KDHamptons toasts summer at the Parrish Art Museum

The Parrish Art Museum kicks off its 2015 summer outdoor music series with the first performances in the Sounds of Summer and Jazz en Plein Air programs, on Fridays from 6–8pm. Sounds of Summer, on Friday, May 22 of Memorial Day weekend, features The HooDoo Loungers, a nine-piece New Orleans jazz band that returns to the Parrish. The following Friday, Jazz en Plein Air series opens with The Jam Session and The Thursday Night Live Band.

According to the series co-organizers at the Museum, Andrea Grover, Century Arts Foundation Curator of Special Projects, and Amy Kirwin, Visitor Services and Museum Programs Manager, “Our summer music program brings together performers of diverse musical persuasions and encourages all ages to dance, dine, socialize or just enjoy the fresh air and the cool tunes. It’s a festive and fun way to kick-off the weekend.”

The HooDoo Loungers, dubbed the East Coast’s New Orleans Party band, features two lead vocalists, a three-piece horn section, and a rhythm section.  Keyboard/accordion player and vocalist David Deitch is the band’s music director and arranger; bassist/vocalist Joe Lauro, a popular East End musician who performed with Gene Casey and the Lone Sharks and the Moondogs, is also a featured member of the group. For the event, the Golden Pear Café at the Parrish will be offering local wines, local craft beers, cocktails, and Southern-theme buffet fare. Sounds of Summer concerts continue on the first Friday of each month.  The following Friday, May 29, Jazz en Plein Air organizer Richard Siegler opens his third season with the Parrish by acknowledging a band and a music series that have greatly contributed the vitality of the East End jazz scene: The Jam Session and the Thursday Night Live Band.

The Jam Session is a weekly live jazz performance series that began in 2009 at Bay Burger in Sag Harbor, NY, and has attracted musicians from all across the globe. The Thursday Night Live Band, the core house band for the sessions, features Wayne Sabella on piano, Peter Weiss on bass, and Claes Brondal on drums. Special musical guests specializing in a variety of styles ranging from jazz to world music are invited to perform, fulfilling The Thursday Night Live Band’s mission to introduce a wide audience to many types of music within the jazz genre.

Attendees at Sounds of Summer and Jazz en Plein Air concerts are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets for the Mildred C. Brinn Terrace and Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane Special Events Lawn.  Food and beverages are available for purchase at the Museum’s Café. All concerts are free with Museum admission and do not require advance reservations.

Sounds of Summer, Fridays, 6-8pm
May 22: The Jam Session and the Thursday Night Live Band
June 5: Southampton 375th Celebratory Contradance with Dave Harvey and Dunegrass
July 3: Mambo Loco
August 7: Jake Lear Blues
September 4: Bluegrass & BBQ with the Ebony Hillbillies
Jazz en Plein Air, Fridays, 6-8pm
May 29: The Jam Session and the Thursday Night Live Band
June 26: Richie Siegler’s Quartet
July 31: Hendrik Meurkens and his Samba Jazz Quartet
August 28: Alex Sipiagin
Visit parrishart.org for full details. #ParrishFridays. Friday Nights are made possible, in part, by the generous support of Bridgehampton National Bank. Hamptons Magazine is the media sponsor of Friday nights.  Visit www.parrishart.org for full details.

More about the Parrish Art Museum: 

Inspired by the natural setting and artistic life of Long Island’s East End, the Parrish Art Museum illuminates the creative process and how art and artists transform our experiences and understanding of the world and how we live in it. The Museum fosters connections among individuals, art, and artists through care and interpretation of the collection, presentation of exhibitions, publications, educational initiatives, programs, and artists-in residence. The Parrish is a center for cultural engagement, an inspiration and destination for the region, the nation, and the world.