore and Tegan and Sara. In 2021, she co-founded Eye Knee Records with Elissa Young and Ambrosia Parsley to support independent artists. She is currently part of a team developing a 250-capacity music venue in Woodstock, Calliope, named for the Greek muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry.

“There’s a lot of small-town bureaucracy we’re still wading through,” said Miranda, estimating it’ll be another 18 months or so before the venue opens its doors.

Wakefield, a three-time Individual World Poetry Slam champion now based in Portugal, said this event came together after an invitation from Troutbeck’s director of culture and commerce, Sascha Lewis.

“Everything he’s invited me to in the past has been awesome, so I knew this would be too. And then, of course, there’s Holly.”

The performance will take place in the ballroom, the perfect setting to foster intimacy and a close connection to the audience. Wakefield, whose performances blend theater, poetry, humor and personal narrative, said he adjusts each set to fit the space he’s in.

“I definitely adapt in a choose your own adventure way,” he said.

Over more than two decades of relentless touring — from grand urban stages to unexpected corners of the world — Wakefield has helped expand spoken word beyond readings into emotionally dynamic live performance.

It’s fitting as well that this pairing unfolds at a place steeped in creative history. The evening, which begins at 5 p.m., will be a continuation of that tradition: art not as spectacle, but as exchange.

In a time when so much competes for our dwindling attention, this performance will offer something rare: the chance to sit quietly in a beautiful room while two singular artists remind us how powerful unamplified truth can be.

Guests are invited to stay for dinner. Reservations are encouraged. Tickets at troutbeck.com