Lynda Cohen Performing Arts Series Returns to the AMC Crawford Notch Highland Center This Summer
Bretton Woods, NH — The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is hosting the 2nd Annual Lynda Cohen Performing Arts Series at the AMC Highland Center in Bretton Woods, NH. These four free summer evening performances will feature renowned local and regional bluegrass, folk, roots and Americana artists: Bennett and Perkins, Twisted Pine, Gawler Family Band, and Beg, Steal or Borrow.
The concert series successfully debuted in 2021, thanks to the vision of AMC member and long-time supporter Lynda Cohen. Originating from her love of music and the mountains, Cohen imagined a concert series where people from far and wide could come together, nestled among the peaks of Crawford Notch, to experience one of her lifelong passions, music. As a musician herself, Cohen understands how the arts can help create connections to the natural world.
“For many years I have dreamed of a music program in Bretton Woods, accessible to everyone,” said Cohen. “I felt it would be important to bring in musicians with strong performance backgrounds and wide appeal across varied musical styles.”
James Wrigley, AMC’s Director of White Mountain Huts and Lodges, explained, “The concerts offer another way to get outdoors with the AMC. It’s a natural extension of our mission to foster the enjoyment and understanding of the outdoors. It also supports our goal to engage our local communities who can enjoy these events. We are so fortunate for the support of Lynda Cohen that makes this Performing Arts Series possible.”
Beer, alcohol, and snacks will be available for purchase on site; guests are allowed to bring their own food, but BYOB is not permissible due to state liquor laws. There will be limited parking available at the AMC Highland Center for concert-goers, but overflow parking options will be nearby. All concerts will be held rain or shine.
Concerts are free and open to the public and preregistration for attendees is encouraged through Eventbrite: http://amcmusic.eventbrite.com/
The Lynda Cohen Performing Arts Series line up for 2022 features:
7pm-9:30pm – July 9, 2022 – Bennett & Perkins with Taylor Whiteside
Opening performance by Lynda Cohen and Bob Grappel
From the mountains of northern New Hampshire comes the haunting harmonies and memorable arrangement of vocals and guitar, fiddle and mandolin by Kathy Bennett and Thom Perkins, joined by multi-instrumentalist Taylor Whiteside. They perform a powerful collection of original songs with stories and music inspired by everyday lives, with songs of lost loves, lost lives and real life adventure. All three performers hail from the greater Mount Washington Valley and provide a “Local Spotlight” to kick off the concert series. Learn more at their website: www.bennettandperkins.com
A special opening set by Lynda Cohen and Bob Grappel will offer concert-goers a performance of charming and intricate autoharp tunes that evoke a simpler era. Bob and Lynda’s haunting vocals and instrumental virtuosity are a tasty mix of old and new. They were twice awarded the Leonard Reid “Open Stage Performance” Prize at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering.
7pm-9pm – July 23, 2022 – Twisted Pine
Praised by NPR for their “upbeat, poppy vibe; energetic, driving rhythms; and virtuosic solos,” Twisted Pine released their sophomore full-length Right Now in 2020 (Signature Sounds Recordings). Exploring a sound they call Americana funk, Twisted Pine takes traditional music in exhilarating directions. Twisted Pine [Kathleen Parks, fiddle; Dan Bui, mandolin; Chris Sartori, bass; Anh Phung, flute] grooves with fearless improvisation and intricate arrangements. “They were once bluegrass,” wrote the Boston Globe, “but … this Boston band has become something else, a wider version of string band, boundary jumpers akin to outfits like Punch Brothers, Nickel Creek, and Crooked Still.” You can find them online at: https://www.twistedpineband.com/home
7pm-9pm – August 6, 2022 – Gawler Family Band
The Gawlers are a fun-loving, fiddling family band with shining smiles and joyful
sounds. John and Ellen Gawler are master fiddle and banjo players and their three daughters, Molly, Edith and Elsie grew up with the music and formed a band of their own – The Gawler Sisters. The band includes “brother” Bennett Konesni and Ethan Tischler (Elsie’s partner.) The full band has a gorgeous and high-spirited sound of string instruments (fiddle, banjo, guitar, cello, bass) as well as harmony singing.
View their website: https://elsiegawler.com/
7pm-9pm – August 20, 2022 – Beg Steal or Borrow
Beg, Steal, or Borrow are a bluegrass quintet with a passionate following in the Northeast and beyond. Their repertoire includes a wide range of classic covers as well as a ever-growing list original songs and instrumentals, many of which are featured on their 2019 full-length CD, Old Mountain Time. The quintet has headlined at top venues throughout northern New England and has appeared at many of the leading east coast music festivals including Greyfox, Podunk, Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots, Thomas Point Beach, Ossipee, Jenny Brook, and Winter WonderGrass, winning three band competitions along the way. “Beg, Steal or Borrow have managed to absorb their essential influences — Appalachian, folk and country sounds in particular — and refashion them in a way that’s so accessible and infectious that the music’s all but irresistible.” – Bluegrass Today. Explore Beg, Steal or Borrow at www.begstealorborrowvt.com
