Sunday, April 19, 2009

SSTCi Announces 2009 Silver Spring Blues Festival Line Up


The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. is pleased to announce the exciting line up for the first Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring. The festival will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2009 from 2pm to 6pm at the Silver Fountain on Ellsworth Drive in downtown Silver Spring.

Headlining the festival event will be internationally acclaimed bluesman "Memphis Gold." Also performing live on the stage on Ellsworth Drive will be Silver Spring's own Jonny Grave, the youth blues band Three Chords and the Truth, the DC Blues Band, and the Capital Blues Ensemble, recent winners of the DC Blues Society's 2009 Festival Audition Competition held at the Surf Club in Hyattsville.

The Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring is sponsored by the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., in partnership with the DC Blues Society, Montgomery College, Three Keys Music, PFA Silver Spring LLC, the Silver Spring Voice, and the Silver Spring Penguin.

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. is a Silver Spring 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was established to provide arts, entertainment and humanities programming for the Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza to be completed in 2010.

for more information and directions, visit the festival website at www.silverspringblues.com

Capital Blues Ensemble Wins DCBS Festival Audition Competition


The Capital Blues Ensemble won the DC Blues Society Festival Audition on Saturday, April 19, 2009, defeating nine other bands in an evening of excellent blues performances.

With its victory, the CBE earned a featured spot in two upcoming blues festivals: the first Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring on Saturday, May 9, 2009 and the 21st Annual DC Blues Festival, which will be held in the Carter Barron Amphitheatre in Washington, DC on Saturday, September 5, 2009.

At the Silver Spring Blues Festival, the Capital Blues Ensemble will join the DC Blues Band and internationally acclaimed blues guitarist Memphis Gold in the festival lineup.

From the Capital Blues Ensemble website.

"The Capital Blues Ensemble is all about bringing in a foot stomping, ass-shaking blues-based dance show. They do that with hard grooving songs telling stories of love, sex, money, revenge, lost lives, lost hearts and lost money. That short list of motivations has been the wellspring of the blues and its rock stepchild for nearly a century, and CBE draws on the classics and select gems from that legacy as well as adding new songs to the line.

CBE frontman John Vengrouskie, a guitarist, singer, producer and recording engineer, has worked with drummer, Art McKinney over the last 2 years to put the CBE together the way they've always wanted. John and Art's work with artists as diverse as Jerry Lee Lewis and Bobby Parker drove their desire for a hard-working show band. Bringing on-board one of John's long-time collaborators Bill Carey on bass, an experienced live, tour and session player , locked up the rhythm section. Next drafted was Anthony "Swamp Dog" Clark on harp, an ex-jazz drummer who years ago heard the harp call his name and never looked back. Swamp Dog's appreciation for Sonny Boy Williamson, Jason Ricci and Mark Ford, as well as his work behind Wilson Pickett and current work with producer Grammy Award nominated Kenny Neal, brings another solid piece to the core band. The addition of Brian Falkowski on sax and Gary Hendrickson on trumpet and fluglehorn, with their playing and writing experience, results in a band that grooves hard with tight arrangements.

The songs come from new and old places; original material comes from John, Swamp Dog, Bill and Art as well as pulling from such artists as Albert King, Etta James, Coco Montoya, Robert Cray, Kenny Burrell, Louis Jordan and Jimmie Smith.

The Capital Blues Ensemble takes the blues, some R&B and adds a bit of a swing jazz finesse that is hard-working fun."

http://www.capitalbluesensemble.com/CBE%20Gateway.html

The following is a list of the some of the region’s best blues bands who performed at the Festival Auditions: Erbium Blue, Kimiesha & Company, Hugh Feeley & Talk Is Cheap,
Fat Roberta, Jenn & The Tonics, Tony Porter, Rose Between Thorns, Ida Campbell & the Blues Men, and The Sherwood Blues Band.

