It's the final week of this year's Summer Arts Festival! Here is the schedule of performances:
Tuesday, August 8th - Family Series - Billy Jonas Band - Across North America as a trio and a quartet, led by vocalist/guitarist/ "industrial re-percussionist" Billy Jonas, the band features multi-part vocal harmonies, drums, bass, marimba, and audience-engaging choreography with Ashley Jo Farmer, Sherman Hoover, and Juan Holladay. The Billy Jonas Band was honored with a 2010 concert at The White House. Jonas has received numerous honors and awards, including an American Federation of Independent Musicians 1st place/Gold, multiple Parents Choice Golds, and a New York Times "Best" listing.
Wednesday, August 9th - L.I. Dance Consortium - "Kaleidoscope of Dance 2" - LIDC's second evening brings you 5 Dance Companies featuring the superb professional dancers of Circle of Dance Repertory Company, a group known for their innovative and moving choreography. American Dance Theatre of Long Island, with its large company of well-trained beautiful dancers under the direction of Kathleen Kairns-Scholz, formally of the Richmond Ballet, will perform an exquisite repertoire of innovative and interesting pieces.
Thursday, August 10th - The Twin Shores Chorus and the Sweet Adelines Island Hills Chorus are dedicated to preserving the truly original American art form of a cappella harmony in their distinctive barbershop styles. Each chorus performs a wide range of show tunes, patriotic themes and old-fashioned love songs, along with jazz, spirituals and Doo Wop.
Friday, August 11th - L.I. Spotlight - Nonstop to Cairo is quickly emerging as one of Long Island's and New York's premiere bands as they bring their unique blend of ska, hip-hop and funk to a dedicated fan base up and down the East Coast. The band has performed alongside an impressive array of acts including The Wailers, Dirty Heads, Galactic, Matisyahu, Fishbone, Redman and many others. Based in Baldwin, band mates Nick Diamond (guitar, vocals), August Harris (vocals), Andrew Joseph (tenor saxophone), Alex Turner (drums) and Matt Ezzo (bass) all hail from L.I.'s South Shore.
Saturday, August 12th - "My Fair Lady" - Plaza Theatrical Productions - The standard by which all other musicals are measured. Based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, with book, music and lyrics by Lerner and Loewe, MY FAIR LADY is gloriously triumphant. The tale of a cockney flower girl transformed into an elegant lady features one of musical theatre's greatest scores. Songs include "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?," "With a Little Bit of Luck," "The Rain in Spain," "I Could Have Danced All Night," "On the Street Where You Live," "Get Me to the Church on Time," and "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face."
Sunday, August 13th - Brother Joscephus & The Love Revolution will bring the Huntington Summer Arts Festival to a close. The two main visionaries of this 12-piece explosion of love - Brother Joscephus (Dix Hills native David Mendelsohn) and his eccentric cohort, the Right Reverend Dean Dawg (Dean Fransen) - dip heavily into a gumbo rich with the powerful rhythms of New Orleans, old school funk and soul, classic rock and a healthy dose of feel-good gospel music. Since 2007, "BroJo" has been on a musical mission to make the world a more righteous place. When you combine the music and the message with a one-of-a-kind, high-energy stage spectacle, you got yourself one hell of a revolution on your hands!
All performances during the Summer Arts Festival are free and held on the Chapin Rainbow Stage in Heckscher Park, Huntington. All performances begin at 8:30 p.m. unless it is a Tuesday evening because the "Family Series" events begin at 7:30 p.m. The Summer Arts Festival is produced by the Town of Huntington and presented by the Huntington Arts Council. Canon U.S.A. is a presenting sponsor. Additional support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts and the County of Suffolk.