Mixfest, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Under gray skies in Boston, thousands of music lovers turned out to attend the Mixfest music festival held at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade. The free event is produced by local FM radio station Mix 104.1. The Hatch Shell is a beautiful venue and of course, the production values were outstanding and the musicians were all stellar talents and performers.

On-Air Mix 104 radio personalities (do they still call them DJ's?) Karson and Salt interview the reggae fusion band Magic! before the show.

I had mixed feelings, no pun intended, about going to the Mixfest.  I am outside their target demographic - frankly way outside it  - but music, like all art forms, often defies demographic stereotyping. Good music performed well has a timeless appeal to people of any age from the hopping four-year-old child to toe-tapping octogenarians. From generation to generation, the performers may be different, the music may be different, but the desire and delight in humans to hear, see, and be uplifted by music transcends age and I think it always will.

But on with the show......

Opening act local Ashleigh Jordan of Harvard, Massachusetts, was the "15 seconds of Fame/ Open for Mixfest" winner this year.

Opening act local Alex Preston of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire, was last year's "15 seconds of Fame/ Open for Mixfest" winner.

Then on to the Big Names: The international star Toronto-based reggae fusion band Magic! performed next.

Magic!'s lead singer Nasri.

Much to the delight of the screaming crowd, he strolled down closer to the audience during a song as a photographer captures the moment.

International star singer-songwriter United States based artist Christina Perri was next.

Christina Perri.

Unannounced and unpublicized until he took the stage was surprise special guest Jason Mraz with the band Raining Jane.  Mr. Mraz is a highly successful and world renown United States based singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and multiple Grammy award winner. (And originally from my home state of Virginia, too).

Jason Mraz.

Jason Mraz and half of Raining Jane.

Jason Mraz and the other half of Raining Jane.

Many people may choose to deride the United States' music and star-struck culture. I see it a little differently. These top-notch musicians have, through sheer talent, grit, focus, and determination, risen to the top of the highly competitive music business  and are deserving of any and all recognition they receive. These folks labor in obscurity in garages and basements and bars and coffee shops for years honing their craft and repertoire and hoping for a big break. There are millions of them all with the same dream. The odds are very long and those who do make it put their skills and talent on display and at risk every time they take the stage. Not many of us live a life with such stakes every time we ply our craft, trade, or profession. They have earned recognition and deserve to be compensated well. I thank them all for sharing their talent, passion, promise, and vision with us.

In case you've wondered what the performer faces when he/she stands at the microphone, here's the view before the show.  (Panorama - click the image to view in full width).  I'd say walking up to that spot and singing all by oneself must be an intimidating and heart-pounding moment for many people.

And yes, if truth be told, I often listen to Mix 104.1 on my car radio - wrong demographic or not - singing along way too loudly and badly.  And wrong demographic or not, many folks my age do the same.  Peace, love, rock and roll - we boomers invented it - or so we say.............

It was a great show, class act all the way - I look forward to Mixfest again next year.  Maybe I'll color my hair other than white and lose the old man look and pretend I'm young again............

(Wimp that I am, when the rain arrived I left early without hearing and seeing the other star performers O.A.R. and Phillip Phillips.  I am sure they were equally outstanding).

Barn Show, Holmes Farm, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Here's the setting for the Barn Show Music Series  at the beautiful Holmes Farm in Manomet. The musical performance area is at the left. The Barn Show Music Series continued its six outdoor concert summer series at the Holmes Farm on the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences property just off Manomet Point Road. The series is co-presented by Hayley Sabella and Brewster Productions and tonight featured performers Thomas John Cadrin, Laney Jones and her band, and headliner 3rd Left. My post from the show before this one is at this link.

This is the fifth of six shows in the series. Folks are just arriving. The evening was cloudy with a threat of thunderstorms slowly approaching from the west.  The rain did finally arrive so the show ended a bit earlier than planned but we still enjoyed a couple good hours of music before the rain.

