On Saturday, November 20th, we revisited our annual Corenucopia event, a tradition in which we give thanks to beautiful music, beloved friends, and fun times by throwing a show headlined by local artists from New Brunswick’s music scene. Our event was hosted at the George Street Co-Op, a non-profit natural food store located on Morris Street. The upstairs cafe space was brightened with warm lighting and colorful hand turkeys, hand drawn and cut by our own DJs and DJs-in-training at a new event called Lending a Hand(Turkey). Inscribed on the turkeys were messages of gratitude, prompted by the phrase “I am grateful for”.
This year, our DJs were grateful for:
“Underrepresented artists in punk, alt, and rock!”
“Being in the presence of wonderful folk.”
“Being back in the studio!”
“Music that makes me feel sad!”
“Seeing people (DJs, artists) in person.”
“Hand turkeys and hand radios.”
“The music that gets me thru hard times.”
With a global pandemic rendering DJs homebound for the past two years, we all felt thankful and lucky to share ourselves and our time with one another in-person at the Lending a Hand(Turkey) and Corenucopia. I was over the moon when performers Kyra Camille, Joyce Lee, and Isa Escobar agreed to lend their lovely voices to our Core community at Corenucopia.
Kyra Camille, who had first graced our ears at our Spooky Sounds Coffeehouse, sang and strummed alongside her friends on bass and drums. The work of this indie-rock goddess culminated in indie-rock goodness.
Isa Escobar, her voice swelling with sweetness and soul, had charmed the swooning audience with her covers, finishing off with an original on ukulele. I first saw Isa perform at Demarest Hall’s September “Timewarp” Coffeehouse, and she has been singing throughout Hub City ever since.
Finally, Joyce Lee, had spectators jaws dropping as they began their set with a cover of Mitski’s “Class of 2013”, screaming into their guitar, their voice bouncing off the strings and bursting through the amplifier. They continued to pull heartstrings with original songs of summer love, sugar sickness, and strawberries. Joyce had their audience chanting for more as the clock reached 9 O’clock. We are so pleased to have Joyce as a new Core DJ, and can’t wait to see where their talents will lead them in life and in the local scene.
Each year, we look forward to supporting DIY and celebrating our friends, music, and local scene at Corenucopia. This year was no exception. A collective feeling of warmth and awe wafted within the walls of the Co-Op, and followed me home as I thought about how wonderful it was to experience Corenucopia once more.
A special thanks to each of the performers, John and Mike at the Co-Op, attendees, and the Core community for making this event possible. Thank you to Devin, Michaela, Rachel, and Lara for making hand turkeys!
