On Saturday afternoon, Nov. 7, the farmers at Hungry Reaper Farm in Morris, Connecticut, will host the first concert at their new outdoor venue, The Three Hickeries, smack in the middle of a beautiful field on their farm.
Farm co-founders and co-managers Will O’Meara and Jill Verzino have always been interested in independent means of production. On the farm, that means growing organic produce on a small scale with a big impact. Their crops feed folks from Bridgeport, where Verzino runs a farmers market on Saturdays, all the way over to Millerton, where their vegetables can be found at Tri Corner FEED Market, the community-minded grocery store offering locally sourced food on a sliding scale.
Both O’Meara and Verzino have extensive experience growing food. Verzino grew up helping her grandmother tend her quintessential Italian vegetable garden. O’Meara started working on farms when he was just 16, got a degree in sustainable food and farming from UMass Amherst and managed other farms before the couple, who have been dating since high school, decided to start their own.
Part of their decision to strike out on their own was based on a desire to do things differently. Local organic food can often feel like a luxury reserved for the privileged and budget-blind. They wanted to bring their produce to a wider audience. Since starting on one acre of rented land, they’ve worked with food pantries, local municipalities, schools and other nonprofits to get their fresh produce in the hands and mouths of people who don’t traditionally have access to such high-quality food. They also landed on a pretty provocative name, with edgy branding to boot.
Verzino, who trained as a visual artist, is responsible for all of the branding. She seems to have an affinity for the medieval and macabre. But more than just a personal preference, it’s a way for them to stand apart from the standard farm branding, which, though often adorable, can start to blend together. Nobody forgets a bag of organic lettuce with a grim reaper sticker on it. After all, Verzino says, “farming is all about sex and death.”
That preference for the weird and unique doesn’t stop with their brand. The couple, who both grew up in the area, used to see a lot of live music. They reminisce about the now-closed Cafe Napoli in Watertown, where they could see a new band with a new sound every week. To them, the small, independent acts seemed to speak the same language as their approach to food and farming. They wanted to find a way to bring that kind of experience to their community.
As they worked their fields, three stately hickory trees towered over the crops. “We like experimental music. We like creative people. We like trees,” Verzino said.
This, they decided, was where they would harvest their next offering — live music.
Will O’Meara, Jill Verzino and the three hickories.D.H. Callahan
Playing the first show at The Three Hickories are a couple of experimental acts indeed. The headliner is Old Saw from Ripton, Vermont. Led by composer Henry Birdsey, the ensemble makes experimental ambient music using a wide variety of unexpected instruments. More than songs, each piece feels like a weathered tapestry cloaking the whole scene in haunting textures. A larger-than-life sound emerges from their instruments like an ancient giant awaking from its gothic slumber.
Opening the show is the Knife Kickers from right down the road in Thomaston, Connecticut. Singer and guitarist John Zacarria is the nucleus of this rotating lineup. Sometimes he plays by himself, and sometimes he brings his friends. Rumor has it he’ll be joined by the cellist featured on his last release, “an acoustic album.”
November might seem like an odd time to launch a DIY outdoor concert in Connecticut, but O’Meara and Verzino aren’t just relying on the hearty nature of New Englanders. To warm the audience and musicians, they’ve enlisted the help of pop-up coffee cart Backdrifter Coffee. Still, a sweater and some gloves might be a good idea, just in case.
For tickets and more information about the farm, visit hungryreaperfarm.com.
