Summer and Fall Preview 2006

By Bob PROTZMAN

The soft breeze wafting over the south shore of Lake Erie this summer will be mixing with the sound of jazz as well as myriad other musical sounds and scents in downtown Erie and elsewhere in the city. The summer-fall of 2006 promises to be a fun-filled five months or so of great music, food, arts and crafts and other warm weather activities. In a city whose major industry is tourism and whose summers seem fleeting, visitors and residents alike will have as many and a variety of opportunities as possible to spend time in the great outdoors. Jazz, which has become a player again the past several years in Erie after a hiatus, will play a prominent role in the summer and fall activities agenda. Arguably, summer’s most anticipated event is the annual Jazz and Blues Walk, sponsored by JazzErie (the local jazz society) and scheduled for July 15.

The J&B Walk essentially is a night of barhopping in downtown Erie from 7 p.m.-12:30 a.m., with a different band in each bar/restaurant. Many of the city’s best musicians and bands participate, and this year JazzErie has made it a priority to put quality and compatibility first when choosing the performers and venues. To visit the 12 locations this year, jazz lovers will need to purchase a Jazz and Blues Walk button, costing $10 each, will be sold at various outlets and in front of the Erie Art Museum the night of the walk. Also, buttons are currently available at Erie Art Museum, Glass Growers, Erie Book Store, Romolo Chocolates, and Performing Art Center, Mercyhurst College, and all the performance venues. Persons interested in going to just one or two venues can do so by a paying $2 cover charge at the door of each establishment.

The lineup:

7 p.m. Erie Art Museum Annex: Saxophonist Charles Ventrello band.

8 p.m. Scully’s, 408 State St.: Cats-a-Bear band.

8 p.m. Pufferbelly, 414 French St.: Guitarist Carl Hultman & Friends.

9 p.m. Branigan’s, 506 State St.: Vocalist Lydia Marks, Harry Jacobson and Co.

8 p.m. Billies Vodka & Wine Bar, Avalon Hotel, 10th and State: Vocalist/pianist Mary Alice Brown and band.

8 p.m. DowntownErieHotel, 18th and State St.: Potato Battery band.

9 p.m. Papermoon, 1325 State St.: Pianist Basil Ronzitti and band.

9 p.m. Matthew’s Trattoria, 153 E. 13th St.: Pianist Gene Leone and the Spa Quintet.

9 p.m. Docksider, 1015 State St.: Roger Montgomery and band.

10 p.m. Scotty’s, 301 German St.: Pianist Jim Madden and band.

8 p.m. Nicky’s Pub, 1013 State St. (formerly the State Street Tavern): Red Hot Rugcutters

9 p.m. Plymouth Tavern, 1109 State St.: Duke Sherman Blues Band.
CONTACT: Jazz Erie www.jazzerie.com or at 814-833-5563.

 
Perhaps the biggest crowds for a single summer music event turn out for the Erie Art Museum’s FREE weekend Jazz and Blues Festival, held each year in rolling Frontier Park on Erie’s Westside. Thousands are expected each day of this year’s festival (weather permitting), scheduled for noon to 10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 5-6. Festival and EAM director John Vanco selects the artists, generally internationally and nationally known, as well as local musicians/bands. Saturday is blues day, Sunday belongs to jazz, Although Vanco also usually inserts a world music or ethnic group on one or both day’s program.
CONTACT: Erie Art Museum www.erieartmuseum.org 814-459-5477

JazzErie will conclude its highly successful 2005-2006 season on May 6 with “Kids Have Their Say,’’ a concert featuring Erie and area high school jazz musicians and bands under the direction of John Marszalek of General McLane High School, Edinboro, and Chuck Lute of Erie’s Collegiate Academy. Erie’s Chris Dempsey, trombonist and recent graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, will perform with and conduct a master class for student musicians. The concert will be at 7 p.m. at Collegiate Academy.
CONTACT: www.jazzerie.com. 

The major family friendly summer event is Celebrate Erie, a three-day affair that sponsors claim is one of Pennsylvania’s largest urban arts festivals.

Held Aug. 18-20 over an eight-block area in downtown Erie, it includes a marketplace for interesting and diverse art, performance, music (including jazz, of course), food, spectacle, activities and oddities. This year’s complete schedule was under development at this writing, but already two new attractions have been added—a Gospel Extravaganza featuring local musicians and choirs, and a Taste of Erie Best Chef Competition.

Hours are 11 a.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday (Aug. 18 and 19) and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 20)
CONTACT:www.celebrateerie.com

The equal of Celebrate Erie, or close to it, is the Erie Summer Festival of the Arts, June 22 – 25. It is at Liberty Park and includes daily live entertainment, a juried art show, face painting, arts and crafts, and more.
CONTACT: Festival Committee 814-838-0971.
 
It appears that the city’s downtown will be alive with the sound of music as perhaps never before.
For example, “Downtown Fridays’’ will be held beginning in May and running through August, with all genres and styles of music presented from 5 to 7 p.m. all along State Street, the city’s main drag leading to the Bay front.
CONTACT: Downtown Improvement District www.eriedowntown.com 814-870-1269

Then there’s something called 8 Great Tuesdays, free outdoor concerts in Liberty Park from 6:30-9 p.m., with a different kind of music each week.

In addition, how about those Thursday night Downtown Block Parties, from 7-11 p.m., with live music in street tents and outdoor cafes all summer long?
CONTACT: Erie Western PA Port Authority at (814)-455-7557.

For music lovers who would rather escape the city for a more natural setting, there is the Presque Isle Sunset Music Series.

The second annual series will be held for six consecutive Wednesdays on Beach No. 1, beginning June 21 and ending July 26 at Erie’s jewel, Presque Isle State Park.
The schedule:
June 21, Sam Hyman Band; June 28, One World Tribe; July 5, (jazz saxophonist) Bruce Johnstone Trio; July 12, Laura Cortese; July 19, Duke Sherman Blues Band; July 26, Tennessee Back Porch.

Add to that the annual Discover Presque Isle shindig, scheduled this year for July 28-30. Talented artists from all over the East Coast share their work; there is plenty of live music from the pavilions, food vendors lining the walkways, and there are all sorts of beach-oriented activities, including a treasure hunt, various sports (flag football, volleyball, sand soccer, et al), and pontoon boat tours.
Each day culminates with a larger than life bonfire.
CONTACT: Allison Felix at apfst13@yahoo.com.

Perhaps the most unique music event is the Amerimasala Festival on July 8 from noon to 7 p.m. in Perry Square, downtown Erie. It’s a world cultural celebration that opens with a carnival style parade in downtown and includes various styles of ethnic music, as well as jazz.
CONTACT: Lynn Johnson 814-454-1820.

Besides the community-wide events already described, summer-fall in Erie also will include a wide variety of food fests, ethnic gatherings, concerts, and miscellaneous public activities.