The Music Haven Concert Series offering a passport to the world
SCHENECTADY—MAY 17, 2018—The 29th annual Music Haven Concert Series will journey nearly 36,000 miles, from North Africa to South America, and cross from the North Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, in search, as always for the hottest traditional and contemporary global sounds. Recent improvements to Music Haven’s house and hill have increased the venue’s comfort and capacity and become the impetus for longtime producing artistic director Mona Golub to expand and broaden the program.
“I’m passionate about bringing brilliant musicians from all over the world to the Capital Region for audiences here to discover and enjoy. And it’s gratifying to see Music Haven’s reputation continue to grow, both here and abroad,” says Golub. “This summer, I’m particularly thrilled to welcome the U.S. debut of global jazz collective Gabacho Maroc; Pascuala Ilabaca y Fauna, the first Chilean artists ever to perform in the series; and the lush a cappella voices of Iberi, from the Republic of Georgia. As always, I relish the opportunity to connect with audience members as they experience the concerts and new creature comforts that make Music Haven such a distinctive destination. This is going to be a spectacular season.”
Niger’s Bombino kicks off the season with stunning guitar work and hypnotic North African Tuareg blues. Gabacho Maroc follows with global jazz informed by Western, Arabic and African influences, the perfect across-the Atlantic precursor to the Chilean pop of Pascuala Ilabaca Y Fauna. The Haitian roots collective Lakou Mizik will shake the rafters of Music Haven with the island sounds of Rara and Vodou. Zydeco returns to Schenectady, with Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers carrying on the legacy of the legendary Rockin’ Dopsie. Scotland’s high-powered Skerryvore melds tradition with modern rock for another exciting Celtic concert at the Central Park.
And Chicago guitarist Toronzo Cannon brings it all back home, headlining a season-closing Blues BBQ guaranteed to satisfy on all fronts.
Music Haven’s annual Summer Social event is wrapped around the Louisiana Zydeco and brass band concert on Sunday, Aug. 5 and features a casual, ticketed dinner buffet under the Central Park pavilion, with a backstage artist meet and greet after the show.
A number of other non-Sunday performances—listed below—will bring Music Haven to life throughout the summer, offering twice as many ways to engage and enjoy the improved facilities as last summer.
“This is the beginning of a new era at Music Haven,” Golub says. “While staying true to our mission of traveling the world one concert at a time, we’re expanding our purview and building collaborative partnerships with presenting and performing organizations across the region—Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Empire State Youth Orchestra, Caffé Lena, Schenectady Symphony Orchestra and SUNY Schenectady County Community College, amongst them.”
Top-rated regional and international artists are also featured as special guests at each concert—from the Grammy-nominated Moroccan chant of Innov Gnawa to the sinuous, eclectic jazz of Heard; the progressive Southern folk of Honeysuckle to the true blues of the Matt Mirabile Band. Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde’s powerful sound marries social justice with a beat, while Bonga & The Vodou Drums of Haiti will entrance and mesmerize in the truest sense of the terms. The New Breed Brass Band and The Schenectady Pipe Band are nearly flip sides of the coin, street music of separate cultures with similarly rich histories.
More Perreca’s returns to Music Haven for the global concerts in 2018, offering classic Italian dinner selections and show-themed ethnic meals for purchase. Wolf Hollow Brewing Company taps a variety of its locally crafted brews on draught for each performance. Nine Pin Cider, from Albany, joins the Music Haven family this season. And Ben & Jerry’s will scoop premium ice cream at each show. A variety of food and beverage will be available for purchase at all shows.
In the case of inclement weather, Proctors remains the official rain site for The Music Haven Concert Series, unless noted otherwise for specific performances.
For biographical information about the artists scheduled to perform, related news articles and archives of seasons past, visit Music Haven’s website, www.musichavenstage.org. For updates and new details about upcoming shows—including weather calls—or to offer comments about your experiences at Music Haven, visit Music Haven Concert Series on Facebook, Music Haven Concerts on Instagram or follow the series on Twitter @MusicHavenStage.
The Agnes Macdonald Music Haven is family-friendly, easily accessible and has been oft-voted the “Best Outdoor Concert Venue” in the Capital Region.
General Electric and Price Chopper/Market 32 are the Co-presenting Sponsors for the Music Haven Concert Series.
Concert sponsors include Bast Hatfield, Ben & Jerry’s, Benchemark Printing, The Carlilian Foundation, CDTA, Fenimore Asset Management/FAM Funds, Freihofer’s, Galesi Group, GOYA Foods, Head to Tail Pet Wellness Center, Lia Auto Group, M&T Bank, Mohawk Honda, MVP Health Care, Polar Beverages, Rivers Casino & Resort, The Salmon Law Firm, The Schenectady Foundation, Snapple, and Whiteman Osterman & Hanna.
