Maine singer-songwriter Anni Clark continues the annual Bates College Midsummer Lakeside Concert Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 15, in the Florence Keigwin Amphitheater at the college’s Lake Andrews.

Midsummer Lakeside concerts take place on six consecutive Thursdays in July and August. The series will continue with the folk band Highland String Trio, eclectic folk-rock group the Zulu Leprechauns, hammered-dulcimer player Harry Vayo and the Celtic-bluegrass fusion band Irish Hill.

Sponsored by the Garcelon Society, the Bingham Betterment Fund and the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates, these family concerts are open to the public at no cost. Listeners are encouraged to bring a picnic and lawn chairs or blankets.

An alternative site will be announced in case of rain. For more information, please call 207-786-6400.

Here’s the complete schedule:

July 15, Anni Clark: Nominated for “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the 2006 Texas Music Awards, this veteran Maine singer-songwriter has released seven albums and appeared with the likes of Shawn Colvin, Richie Havens and Patty Larkin. Audiences love her humor and expressive power.

Clark’s music has been described as “folk, pop and blues with a dash of Maine humor.” Twice a finalist in the well-known songwriters’ competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival, Clark was invited to be a judge for the event in 2001. In 2003, she won both “Female Artist of the Year” and “Folk Artist of the Year” in Jam Music Magazine’s Readers’ Pix Awards. Clark also works as an education tech in special education in Saco, Maine.

July 22, Highland String Trio: Lauren Scott, Chris Bannon and Walt Bannon are known for their energetic blend of Celtic, bluegrass and Americana. Scott is a fiddler who also performs with the band Fiddle-icious. Chris Bannon plays guitar and mandolin, and Walt Bannon provides vocals, flute and guitar.

July 29, The Zulu Leprechauns: These eclectic, improvisational folk-rockers play a mix of original and familiar music, incorporating styles from West Africa, rock ‘n’ roll, bluegrass and folk. In addition to their own songs, they cover such artists as Neil Young, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Lou Reed and Robert Johnson, among others. They have made three recordings: the eponymous “Zulu Leprechauns,” “Mixed Messages” and their latest, “L.A. To Zaire.”

Founded in 1993, the ensemble comprises bassist John Shaw, banjoist and electric dulcimer player John Schwellenbach, percussionist and violinist Annegret Baier and percussionist Jeff Howe. Their instrumental arsenal includes djembe, six-string bass, guitar, dumbek, conga, shakers and cymbals. They have played the Maine Festival, Congress Square Festival and New Year’s Portland, along with such venues as Portland’s Oak Street Theater, the Waldo Theater and the Camden Opera House.

Aug. 5, Harry Vayo: A master of the hammered dulcimer and a self-described healing musician, Vayo performs his own compositions, Celtic and Asian tunes, Beatles songs, Cajun sounds and an occasional classical piece. He has made two recordings and has appeared at the Common Ground Fair and New Year’s by the Bay in Belfast, among many other Maine venues.

Aug. 12, Irish Hill: This local quartet offers a heartfelt blend of Celtic, bluegrass and old-time fiddle music. The players are guitarist Scott Williams, mandolinist Roberta Hill, fiddler-banjoist Michael Conant and bassist Tim Clough. Rich harmonies by Hill and Conant round out Irish Hill’s distinctive sound.

Here is a preview of public events at Bates College for summer 2010. Click “Print this post” at the bottom of the page for a version especially formatted for printing.

For up-to-date information throughout the month, see our Upcoming Events list. Questions or comments? Contact the calendar editor at this calendar@bates.edu.

Also at Bates each summer is the nationally renowned Bates Dance Festival, with public concerts, workshops and lectures taking place this year from July 5 through Aug. 7. For tickets, contact 207-786-6381 or this dancefest@bates.edu. Learn more.

Except as noted, events in the following listing are open to the public at no charge.

