FREE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES KICKS OFF JULY 7 AT CLARK ART INSTITUTE

For Immediate Release
June 18, 2015

Williamstown, MA—A beloved tradition continues at the Clark Art Institute this summer with free live concerts every Tuesday in July at 6 pm. Bands will play on a hill adjacent to the Clark Center. Barbecue fare will be for sale; concertgoers may also bring picnic meals to enjoy on the grounds.

Kicking off the series on July 7 is Girl Howdy, a five-piece honky-tonk dance band featuring an all-female frontline on steel guitar (Karen Sarkisian), piano (Paula Bradley), and flat top guitar (Betsy-Dawn Williams) with soaring vocal harmonies, backed by Brian Rost on upright bass and Billy Nadeau on drums. Playing music from the classic honky-tonk era spanning the late 1940s to the early 1960s, Girl Howdy covers such legends as Hank Williams, Kitty Wells, Buck Owens, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, the Davis Sisters, and Webb Pierce, complemented by honky-tonk-inspired originals.

On July 14, funk and jam band Primate Fiasco takes the stage with a high-energy mixture of
Dixieland, house beats, and folk music. Band members Drake Descant and Jeff Fennell harmonize on accordion and saxophone, while Kevin LaRose and Dave Russo create funky pockets of sound with a sousaphone and a banjo, all backed up by Chris Trevethan on drums. Primate Fiasco performs regularly at jam, electronica, and folk festivals and produced a Grammy-nominated children’s album called Wheels on the Bus in 2010.

Daddy-O! helps the Clark celebrate its sixtieth anniversary with music of the 1950s on July 21. Relive the era of rock and roll, rockabilly, doo wop, rhythm and blues, and even pop music with Robert Chandler on guitar and vocals, Bill Kirby on slap bass and vocals, and teen rockabilly singing sensation Brenna Joyce on guitar and vocals. Enjoy classic music by Elvis, Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, The Stray Cats, Chuck Berry, Patsy Cline, and more. The band recently produced their fifth album, The Way I Walk.

Wrapping up the concert series on July 28 is gypsy swing, jazz, and fusion band Occidental Gypsy, featuring Eli Bishop on violin, Jeff Feldman on bass, Jeremy Frantz on guitar and vocals, Erick Cifuentes on drums, and Brett Feldman on lead guitar. Named by the Boston Globe as a “Best Bet for Weekend Entertainment,” Occidental Gypsy performs a dynamic mix of original vocal and instrumental pieces with a lightning fast, complex acoustic sound, rounded by sultry smooth vocals reminiscent of the first era of swing.

The Clark’s summer band concert series is generously supported by MountainOne Bank.

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, open to the public with more than 240,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm; open daily in July and August. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. For more information, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.

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