For more information and directions, check out the SSTCi website at www.silverspringblues.com

Ten Bands Compete for Silver Spring and DC Blues Festival Spots

Ten blues bands competed for spots in the Silver Spring and DC Blues Festivals lineups at the DC Blues Society Festival Auditions held at the Surf Club Live in Hyattsville, MD on Saturday, April 18, 2009

This is a special year for the DCBS Festival Auditions since the winner not only gets to perform at the 21st Annual DC Blues Festival in Washington, DC on September 5, but also at the First Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival in Downtown Silver Spring on May 9. Visit http://www.dcblues.org/ often for updates about both events.

The following is a list of the some of the region’s best blues bands who performed at the Festival Auditions:

Erbium Blue
Kimiesha & Company
Hugh Feeley & Talk Is Cheap
Fat Roberta
Jenn & The Tonics
Tony Porter
Rose Between Thorns
Ida Campbell & the Blues Men
The Sherwood Blues Band
Capitol Blues Ensemble

The bands performed twenty minutes sets and were scored on the basis of four categories: Blues Content, Talent, Originality, and Stage Presence.

Alan Bowser, President of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. was selected as one of the Festival Audition judges.

SSTCi's Alan Bowser Selected as Blues Festival Auditions Judge

Silver Spring, Md. Alan Bowser, President of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., was selected as one of the judges for the DC Blues Society Festival Auditions held at the Surf Club Live in Hyattsville, MD on Saturday, April 18, 2009.

Ten local blues band performed twenty minutes sets and were scored on the basis of four categories: Blues Content, Talent, Originality, and Stage Presence.

The other judges were Elliott Gold, Neil Senning, Robin and Steve Trow, and Steven Lavenhar.

This is a special year for the DCBS Festival Auditions since the winner not only gets to perform at the 21st Annual DC Blues Festival in Washington, DC on September 5, but also at the First Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival in Downtown Silver Spring on May 9. Visit http://www.dcblues.org/ often for updates about both events.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Silver Spring Blues Festival Features Local Guitarist Jonny Grave


Silver Spring's Jonny Grave will perform before his hometown crowd at the first Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring on Saturday, May 9, 2009.

Jonny Grave's music is true acoustic blues from the Heartland, steeped in the traditions of R.L. Burnside, Fred McDowell and others. Unlike the more common Delta variety, Grave’s blues hails from the North Mississippi hill country, like the music of Bukka White and Junior Kimbrough. As a solo acoustic bluesman, Grave maintains a traditional grip on the genre while seamlessly adding a modern twist, incorporating the singer-songwriter, bluegrass, and Americana genres into the recipe.

Both six and twelve-string guitar, Dobro, and Appalachian fretless banjo (made by Grave himself) make up his repertoire of sound. Grave began playing guitar in his early adolescence, and quickly picked up the slide guitar technique from watching Washington DC bluesman Robert Lighthouse perform. Grave performs fingerstyle guitar (without flat picks) and emulates the styles of Leo Kottke, John Fahey and Chris Smither.

Performing professionally since 16, Jonny Grave has been a frequent performer at clubs in DC, MD and N.VA. He is an active member and participant of the Washington Folk Festival at Glen Echo Park, as both a solo performer and as a member of the family band with Reuben Musgrave.

His debut solo album, “Cropduster’s Story,” now sold on iTunes in all five regions, preserves the precious, and simple blues while making it accessible to a wide audience. Grave’s newest release, “Gone Everywhere But Home,” completed in 2009, and also available on iTunes, expands from the hill country blues sound, pulling again from traditional elements, and introducing new, solid originals.

Pulse: Break a leg, MoCo: Fab four theater groups compete for Hayes award - Gazette

Pulse | Ellyn Wexler | Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Helen Hayes Awards honor excellence in professional theater throughout the D.C. area, and four Montgomery County theater groups are in the running for 10 of them. Adventure Theatre, Imagination Stage, Olney Theatre Center and Round House Theatre are among the contenders.

Named for the late actress known as the First Lady of the American Theater, the organization purports to strengthen the region by building theater, one of its most powerful assets. In addition to the awards, it works behind the scenes to build audiences and educate youth.

