Free Summer Concerts Coming to Lilac Park
LENOX, Mass. — "Concerts in Lilac Park" is back for a second season.Last year’s inaugural concerts were well-received and organizers Roscoe Sandlin and Barbara Sims are confident that the 2011 series will "be even more successful in drawing Berkshires music lovers to this casual, hassle-free – and cash-free – series of early evening entertainments," said Sandlin.
The free concerts will be held in Lilac Park from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday evenings in July and August. Located at the corner of Main Street and Sunset Avenue in downtown, Lilac Park has a gentle rolling terrain that offers up a natural amphitheatre for watching and listening.
The series offers something for everyone. "We have classical, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz, and more on the schedule," said Sims. "We hope music lovers will bring a blanket or lawn chair, a picnic and the family, and come out to listen to a different musical genre every week."
The lineup is as follows:
July 6 – Berkshire Highlanders. This Pittsfield-based pipe band gave its first public concert in 1977. Since then, the group has performed at Tanglewood on Parade, NPR’s "A Prairie Home Companion," and hundreds of other venues, from college graduations to Highland games celebrations, from patriotic ceremonies to the inauguration of a Massachusetts governor.
July 13 – JoAnne Redding and Her Band. Joanne Redding has been called "the Berkshires’ answer to Bonnie Raitt." She has performed her blues-infused country with many major acts, including Hank Williams Jr. And her songs have been heard on TV, film, and radio worldwide.
July 20 – Sister City Jazz Ambassadors. Pittsfield’s contribution to a global movement, the Sister City Jazz Ambassadors are a jazz ensemble dedicated to building peace through music and people-to-people connections. The Ambassadors bring distinctly American jazz music to other nations and cultures to help build friendships using music as a common starting point.
July 27 – Jazz Tuber Trio. Jimmy Mazzey, Ted Casher, and Eli Newberger play Dixieland, blues, and old jazz. The group named itself 10 years ago when asked to play at the opening reception for the Boston Flower Show. Because the trio explores the roots of jazz and "tuba" is "tuber" to a Bostonian, the name came naturally.
Aug. 3 – Housatonic Philharmonic. This trio of Berkshire-based musicians – Tim Gray, Paul Rice, and Andy Gordon – has deep roots in old-time traditional, Celtic, and American folk music and formed the group to play the old songs passed down through generations of traditional folk musicians. The group has appeared on the lawn at Tanglewood and on soundtracks for PBS documentaries as well as at festivals, town celebrations, and other public and private performance venues.
Aug. 10 – Kate Taylor. A singer-songwriter in her own right, Kate Taylor is the younger sister of another Berkshire-based folk artist. She released her first album, "Sister Kate," when she was 22. Several albums later, she cut her first series of all-original songs called “Fair Time!” in 2009. She tours regularly and produced a 2009 documentary DVD that traces her family and its musical journey.
Aug. 17 – Bernice Lewis. A singer-songwriter with 30 years of performances at festivals, concert halls, coffeehouses, and colleges, Bernice Lewis also is a published poet, producer, and educator. Her original folk style, colored with a Nashville tint, has earned her a slot as a featured performer on NPR’s "Mountain Stage." Currently, she teaches songwriting at Williams College.
Aug. 24 – Moonshine Holler. The husband-and-wife team of Paula Bradley and Bill Dillof capture the essence of this country’s rich roots music tradition on fiddle, banjo, guitar, harmonica, ukulele, and Hawaiian guitar through performing and teaching across the country and abroad. They even throw in some Appalachian flatfoot clog dancing to help bring America’s musical traditions to life.
Aug. 31 – Big and Bigger Delta Blues with Wanda Houston and Jeff Gonzales. Actress, singer, and song stylist Houston joins with guitarist, singer, and songwriter Gonzales to bring the Mississippi Delta blues to Lenox – "think of a time and place where the pace is slow, the mud is red, and the heart longs to beat free."
The concert series is funded through private donations, voluntary contributions collected at each concert, and pro bono appearances by some performers. Those interested in helping fund the concert series are asked to contact Sandlin (roscoe@lenoxlawyer.com) or Sims (imbabulous@gmail.com).
For more information, contact Sandlin at 413-281-0024.
