Another weekend of popular music will take place at the Shalin Liu Performance Center; folk icon Jonathan Edwards performs Saturday, back by popular demand, and the eight-piece Grammy Award-nominated swing band Bellevue Cadillac plays Sunday.
Edwards, who turned 65 on Thursday and just announced the release of his first studio album in 14 years, performs Saturday, July 30, at 7 p.m. The singer-songwriter has four decades of performance, delivering songs of passion, songs of insight and songs of humor. Many recall his "toe-tapping, anti-war anthem" titled "Sunshine." It got its start on a Boston radio station and earned him a gold record in 1971. His upcoming album is "My Love Will Keep."
The concert hall will swing Sunday afternoon, July 31, at 5 p.m. when the New England neoswing band Bellevue Cadillac, also known as the band that turned down the gig playing John F, Kennedy Jr.'s secret wedding, take the stage. The band's music has been heard in the major motion pictures "Shallow Hal," "Me, Myself and Irene" and "Delta Rising" as well as 18 television shows, including "The Sopranos," "Las Vegas," "Sex and the City," and "Touched by an Angel." . Their music features its influences of jazz, gospel, blues and soul, swing and rock ' n' roll. The band, whose songs are on 21 swing CD compilations, has shared a stage with Jack Nicholson, Bill Murray, Ray Charles, James Brown and many others.
Advance tickets, starting at $29, for the shows are on sale at the box office at 35 Main St. in Rockport, or call 978-546-7391, or visit www.rockportmusic.org.
A day of benefit events
A day of events related to fashion, design and more will take place today in a benefit for the Rockport Art Association and Rockport Music, at both their venues.
The day begins with "Barefoot at Rockport Designer Pop Up Shops" from noon to 4 p.m. at the Shalin Liu reception hall, where shoppers can meet designers and learn about their creative process. Designers include Bobby from Boston, Jennifer Reale, Daniela Corte, Renata Fryshara jewelry, Suebdo, Avni, Virginia Fitzgerald, Christina Zwart, and more. Admission is free.
A Summer Whites Fashion Show and Barefoot at Rockport Dress Project Exhibit, with a wine and cheese reception from 2 to 4 p.m., takes place at the Rockport Art Association. There will be a live fashion exhibit of vintage summer whites curated by Pamela Bynum, and bidding on the Barefoot at Rockport Dress Project dress. The dress is a collaboration between Virginia Fitzgerald of the Dress Project and Eugene Quinn. This event is free.
The Barefoot at Rockport fashion show takes place from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Shalin Liu Performance Center where attendees can view new designs and vintage pieces unveiled exclusively for the show by designers Jonathan Joseph Peters, Fiandaca, Jennifer Reale, Daniela Corte, Alan Rouleau, Bolivia Trading Post, and Bobby from Boston. Tickets are $30, $40, $50.
There is a 1960s Barefoot at Rockport Cocktail Party from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Shalin Liu reception hall with hors d'oeuvres by chef Jeff Cala of Latitude 43, and 1960s cocktails designed by mixologist Matt Rose of Alchemy Bistro. Tickets are $20. Cash bar.
Tickets for both events are available at www.rcmf.org or the box office at 978-546-7391.
Harbor Loop tonight
The band Full Circle will perform at the free Harbor Loop Concert Series tonight at the Fitz Henry Lane house. Full Circle has been rocking Gloucester and beyond since 2008.
The band is Wes Thibodeau on lead vocals and percussions, Mike Stanton on bass guitar and vocals, Michael Andrew Feeney on guitar, Peter Malaquias on drums and vocals, and Fred Tarbox on guitar on vocals. Full Circle plays classic rock from Aerosmith to ZZ Top, adding its own flavor to the mix. The members are lifelong musicians from the Cape Ann area.
The opening act will be Marina Evans, a Rockport native and singer-songwriter, who began her solo career in 2006 in New York City. She has taken her music from Manhattan, San Francisco and Philadelphia to Europe where she spent the last seven months performing her blending of jazz, folk and rock in Florence, Italy. The music starts around 6:30 p.m., and listeners often bring chairs, blankets and food.
'Last Day' debut show
Gloucester Stage is in its second week of producing the world premiere of Richard Vetere's "Last Day," which runs through Aug. 7 at Gloucester Stage Company at 267 E. Main St. in Gloucester. This play has been described as a "dark, delicious and mysterious love story."
Directed by Eric Engel, this premiere features actors Timothy John Smith, direct from his performance in Gloucester Stage's recent "The Most Happy Fella"; Francisco Solorzano, last seen in Israel Horovitz's award-winning "Sins of the Mother"; and Gloucester Stage newcomer Therese Plaehn.
