New Orleans-based musician Eric Lindell performed last night on the Shepard Park stage in Lake George to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 200. The amphitheatre had a music-festival like atmosphere with continual interaction between the performers and their audience. Dancers old and young took to the flagstone dance floor beneath the stage. The outdoor concert is the third show of the Lake George Arts Project’s 2014 free Summer Concert Series.
Lindell and his band — bassist Chris Arenas, keyboardist Mike (Mikey B3) Burkart, saxophonist Chris Fitzgerald and drummer Will McMains — demonstrated a genial camaraderie as throughout each song the focus alternated among the musicians, zooming in for virtuoso performances, then pulling back for the big sound. Lindell has been in the music scene for nearly two decades. Originally from Northern California, he gained a wider audience when he moved to New Orleans in 1999. He is touring the U.S. this summer following the release of his album Indian Summer. This is Lindell’s first Lake George performance.
The Lake George Arts Project 2014 Summer Concert Series began July 2 with Blues Night featuring No Outlet and George Fletcher’s Folding Money. The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. every Wednesday night through August 27. Next Wednesday, July 23, New York City blues singer/guitarist Chris Bergson is scheduled to appear.
The concert series culminates in the annual Lake George Jazz Weekend, Sept. 13 and 14, with non-stop performances each day beginning at 1 p.m. This year’s Jazz Weekend lineup includes 2013 Grammy nominee Manuel Valera, jazz singer Cyrille Aimee, Anat Cohen, Sex Mob (Steven Bernstein), Wicked Knee (Billy Martin), Jane Bunnett and Maqueque and Raymond Scott Orchestrette. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Jazz Weekend.
The Lake George Arts Project was launched in 1977 as a vehicle to bring quality arts programming to residents and visitors of Lake George. The Summer Concert Series and the Jazz Weekend are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Lake George Arts Project Website or phone (518)668-2616.