A Ripe night for dancing at Paper Mill Island
A Ripe night for dancing at Paper Mill Island
Review: Ripe headlines a summer night of reggae, soul and funk for a party that never lets up.
Ripe closed out a summer evening of non-stop live music during which fans of reggae, funk and soul rarely stood still.
Central New York artist Isaac French opened 95X’s Friday concert at Paper Mill Island, easing the crowd in with a set that mixed original material with an intimate singer-songwriter feel.
It was a quiet start to a show that would steadily build in volume and energy, but French impressed as always and gave the hometown crowd an early reason to pay attention.
As the sun faded over the Seneca River, Seven Suns stepped in to carry the light.
The Honolulu-based group brought a bright, infectious mix of reggae, soul and pop to the island, quickly pulling the crowd into its groove. The band’s sound felt especially at home outdoors — loose and sun-soaked, even as the light kept fading over the water.
Though Seven Suns is a relatively new collective, its seven members spent years behind the scenes and onstage as part of Hawaii’s music community before stepping into the spotlight together. By the time Seven Suns wrapped up, the crowd was fully bought in.
Ripe took that momentum and ran with it, carrying the crowd’s energy straight into its headlining set.
From the moment the band hit the stage, frontman Robbie Wulfsohn seemed determined to use every inch of it, dancing, bouncing and darting through the set with an almost restless energy.
Wulfsohn fed off the crowd in front of him, while the band’s funk-heavy sound kept the audience moving and turned the space between the stage and the water into one big summer party.
Even the beach ball drifting out of the crowd became part of the show. Each time it found its way onstage, Wulfsohn kicked it back into the crowd before jumping right back into the performance.
With French’s local songwriting, Seven Suns’ effortless grooves and Ripe’s kinetic finale, the night unfolded like a slow build from laid-back opening notes to a full-on dance party.
For a venue built on an old paper mill, Ripe certainly knew how to tear it up.