A panel of artistic directors chose 63 judges to score some 2,700 plays — including performances, designs, productions and direction — within the one-year judging cycle. Judges were separated into four panels: musical productions, new plays and two for plays that don't fit those categories. Eight judges from each panel saw each eligible production; evaluations had to be submitted within 24 hours of seeing a show. The combined point total from the judges who saw each show determined the nominees.

Glen Echo Park's Adventure Theatre, the area's longest-running children's theater, received three nominations, all for its production of "Good Night Moon." The potential awards are for Michael J. Bobbitt, the group's producing artistic director, for Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production; Mary Hall Surface, Outstanding Director, Resident Musical, and the Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical.

Bobbitt credits the community for supporting the work of the board, staff, artists and volunteers who "have worked tirelessly to elevate our artistry and visibility in the community.

"These three nominations," he observes, "help propel family-friendly theater as a legitimate theater form."

Imagination Stage, Bethesda-based producer of theater to "nurture, challenge and empower young people of all abilities," garnered a nomination for Kathleen Geldard's Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production, for "The Neverending Story."

"The whole design team," says director Janet Stanford, "was brilliant and highly collaborative. We began meeting nine months before the production in order to solve the daunting challenge of putting an epic fantasy on our stage."

As for Geldard, she adds, "Kathleen was incredibly inventive and let her imagination go wild. She also had to be flexible once the designs were being built. Certain pieces that looked great on paper did not work well in rehearsal."

For the mostly adult crowd, Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center each garnered a hat trick of nominations.

For Round House, two plays share the honors. Edward Gero is vying for the Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Resident Play, for his work in "Nixon's Nixon." And Round House's "Alice" has earned nods for Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production, for Marianne Custer's work, as well as the Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play.

"We're thrilled, absolutely thrilled, to be nominated," says Blake Robison, Round House's producing artist director. "It's a testament to the creativity of our family of artists."

Olney Theatre is nominated for two plays, too. "Rabbit Hole" is up for Charlie Morrison's Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Production, and the Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play. Deidra LaWan Starnes is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, in "Doubt: A Parable."

Jim Petosa, Olney's artistic director, praises Starnes' work as "superb," and Morrison's as "completely representative of his usual excellence." As for the "Rabbit Hole" ensemble, he says the nomination is "a testament to their collective talent, generosity, the play itself, the quality of the direction, and the theater that advocates for such excellence."

Petosa points out that a mix of "joy for the work that has been held up for celebration [and] rueful disbelief at the work that has been ignored" always accompanies the awards. Despite such "vagaries of response to praise … and dismissal," Petosa says, "we have to take a moment to celebrate good news."

And all the good news will be celebrated, and the awards presented, at the 25th annual Helen Hayes Awards at 8 p.m. Monday at Warner Theatre, 13th and E streets N.W. in the District. For information, call 202-337-4572 or visit www.helenhayes.org.

http://gazette.net/stories/04082009/entecol122724_32474.shtml

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Memphis Gold Headlines Silver Spring Blues Festival

Memphis Gold will headline the first Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring on Saturday, May 9, 2009.

Here are the liner notes from his new album "Prodigal Son."

"Memphis Gold has come a long way in his short 13 year tenure in the Mid Atlantic, including the crowning achievement of recording 3 CD`s. He has shared the stage with such artists as Bernard Allison, Beat Daddys, James Brown, R.L. Burnside, Big Lucky Carter, Debra Coleman, Shemeika Copland, Robert Cray, Eddie Cusak, Dwayne Doopsie, John Hammond, John Jackson, Junior Kimbrough, Little Jimmy King, Johnny Lang, Taj Mahal, Selena McDay, Bob Margolan, Bobby Parker, Lucky Peterson, Little Jimmy Reed, Martha Reeves, Duke Robillard, Jimmie lee Robinson, Roomful of Blues, Otis Rush, Charlie Sayles, Guitar Shorty, Mavis Staples, Hubert Sumlin, The Temptations and Jimmy Vaughn.

Chester Chandler, aka (Memphis Gold) was born in Memphis, Tennessee on March 4, 1955. Chester was the thirteenth child of fourteen, born to John and Reada Chandler. John his father and also a musician, played the bass fiddle and piano in the Church of God in Christ- where at the tender age of 4, Chester was first introduced to the guitar. Chester was quickly recognized as a promising musician, by the age of 8, he was a regular at Beale Street in Memphis, where he played the guitar and danced for pocket change from the crowd.

