On Friday, May 19, the Mainstay in Rock Hall is excited to resume its free outdoor family movie series. The films are projected with professional equipment on a full-sized theatrical screen in the Mainstay’s backyard events space.

The May 19 film selection is the classic science-fiction comedy Back to the Future, directed by Robert Zemeckis. Set in 1985, it follows Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett “Doc” Brown (Christopher Lloyd), where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence – and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future.

Back to the Future was a critical and commercial success, earning $381.1 million to become the highest-grossing film of 1985 worldwide. It received multiple award nominations and won an Academy Award.

Back to the Future is now considered by critics and audiences to be one of the greatest science-fiction films and among the best films ever made. In 2007, the United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. The film was followed by two sequels, Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).

The Mainstay has outdoor seating and free popcorn available. The movie is scheduled for 8:15 pm (dark). In case of rain the movie will not be shown and rescheduled for another date. The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall.

The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

Pam and Bob Ortiz

On Saturday, May 13, The Mainstay in Rock Hall welcomes singer songwriter Pam Ortiz and her husband Bob. Pam and Bob have been performing together for over 30 years. Their shows highlight Pam’s original material (flatteringly compared to national talent Nanci Griffith) – from blues to ballads – and Bob’s hand percussion, guitar, and piano accompaniment — with lots of stories to tell along the way. Their group, Terra Nova, performed at the Mainstay during its first year of operation (they were also invited to perform at Bill Clinton’s Inauguration ceremonies at the Kennedy Center).  Local fans will also remember the Pam Ortiz Band, featuring Pam and Bob, as well as local musicians Nevlle Dawson, Ford Schumann, and Philip Dutton. They have five albums in their discography.  In 2016, Pam collaborated with playwright Robert Earl Price on RedDevil Moon, a musical inspired by Harlem Renaissance writer Jean Toomer’s 1923 novel, Cane. Pam wrote the music and lyrics for the show. The entire Red Devil Moon troupe took their performance to New York City to do 5 shows as part of the New York International Fringe Festival.

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall.

On Friday, April 21 The Mainstay in Rock Hall is excited to resume it’s free outdoor family movie series. The films are projected with professional equipment on a full-sized theatrical screen in the Mainstay’s backyard events space.

The April 21 film selection is the 1987 classic, The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner. It is a high-spirited homage to the swashbuckling hero-swordplay sagas of the classic Zorro and Robin Hood movies of the 1930s and 1940s.  But The Princess Bride does so with side-splitting, irreverent gags, an eccentric ensemble of perfectly cast actors, as well as dazzling swordplay. The story is introduced when a young boy, home sick from school, grudgingly allows his grandfather to read him a dusty storybook. The story that unfolds is of the innocent and beautiful Buttercup who is being forced to marry the evil Prince Humperdinck, after her true love Westley disappears for five years. The wedding plans are interrupted, however, by a mysterious pirate, a vengeful Spaniard swordsman, and a good-natured giant, in a tale full of swashbuckling, romance, and outrageously hilarious spoofery. The Princess Bride reigns as a fairy-tale classic that is often cited by critics as “one of the fifty funniest movies ever made.”

The Mainstay has outdoor seating and popcorn available. The movie is scheduled for 8 pm. In case of rain the movie will not be shown and rescheduled for another date. The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall.

The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

On Sunday, April 16, The Mainstay in Rock Hall welcomes classical guitarist Vladimir Fridman and his Trio in the season’s first installment of the Hedgelawn Classical Music series at The Mainstay in honor of Judy Kohl. Fridman will be joined onstage by Bruno Nasta on violin and Bob Abbott on bass. The Trio has titled their program “Around The World with Music,” with each of the musicians contributing pieces from different musical heritages including popular selections from the Classical Music repertoire, Argentinean Tango, Brazilian Boss-Nova and Rumba, and music from the gypsy camps in France. The trio have earned a reputation of moving through the traditional music of different countries flawlessly with “improvisational spirit, soul and skill”.

Vladimir Fridman was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. He performed in some of Moscow’s best theaters and their Philharmonic, and appeared on Russian TV. He has toured Europe, the Middle East and Japan and released four albums, Under the burning sky of Argentina- tangos of Astor Piazzolla; In the mood- Favorite Classic, Jazz and Popular Russian Music; Liber Tango; and Jazz for Kids and their Parents. Since his arrival in the United States in 1998, Vladimir has become widely known in the musical community of the Greater Washington area, with noteworthy performances at the Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage.

