This weekend, the Levitt Pavilion hosts 2 special shows.
Tonight (Saturday, July 13, 7 p.m.) features Marc Broussard and the 20th Anniversary of Carencro. It included the hit “Home,” now going viral again on Instagram.
Also on the bill: local favorites Otis & the Hurricanes. Their gumbo of blues andhttps://www.levittpavilion.com/2024/04/08/marc-broussard-carencro-20th-anniversary-tour/ soul complements Broussard’s “bayou soul,” a mix of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop, all with distinct Southern roots. Click here for tickets, and more information.
Tomorrow (Sunday, July 14, 7 p.m.), the Levitt invites concert-goers to wear white, while celebrating the 19th Amendment and women’s right to vote.
The show features Grammy-winning folk singer/songwriter Aoife O’Donovan and folk quartet Hawktail. O’Donovan was last at the Levitt in 2022. Click here for tickets, and more information.
For both shows’ lawn tickets: on Saturday, children 7 and under are free. On Sunday, those 10 and under are free. Ticket proceeds help support the 50-plus shows presented free of charge each season, for all.
PS: The Blind Rhino food truck will be on site both days.
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Speaking of music: Thomas Dolby comes to the Westport Library Tuesday (July 16). He’ll discuss his new book “Prevailing Wind” with another big name: Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and longtime Library supporter Chris Frantz.
The 4 p.m. start time accommodates Dolby’s performance later that evening in the Totally Tubular Festival at Bridgeport’s Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater.
Dolby — a musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher — played synthesizer for David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell and others during his eclectic career. His 1980s hits include “She Blinded Me With Science” and “Hyperactive!”
He also has been music director for TED Conferences. On the Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute staff, he leads the Music for New Media program.
This is Dolby’s only signing event in the tri-state area. All attendees who purchase a copy of Prevailing Wind may get the book and one additional item signed by the author.
Frantz is a musician, producer, songwriter, and founding member of the Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club. A frequent guest of the Library and the host of the Library series “Chris Frantz Presents,” he also hosts a radio show on WPKN-FM.
Thomas Dolby
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There’s not a lot to laugh about in the Middle East.
But on July 30 (cocktails at 7 p.m., show at 7:45), Temple Israel hosts a comedy night. Five comics — Andrew Ginsburg, Nick Scopoletti, Cody Marino, Olga Namer and Beau McDowell — will all appear, in a fundraiser for Israel relief.
Tickets are $54 (VIP) and $36 (general admission). Click here to purchase, and for more information. (Hat tip: Les Dinkin)
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Yesterday’s Roundup included an item on Homes with Hope CEO Helen McAlinden’s meeting in Washington with Representative Jim Himes.
A photo showed our congressman with a statewide delegation of advocates for the homeless and hungry.
Alert “06880” reader Marlene Siff recognized artwork hanging on the wall.
It was hers.
The piece — “Fallen Heroes/Afghanistan” — has hung in Himes’ office since 2010.
“It is my memorial dedicated to all the soldiers we lost in the war in Afghanistan,” Siff tells “06880.”
“Fallen Heroes/Afghanistan” (Marlene Siff)
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Westport-based Nest Egg Foundation has partnered with the Carlos Rodón Foundation to launch the first-ever Willow Gala.
The September 30 event at the Delamar in Greenwich will bring together community leaders, philanthropists and supporters, to raise awareness and funds for families facing fertility challenges. The evening includes live music, dining, silent and live auctions, and special guests.
The Nest Egg Foundation was created in 2015. It is a collaborative effort of medical and financial professionals, attorneys, and others. The foundation plays a key role role in the application and evaluation process of The Willow Grant, which was developed by New York Yankees pitcher Rodón and his wife.
For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.
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We all know that turtles move at — well, a turtle’s pace.
The other day, Johanna Keyser Rossi spotted this one stranded above Deadman Brook, behind the police station.
Half an hour later he was still there.
Johanna figures he was “waiting for high tide, or to jump in.” Maybe he was just posing for “Westport … Naturally” — at his own speed.
(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)
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And finally … on this date in 1985, the Live Aid benefit concert was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. The goal was to raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
On this day too, Live Aid-inspired concerts were held in the USSR, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia, and West Germany. An estimated 1.9 billion people — nearly 40% of the earth’s population — watched the broadcast.
(It’s nowhere near as important as famine relief. But if you’re inclined to toss a few bucks our “06880” way, you can click here and follow the prompts. Thank you!)
Old political sayin…, “When you’re driving down a country road you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that’s a ‘post turtle’.
“You know they didn’t get up there by themselves, they don’t belong up there, they don’t know what to do while they’re up there, and you just wonder what kind of dummy put them up there to begin with.”
You may recall the “Westport” connection at Live Aid.
Paul Gambaccini, a Westport native, broadcasted live from London for the BBC. He conducted interviews from backstage with the many artists who participated in the concert. Paul had a very popular show on the BBC for many years and was known as the Professor of Pop.