As a young boy age 12, he was mentored by the 1928-35 Victor/Brunswick/Vocalion Recording Artist, The Reverend Robert "Tim" Wilkins. Wilkins' major claim to fame was the tune "That`s No Way To Get Along," which was appropriated by the Rolling Stones in 1966 and released as "Prodigal Son" on the best selling album Beggars Banquet.

"Nevertheless, I`m happy to report that, no, Memphis Gold did not tell me that he sold his soul to the devil down at the "crossroads" of Highways 49 and 61 in order to play like the guitar wizard that he is," says Larry Benicewicz of the Music Monthly/Maryland Musician. "He is the genuine article, perhaps a thowback to the blues men of yore who learned their licks at the knee of legendary partriarchs like Charlie Patton. And having done so, serves as one of the last links to the days when cotton was king on the Mississippi Delta."

In February of 1996, Chester Chandler rescued 9 children from a train crash in Silver Spring, Md., which was coming from the Harpers Ferry Job Corps, West Virginia. Ironically, he had performed a blues seminar for the children several months before. Chester Chandler aka (Memphis Gold) has appeared on the Leeza Show, NBC Dateline, and the Discovery Channel for his heroic effects."

http://www.memphisgoldprod.net

Three Chords and the Truth to perform at Silver Spring Blues Festival

The popular band "Three Chords and the Truth" will open the Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring on Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 2 pm.

Three Chords & The Truth is a blues inspired student led band now entering its' third year of existence. The band exists as a tribute to the birth of America's Music in the Delta Region and as a symbol for the power and passion of the garage band. Not only that, the students take you on a musical & historical journey through America's music.

As the band has evolved, it has worked tirelessly to create an environment in which any student can simply pick up an instrument learn it and then jam with it. The band is meant to inspire those young and old to get into music and assist with the rebirth of New Orleans and Mississippi following Hurrican Katrina. For two years, the band has raised funds for five student based cultural and arts programs in New Orleans and Mississippi, as well as for Breast Cancer Research, and various scholarship fundraisers.

Three Chords and the Truth is part of the Colours Arts in Education Program, an ensemble performing arts program dedicated to promoting positive change in students and the community. Through the ensemble performing arts method the "we" is the outcome of removing the "I" or "shooting star" mentality. All student-performers in the Colours Program are dedicated to strengthening their academic, leadership, interpersonal, and artistic skills through their shared experience in the Colours Program. The ultimate outcome of becoming a successful student-performer in the Colours Program goes beyond the stage and into the community.

Visit their website at http://www.colours.org/

The first Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2009. The festival will be held, 2 pm to 6 pm, on Ellsworth Drive between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street. The one-day event will feature local and regional blues stars playing acoustic and electric blues. Among the festival activities will be crafts, face painting, magicians, clowns, and a musical petting zoo.

In additon to "Three Chords and the Truth, Silver Spring acoustic blues star, Jonny Grave, will perform on the stage near the Silver Fountain on Ellsworth Drive. The exciting electric blues line up includes international blues star "Memphis Gold, "the DC Blues Band, and the winner of the 2009 DCBS Battle of the Bands competition.

The Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring is sponsored by the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., in partnership with the DC Blues Society, Montgomery College, Three Keys Music, PFA Silver Spring LLC, the Silver Spring Voice, and the Silver Spring Penguin.

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. is a Silver Spring 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was established to provide arts, entertainment and humanities programming for the Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza to be completed in 2010.

Visit SSTCi’s partners online at www.montgomerycollege.edu, www.threekeys.com, www.dcblues.org, www.downtownsilverspring.com, www.silverspringpenguin.com, and www.silverspringvoice.com

For more information, visit www.silverspringblues.com

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. Announces 2009 Blues Festival Sponsors

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. is pleased to announce the sponsors for this year’s Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring.