Saturday, June 12

2:30pm

A lecture by the artist and a reception open Joseph Nicoletti: A Retrospective, the major summer exhibition at Bates and a comprehensive look at one of Maine’s foremost realist painters. FMI: 207-786-6158 or this museum@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center, Bates College Museum of Art

Saturday, June 19

8am

Clean Sweep: Bates’ annual “garage sale” of electronics, furnishings, household items, bikes, books, sporting goods, toys and other articles donated by departing students and the campus community. Clean Sweep keeps perfectly good items out of the landfill while proceeds from the sale benefit local nonprofits. For more information contact 207-786-8367 or this jrosenba@bates.edu .
Underhill Arena

Thursday, July 8

6pm

Midsummer Lakeside Concert: Pan Loco Steel Band. This foursome has brought the sounds of the Caribbean to New England since 1991. Featuring two steel drummers, a bassist and multi-percussionist, Pan Loco is known for its contagious enthusiasm for the calypso, reggae and island music that it plays. Bring a picnic, lawn chairs or blankets, family and friends. For more information call 207-786-6400.
Florence Keigwin Amphitheater, overlooking Lake Andrews (rain site: Bates College Chapel)

Thursday, July 15

6pm

Midsummer Lakeside Concert: Anni Clark. Nominated for “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the 2006 Texas Music Awards, this veteran Maine singer-songwriter has released seven albums and appeared with the likes of Shawn Colvin, Richie Havens and Patty Larkin. Audiences love her humor and expressive power. Bring a picnic, lawn chairs or blankets, family and friends. For more information contact 207-786-6400.
Florence Keigwin Amphitheater, overlooking Lake Andrews (rain site: Bates College Chapel)

Thursday, July 22

6pm

Midsummer Lakeside Concert: Highland String Trio. Lauren Scott, Chris Bannon and Walt Bannon are known for their energetic blend of Celtic, bluegrass and Americana. Scott is a fiddler who also performs with Fiddle-icious. Chris Bannon plays guitar and mandolin, and Walt Bannon provides vocals, flute and guitar. Bring a picnic, lawn chairs or blankets, family and friends. For more information contact 207-786-6400.
Florence Keigwin Amphitheater, overlooking Lake Andrews (rain site: Bates College Chapel)

Thursday, July 29

6pm

Midsummer Lakeside Concert: The Zulu Leprechauns. Using violin, banjo, bass, guitar, percussion and electric dulcimer, the Leprechauns tap styles from Africa, rock ‘n’ roll, bluegrass and folk. Performing originals and songs by Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Robert Johnson, among others, they have played some of Maine’s top festivals. Bring a picnic, lawn chairs or blankets, family and friends. For more information contact 207-786-6400.
Florence Keigwin Amphitheater, overlooking Lake Andrews (rain site: Bates College Chapel)

Thursday, Aug. 5

6pm

Midsummer Lakeside Concert: Harry Vayo. A master of the hammered dulcimer, Vayo performs his own compositions, Celtic and Asian tunes, Beatles songs, Cajun sounds and an occasional classical piece. He has made two recordings and has appeared at the Common Ground Fair, among many other Maine venues. Bring a picnic, lawn chairs or blankets, family and friends. For more information contact 207-786-6400.
Florence Keigwin Amphitheater, overlooking Lake Andrews (rain site: Bates College Chapel)

Thursday, Aug. 12

6pm

Midsummer Lakeside Concert: Irish Hill. This local quartet offers a heartfelt blend of Celtic, bluegrass and old-time fiddle music. The band consists of guitarist Scott Williams, mandolinist Roberta Hill, fiddler-banjoist Michael Conant and bassist Tim Clough. Rich harmonies by Hill and Conant round out their distinctive sound. Bring a picnic, lawn chairs or blankets, family and friends. For more information contact 207-786-6400.
Florence Keigwin Amphitheater, overlooking Lake Andrews (rain site: Bates College Chapel)

The Midsummer Lakeside Concert Series is sponsored by the Garcelon Society, the Bingham Betterment Fund and the Harward Center for Community Partnerships.

Bates College Museum of Art

Museum hours: 10am–5pm Tuesday–Saturday

June 12 – Sept. 25

Joseph Nicoletti: A Retrospective: An important realist painter, Nicoletti joined the Bates art and visual culture faculty in 1981. Although his art has appeared in our exhibitions numerous times, this is the Bates museum’s first exhibition showing a broad range of Nicoletti’s work. Featured are paintings and drawings from the museum’s collection, from other museums and private collections, and from Nicoletti himself. The catalog includes an essay by the eminent art historian Jeffrey Muller.

