Friday, July 1 at 6 p.m. — LUDLOW — A Friday night tradition for area visitors and locals, Okemo kicks off summer weekends with a free lawn concert from 6-9 p.m. in the Jackson Gore Inn courtyard. Concerts feature popular regional musical guests.
Lawn chairs and picnic blankets are welcome, but no outside alcohol is allowed. Al fresco dining is available at Coleman Brook Tavern’s patio. Okemo’s all-American barbecue at the Roundhouse serves traditional cookout fare, plus a selection of beer and wine. Okemo’s Adventure Zone observes special twilight hours every Friday evening during the concert series with food service (including Vermont-famous maple creemees) at the Taqueria.
Concert lineup:
- July 1 – Satin & Steel: a nine-piece R&B horn band based in central Vermont. The band focuses on covering great horn bands as well as a number of powerful originals.
- July 8 – Dave Keller Band: an award-winning soul and blues artist, based in Vermont. He performs throughout the U.S. and has recorded and co-written with legendary blues guitarist Ronnie Earl and been featured as bandleader with Mississippi soul/blues master Johnny Rawls.
- July 15 – Blue Jay Way: All Vermont-born musicians, BJW is noted for its vocal harmonies and tight arrangements of rock favorites that span the five decades the band has performed together. Blue Jay Way performs covers of classic hits with some modern songs added in.
- July 22 – Gypsy Reel: plays high energy, stirring music rooted in the Celtic tradition but garnered from the whole world. Their music is an exciting synthesis of world rhythms and influences from three continents.
- July 29 – Deadgrass: a string-band adventure through Jerry Garcia’s musical world, exploring his life’s work on the instruments that inspired him. Deadgrass celebrates and interprets the music, drawing from Old & In the Way, JGB, Jerry’s Jug Band and The Grateful Dead.
- Aug. 5 – Suitcase Junket: Matt Lorenz is the thrifty mastermind behind the one-man band known as The Suitcase Junket. His distinctive hair-raising blend of folk, blues, and rock combines character and charm that he brings to the stage with old instruments and antiques to create his unique instruments.
- Aug. 12 – Cold Chocolate: a genre-bending Americana band that fuses folk, funk and bluegrass to create a unique sound all their own. Punctuated by tight harmonies and skillful musicianship, Cold Chocolate has quickly gained recognition for their original music and high-energy shows.
- Aug. 19 – Satin & Steel: a nine-piece R&B horn band based in central Vermont. The band focuses on covering great horn bands as well as a number of powerful originals.
- Aug. 26 – The Stockwell Brothers: Green Mountain newgrass artists whose music spans traditional and progressive styles. They cover straight-ahead bluegrass songs, finger-picked acoustic guitar ballads, full-tilt breakdowns and traditional mandolin tunes mixed in with more unusual fare.
- Sept. 2 – Studio Two: a Beatles tribute band that focuses on the most exciting and energetic period of The Beatles: The club and touring years. Studio Two recreates the Fab Four’s music, appearance, instruments, and onstage banter to bring people to the dance floor.
For more information visit: Okemo.com.