The following organizations have agreed to be sponsors for the 2009 Blues Festival to be held on Saturday, May 9th from 2 pm to 6 pm on Ellsworth Drive near the Silver Fountain:

• DC Blues Society
• Montgomery College
• PFA Investments, LLC
• Silver Spring Regional Services Center
• The Silver Spring Penguin
• The Silver Spring Voice
• Three Keys Music

“We are proud that some of Silver Spring’s most outstanding community-based organizations are supporting the first Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival,” said Alan Bowser, president of the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. “These organizations are working hard everyday to strengthen the local community, and they share our vision to enhance the opportunities for exciting arts and humanities programming for Silver Spring and Montgomery County. Silver Spring’s blues festival will be a real celebration of our special community.”

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. is a Silver Spring 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which was established to provide arts, entertainment and humanities programming for the Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza to be completed in 2010.

Visit SSTCi’s partners online at www.montgomerycollege.edu, www.threekeys.com, www.dcblues.org, www.downtownsilverspring.com, www.silverspringpenguin.com, and www.silverspringvoice.com

For more event information and directions, visit www.silverspringblues.com

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Silver Spring blues singer digs up inspiration from home - Examiner


Christina Lee | DC Live Music Examiner | April 7, 2009

The traditional blues sounds of Jonny Grave and his acoustic guitar evoke nothing but years of traveling with only the guidance of railways. But the truth is, as he played to a small crowd at McGinty's Thursday night, Grave was actually performing right at home.

As he proves through his music, this 20-something-year-old has not had to travel far from Silver Spring, Md., to find something to sing about. But the more he has learned over the years, the more he has gained a respectable appreciation for authenticity – and to mention, some mean finger-picking skills.

Q. How did your father introduce you to blues music, and what role does he play in your music career today?

A. My father has guitars all around the house, and there's always some kind of music playing. My little sister plays cello and bass, and she sings as well, my mother will more often than not sing while cooking, my three older sisters either sing or play... it's safe to say we're a musical family. My dad was a professional musician back in the day, playing folk music in D.C., and has since moved out of that profession to raise a family, but he kept all the gear. So half the guitars I play are hand-me-downs, some of my cables, and a few microphones as well. My family, not just my father, is a huge, positive influence on my music.

Q. On your YouTube page, you list off a bunch of your favorite musicians: R.L. Burnside, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Chris Smither, etc. Of all of those though, who have been your biggest influences and why?

A. As far as the blues go, I found most of what I play and what I listen to on my own. My dad's record collection is extensive, but it's mostly in the folk/bluegrass genre. He did however have a copy of an Oxford Magazine sampler CD, featuring the sounds of R.L. Burnside and Blind Willie Johnson. This was my introduction to the blues. I was stolen away by the language of these people, and my feet couldn't stop moving with the sounds the guitar stings made. Johnson's slide work was what made me want to start playing that kind of music. Burnside and McDowell came in a bit later, and they shaped a lot of my style – I like to say I'm stealing Burnside's right hand and McDowell's left. Smither had an impact on me, too. I always thought of him as a songwriter before anything else, and his work was what helped me learn how to write my own. They're all big influences on me, and it's too hard to say which is the biggest.

Q. Bonifant Street and Quarry House Tavern both serve as subject matters in your latest album. What exactly about these Silver Spring locations inspires you to write music?

A. Bonifant Street is probably my favorite part of Silver Spring. It's the only place I know what you can find a gun shop across the street from a bank. Fenton Village in general is this wonderful, little kitschy corner of Silver Spring that has avoided the “revitalization” that's graced the rest of the town with chain restaurants and corporate art. On this block, you'll find a church thrift store where I found my favorite pair of jeans, a old fortune teller lady who makes her own incense, a used bookstore, an Ethiopian coffee shop ... the best damned Thai restaurant I can think of … and at the very end, on the corner of Georgia [Avenue], you'll find the Quarry House Tavern, thirteen steps below the street. I cut my teeth playing blues there. I played the third Wednesday of every month, from 9 to midnight. This place is the definition of a dive bar – greasy food, cheap beer, and a lot of fun stories. I don't play there as much now, and when I do, I'm usually opening up for one of the rockabilly bands they have on Saturday nights. But when I do, I always publicize the event with "Silver Spring's Own Comes Back Home.” Your feet stick to the floor in that place, but they sure as hell take care of you.

