The Garfield Center for the Performing Arts will host a variety of offerings on Saturday, May 28 during the Chestertown Tea Party Festival: a portrayal of Phyllis Wheatley, the first published African American poet, Crankies, a fascinating form of old fashioned storytelling art form, and a musical performance by Stephen Christoff on a variety of colonial instruments.
The Phyllis Wheatley portrayal, performed by Janice Curtis Greene, begins at 11 AM. Born around 1753 in Gambia, Africa, Wheatley was captured by slave traders and brought to America in 1761. Upon arrival, she was sold to the Wheatley family in Boston, Massachusetts. Her first name Phillis was derived from the ship that brought her to America, “the Phillis.”
The Wheatley family educated her and within sixteen months of her arrival in America she could read the Bible, Greek and Latin classics, and British literature. She also studied astronomy and geography. Although she supported the patriots during the American Revolution, Wheatley’s opposition to slavery heightened. She wrote several letters to ministers and others on liberty and freedom. Wheatley died in December 1784, due to complications from childbirth. In addition to making an important contribution to American literature, Wheatley’s literary and artistic talents helped show that African Americans were equally capable, creative, intelligent human beings who benefited from an education. In part, this helped the cause of the abolition movement.
Back by popular demand, with performances at 11:45 AM and again at 1:00 PM, is Katherine Fahey and her Crankie show. This is an old fashioned story telling art form using a long illustrated scroll wound on two spools – a moving panorama accompanied by live music. Fahey’s work is based on folk tales as far reaching as the southern swamps of Louisiana to the northern reaches of Inuit Quebec. Others are personal stories from her childhood in Virginia and the streets of her longtime home of Baltimore Accompanying her will be puppeteer, and foley artist, Dan Van Allen, and musician Mark Dykeman.
Virtuoso musician Stephen Christoff, a perennial Tea Party Festival favorite, performs at 1:00 PM. He will captivate families with the jaws harp, banjo, guitar, mandolin, hand whistle, the musical saw, and even the bottles. The Colonial times were filled with music and Christoff explores the fun.
For a full schedule of events and more information, visit https://www.chestertownteaparty.org/
On Sunday, June 19th, The Mainstay in Rock Hall offers a special Father’s Day concert celebration with blues band Mark Hummel and the Blues Survivors. Showtime is at 7:00 p.m.
Clarence Ward III and his band Dat Feel Good are one of the most sought-after neo-jazz bands based in the DC/MD areas. Ward III is a flugelhornist, saxophonist, and trumpeter whose lion’s heart style of playing positions him as the vanguard of reinforcing jazz music’s vital voice in these modern times. He has performed with a diverse range of artists including Gladys Knight, N’Dambi Blue, Robert Glasper, Nancy Wilson, Musiq Soulchild, Benny Golson, Aretha Franklin, and toured with R&B Soul Singer Ledisi. Music critics and fans alike say “[Clarence] is in a lane of his own,” when it comes to his flare and style of playing. He named his band Dat Feel Good because it is the way he wants listeners to feel when they leave his shows.
Julie O. aka Julie Outrage is a guitarist, singer-songwriter, filmmaker and producer with a style ranging from blues, rock, R&B, hip-hop, jazz and experimental. She was born in West Africa, spent several years living in Brooklyn and is based in Washington D.C. In 2014, Julie Outrage was named The Deli Magazine’s Best of NYC Emerging Artist. Her style has been called funk-rock with a jazz guitar influence, a feel encompassing hip hop inspired & spoken word lyrics. In January 2021, Julie Outrage released her 5th self-produced single, “Slow Down” arranged and mixed by Jaz Williams (credits: Mac Miller, Kap G, Bone Thugs) featuring the horn section from Washington D.C. band, Aztec Sun. Slow Down, is available on all streaming platforms.
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On June 3 at 8 pm, The Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland presents another unique live music collaboration in its new “First Friday with Joe Holt” series. Holt is well known on the Eastern Shore as being a sensitive accompanist and creative collaborator. He commands a repertoire of ballads, classic and swing jazz tunes in the style of piano great Dave McKenna. The First Friday series allows Joe to stretch these limits by inviting different musical guests each month, often from quite different musical genres, to explore their common ground
“It is 1940 and William, 12, Edmund, 11, and Anna, 9, aren’t terribly upset by the death of the not-so-grandmotherly grandmother who has taken care of them since their parents died. But the children do need a guardian, and in the dark days of World War II London, those are in short supply, especially if they hope to stay together. Could the mass wartime evacuation of children from London to the countryside be the answer?”
