CAPE COD TIMES – The drought of live music is over as local performers plan to take to the stages, the parks, the lawns and the streets all over Cape Cod and the Islands in coming weeks.
A flood of announcements about upcoming concert series — some free, some ticketed — is a sure sign that music-lovers are ready to hear the sounds of summer, particularly outdoors, as COVID-19 concerns and restrictions ease. Dozens of musicians who have been largely idle or forced to play virtually over the past year will now play live and in-person for one local show or many.
“We are very excited to be playing together and in front of people again,” said Fred Boak, vocalist for the Chandler Travis Three-O band playing Tuesday in Orleans and around the Cape this summer. “There’s an amazing energy that is shared when audiences and performances are in the same physical space.”
Get your calendars ready: In chronological order, here are many of the shows to look forward to.
Waking Up Orleans
Summer officially arrives Monday, and so does music to fill the streets of Orleans for the Solstice Stomp. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, musicians will play in a few different locations.
First up Monday will be the openers of Sarah Bach, Kim Moberg and Heather Swanson at the Old Firehouse Center (Parish Park) at 44 Main St., the headquarters for the Orleans Cultural District sponsoring the shows.
On Tuesday, entertainment will be the Drumma Queens (which has the motto of “joyful noise and positive, healing vibrations”) and Chandler Travis Three-O at the Windmill at Town Cove Park on Route 6A. The event will conclude Wednesday behind Trove Gallery & Boutique at 129 Route 6A with Shannon Davis & Dan Cutler, along with DJ New Sheriff.
Live music in Hyannis
A wide variety of musical acts will play in downtown Hyannis as events are scheduled there nearly every night throughout the summer.
Concerts by the popular Hyannis Sound male a cappella group have started from 7 to 8 p.m. Fridays at Aselton Park on Ocean Street, and will continue through the summer. The other musical entertainment begins the week of June 28.
There will be Sounds of Summer concerts held 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at Aselton Park on Ocean Street. Patrons are invited to bring blankets, chairs and dancing shoes. Scheduled are: July 6, Clayton/Restaino Project; July 13, Jukin J and the Rocker; July 20, The Mojo Kings; July 27, Soul Purpose; Aug 3, Digney Fignus Band; Aug. 10, Fred Clayton Band; Aug. 17, The Jazz Cabbage; and Aug. 24, Steve Morgan and the King Fish.
On Wednesdays, the Town Band will play from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Hyannis Village Green. Thursdays will be the nights for a Jazz Music Stroll from 7 to 9 p.m., with jazz music played at various locations along Main Street.
On Fridays, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., there will be a similar Main Street stroll with local musicians for the Singer-Songwriter series, followed by the Hyannis Sound concerts.
‘Music & More!’ summer concerts
Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis (60 Hope Lane) has produced a winter “Music & More” concert series for 18 years and now launches its first summer concert series, taking place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sundays. The 11 shows, which extend through September, are planned for outside on the museum campus, but will be moved inside in bad weather.
Tickets are $18, $15 for members, with season passes available for $170 or $140 for members. Patrons are invited to bring a lawn chair and picnic. Reservations and information: www.ccmoa.org.
The lineup: June 27, Digney Fignus Band; July 11, Jenifer Jackson with Sonny Barbato; July 18, Sound Dunes Combo; July 25, Two Cool; Aug. 1, Crabgrass Bluegrass Band; Aug. 15, We Are the Men, MVC; Aug. 22, Cape Cod String Quartet; Aug. 29, Bruce Abbott & Dennis Costa; Sept. 5, Broadway Central; Sept. 12, Cape Cod Jazz Quartet; Sept. 19, Henry Acker Trio.
Eastern Bank Concert by the Canal series
The Cape Cod Canal Region Chamber of Commerce is bringing back the popular Eastern Bank Concerts by the Canal series of free, family-friendly concerts on Thursday nights in July and August in Buzzards Bay.
Local bands and vendors will gather from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays at Buzzards Bay Park on Main Street. Guests are invited to bring a blanket or a lawn chair, a picnic dinner, and be ready to dance.
The lineup: July 1, The Corvairs playing oldies; July 8, Gunpowder & Lead (classic rock); July 15, Jody Moore (rock); July 22, The Midnight Society (dance music, rock, alternative); July 29, Van Halen tribute band; Aug. 5, Ashley Jordan Duo (country); Aug. 12, Michele Rockwell Band (popular and jazz); Aug. 19, Barefoot Rebel Band, a Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Band; and Aug. 25, SLJO (rock).
Village Improvement Society of Dennis
Concerts produced by the Village Improvement Society of Dennis will take place at 7 p.m. at the bandstand on the village green on Route 6A.
The performers: July 5, Cape Cod Moonlighters; July 12, Tag Team; July 19, North Country; July 26, Elixir; Aug 2, Harwich Band; Aug 9, Cape Cod Slackers; and Aug 16, Country Flavored Band.
Barnstable County Fair
The returning Barnstable County Fair will host a variety of acts on its main stage throughout the July 19-24 event. All performances are included in general fair admission.
Playing at the fair on Route 151, East Falmouth (all shows at 7:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted: July 19, Emily Ann Roberts (country, a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice”); July 22, Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters; July 23, The Guess Who; July 24, Frankie Ballard; and 6 p.m. July 25, Earth to Mars (a Bruno Mars Tribute Band).
Martha’s Vineyard concert series
Music acts will play in a revamped venue when the Martha’s Vineyard Concert Series moves in August to The Loft nightclub at 9 Oak Bluffs Ave. in Oak Bluffs. The sound and lighting systems at The Loft are undergoing a major renovation funded by the series.
The schedule: July 21, Neighbor and July 22, Pink Talking Fish as pre-party shows for Beach Road Weekend; July 23, Marble Eyes (an after-party for Beach Road Weekend); Aug. 2, Luna pop band; Aug. 5, RIPE; Aug. 6, Entrain; Aug. 7, two shows for Joan Osborne; Aug. 14, Crooked Coast; Aug. 24, G. Love & Chuck Treece; Aug. 27, The New Motif; and Aug. 28, two shows by Livingston Taylor. Tickets: MVConcertSeries.com.
Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival
In its 42nd season, the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival returns to local stages, with concerts Aug. 3-13 at the First Congregational Church in Wellfleet, the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitor’s Center in Eastham, and Cotuit Center for the Arts.
The festival kicks off with 5 and 7:30 p.m. concerts Aug. 3 in Cotuit for a concert “In Celebration of Our Audience” performed by artistic directors Jon Manasse (clarinet) and Jon Nakamatsu (piano) and featuring music by Brahms, Chopin and others.
“Our wonderful Festival audience has shown incredible dedication and optimism, despite the difficulties of the past year,” they said in an announcement of the season. “We conceived of this first concert as a personal message of gratitude for their support and a celebration of live chamber music returning to the Cape.”
One change because of COVID-19 concerns will be that concerts will last one hour with no intermission. Tickets and information: 508-247-9400 and capecodchambermusic.org.
Other concerts (also with shows at 5 and 7:30 p.m.): Aug. 6 in Wellfleet, Escher Quartet and Two Jons, with music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Robert Schumann; Aug. 10 in Cotuit, Escher Quartet and Brian Zeger playing Beethoven and Dvorak; Aug. 12, a family concert at the Seashore, with Imani Winds in a program TBD; and Aug. 13 in Wellfleet, “A Woman’s Perspective,” with Winds playing music by Valerie Coleman and other female composers.
By Kathi Scrizzi-Driscoll
