Longtime Beacon artists will perform 12th holiday show
After playing the Woodstock ’94 festival in Saugerties, The Costellos heard from record labels. “Our lawyer advised us that the terms were terrible,” says Bob Costello. “So I told [wife] Lynn, ‘I have a good degree, let me go into corporate America. We’ll start our own label, and we can do whatever the hell we want.’ ”
Their career includes five albums (with another on the way), opening slots for Bon Jovi, Todd Rundgren and Belinda Carlisle, and repeated gigs in Beacon and Philipstown. On Sunday (Dec. 22), they’ll add another date to that list with the 12th iteration of their annual Christmas show at the Towne Crier in Beacon.
“Around four years in, we wanted to stop doing it,” says Bob. “But everyone from new Beacon to old Beacon said, ‘You can’t. It’s a tradition now.’ ”
Their guests will include Rob Daniels, the Flurries and Dmitri Archip, who will deliver a dramatic reading of The Night Before Christmas. Art Labriola will provide an organ interlude. The headliners plan originals and seasonal cuts, along with “one surf rock chestnut,” says Bob.
The couple met in 1990 and started writing and playing together. After rejecting the 1994 recording offers and a life of touring, they bought a house in Beacon and raised three children.
“In 2001, Beacon was a hellhole,” says Bob. “A gang had lived in the house, which needed a lot of work. But we could feel a change in the air.” Lynn worked for the Beacon schools and Bob is in the health care industry.
Over the years, they built up a regional following by constantly writing music and gigging as much as possible. “With every song, the process is different,” says Lynn. “Maybe Bob writes the music and lyrics, and I’ll tweak the melody. Or I bring music and he adds lyrics or a bridge. Both of us have contributed to every song.”
The tunes, says Bob, are designed to “take advantage of Lynn’s tremendous voice and go no longer than three minutes and 20 seconds.”
Their sound is rooted in hooky pop and country lite. “We try to serve the song,” says Lynn, who often plays a 12-string guitar that emits a brighter sound than a six-string.
A new album, Hold On, is almost in the can and, now that their children are adults, they look forward to singing and playing more.
“For inspiration, we look to Colonel Sanders,” who opened the first Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet when he was 62, says Lynn. “We’re happy with the way things worked out over the last 34 years.”
The Towne Crier is located at 379 Main St. in Beacon. Tickets for the show, which starts at 5:30 p.m., are $20 at townecrier.com or $25 at the door.