Bruno Nasta (violin) maintains a vigorous freelancing schedule, actively recording and performing in the Symphony, Opera and Theater circuits of Greater Washington D.C. and Baltimore areas. He has performed with The Three Tenors, Three Irish Tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, Gloria Estafan, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, John Denver, and Liza Minnelli.

Since moving to the Baltimore / Washington D.C. area in 2000, Bob Abbott (bass) has been an anchor in the Bay Jazz Project jazz group, for which he won a “Wammie”. His performance experience ranges from jazz trios and classical ensemble to big band.

Showtime for this Sunday afternoonMainstay concert event is 4 pm. Tickets are $15 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $20 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.

The programs of the Mainstay are also supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

On Saturday, April 15, The Mainstay in Rock Hall, Maryland is excited to feature the extraordinary guitarist John Jorgenson with his Gypsy Jazz Quintet. This is a long-awaited and often-requested return visit following his 2017 appearance at The Mainstay.

Jorgenson first came to national attention in the mid ‘80s as co-founder of successful country-rock act The Desert Rose Band (with Chris Hillman, former member of The Byrds). While a member of the Desert Rose Band, Jorgenson won the Academy of Country Music’s “Guitarist of the Year” award three consecutive years. In the early 1990s, John was a founding member of The Hellcasters along with Jerry Donahue, former member of Fairport Convention. Elton John invited Jorgenson to join his band in 1994 for an 18-month tour that stretched into a six-year stint of touring, recording and media appearances. Jorgenson has also recorded or toured with Tommy Emmanuel,  Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams Jr., Roy Orbison, Patty Loveless, Michael Nesmith, John Prine, Sting, Billy Joel, and Bonnie Raitt. While considered one of the finest guitarists on the world stage, he is also proficient on the mandolin, dobro, pedal steel guitar, piano, upright bass, clarinet, bassoon, and saxophone.

John Jorgenson with his Gypsy Jazz Quintet

Jorgenson discovered the music of French guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1979, and has since earned the title of “the US Ambassador of Gypsy Jazz”. Over the years Jorgenson has continued to honor the legacy of Reinhardt with the unique Gypsy Jazz sound of his John Jorgenson Quintet. The group is the only American act to ever headline the prestigious Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in France.

Jorgenson was tapped to recreate Reinhardt’s guitar playing for the films “Gattica” and “Head in the Clouds” (in which he appeared on screen as Django alongside stars Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz).

Showtime for the Mainstay concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-9133 (tickets reserved by phone are $25 when paid at the door). The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. Its regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.

The programs of the Mainstay are supported with funds from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.

On Saturday, March 18^th, The Mainstay in Rock Hall, in partnership with the Hedgelawn Foundation, is pleased to present Americana singer/songwriter John John Brown. Brown’s program includes a multi-media presentation, which he titles Songs, Stories, & Art- Lessons from Strangers that weaves together storytelling songs and the visual arts in a live music performance. It integrates projected visual art images, iconic photographs, storytelling, and songs that take in the lives of 14 unique characters. His program presents an imaginative and colorful world revealing the idea that all people, strangers alike, have a story we can learn from. The protagonists come from all walks of life; from an aging Vietnam Vetto a trumpet playing orphan, a married couple debating evolution, to a young man with mental illness wandering the aisles of Walmart. Music critics have commented that the songs are so well written that “every song could be a short story”. Press reports have also noted that “John Prine is a clear influence in the way Brown rolls astute observations and a humorous slant into his lyrics”. In recent years, John John has been chosen as a Kerrville New Folk winner and an Emerging Artist at the prestigious Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in New York State.

John John Brown

Showtime for the live concert event is 8 pm. Tickets are $20 in advance of the show, and $25 at the door, and can be purchased online at mainstayrockhall.org. Phone reservations are accepted by calling (410) 639-0331. The Mainstay is located at 5753 N Main Street in Rock Hall, Maryland. It’s regular calendar of local, regional, and nationally touring artists features a live performance every week of the year (February through December) in a variety of music genres.

This program is made possible with funds provided by The Hedgelwan Fund, the Maryland State Arts Council and the Kent Cultural Alliance.