Spend a couple evenings in Wake Forest with family and friends, while enjoying some foot-tapping, finger-snapping good times during the 2018 Concerts in the Park.
The Emily Musolino Band will perform the first concert on Sunday, Aug. 5, followed by Ellis Dyson & The Shambles on Sunday, Sept. 2. Free and open to the entire community, both performances are scheduled from 5-7 p.m. at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road.
Emily Musolino is a singer-songstress, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Durham, NC. A Berklee College of Music graduate, Emily has performed, recorded and collaborated with various local and nationally-recognized artists, including Vinx, Shelley Nicole, Shana Tucker, Anna Wise and Eric Hirsh (The Beast, Orquesta GarDel). Her music is a mix of soul, rock and blues that has been described as a “Soul Diva Mind Explosion” and “Adele and Joni Mitchell playing with an ouija board in the deep south.” Emily released her newest album “Jealous Girl” in November of 2014. Emily has been featured on NPR’s the State of Things with Frank Stasio and Durham’s own Clarion Content. She currently fronts the Emily Musolino Band and regularly performs as both bandleader and soloist around the country.
Ellis Dyson & The Shambles expertly blends old-time influences ranging from piedmont murder ballads to traditional jazz. The result: whiskey-soaked, foot-stompin’ songs that bring party music of departed eras to crowds both young and old. The Shambles have made waves with their theatrical and explosive live shows and masterful musicianship that electrifies every audience. Bursting with exuberance and effortless expertise, this playfully hootin’ and hollerin’ act is guaranteed to bring the ruckus.
Ellis Dyson & The Shambles consists of Ellis Dyson (banjo, vocals), Eli Wittmann (acoustic guitar), Jonathan Ng (fiddle), Adam Maloney (upright bass) Danny Abrams (soprano/alto/baritone saxophones, vocals), and Danny Grewen (trombone, vocals). The band has come together through a series of fortuitous meetings in Chapel Hill, NC beginning as a saxophone and banjo duo, the band has grown into a freight train string band with a flashy horn section.
Prior to the Sept. 2 concert, the Wake Forest Recreation Advisory Board will provide an array of organized games and activities as part of the ninth annual “Wake Forest Unplugged…Get Connected.” This free, family-friendly event offers Wake Forest-area residents a unique opportunity to “disconnect” from their cell phones, computers and other electronic devices and “reconnect” with their community, friends and family by engaging in healthier, more active pursuits. For more information about Wake Forest Unplugged, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “Unplugged.”
Area residents are encouraged to bring a picnic, leashed pets, a blanket or lawn chair and enjoy the music. Concert-goers are reminded that alcoholic beverages, smoking, and unleashed pets are prohibited at Joyner Park.
In the event of inclement weather, the performances may be relocated to the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St. Updated concert information will be available by 3 p.m. on the day of the concert on the Town’s Facebook page and by calling the Wake Forest Weather Line at 919-435-9569. Smart phone users who have downloaded the Town’s app will receive a push notification message informing them of any schedule changes. To download the Wake Forest app, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/app.aspx.
The Aug. 5 and Sept. 2 “Concerts in the Park” are presented by PineCone, the Piedmont Council of Traditional Music, and co-sponsored by the Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department. These concerts are also supported with funds from the United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County.
PineCone will provide assisted listening devices at both concerts.
For more information about this year’s Concerts in the Park, visit wakeforestnc.gov and search “Concerts” or visit PineCone’s website at https://pinecone.org/.