George Harrison’s catalog is unusually hard to do justice to, and most tribute acts don’t try. They play “Something” and “Here Comes the Sun,” pocket the applause, and leave the subsequent twenty-odd years — the sprawl of All Things Must Pass, the collaborations with Clapton and Jeff Lynne, the Traveling Wilburys — for someone else to figure out. The Dark Horses, an eight-piece ensemble from Orange County, NY, have been working through the whole of it since 2018, and they’ve built enough of a following in the Hudson Valley to fill rooms when they play. They return to The Falcon in Marlboro on Friday, October 16, with music at 7:30 p.m.
About the Show
The scope runs from Harrison’s Cavern Club days with the Beatles through his solo career and into his work with Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, and the Traveling Wilburys: nearly four decades of material, approached here by eight musicians who have made it their project. Gerard “Gee” Mancini handles slide guitar; Glenn John Arnowitz takes keys, harmonica, and vocals; Alan Magee plays guitar and sings; Pete Verutes anchors on bass; Michael Robert Hickey manages drums and vocals; Melissa Mahony contributes vocals, ukulele, and percussion; Mike Pacer and Barton Schindler divide saxophone duties between them.
The band’s approach is free of theatrical conceits — no costumes, no gimmicks, per their own framing — with storytelling woven through to connect Harrison’s compositions to multiple generations: those for whom the music was a soundtrack and those discovering it now. Shows run over two hours, which is what the material honestly requires. The Dark Horses have played extensively across the Hudson Valley and into New Jersey, with appearances at Daryl’s House, the Towne Crier in Beacon, Roy’s Hall in Blairstown, The Stanhope House, and The Darress Theatre, among others. They are a familiar presence at The Falcon, where they draw capacity audiences.
Venue & Logistics
The Falcon, on Route 9W in Marlboro, is a small-room listening venue in the Hudson Valley that has become one of the better bookings on the circuit between Beacon and Kingston. It is the kind of room where nothing about a performance goes unheard, which is exactly the kind of pressure an ensemble covering four decades of George Harrison should be willing to accept. Dining runs 5:30 to 9 p.m.; music begins at 7:30 p.m. No reservations required.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Buy tickets