Summer concerts ready to roar
By Elise Provost

The Brookfield Cultural Council sponsors a summer concert series again this summer. On Friday evenings in July, from 7-9 p.m., spread out a blanket in the grass on the Brookfield Town Common, and enjoy music from a variety of genres, as well as hot dogs, snacks and apple pie & ice cream. Vendor space available at all shows - $10 per table. Contact Elise Provost at (508) 867-6965 or voxhumana35@hotmail.com. The line up follows.

July 7: Shakin’ All Over
‘50s Costume Contest
Shakin’ All Over offers an entertaining tribute to the legendary dance songs from 1954-1963 and pulls from its repertoire songs that offer a diverse introspective of American roots music of this important era. The group’s song list includes selections from country, rockabilly, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, R&B, and American standards. These songs bridge generations, and fans of all ages enjoy Shakin’ All Over’s style at dances and shows.

Shakin’ All Over is in its 8th year performing together. Based in Greenfield, the group has entertained in over 130 Massachusetts communities at dances and concerts, town special events, fairs & festivals, and schools and colleges. It has also performed in 18 other states from Maine to Mississippi. Each of the band members has been playing and performing for over 25 years.

July 14: Norm Schell and Youth Well Spent
Cake-Off Contest
Norman Schell is best known as a founding father of two of New England’s great musical legacies: Worcester’s famous Y-Not Coffee House, still remembered for putting Worcester on the folk music map in the ‘60s, and Vanguard recording artists and folk rock pioneers, Clean Living.

Schell’s performance credits extend back over 30 years to the golden age of the Boston folk renaissance and include regular appearances such as well known Charles Street folk music clubs as The Loft, The Rose, The Turks Head and The Sword In The Stone. While serving as front man, lead vocalist and primary song writer for the widely popular band Clean Living, Norman shared bills with artists including Tanya Tucker, Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, Doc Watson, James Taylor, Taj Mahal, and Billy Joel.

Youth Well Spent’s music covers a broad spectrum of sounds, most of it folk and country based, with acoustic textures weaving in and around Schell’s rich melodies.Youth Well Spent employs violin and mandolin virtuoso Rick Tiven whom Schell played with in Clean Living; Schell’s daughter Gail, on bass; and her husband, Dan Hunt, on guitar. The Hunts are well known in the Worcester music circuit as part of The Red Riders swing-blues band. They are joined by Brookfield’s own Paul Provost on accordion who also plays organ with The Valves, Worcester’s latest R&B sensation.

July 21: The Valves with the Tornado Alley Horns
Best Brownies Contest
The Valves cover the music of R&B’s golden era and then some, as they make it all their own. Blues, funk, soul and good ol’ driving rock ‘n’ roll are all in the Valves’ unique show. The 11-piece band has performed in nightclubs such as Union Blues in Worcester and Geraldine’s Night Club in Springfield for packed crowds numbering in the hundreds. It has also performed at festivals such as the annual “Feast of The Blessed Sacrament” in New Bedford and “Taste of Newport” in Rhode Island for audiences numbering several thousand.

Individually, members of the Valves have shared stages with Joe Cocker, Aerosmith, Clarence Clemons, Charles Neville, NRBQ, Richie Havens, John Hall, John Waite, Joe Perry, The Stompers, The Fools and many others.

July 28: Wachusett Community Band
Apple Pie Contest
The Wachusett Community Band was organized in May 1999 by Bette Steward (flute) of Paxton and S. Jane Arntz (french horn) of Holden with the help of Brad Klar of Princeton, the owner of Music Go Round. Lou Borelli of Paxton has been the conductor since the band started rehearsing. The musicians, who come mostly from the Wachusett district, range in age from 14 to 84.

The repertoire of the band is as varied as the age group represented in the band. The song “YMCA” may be followed by a sing-a-long set from the 1940s, then a Sousa march, swing selections from the big band era, a medley of show tunes and a Gershwin set, the 1812 Overture and a medley of tunes from the Beach Boys.

The band has played at Moore State Park in Paxton, in the Holden, Brookfield and Sterling bandstand summer concert series, and for the re-dedication of the White Building in Paxton, as well as concerts for the senior citizens in Holden.

The summer concert series is supported in part by a grant from the Brookfield Cultural Council, a local agency, which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.