For showtimes, reservations and information on discount tickets for Cape Ann resident nights, call the box office at 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.org. Regular ticket prices are $37 and $32 for senior citizen and students.
Be on Backstrom album
Gary Backstrom's live album will be recorded Friday, July 29, at St. John's Episcopal Church at 48 Middle St. in Gloucester at 7 p.m. Admission is $10. Half of the proceeds will support hunger outreach programs at St. John's.
Backstrom has played around New England for more than 20 years and toured nationwide with the band Jiggle The Handle, which has opened for The Allman Brothers Band, Little Feat, Los Lobos, The Bare Naked Ladies, Bella Fleck and others. He currently fronts the electric Gary Backstrom Band and Road To Utopia - a Todd Rundgren tribute band.
'Loco' at the museum
The Cape Ann Museum presents Willie "Loco" Alexander in a free afternoon concert in the museum's Sculpture Garden on Friday, July 29, from 4 to 5 p.m. In the event of rain, the performance will take place inside the museum. This program is free to the public.
Friday concerts continue on Aug. 26 with Henri Smith.
The museum is at 27 Pleasant St. in Gloucester. For information, call 978-283-0455 or visit www.capeannmuseum.
Benefit at Fenway
The Friends of the Orphans is holding a donor appreciation event Saturday, July 30, at 6 p.m. at Fenway Park at State Street Pavilion at 20 Yawkey Way in Boston. Last fall, Cape Ann pediatrician Dr. Brian Orr had more than 500 local residents donate to his birthday effort to support the work of this organization. This event is free and also open to those interested in the organization. Space is limited to the first 500. RSVP at www.friendsoftheorphans.org/Sox or call Monica Henry at 617-206-4943. Light appetizers will be available as part of the event, and dinner and drinks are available for purchase. The away game can be viewed on large screens at the event.
Outdoor dance concert
Windhover's 2011 Annual Summer Dance Concert takes place from Friday, July 29, to Sunday, July 31, at 8 p.m. featuring two guest companies, the Du°an Týnek Dance Theatre of New York City and Forty Steps Dance of Nahant.
The summer performances take place on the outdoor stage at the Windhover Center for the Performing Arts at 257 Granite St. in the Pigeon Cove section of Rockport. In case of rain, the performances will be held indoors.
Du°an Týnek Dance Theatre will perform two new pieces, "Transparent Walls" and "Widow's Walk" as well as excerpts from the Purcell opera "Fairy Queen" which was recently premiered in New York City with the Big Apple Baroque. "Transparent Walls" is set to the 2008 orchestral work of the same name by contemporary Serbian composer Aleksandra Vrebalov. The piece examines organized chaos, where individuals break free from life's machinery to find moments of connectedness and humanity. Roslyn Sulcas of the New York Times wrote "Mr. Týnek showed a remarkable capacity for creating tightly structured dance worlds, inhabited by ingenious, surprising movement invention." The piece titled "Widow's Walk" will premiere as part of this fall's NYC performance season. The 15-minute work was originally commissioned by Marymount Manhattan College in the spring of 2011. The inspiration for the work is an architectural feature of the same name of 19th century houses along the New England coast: the platform on top of the roof which, according to romantic myth, wives of mariners would watch for ships at sea as they would await the return of their loved ones. In this work, Týnek draws upon his strong story-telling qualities within an abstract structure, to evoke a powerful narrative about community, love and loss.
Forty Steps Dance, directed by Sallee Slagle, will perform two recent pieces; one is a bright but intricate piece set to "Andante Cantabile" and "Menuetto & Trio" from Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 in C Major, as well as an innovative piece titled "Drive," set to music by Depeche Mode. A new section of "Drive" will debut at Windhover's Annual Summer Dance Concert. Forty Steps Dance is also bringing back a reworked 2001 piece that is danced to "Fragile" by Sting. This original work was dedicated to victims and heroes of the terror attacks Sept. 11, 2001.
Tickets are $20, and $16 students/seniors. Tickets are available at The Bookstore in Gloucester, Toad Hall Bookstore in Rockport or by calling Windhover Center for the Performing Arts at 978-546-3611 or email windhover@verizon.net.
Storyteller in the park
On Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m., Lucille LePage and Alicia Quintano present a free storytelling program for children and families near the Antonio Gentile Bandstand at Stage Fort Park.
Bring a blanket or chair.
This is the final event in the annual summer series with the two storytellers who share stories, music, local history and more.
