The Black Keys have logged thousands of miles since the start of the spring, touring across South America before returning stateside for a string of concert dates.
Though they won’t be spending too much time in the Northeast this summer, the Nashville duo will stop off at Hartford’s Comcast Theatre for a performance on Tuesday, July 9.
Tickets for the show go on sale Thursday, May 23 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster or the band’s website.
The Black Keys will be joined by The Flaming Lips for several concerts this summer. Whether or not the groups will team up for the Hartford show remains to be seen, though, given that the Lips’ previously scheduled July 15 show in Simsbury was canceled recently, it looks like their scheduled has just opened up.
As of now, the Welsh alternative rock trio The Joy Formidable are slated to open for The Black Keys in Hartford.
The Black Keys are currently working on the follow up to their Grammy Award-winning seventh studio album, “El Camino.”
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, area residents will have just about 100 days to find ways to enjoy what this “unofficial” stretch of summer has to offer. Will you stay to play or travel some distance away to find your bliss?
Do you plan to take a hike, stroll along a main street, take in the sun and surf, hike up a mountain, listen to some music or give outdoor theater a try? Will you be sailing into the sunset or scaling a rock wall? Will you take to the roads, the rails or the water to arrive at your favored destination?
We want to hear from readers about their favorite summer activities and destinations, whether close to home or within a day or two away. Do these activities or places have special meanings? Are they part of a family tradition? Do you have plans to try something new this year?
Send your suggestions to localnews@scni.com by Wednesday, May 22. Please include your name and phone number. We plan to publish the entries during the Memorial Day weekend, which begins Saturday, May 25. Memorial Day is May 27.
Here are a few categories to get you thinking — or daydreaming — about where you’ll be putting your beach blanket or just chilling out this summer. Hit the comments link below to share your suggestions.
Summer, in waves
Fairfield County residents have no lack of waterways in which to play this summer. From the broad expanse of Long Island Sound to the many rivers and streams that crisscross the area, be ready to get your toes wet.
Making a day of it
Connecticut features a multitude of attractions and activities, and there are even more beyond the state’s borders. Whether you take to the roads, the rails or the water to achieve your destination, where are people going?
Having some fun, naturally
Trails, forests, parks, campgrounds and other open spaces will be feeling the tread of visitors’ feet this summer.
Entertaining evenings
Summer nights will be alive with the sound of music, stage craft and cinema.
Youthful pursuits
When the inevitable complaint of boredom crosses your youngsters’ lips, you will be well served to know there are more than a few activities and venues that can turn that frown upside down.
P.S. The Bruce Hornsby show, originally scheduled for Sunday, May 19, at the Ridgefield Playhouse has been postponed because the singer is coping with a “persistent vocal issue,” according to the Playhouse. The show has been rescheduled to Sept. 29. A recent news statement indicated that previously purchased tickets will be honored.
The Stepkids have been busy as of late, readying the release of their forthcoming sophomore LP, “Troubadour,” and touring the eastern half of the country.
The Bridgeport band has managed to get some down time, however, dishing out live jazz/lounge covers of two wildly popular songs: Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” and Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” (check out both versions, below).
“Troubadour,” the follow up The Stepkids’ self-titled debut album, is set to drop this fall. The band recently previewed a new track, “The Art of Forgetting,” in a video shot at Red Bull Studio Los Angeles (see below).
The band’s current tour includes dates at Brooklyn Bowl on Wednesday, May 22 (with King Holiday and Every Flavor Weather Machine), Prospect Park Bandshell on Friday, Aug. 2 (with Jamie Lidell and Purchase College alum Dan Deacon) and the Bonnaroo Music Festival on Thursday, June 13.
Live music is returning to McLevy Green this summer.
Downtown Thursdays, Bridgeport’s free annual concert series, kicks off on Thursday, June 6 and continues every Thursday — with the exception of July 4 — until Aug. 29. Concerts start at 6 p.m.
The 12-week series brings a mix of rock, reggae, funk and folk acts from across the Tri-State area to Downtown Bridgeport, creating a carnivalesque atmosphere that lures families and young professionals alike.