Popular Maine singer-songwriter Anni Clark performs in the 2007 Bates College Midsummer Lakeside Concert Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, in the Florence Keigwin Amphitheater, by the college’s picturesque Lake Andrews.

Rain site is the adjacent Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. Bring a picnic supper and blankets or lawn chairs. Concerts are open to the public free of charge. Rain site is the adjacent Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. Bring a picnic supper and blankets or lawn chairs. Concerts are open to the public free of charge.

All starting at 6 p.m., the family-friendly Lakeside concerts take place on Thursdays in July and August. Except for the Aug. 9 program, all are scheduled for the Keigwin Amphitheater.

For more information, please call 207-786-6400.

Upon her reputation as one of Maine’s most enduring singer-songwriters, Clark has built a national following through countless club dates and festival appearances, and glowing reviews in such publications as the folk music magazine Dirty Linen.

Her career honors include a nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2006 Texas Music Awards, two finalist rankings in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Songwriters’ Competition, and the awards for both female artist and folk artist of the year in Jam Music Magazine’s 2006 readers’ poll. The latest of her six recordings is 2006′s Anni Clark Live. She is also known as one-third of the songwriters’ trio Under The Song Tree, with Dan Merrill and Lynn Deeves.

The family-friendly duo Julie & Brownie closes the concert series on Aug. 9. Since the 1990s, the twosome has delighted family audiences with an award-winning mix of fun-filled songs and educational messages for kids. They have toured through the eastern U.S. and Canada, written the children’s books The Streamlined Double Decker Bus and A Pirate’s Life For Me, and been covered by dozens of publications. Brownie Macintosh has been performing since 1965 and has composed songs for the Kingston Trio, the Irish Rovers and others.

Gisele Ganz, a Boston-based actress and singer whose credentials include performances with the Boston Pops, joined the team as “Julie” in 2005. Note location: Bates’ historic Quad, in front of Coram Library, Campus Avenue (rain site: Olin Arts Center Concert Hall).

The Radio Gang, a Maine-based quartet playing classic country music, opens the 2007 Bates College Midsummer Lakeside Concert Series with a performance at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 12, in the Florence Keigwin Amphitheater at the college’s Lake Andrews.

Rain site is the adjacent Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. Bring a picnic supper and blankets or lawn chairs. Concerts are open to the public free of charge. For more information, please call 207-786-6400.

All starting at 6 p.m., the family-friendly Lakeside concerts take place on five Thursdays in July and August. Except for the Aug. 9 program, all are scheduled for the Keigwin Amphitheater.

Here’s the complete schedule:

The Radio Gang performs classic American country music from the 1930s and ’40s. Simple, honest and in many ways innocent, this stylistic forerunner to today’s bluegrass includes lively fiddle and train songs, gospel and ballads of love and heartbreak. The Radio Gang, based in York County, is well-known throughout the Northeast and has released 11 albums. Singing and playing diverse acoustic instruments, the members are Mac McHale, also known for his work with Northeast Winds; John Roc; Sally Roc; and Herman McGee.

Born in northern Vermont, Michele Choiniere (July 19) writes and sings songs about nature, romance and Franco-American life. Often backed by a five-piece band, Choiniere has performed throughout New England, Quebec and France, and appeared on Visions d’Amerique, broadcast worldwide by TV5 International. Her recordings include the solo release Coeur Fragile and a collection of Franco-American songs made with her father, Fabio. She is featured on the 1999 Smithsonian Folkways album Mademoiselle Voulez-Vous Danser: Franco-American Music from the New England Borderlands. Choiniere’s influences also include jazz and international standards.

The popular Downeast Brass (July 26)  brings decades of experience and a crowd-pleasing versatility to the stage. The quintet has performed all over northern New England, including the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H., Maine’s famed Moxie Festival and the inauguration of Maine Gov. John Baldacci. Bandmembers have performed with Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow and Yanni, and are integral to such well-known Maine ensembles as the Al Corey Jazz Orchestra, the Casco Bay Concert Band and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.

