Our 2023 Summer Concert Series brings the most FUN bands to Shepard Park for concerts on Wednesday nights in July and August + 2 special Thursday night shows in 2023 – so grab your family and friends and bring them to Lake George for an evening of great music!
Most shows start at 7pm (see concert details for start times on August 10th and August 24th)
All shows are FREE and open to all!
Shepard Park Amphitheater, Lake George NY – Bring a chair or a blanket!
Wednesday, July 5, 2023:
Annie and the Hedonists
7pm: Annie and the Hedonists interpret the songs of the great female blues artists of the ‘20s, 30s & 40s: Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace, Memphis Minnie, Billie Holiday, Rosetta Tharpe, Blue Lu Barker, Ella Fitzgerald and others. Other styles include western swing, bluesy country, and roots Americana.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023:
Kyshona
7pm: Kyshona is an artist ignited by untold stories, and the capacity of those stories to thread connection in every community. With the background of a licensed music therapist, the curiosity of a writer, the patience of a friend, the vision of a social entrepreneur, the resolve of an activist, and the voice of a singer, Kyshona is unrelenting in her pursuit for the healing power of song. She lends her voice and music to those that feel they have been silenced or forgotten.
In 2021, she founded charitable organization Your Song, fiscally sponsored through the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, that provides therapeutic songwriting sessions for at-risk and marginalized youth, for elderly to aid in memory care, for incarcerated populations and those re-entering society, for people experiencing addiction and those in recovery, for women’s health and healing, for strengthening bonds between new parents and their children, and more.
Wednesday, July 19, 2023:
Guy Davis
7pm: Guy Davis is a two-time, back-to-back Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues, a musician, Actor, Author, and Songwriter. Guy uses a blend of Roots, Blues, Folk, Rock, Rap, Spoken Word, and World Music to comment on, and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching on historical events, and common life struggles. His background in theater is pronounced through the lyrical storytelling of songs “God’s Gonna Make Things Over” about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, “Welcome to My World”, and “Got Your Letter In My Pocket”. His storytelling is sometimes painful, deep, and real, an earthy contrast to modern-day commercial music, meant to create thought, underlined by gentle tones from his guitar or banjo fingerpicking.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023:
The Clements Brothers
7pm: The Clements Brothers are George and Charles Clements, identical twins from New England. They’ve been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember and ‘The Clements Brothers’ marks their first project together since playing in the internationally touring grass-roots band, ‘The Lonely Heartstring Band’ with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records. With roots, rock, bluegrass, jazz, and classical influences, George (on guitar) and Charles (on bass) aim to capture their singer-songwriter sensibilities in a unique blended voice, at once enthralling and intimate, groovy and serene. They are joined by drummer Mike Harmon, who joined the band after an impromptu late night set at the Ossipee Music festival, and adds his unique roots-conscious musicality to the group’s evolving sound. The trio is a fusion of each member’s unique musical journey, and the result is music all its own, filled with vocal harmonies, instrumental virtuosity, and a genuine love of song.
Wednesday, August 2, 2023:
Three Quarter North
7pm: Eddies Music Award nominees Three Quarter North have performed at over 50 venues in and around the capital district over the last 15 years. This accomplished group plays everything from traditional fiddle tunes to complex original pop weaving acoustic and electric influences into an enticing array of sounds. Homegrown and raised on tradition, Three Quarter North exemplifies the best in American roots music.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023:
ARKAI
presented in partnership with the Lake George Music Festival
7:30pm: ARKAI is an award-winning electroacoustic duo that has inspired audiences around the world through their genre-defying string music. Graduates of The Juilliard School, their past engagements have included performances at The MET, Joe’s Pub, City Winery, US Air Force Academy, Rockwood Music Hall, Lincoln Center, Musikfest, Chateau Marmont, and Carnegie Hall. Their electronic debut composition, “Letters from COVID”, was featured at [email protected] for a global audience of over 30,000 people from 182 countries. Recent highlights include opening for Oscar and Grammy-winning musician Jon Batiste at NYC’s Javits Center. As creative collaborators, ARKAI was commissioned by the Museum of Chinese in America to compose a work for their exhibition Responses: Asian Americans Resisting the Tides of Racism. Other commissions have included a piece for Silver Lining Ltd’s Impact 5X initiative — a global economic justice project supporting hundreds of small business owners from underserved communities around the world. ARKAI was selected by the U.S. Department of State and the Association of American Voices to participate in the ‘21-22 American Music Abroad season. Through this program, ARKAI has engaged in exchange programs with underserved audiences around the world with little or no access to American music, demonstrating the power of cultural diplomacy as a tool to bring people together. ARKAI is a winner of the 2021 Astral Artists National Competition.
Wednesday, August 16, 2023:
Zikina
7pm: Zikina is a group of people who came from across continents and cultures to show that despite all the forces in the world that emphasize our differences and try to diminish and pull us apart, we can come together to make something beautiful and new. It doesn’t take long for this music to get you dancing, clapping along, connecting with the people around you, and savoring the beauty of the present moment. You might start with curiosity when Uganda native Gideon Ampeire draws you in with a variety of traditional East African instruments that are rare and fascinating to US audiences, including enanga (zither), adungu (harp), and kalimba (thumb piano) – all of which he builds himself.
