Thursday events to be held at Princeton Shopping Center
The 20th annual summer concert series at the Princeton Shopping Center will be presented this year by the Arts Council of Princeton.
With an international theme showcasing the diversity of music and culture from around the world, the Princeton Passport Summer Concert Series will be held 6 to 8 p.m. every Thursday through Aug. 31.
All of the concerts which will feature music from Greece, Latin America, Ireland, England, Jamaica, Spain and more are free.
A complete performance schedule and descriptions of the musical acts are available at www.artscouncilofprinceton.org.
The concerts are sponsored by the Princeton Shopping Center Tenant Association, with special contributions by PNC Bank, Main Street Euro American Bistro & Bar and the Music Performance Trust Fund of the American Federation of Musicians.
The Princeton Shopping Center is located at 301 North Harrison St. in Princeton Township. The Arts Council of Princeton’s conTEMPORARY Arts Center is located next to Eckerd Pharmacy at the shopping center.
The following will perform:
Thursday: Princeton Brass. The Princeton Brass Band repertoire includes everything from original masterpieces to orchestral transcriptions, uproarious entertainment and jazz and rock numbers.
June 8: George Manikas & Eastern Times. George Manikas & Eastern Times play a style of Eastern music, including Greek music, utilizing the energetic and spontaneous magic of improvisation. George Manikas, Johnny Stikos and George Kontos have performed around the world. They bring their international training and experience to their performance.
June 15: Animus. Animus is a Philadelphia-based world fusion music ensemble. The group’s original music melds the exotic musical traditions of the Middle East, Greece, India and Latin America with jazz, funk and rock.
June 22: Philadelphia German Brass Band. The Philadelphia German Brass Band performs traditional German brass band music. Performing with nine instrumentalists and a vocalist, the band provides the feeling of gemultlichkeit found in a giant German beer garden. Founded in 1936, the band has performed at every German club in the Philadelphia area.
June 29: The Blawenburg Band. The Blawenburg Band is among the most active community bands in the country. Founded in Blawenburg in 1890, it is part of a great band tradition that began when towns depended on local people to provide live music. Members range in age from their teens to their 80s, and include teachers and students, research scientists and engineers, homemakers and active retirees. The conductor, Dr. Jerry Rife, is professor of music and chairman of the Music Area at Rider University.
July 6: The Voo Dudes. The Voo Dudes combine New Orleans funk, blues, boogie-woogie and honky-tonk with a pinch of zydeco, southern folk and soul and Caribbean party music. The group has been featured on MTV’s "Street Party," WPLJ’s "Morning Show with Scott & Todd," and on the nationally syndicated "Dr. Demento Show."
July 13: Eco Del Sur. Eco Del Sur consists of Latin American artists from various musical backgrounds who are united to explore and perform ancient Andean music as well as contemporary music from different Latin American regions. Members of the band are from Chile, Colombia and Ecuador, making Eco Del Sur the result of a very diverse mixture of backgrounds and musical experiences. Some of the instruments used by Eco Del Sur include zamponas, quenas, quenachos, antaras, rondador, ocarinas, moxenos, flute, alto sax, soprano sax, charango, guitar, Venezuelan cuatro, bass, bombo, tambora, bongos, congas, wankara, maracas, guacharaca, claves and chakchas.
July 20: Alborada Spanish Dance Theater. The company, featuring Arts Council of Princeton faculty member Lisa Botalico, was founded in 1965 by María Alba, known to many as the greatest exponent of the seguiriya and many other Spanish dance drama pieces in the United States. It was an integral part of the summer concerts at Jacobs Pillow in the 1960s and 1970s under the name The María Alba Spanish Dance Company. Alborada’s embrace of all Spanish dance art forms enables its audience to experience the richness and beauty of the culture in full context.
July 27: Virago. Virago is Amy Schindler and Maire Tashjian, an original, high energy, acoustic guitar and percussion duo. The core of their music is rock that pulsates with undercurrents ranging from American blues to Afro-Brazilian samba. They play an array of different styles. Virago has a passion for Brazilian music, which has inspired them to perform songs in Portuguese. They have performed locally and internationally at the Festival of São João in Salvador Bahia, Brazil.
Aug. 3: KLEZ Dispensers. Having revived and mastered American Klezmer music from their study of the New World’s Klezmer legends, most notably Dave Tarras, the band is now forging in new directions, riffing on Klezmer’s jazz undercurrents to stir up a variety of fresh Klezmer sounds. The group’s latest explorations of Yiddish swing, featuring vocalist Susan Watts, has them restoring and sometimes remixing popular Yiddish songs of the 1930s through 1950s.
Aug. 10: Trenton Brass Quintet Plus One. For over 30 years, the Trenton Brass Quintet Plus One, under the artistic direction of Karl I. Megules, has shaped its reputation as a premier music ensemble. The group will perform music from England, Spain, Italy, South America, Jamaica, China, Japan, Asia, Poland, Germany, Ireland and many other countries.
Aug. 17: Celtic Crossroads & The Trenton AOH Division 1 Pipe Band. Celtic Crossroads brings the music of Ireland, Scotland and England to life through tight harmonies and intricate instrumentation on guitar, fiddle, banjo, whistle, mandolin and bodhran. The band performs a variety of songs, from early 20th-century Irish classics to seldom-heard works. Lots of great choruses, a cappella numbers, sea songs, instrumentals and occasional off-the-wall stories create a show designed to appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Committed to quality playing and teaching, the Trenton AOH Div. 1 Pipe Band honors its Celtic roots and carries on the tradition of performance at many local Irish and Scottish events throughout the state.
Aug, 24: Italian Festival. The Italian Festival will feature music by Jay Posipanko and Michael Lemma. Camillo’s Café will also be participating in the event with cooking workshops. Mr. Posipanko is a seasoned mandolin player and performs a program of classical and Italian favorites. Mr. Lemma is a classical guitar and mandolin artist and has performed in numerous venues, including one of the only classical guitar orchestras in the country.
Aug. 31: Patrick Mystery. Patrick Mystery is a reggae artist with a sound that hearkens back to the day of the legendary Bob Marley and a lyrical style described as poetic and profound, urgent, thought-provoking and spiritually uplifting. His debut album, "Drastic Times," released in 1995 on BKS Records, was critically acclaimed.

