By WGBHArts
Suzanne Vega kicks off a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Solitude Standing in Copley Square. (photo credit: Mary Rozzi)
BOSTON — WGBHArts contributors offer you a preview of the upcoming Summer Arts Weekend, three days of performances in Copley Square happening this July 27-29.
Friday
Preservation Hall Jazz Band Brings New Orleans Spirit to Bostonby Mary Tinti
Laissez le bon temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!) embodies the spontaneous and exuberant essence of the PHJB music.
Hear them play on Friday evening.
A Conversation with Sierra Hullby Kris Wilton
Sierra Hull has been shaking up the bluegrass establishment since she was just 15. Read a Q&A with the rising star.
Hear her play on Friday evening with her band Highway 111; and with Del McCoury on stage for a fantastic meeting of bluegrass legends past and present.
Real Talk with Irma Thomas, The Soul Queen of New Orleansby Bridgit Brown
“Soul,” says Irma Thomas, “is the satisfactory feeling that you get from doing what you love. It has nothing to do with a genre of music, and everybody has it.”
Hear what Irma Thomas has got on Friday night at the Main Stage.
Del McCoury Brings Bluegrass Back to Preservation Hallby Scott McLennan
McCoury got his start playing guitar and singing in Bill Monroe’s famed Bluegrass Boys in 1963. “I found out he liked jazz. He listened to jazz and was influenced by jazz,” McCoury says of Monroe, the father of bluegrass. “I grew to learn how all music is related.”
Del McCoury and Preservation Hall Jazz Band will get together Friday night in Copley Square and then again after midnight in the Fairmont Copley Plaza hotel’s Copley Club.
Saturday
It's All About Balance with Flooky and The Beansby Stacy Buchanan
This Boston-based children’s music group shares the stories of a robot obsessed with technology who makes friends with a bunch of beans, and they appreciate the beauty of nature.
See their antics and hear their songs on the main stage at 11am on Saturday.
Bonaparte Dazzles and it's MAGIC!by Stacy Buchanan
What magicians do best--no matter what your age--is put a smile on your face. Bonaparte, one of Boston’s favorite magicians, has been doing that for quite some time.
Catch his performance during the Summer Arts Festival Saturday at noon.
Paying It Forward with Dan Zanes and Friendsby Stacy Buchanan
Dan Zanes, former lead singer of the ‘80s band The Del Fuegos and Grammy Award-winning childrens performance artist, is also an advocate for creative collaboration. He focuses on the good that happens when everybody is brought together to connect.
Dan Zanes and Friends will be performing with the South Sudanese group Dieer Dee Jieng and African Gospel Artists at 1:00 pm on Saturday.
Sharon Shannon Brings Cool Celtic Accordion to Bostonby Kris Wilton
Shannon's music isn’t the stuff of St. Paddy’s Day parties and Temple Bar tourist traps. It’s much more alive, and less pigeonholed. Her sound is unmistakably Irish, but not cliché.
Sharon Shannon will perform on the Copley Plaza Main Stage on Saturday afternoon.
The Eclectic, Ethereal Sound of The Low Anthemby Mary Tinti
The satisfying, classically infused songs of this talented young band have that unique ability to seep into your mind and feel very much at home.
Hear them perform live on Saturday evening.
Suzanne Vega Not Alone in Celebrating SolitudeHear some of the classics from Solitude Standing, from “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” to “Gypsy,” and “Calypso.” Vega's performance in Copley Square is the first of three stops scheduled as special Solitude celebrations, continuing at the City Winery in New York City and the Barbican in London.
Vega is scheduled to perform on the Summer Arts Weekend main stage at 7:30 P.M. Saturday and then in the Fairmont Copley’s Copley Club at 12:45 A.M.
Soul Rebels Launch Brass Attackby Scott McLennan
Here is everything you need to know about the band that's a radical gumbo of New Orleans brass mixed with hip-hop, soul and funk.
Soul Rebels takes the Copley Square main stage on Saturday evening.
Sunday
A Classical Sunday in Copley Squareby Brian McCreath
British trumpeter Alison Balsom is on the schedule for Sunday's all-classical line up. She will join Boston's own Landmarks Orchestra and guest conductor Christopher Warren-Green. Visitors are in for a great day. Watch video previews of several participating performers.
See piano duo Anderson & Roe, the theatrical Igudesman and Joo and many others in Copley Square on Sunday.
Alison Balsom on Spine-Tingling Performancesby Kris Wilton
Trumpeter Alison Balsom is about as much of a pop sensation as a classical musician can be, having released six albums, won numerous honors and getting the credit for bringing glamour back to the classical stage.
Trumpeter Alison Balsom makes her U.S. debut on the Copley Square Main Stage this Sunday.
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