Once your interest is piqued by the instruments, you’ll quickly discover that there’s so much more to the band. Mike Cardozo (guitar, percussion) improvises intricate melodic conversations with Gideon and dances through the beat with punchy rhythmic lines. Roston Kirk (bass) and Kade Parkin (drums) weave a sonic landscape that flows seamlessly from intense grooves to joyous dance beats to dreamy textures. Gideon’s vocals cut powerfully through the fabric or float lightly above. It all adds up to something completely unique, yet immediately accessible.
Wednesday, August 23, 2023:
The Ill Funk Ensemble
7pm: A slick mash-up of hip-hop, neo-soul, R&B and rock that’s been compared to The Roots, THE ILL FUNK ENSEMBLE has been described as “soul for the masses” (Technorati.com), “airtight on all levels” (JamSphere Magazine), “brilliant” (The Signal Magazine) and “about to change the face of hip-hop music” (Indie Band Guru).
A fixture of the Albany, NY music scene for more than 17 years, ILL FUNK has racked up an impressive resume; winning awards for their original albums, collaborating with Quincy Jones (famed producer of Michael Jackson’s Thriller), and sharing stages with multiple Grammy winners like Naughty by Nature and members of the Wu Tang Clan. They’ve been featured in dozens of music and entertainment publications, including Okayplayer, and have had their music played all over the world. Few artists in the area can boast this level of accomplishment, but ILL FUNK remains close to their roots; a club band, offering an array of original music and classic covers that is as entertaining as it is unique. It’s for these reasons that THE ILL FUNK ENSEMBLE is repeatedly mentioned as one of the best bands in Upstate New York and will continue to offer a high quality hip-hop, soul, pop and R&B experience.
Thursday, August 24, 2023:
50th Anniversary Party!
with The Switch and The Stony Creek Band
6:30pm: The Switch is a rock n’ roll band that also calls on blues and funk influences. Known for their powerful and full sound, they’ll be performing everything from Led Zeppelin to the Allman Brothers to the Meters to BB King to some originals.
8pm: For 50 years years, the Stony Creek Band has been one of the most enduringly popular musical groups in the northeastern United States. The Stony Creek Band has thrilled generations of fans with its high energy blend of rock, folk, country and bluegrass; a sound that has consistently defied description but is “a product of the landscape as authentically upstate as any Hudson River School painting or sculpture by David Smith” and performed in a manner described by one reviewer as “a ferocious ensemble attack; like a runaway train!”.
The Stony Creek Band began with the 1973 meeting of John Strong, a folksinger/guitarist from the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and Hank Soto, a guitarist and songwriter from the Bavarian Alps of Germany. Along with a bass player the Stony Creek Band began life as a folk trio, touring coffee houses in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. After moving to the Adirondack mountain hamlet of Stony Creek, NY the band quickly developed into a 7-piece musical powerhouse featuring drums, a rock guitarist, pedal steel guitar and banjo that, for a time, was the little town’s largest year-round employer!
In the 1980’s the band evolved into its current 5-piece configuration which now includes producer/ singer /songwriter Dave Maswick on bass, blues hall of fame member Mike Lomaestro on drums, and noted bluegrass mandolin virtuoso Fred Lantz. Over the years, the Stony Creek Band has made hundreds (if not thousands) of concert appearances including a live performance on international TV for the closing ceremonies of the Goodwill Winter Games, an appearance at a New York State gubernatorial inauguration, a February outdoor appearance at the 25th anniversary celebration of the “Miracle on Ice” (brrrr) and a live performance on NBC’s TODAY show with Meredith Viera and Ann Curry.
Over the past 50 years, the Stony Creek Band has evolved from an acoustic trio with roots in traditional folk and country music to a purveyor of American idioms, and back again. The band’s music is the sound of mature, seasoned artists who have outlasted the years and their own baser instincts to mentor and encourage younger artists, enrich their communities and preserve and transmit a living memory.
Presented in partnership with the Village of Lake George
Wednesday, August 30, 2023:
Sirsy
7pm: SIRSY is a rock, pop, and soul duo from Upstate NY. They write honest songs, full of sing along melodies, with lots of heart and just the right amount of sass. “It’s edgy-feel-good music that’s fun to watch”. (–The Houston Music Blog).
The Boston Globe call SIRSY “the little band with the big sound.” SXSW Music Blog says “SIRSY is NOT simply a two piece, the sound they make is a head scratching, WOW!” SIRSY is fronted by charismatic vocalist/ drummer Melanie Krahmer who has “one of the most powerful and flexible voices you’ll ever hear.” (–Times Union) At live shows, Mel also plays bass on a keyboard with her drumstick & throws in a few mean flute solos too. Guitarist, and Mel’s husband, Rich Libutti plays a road worn and well-loved Rickenbacker guitar through a pedal board full of vintage effects. Live, Rich also plays bass on a pedalboard with his feet. So, these multi-instrumentalists manage to sound like a full band, despite there being just two of them. And somehow, they do it all with big smiles on their faces. It’s clear they love what they do. And that love is contagious when you see them live. You can’t help smiling along with them. Their energetic show often includes stories from the road, laughter, dance parties, and even Rich’s nerdy Star Wars jokes.
Our Summer Concert Series would not be possible without the support of The Town of Lake George, The Village of Lake George, The New York State Council on the Arts, Anonymous, and our generous members and supporters!
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