Upon her reputation as one of Maine’s most enduring singer-songwriters, Anni Clark (Aug. 2) has built a national following through countless club dates and festival appearances, and glowing reviews in such publications as the folk music magazine Dirty Linen. Her career honors include a nomination for “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the 2006 Texas Music Awards, two finalist rankings in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Songwriters’ Competition, and the awards for both female artist and folk artist of the year in Jam Music Magazine’s 2006 readers’ poll. The latest of her six recordings is 2006′s Anni Clark Live. Clark is also known as one-third of the songwriters’ trio Under The Song Tree, with Dan Merrill and Lynn Deeves.

Since the 1990s, Julie & Brownie (Aug. 9) have delighted family audiences with an award-winning mix of fun-filled songs and educational messages for kids. The duo has toured through the eastern U.S. and Canada, written the children’s books The Streamlined Double Decker Bus and A Pirate’s Life For Me, and been covered by dozens of publications. Brownie Macintosh has been performing since 1965 and has composed songs for the Kingston Trio, the Irish Rovers and others. Gisele Ganz, a Boston-based actress and singer whose credentials include performances with the Boston Pops, joined the team as “Julie” in 2005. Note location: Bates’ historic Quad, in front of Coram Library, Campus Avenue (rain site: Olin Arts Center Concert Hall).

Michele Choiniere, a Vermont-based francophone singer-songwriter, performs in the 2007 Bates College Midsummer Lakeside Concert Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 19, in the Florence Keigwin Amphitheater at the college’s Lake Andrews.

Rain site is the adjacent Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. Bring a picnic supper and blankets or lawn chairs. Concerts are open to the public free of charge. For more information, please call 207-786-6400.

All starting at 6 p.m., the family-friendly Lakeside concerts take place on Thursdays in July and August. Except for the Aug. 9 program, all are scheduled for the Keigwin Amphitheater.

Born in northern Vermont, Choiniere writes and sings songs about nature, romance and Franco-American life. Often backed by a five-piece band, she has performed throughout New England, Quebec and France, and appeared on Visions d’Amerique, broadcast worldwide by TV5 International. Her recordings include the solo release Coeur Fragile and a collection of Franco-American songs made with her father, Fabio. She is featured on the 1999 Smithsonian Folkways album Mademoiselle Voulez-Vous Danser: Franco-American Music from the New England Borderlands. Choiniere’s influences also include jazz and international standards.

Here’s the schedule for the remainder of the series:The popular Downeast Brass (July 26) brings decades of experience and a crowd-pleasing versatility to the stage. The quintet has performed all over northern New England, including the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, N.H., Maine’s famed Moxie Festival and the inauguration of Maine Gov. John Baldacci. Bandmembers have performed with Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow and Yanni, and are integral to such well-known Maine ensembles as the Al Corey Jazz Orchestra, the Casco Bay Concert Band and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.

Upon her reputation as one of Maine’s most enduring singer-songwriters, Anni Clark (Aug. 2) has built a national following through countless club dates and festival appearances, and glowing reviews in such publications as the folk music magazine Dirty Linen.

Her career honors include a nomination for “Female Vocalist of the Year” at the 2006 Texas Music Awards, two finalist rankings in the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Songwriters’ Competition, and the awards for both female artist and folk artist of the year in Jam Music Magazine’s 2006 readers’ poll. The latest of her six recordings is 2006′s Anni Clark Live. She is also known as one-third of the songwriters’ trio Under The Song Tree, with Dan Merrill and Lynn Deeves.

Since the 1990s, Julie & Brownie (Aug. 9) have delighted family audiences with an award-winning mix of fun-filled songs and educational messages for kids. They have toured through the eastern U.S. and Canada, written the children’s books The Streamlined Double Decker Bus and A Pirate’s Life For Me, and been covered by dozens of publications. Brownie Macintosh has been performing since 1965 and has composed songs for the Kingston Trio, the Irish Rovers and others.

Gisele Ganz, a Boston-based actress and singer whose credentials include performances with the Boston Pops, joined the team as “Julie” in 2005. Note location: Bates’ historic Quad, in front of Coram Library, Campus Avenue (rain site: Olin Arts Center Concert Hall).