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A PLAGUE BEFELL the music industry last summer. The calamitous concert-going season marked the worst in recent memory, with its canceled tours and shows. Ticket prices rose like a fever. Ticket sales dropped off like leprosy limbs. All the young and ardent fans were forced to shake their fists and say, "Sixty-eight dollars for a ticket to a show at Great Woods? We can’t shell out that sort of dough." And bands were forced to sputter back, "Sorry, pals and fans. If we can’t fill the seats, the stadium, and the lawn, we can’t play the show." With luck, the music industry learned its hard-earned lesson ($450 to see the Stones at Fenway, anyone?), but even if it hasn’t, the city has a season’s worth of music lined up. And after a winter’s worth of huddling inside the Orpheum, O’Brien’s, the FleetCenter, and Great Scott, it’s time to take it all outside. What follows is a rundown of outdoor shows, concert series, and festivals that take place in the afternoon sun or under the stars. Down by the water, the Bank of America Pavilion plays host to some bigger-name acts throughout the summer. There’s Robert Plant on June 17, with the Soundtrack of Our Lives ($38.50–$60); O.A.R. on July 27 and 28 ($30); Lyle Lovett on July 22 ($35–$55); Elvis Costello with Emmylou Harris on July 23 ($35–$55); Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds on August 5 ($25–$35); Brian Wilson on August 9 ($35–$75); and Clay Aiken on August 28 ($38.50–$50). The Museum of Fine Arts’ annual Concerts in the Courtyard series ($25, $20 for students) spills outside on Wednesday evenings from June 15 through August 24. The series opens with German techno elites Mouse on Mars. Omar Sosa plays June 29. Look for the ethno-electro hip-hop of Four Tet with Sunburned Hand of the Man on July 6, and witty songstress Patty Larkin on August 10. Most famous for its Fourth of July Pops extravaganza, the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade also runs an oldies summer series, which opens with Frankie Valli on June 11 and closes with KC & the Sunshine Band on August 20, and runs every other Saturday evening. The classical station WCRB offers even older music with performances by the North Shore’s Symphony by the Sea (July 13), the Metropolitan Wind Symphony (July 20), and the lawyer-musicians of the Boston Bar Association Orchestra (July 27). These run every Wednesday from July 13 to August 31. And way off in September, the Boston Blues Festival takes place here on the 24th and 25th. All Hatch Shell shows are free. There’s more free blues to be found at the Boston Harbor Hotel, on the floating stage of the Boston Blues barge, every Thursday evening from June 16 through September 1. Toni Lynn Washington opens the season on the 16th. Ex–Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Troy Gonyea plays July 14. The Nighthawks play August 18; Jeff Pitchell performs August 25. On Tuesday evenings starting June 21 and running through August 30, the hotel offers the new Summer Soul series. And you can swing on Wednesday evenings as part of Summer Swing from June 22 to August 31. In a post-work blend of bearded barefoot hippies and tailored, well-shorn execs, WBOS presents its annual Copley Square Concerts series every Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. from July 14 through August 18. At press time, the 2005 schedule had yet to be announced, but last year’s performers included Fountains of Wayne, Gavin DeGraw, Howie Day, and the Pat McGee Band. The concerts are free. Shouldering up against Faneuil Hall and the North End is Christopher Columbus Park, home to the free Waterfront Performing Arts Series. The second annual set of performances runs on Tuesday evenings, July 12 through 26 and August 15 through 30. The Boston Lyric Opera presents a Mario Lanza tribute on July 12; the White Heat Swing Orchestra perform on July 19; and Chu Ling Dance closes the series on August 30. The Dorothy Curran Concert Series is the longest-running concert series in Boston, with performances on Wednesday evenings from July 13 through August 17 at City Hall Plaza. Johnny Maestro & the Brooklyn Bridge play July 13. The Glenn Miller Orchestra perform on July 27. Look for Herb Reed & the Platters on August 3, and the US Air Force Band of Liberty on August 10 and 17. Also on City Hall Plaza is the sixth annual Gospel Fest on July 17. All City Hall Plaza concerts are free. Amidst the hustle and bustle of Downtown Crossing, there’s a jazz oasis on Wednesday afternoons in July. At 12:30 p.m. along Summer Street in front of Filene’s, the Jazz in July series includes performances by the Rebecca Shrimpton/Eric Hofbauer Duo on July 6, the John Kordalewski Trio on July 13, Leah Souza on July 20, and the Yoko Miwa Trio on July 27. The concerts are free. Across the river, there’s a Cantabrigian slant on the musical offerings. June 18 is the annual River Festival, featuring music, dance, performance, poetry, art, and eats. The festival includes three stages of live music sponsored by three heavy-hitting Cambridge clubs: the Middle East, Club Passim, and the Regattabar. The main music bases — indie, folk, and jazz — are covered. On July 8, Cornell Coley performs Afro-Latin drumming at Corporal Burns Park on Flagg Street at Memorial Drive. And on August 4, Hanneke Cassel and Jake Armerding perform prior to an outdoor screening of Whale Rider at Riverside Press Park on River Street at Memorial Drive. The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center offers its annual free outdoor concerts, beginning July 8 with the African drumming of Mohamed Camara. The series continues the following Friday, July 15, with Guy Mendilow, who blends Brazilian rhythms, American and Israeli folk traditions, and Hindustani improvisations. And Mili Bermejo and Dan Greenspan perform Latin jazz on July 22. In Somerville, the annual ArtBeat festival takes over Davis Square on July 16 with its multiethnic, multi-arts, multi-staged celebration of Somerville cultural life (suggested donation $3). On Saturdays in Union Square, the Somerville Arts Council presents ArtsUnion, a combination crafts fair, farmers’ market, and performance venue. For the classically inclined, the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, conducted by Charles Ansbacher, continue their free summer concerts in locations all over the city. On July 8 and 9, the orchestra presents "Landmarks Fifth Celebration" with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony at the Boston Common Bandstand. It presents "Baroque in Boston" on July 21 at Maritime Park in South Boston, and on July 24 at Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plain. "The Journey of Philis Wheatley" is July 17 at the Boston Common Bandstand. And "Romantics in the Park," with works by Schumann, Schubert, and Wagner, happens on August 13 at the Boston Common Bandstand and August 14 at Dorchester Park. The annual Boston Folk Festival takes place this year on September 24 and 25 at UMass Boston, with performances by Alastair Moock and the Pastures of Plenty, Suzanne Vega, Patty Griffin, Guy Davis, Ollabelle, Mark Erelli, and Bill Staines, among many others ($50/both days; $30/single day). Although it’s a little way from Boston, Newport offers two quintessential outdoor music festivals, the Newport Folk Festival and the JVC Jazz Festival. The line-up for the Folk Fest, which takes place on August 5, 6, and 7, includes, among others, Bright Eyes, Ray LaMontagne, Elvis Costello, M Ward, and Emmylou Harris. The Jazz Fest takes place August 11 through 14, with performances by Wynton Marsalis, the McCoy Tyner Trio, Medeski, Martin & Wood, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Eartha Kitt, and many others. Nina MacLaughlin can be reached at nmaclaughlin[a]phx.com |
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Issue Date: June 10 - 16, 2005 Back to the News & Features table of contents |
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