Media Sponsors are The Daily Gazette, Nippertown, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, WMHT Classical and WEXT/EXIT 97.7, and WRGB-CBS6/WCWN-CW 15.
And seasonal supporters include Adirondack Beverages, Albany Medical Center, Berkshire Bank, Brokers Network, Buzz Media Solutions, COOL Insuring Agency, Inc., Ellis Medicine Foundation, Experience & Creative Design, Jewish Federation of NENY, Mazzone Hospitality, Nigro Companies, Old World Provisions, Reel Seafood Company, Spectrum, Stewart’s Shops and TrustCo Bank.
Join us in traveling the world one concert at a time!
Music Haven Concert Series 2018
- July 8-Bombino
Dubbed “the world’s best guitarist” by Noisey, Bombino brings the fierce grace of the Tuareg tradition to his instrument, drawing comparisons to Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, Neil Young and Jerry Garcia
Special Guest: Innov Gnawa innovgnawa.com
Sponsored by: Bast Hatfield, M&T Bank, Ben & Jerry’s
- July 15-Gabacho Maroc
Gabacho Maroc freely crosses cultural and musical boundaries to create an open-minded, open-hearted conception of jazz with African, Moroccan, Arabic and Gnawan influences
Special Guests: Heard
www.gabachomaroc.com/gabachoeng
Sponsored by: Freihofer’s, Head to Tail, Lia Auto Group
- July 22-Pascuala Ilabaca Y Fauna
Pascuala Ilabaca is rooted in Chilean tradition, but unafraid to incorporate influences from her life abroad, in lands like India and Mexico, or from her far-flung listening in jazz, pop and rock
Special Guest: Taina Asili y la Banda Rebelde
Sponsored by GOYA, Benchemark Printing, Snapple
- July 29-Lakou Mizik
Lakou Mizik, formed in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, is a Haitian collective of elder legends and rising young talents, using the healing spirit of Rara and Vodou to inspire pride, strength and hope
Special Guests: Bonga & The Vodou Drums of Haiti
Sponsored by Galesi Group, Polar, The Schenectady Foundation
- Aug. 5-Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers
Scion of Zydeco pioneer Rockin’ Dopsie, Grammy Award-nominated accordionist Dwayne Dopsie takes the form to an even higher level—“This is my calling,” he says, “my heart and soul”
Special Guests: New Breed Brass Band
Sponsored by MVP Health Care, CDTA, Rivers Casino & Resort
- Aug. 12-Skerryvore
From the tiny Scottish isle of Tiree, Skerryvore has exploded across the world, bringing a distinctively rocking Celtic sound from New York’s Central Park to the Shanghai Expo
Special Guests: The Schenectady Pipe Band
Sponsored by Mohawk Honda, The Carlillian Foundation, FAM Funds
Rain Site—Niskayuna High School Auditorium
Additional performances at the Music Haven 2018
All shows at 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, July 10-Empire Jazz Orchestra
“Encore” will mark retiring SUNY Schenectady County Community College Dean of Music and EJO founder Dr. William Meckley’s final performance at the helm of his beloved big band
https://sunysccc.edu/Academics/School-of-Music/-Empire-Jazz-Orchestra
Co-presented by SUNY Schenectady—School of Music
Rain site: Carl B. Taylor Auditorium, SUNY Schenectady
- Thursday, July 19–Mile Twelve
Acoustic icon Tim O’Brien, knocked out by the young band’s effortless blend of traditional and modern bluegrass, says, “Mile Twelve is a group to watch in the coming decade”
Special Guests: Honeysuckle
Co-presented by Caffé Lena
- Tuesday, July 24-Iberi
From the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, the haunting a cappella polyphony from the all male Iberi choir made the ensemble one the true hits of GlobalFEST 2018.
Co-presented by Troy Savings Bank Music Hall
- Wednesday, Aug. 8-CHIME in Concert
ESYO CHIME helps students from economically disadvantaged communities shine through music, building skills to succeed in all areas of their lives
Presented in association with Empire State Youth Orchestras
Sponsored by Price Chopper/Market 32
- Saturday, Aug. 11-The Schenectady Symphony Orchestra
The almost 60-strong SSO performs a starlit “Evening of Pops” under the baton of music director Charles Schneider
www.schenectadysymphony.org/wordpress/
- Aug. 19-Blues BBQ featuring Toronzo Cannon
When Chicago Transit Authority bus driver Toronzo Cannon puts down his keys and grabs his guitar pick, watch out—he’s the real thing, playing his music, as his album states, The Chicago Way
Special Guests: The Matt Mirabile Band
Sponsored by Lia Auto Group, Polar Beverages & WEXT