“Downtown Thursdays brings top local acts from a variety of musical genres to the heart of our walkable, vibrant downtown neighborhood in historic McLevy Green,” Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch said in a statement. “I invite Bridgeport residents and visitors from our neighboring towns to check out a concert this summer, have dinner at one of our excellent restaurants and enjoy a Thursday evening in downtown.”
Growing up, Lucie Arnaz did not have far to go to be surrounded by great musicians and great songwriters, she said recently. Early on, this daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz was exposed to the kind of music that teamed winning melodies with moving lyrics.
Arnaz, a Weston resident, is set to appear in Ridgefield on Friday to share some of these classics of the American songbook, but with a twist. She will deliver them with a Latin flavor, honoring her father’s roots. As she noted in a recent article:
He had such a great love of music that all he did was want us to enjoy it with him
If you are looking for a cool day trip, get yourself onto a train into Grand Central to check out the Parade of Trains, just one of many events scheduled this year to honor the terminal’s 100th anniversary.
The season of summer blockbusters is upon us, with “The Great Gatsby,” “Star Trek: Into Darkness” and “The Lone Ranger” making it to the top of many movie-goers must-see lists.
Those films are likely to rake in tens of millions of dollars. But the true test of a summer epic is its capacity to remain in the popular consciousness years after its release, to leapfrog from one generation to the next.
Films such as “E.T.” and “Jaws” have more than passed that test, which makes them the ideal selections for the summer outdoor movie series at Mill River Park.
Presented by the Mill River Collaborative and the Avon Theatre, “Spielberg at Sunset” features films either directed, written or produced by Steven Spielberg: “E.T.” (June 4), “Gremlins” (July 2), “Jaws” (Aug. 6) and “Goonies” (Sept. 3). The series kicked off last Friday with “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
A deejay will play music before each screening at 6:30 p.m. and the movie will play at sunset. Spectators are encouraged to bring warm clothes, blankets and snacks.
Mill River Park opened with a ribbon-cutting Thursday night at a private fundraising gala at the park on Washington Boulevard. More events are slated to take place there in the future.
Elsas last appeared at the Avon on Nov. 7, drawing a crowd despite an early season snowstorm and the after-effects of Superstorm Sandy. Organizers said interest that evening merited a return engagement. The May 7 event will include classic interviews, photographs and recollections of historic moments in radio. Elsas also will conduct a question-and-answer session.
As one of New York’s enduring and well-known radio personalities, Elsas has interviewed many rock greats during his more than 35-year career, including John Lennon, Elton John, Levon Helm, Pete Townshend and Jerry Garcia. Elsas said recently these music greats are just some of the people that he had a chance to meet and interview. Audio and video highlights from those sessions are a major part of the show, he added.
The heart of the show reflects Elsas’ own history and his memories of growing up in the 60′s with Top 40 radio and the personalities that he listened to, “that unknowingly at the time were shaping my future.”
As he progresses through his college years and the early days of progressive FM radio, he eventually arrives at his long tenure at NYC’s WNEW-FM in the early 1970s.
Elsas, a Queens, N.Y., native, grew up in the 1960s listening to such Top 40 AM radio stations as WABC, WMCA and WINS. By the time he entered college, FM radio was increasingly adopting free-form progressive rock formats and other original programming.
After leaving Queens College, where he helped to establish the campus radio station WQMC, he found work at WVOX in New Rochelle, N.Y., and then, later, set up camp at WNEW-FM, where he would spend 25 years, eventually becoming the station’s music director. For the past 13 years or so, he has anchored the afternoon (2 to 6 p.m.) show at WFUV (90.7). He said the station’s “eclectic format and programming freedom recalls the best features of those early FM days.”
“Rock ‘N’ Roll Never Forgets” will feature a multimedia presentation of classic interviews, photographs and recollections of historic moments. It has been about six years since he started compiling this history of radio and his career on his website, and about a year since he has taken it on the road.
“When I set up the archives, I found a way to put the information out there,” he said. However, the live shows have given Elsas a way to meet fans and friends who have shared this musical history.
Tickets for the May 7 event are $6 for members (carte blanche members are free), $8 for students and seniors, and $11 for nonmembers. The Avon Theatre is located at 272 Bedford St., Stamford. For more information, call 203-967-3660 or visit avontheatre.org.