This image is from an earlier blog post at a previous show on a sunny day.

Opening performer was Thomas John Cadrin.

Followed by Laney Jones and her band.

The bass player of the headliner band "3rd Left."

The lead singer and guitarist of  "3rd Left." 

Just before the show was rained out, the lead singer brought up the father of the drummer to sing a couple songs. It was one of those special moments in a live show - an older, unassuming guy ambles up on the stage with young rockers and you don't quite know what to expect until he starts singing.  And when he did, he brought down the house with a rousing rendition of the Stephen Stills tune, "Love the One You're With."  I'd say this was the crowd favorite of the night!  

This was the first year for The Barn Show Music Series and it has been a great addition to live, local music in Manomet.  Only one more show remains this year on October 12. I hope they schedule a second year of concerts next summer! There are few better ways to spend a New England summer evening than sitting outside and enjoying live music in a beautiful setting.

Project Arts of Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Project Arts of Plymouth is a non-profit organization funded by generous sponsors, donors, and the public. This is their 19th year of hosting free concerts during the summer on the waterfront in downtown Plymouth. This year was special in that a new permanent bandshell structure had been completed and replaced the open-sided trailer stage they used in previous years.

Mike Landers is the co-founder of Project Arts and has been bringing free outdoor summer music to the Plymouth waterfront for almost twenty years.

Although it was mostly an older crowd, there were some young folks bringing a certain amount of color and panache to the event also.

This is an amazing scene - first, because the child hasn't knocked  the drink cup over, and, second, because the dog hasn't slurped up whatever is in the cup.

Yes, that is where the music is....

 Jake Hill and Deep Creek opened the show.

A guest vocalist with Jake Hill.

The headliner band - The Adam Ezra Group.

The band had great energy and movement - and I had a slow shutter speed.

Not everyone was completely focused on the music - this young girl is mesmerized standing over a floodlight embedded in the ground in front of the stage.  

This was the last performance of the summer program.  Time to start looking forward to next year.

Acoustic Nights Summer Concert Series, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

The Acoustic Nights Concert Series, in its eighth year, is produced by Brewster Productions and offers a series of six free evening concerts outdoors on the lawn of the Hedge House Museum in downtown Plymouth on the waterfront. The style is indie, folk, rock. You can bring a chair, blanket, and sweater and enjoy live music under the stars in America's Hometown. The artists perform just beyond the chairs at the right side of this image. As always, Brewster Productions provides top-notch technical support to make this all happen.

The final show of the season featured four performers: Molly Pinto Madigan (above), Of Lions and Giants, Eva Walsh, and the Laura Grill Band.

Of Lions and Giants (aka Jose Docen)

Eva Walsh

As the daylight gave way to darkness, the lighting was too dark to get any decent images - but you get the idea. (Shutter speed 1/30, ISO at 6400 for these last two images). 

The Laura Grill Band. It was a beautiful evening for live music outdoors. Looking forward to next summer for some more........

Barn Show, Holmes Farm, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Early arrivals for the Barn Show concerts are sent to the parking lot a few hundred yards away. This is the route from the lot back to the performance venue. I'm not sure if it's a reward or a curse. Carrying my chair back to my car in the dark is annoying but oh, what a beautiful walk it is. Walking in to the setting sun and, on this occasion, walking out under the light of the full moon.

The Barn Show Music Series continued its summer series on this beautiful evening in Manomet at the Holmes Farm on the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences property just off Manomet Point Road. The series is co-presented by Hayley Sabella and Brewster Productions and tonight featured performers Sianna Plavin, Mark Whitaker, and the Novel Ideas. Links to my previous posts about earlier shows are here and here and here.

Shortly after the second act began, the full moon rose in the background.

I always try to catch hands in motion of the guitarists - this one turned out fairly well.

And here was the "star" of the show - well, not really since a moon is not actually a star but, you get the idea.

And here's what you get when you freakishly combine the two events using photo processing software.