For more information call 978-281-3524 or 978-281-6304. The program is supported in part by a grant from the Gloucester Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Razdan, Orchestra play
On Saturday, July 30, Rockport's Alek Razdan and the A-Train Orchestra will perform from 8:30 to 11 p.m. at Stone Soup in Ipswich, one of the last local appearances by the college-bound, 18-year-old front man. The five-piece group features teen saxophonist Alek Razdan, whose group performs its special blend of jazz, blues and swing tunes. Razdan will be joined by his father, Rik Razdan, on baritone sax and clarinet, Dave "Doc" Vincent on drums, Ken Demaine on bass, and Dan Whalen on guitar.
McNiff show opens
The Jane Deering Gallery in Annisquam is opening a new show with a public reception on Tuesday, Aug. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. The show features new paintings by Shaun McNiff in an exhibit titled "Responding to Place: Rock, Water, Sky."
McNiff studied abstract expressionist painting with Theodoros Stamos in New York. His work as a founder in the field of expressive arts therapy has enabled him to include paintings in his numerous publications, as well as in his teaching and research on creative expression. In 2002, he became the first university professor at Lesley University, Cambridge. He lives in Annisquam.
The opening also features a reading by poet Duncan Nelson.
The gallery is at 18 Arlington St. in Annisquam. For more information, call 978-281-8051.
Play reading series
The Gloucester Stage 2011 New Play Reading Series opens Monday, Aug. 1, at 8 p.m. with Richard Vetere's "I Met A Lady." The play reading is followed by a discussion of the work with Vetere and the cast at the theater located at 267 E. Main St. in Gloucester.
The series continues with Rajv Joseph's "Animals out of Paper" on Aug. 15 and the New England Premiere of Israel Horovitz's "Three Weeks After Paradise" on Sept. 11.
The suggested donation for the reading is $20. For more information, call the box office at 978-281-4433 or visit www.gloucesterstage.org.
Playwright-in-residence Vetere's newest work, "I Met A Lady" focuses on a has-been filmmaker Nicky, whose hit film of 20 years ago is now going to Blu-ray. He is visited by a French film student, a Eurasian architect and a former Russian prostitute, all daughters of women he used to know and all claiming Nicky as their father, but he has no memory of their mothers. Vetere, also an actor, stars as the aging filmmaker Nicky and will be joined onstage by a company of Boston actors.
Free ice cream social
Magnolia Library will hold its Ice Cream Social next Thursday, Aug. 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission is free. The event features ice cream sundaes and cones served by Captain Dusty's of Manchester-by-the-Sea along with a full complement of toppings. The board of directors of the library and community center wants to show off the newly installed air conditioning in Richard Jones Hall, which is a venue for meetings, showers, weddings, receptions and parties of all kinds. The hall can accommodate up to 150 people.
Sargent House events
The historic Sargent House, located in the heart of Gloucester, has launched a series "Here & Now: Contemporary Artists Working in The Sargent House Museum Garden."
On Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., visitors can meet the artists, discuss their work, and purchase the artwork. In celebration of the series, the museum will also offer discounted admission. The series was conceived as a means to revitalize the 1782 Sargent House and energize the under-utilized museum garden. The garden's tiers, which were added in 1925 by preservation architect Joseph Everett Chandler, create unique spaces for artists to set up and find inspiration. Known for restorations at the House of the Seven Gables and the Paul Revere House, Chandler made various alterations to the historic site and grounds.
Upcoming artists are: July 31, Kathryn Gentile Roberts; Aug. 7, Mary Rhinelander McCarl; Aug. 14, Dorothy Englander; Aug. 21, Carole Anne Meehan and Aug. 28, Coco Berkman. The museum is at 49 Middle St. in Gloucester. For more information, visit www.sargenthouse.org,
Antique car show
The North Shore Concours d'Elegance takes place at the oceanfront Misselwood Estate at Endicott College in Beverly on Sunday, July 31, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. as a benefit for student scholarships. Admission is $10 and children 12 and younger are free. The show is presented by the Lyon-Waugh Auto Group and features elegant cars and motorcycles. There will be music, jewelry, watches and fashion shows at the Long's Jewelers-Rolex pavilion, food and wine, as well as art displays culminating into the awards ceremony at 3 p.m.
Porch tour
The Annisquam Village Players hosts the The Porches of Annsiquam 2011, a walking tour of eight private porches including several historic homes with views of Lobster Cove, Annisquam River, Annisquam Lighthouse and Ipswich Bay. The event will conclude with a sunset serenade at 30 Norwood Heights by the cast of Annisquam Village Players. The event takes place Aug. 5 from 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets — which support the Annisquam Village Players production of "Annie Get Your Gun" the next week — are $25 and can be purchased at the Annisquam Exchange, 38 Leonard St. (978-281-0358) or at Annisquam Village Hall on the day of the event. To order online, go to: http://www.annisquamvillageplayers.org/production/fundraiser.php
Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000 x3445, or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com. Items should be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the event.
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