Chestertown’s 2016 Music in the Park season begins this Saturday, June 11 in Fountain Park, with performances by two popular local acts, Driven Women and Barbara Parker and Friends.
The Driven Women are Annie Williams, guitar; Sue Shumaker, fiddle; and Diane Jones, banjo and ukulele. The heart of their repertoire is old-time mountain music, hoe-downs, waltzes and traditional ballads. But they’ll also breakout the occasional classic blues, ragtime or early jazz number.
The group has been together since 2009, but their musical experience goes back well before that. Shumaker began playing old-time fiddle music in the Philadelphia area in 1983. Jones was traveling to North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia to learn the local music as early as 1980. And Williams, a native of West Virginia, got interested in the music of her home state in 1973. They met, not surprisingly, at a music festival. All now reside on the Eastern Shore.
Jones is a dairy farmer, who also raises Newfoundland puppies at her farm near Massey. Shumaker, originally from Ohio, is retired from a career as a desktop publisher. She now works as a tree farmer, raising hardwoods along the Sassafras River. Williams is a retired environmental engineer who worked on public water systems on the Shore. She lives in the Easton area.
Singer-songwriter Barbara Parker plays the second half of the concert. She will be accompanied by pianist Joe Holt and drummer Ray Anthony, who played with her last fall at the Mainstay where she introduced her CD, A Little Out of Focus, which combines originals and covers of some of her favorites songwriters.
Originally from Seattle, Parker and her husband David have lived near Worton since 1982. She made her first musical impact locally with appearances at the Garfield Center open mic sessions. She was soon invited by other local musicians to join in performances at a number of venues, including a Music in the Park appearance two years ago with the Garfield Gang.
In addition to her music, Parker is an accomplished artist and photographer. Her work is frequently on display at the RiverArts gallery and elsewhere on the Shore. She has a particular fondness for banners; the back rooms of the Music Life store in Chestertown feature several banners bearing images of guitars. At the other end of the scale, many of her abstract paintings embody colors and patterns from the landscape of Chesapeake country.
Music in the Park concerts begin at 7 p.m. and runs till about 8:30. Audience members should bring something to sit on. Only limited seating is available. The rain location is Emmanuel Episcopal Church at 101 N. Cross St., across from the park. Butch Clark is the technical director of Music in the Park. Jane Jewell is the program director.
Music in the Park is sponsored by the town of Chestertown with support from the Kent County Arts Council and community contributors. To help make these free programs possible, send donations payable to the Town of Chestertown and designated for Music in the Park, to 118 N. Cross St., Chestertown, MD 21620.
Rain location: Emmanuel Episcopal Church – 101 N. Cross St. across from the park.
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