PORTSMOUTH—
As part of the Prescott Park Arts Festival’s 37th season, the Showcase Festival will bring Patty Larkin, Jon Nolan, Jason Spooner and Martin England to the FairPoint Communications MainStage on Saturday, July 9. The arts festival looks forward to kicking things off on a high note at the first music festival of the 2011 Summer Season with a fantastic lineup of talented musicians.
Returning to the Prescott Park Arts Festival stage is urban-folk/pop music phenomenon Patty Larkin. The self-described “guitar driven songwriter” has wound her way through soundscapes of evocative vocals, inventive guitar wizardry, and imaginative lyrics to reinterpret traditional folk melodies, rock, pop, and bossa nova.
Also returning to the stage this year is veteran performer Jon Nolan. Nolan’s most recent album, When the Summers Lasted Long, was a self-recorded, debut solo release. Chronicling Nolan’s transition from youth to adulthood, this honest and charming Americana/pop record garnered critical success and solid reviews from No Depression Magazine and the Boston Herald.
Festival-goers will welcome multi-award winning New England-based songwriter Jason Spooner. Spooner’s third album, Sea Monster (2010), has been praised by Sirius/XM as “a very rare and special record that is destined to put Spooner on the musical map” and has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Spooner and his band have toured extensively in the past few years, sharing the stage with artists including Ray LaMontagne, Brandi Carlile, Amos Lee, and more.
Rounding out the Showcase Festival’s lineup is the latest rising star of the Seacoast, Martin England. Winner of the Spotlight Single of the Year award, England’s solo debut, Razed and Reconstructed (2010), marks a new direction for the singer-songwriter. Formerly with Northeast regional band Pondering Judd, England’s imaginative blend of Americana, folk, roots rock, and occasional old school country will engage and capture audience members.
“Showcase Festival this year features a fantastic mix of emerging and well established musical greats, and we couldn’t be happier with the lineup,” says Executive Director Ben Anderson. “Whether you’ve seen Patty, Jon, Jason, and Martin before or not, our first music festival of the year is going to be one everyone will enjoy.”
The Showcase Festival is part of the Prescott Park Arts Festival’s 37th season that also features the musical “The Wizard of Oz,” running every Thursday through Sunday until August 21, 2011. The season also includes the River House Restaurant Concert Series, which will feature music legends such as the Taj Mahal Trio, Arlo Guthrie, Shawn Colvin, and Greg Brown each Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. through August 26.
All events offered at the Prescott Park Arts Festival are presented free of charge with a suggested donation of $5 - $8. For more information on the festival, or to see a full schedule of events, visit www.prescottpark.org or call 603-436-2848.
Photo caption: Patty Larkin is one of four special acts that will perform at Prescott Park Showcase Festival. (Courtesy photo)
As part of the Prescott Park Arts Festival’s 37th season, the Showcase Festival will bring Patty Larkin, Jon Nolan, Jason Spooner and Martin England to the FairPoint Communications MainStage on Saturday, July 9. The arts festival looks forward to kicking things off on a high note at the first music festival of the 2011 Summer Season with a fantastic lineup of talented musicians.
Returning to the Prescott Park Arts Festival stage is urban-folk/pop music phenomenon Patty Larkin. The self-described “guitar driven songwriter” has wound her way through soundscapes of evocative vocals, inventive guitar wizardry, and imaginative lyrics to reinterpret traditional folk melodies, rock, pop, and bossa nova.
Also returning to the stage this year is veteran performer Jon Nolan. Nolan’s most recent album, When the Summers Lasted Long, was a self-recorded, debut solo release. Chronicling Nolan’s transition from youth to adulthood, this honest and charming Americana/pop record garnered critical success and solid reviews from No Depression Magazine and the Boston Herald.
Festival-goers will welcome multi-award winning New England-based songwriter Jason Spooner. Spooner’s third album, Sea Monster (2010), has been praised by Sirius/XM as “a very rare and special record that is destined to put Spooner on the musical map” and has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered. Spooner and his band have toured extensively in the past few years, sharing the stage with artists including Ray LaMontagne, Brandi Carlile, Amos Lee, and more.
Rounding out the Showcase Festival’s lineup is the latest rising star of the Seacoast, Martin England. Winner of the Spotlight Single of the Year award, England’s solo debut, Razed and Reconstructed (2010), marks a new direction for the singer-songwriter. Formerly with Northeast regional band Pondering Judd, England’s imaginative blend of Americana, folk, roots rock, and occasional old school country will engage and capture audience members.
“Showcase Festival this year features a fantastic mix of emerging and well established musical greats, and we couldn’t be happier with the lineup,” says Executive Director Ben Anderson. “Whether you’ve seen Patty, Jon, Jason, and Martin before or not, our first music festival of the year is going to be one everyone will enjoy.”
The Showcase Festival is part of the Prescott Park Arts Festival’s 37th season that also features the musical “The Wizard of Oz,” running every Thursday through Sunday until August 21, 2011. The season also includes the River House Restaurant Concert Series, which will feature music legends such as the Taj Mahal Trio, Arlo Guthrie, Shawn Colvin, and Greg Brown each Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. through August 26.
All events offered at the Prescott Park Arts Festival are presented free of charge with a suggested donation of $5 - $8. For more information on the festival, or to see a full schedule of events, visit www.prescottpark.org or call 603-436-2848.
Photo caption: Patty Larkin is one of four special acts that will perform at Prescott Park Showcase Festival. (Courtesy photo)