Q. While I saw you at McGinty’s, you’ve performed in a bunch of different environments: coffeehouses, summer camps, classrooms and soon the Washington Folk Festival at the end of the month. Where has been your favorite place to perform and why?

A. I started playing professionally when I was 16. Since then, it's been everywhere from street corners and metro stops, to huge outdoor festivals and the University of Maryland. But my one favorite place to play, and this only happens once a year, is the Washington Folk Festival at Glen Echo Park. I've been going there since I was born. My dad plays that festival, all of my sisters have been onstage, our family friends perform there. It's a really nice, close-knit community. It feels like coming home whenever I get down there. There are people there who I’ve never met but know my family so well they'll call me by name. What makes it great is, the venue is all about the music and the community. It's not like a bar, where I have to compete with the basketball game on TV, or the cook shouting orders, or the bouncers trying to throw someone out. So I'll perform on stage for a slot, but the real fun is getting to kick around the festival all weekend, listening to all kinds of music, and jamming with different people.

Q. With a few albums out and a tour in the works now, where do you see yourself going with your music next?

A. Truth be told, I've always wanted to play with a full band. I feel like that might be the next step for my music. I love this traditional stuff so much, and it's a big part of who I am. But there is an electric side to the hill country genre, and I'm excited to try that side out for a spell. I'm headed down south next week to open up for some of my heroes [Kenny Brown and Cedric Burnside] in Alabama, and I'll be playing in a band that night. So I guess we'll see how it goes.


http://www.examiner.com/x-7091-DC-Live-Music-Examiner~y2009m4d7-Silver-Spring-blues-singer-digs-up-inspiration-from-home

Friday, April 3, 2009

Silver Spring Blues Festival Set for Saturday, May 9th in Downtown Silver Spring

For Immediate Release Contact: Alan Bowser, 301-608-3932

SILVER SPRING BLUES FESTIVAL SET FOR SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2009

Silver Spring, MD. April 3, 2009. The first Annual Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2009. The festival will be held, 2 pm to 6 pm, on Ellsworth Drive between Georgia Avenue and Fenton Street.

The one-day event will feature local and regional blues stars playing acoustic and electric blues. Among the festival activities will be crafts, face painting, magicians, clowns, and a musical petting zoo.

Silver Spring acoustic blues star, Jonny Grave, will perform on the stage near the Silver Fountain on Ellsworth Drive.

The exciting electric blues line up includes the DC Blues Society Blues Band, and the winner of the 2009 Battle of the Bands competition at the Surf Club, and a very special guest headliner.

The Silver Spring Town Center, Inc. is a Silver Spring nonprofit organization which was established to provide exciting arts, entertainment and humanities programming for the Silver Spring Civic Building and Veterans Plaza to be completed in 2010.

The Silver Spring Blues Festival at Downtown Silver Spring is sponsored by the Silver Spring Town Center, Inc., in partnership with the DC Blues Society, Montgomery College, Three Keys Music and the Peterson Cos.

For more information, visit www.silverspringblues.com

Visit our partners online
www.montgomerycollege.edu, www.threekeys.com, www.dcblues.org, and www.downtownsilverspring.com

Silver Spring Swings Summer Concert Series 2009

Montgomery County has announced its Silver Spring Swings Summer Concert Series 2009

Thursdays 7-9pm Silver Plaza @ the "fountain."

June 18 Jennifer Cutting & Ocean Orchestra -- folk-rock, Celtic

June 25 Second Wind -- rock& roll covers

July 2 The Fabulous Bel Airs – oldies-50s & 60s

July 9 The David Bach Consort – world jazz

July 16 The Knockout Kings vs. Bruce Ewan – blues from Spain

July 23 Eliot Levine – r&b, funk

July 30 Eddie Becker Band– rock, soul, R&B

August 6 Verny Varela – salsa

www.silverspringdowntown.com for more information.