The Levitt Pavilion books over 55 free nights of entertainment each year — and several more paid-ticket shows.
Every performer takes a different road to the riverside amphitheater. Some hear about it through the entertainment grapevine, or friends of friends. Directors Carleigh and Freda Welsh reach out to others.
But it’s hard to top Michelle Pauker’s story, for twists, turns, coincidences — and a local angle.
Michelle Pauker
The 2013 Staples High School graduate and her band, Back to the Garden 1969, have just been signed for July 5. They perform music of Woodstock, and have done it twice before at the Levitt.
This will be Pauker’s first time here with the group. But she knows Woodstock music well.
Her parents, Mark and Morgaine Pauker, love those songs. They shared it with their children from the time they were young. (Of course, they were born more than 2 decades after that memorable weekend.)
So it wasn’t surprising when Michelle wanted a Woodstock-themed party for a “milestone” birthday celebration last year.
She asked her dad to help find musicians who perform that era’s music: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Santana, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, and many more,
That was harder than it sounds.
“It turns out it’s not easy finding a band that can play the variety of music that was performed at Woodstock — let alone play it well,” Mark says.
After several weeks, and pretty much out of options, he remembered a Woodstock tribute group he and Morgaine had seen at the Levitt, years earlier.
But he had no idea who they were.
An internet search revealed the band’s name — Back to the Garden 1969 — and their previous Levitt shows, in 2016 and ’17.
Their website indicated that most of their shows now are multi-media theater events — though they still played a few smaller venues.
Mark called the leader, Gary Adamson, and asked if they were available for a private party.
The stars were aligned. They played on Michelle’s birthday.
“The day was magical,” Mark says. “The band was amazing, and everyone had a great time.”
Six months later, Gary called Mark. Their lead female singer was leaving to pursue a solo career. Did he think Michelle would be interested in joining the band?
Mark gave Gary her contact information. The rest, he says, is history. (Though not as historic as Woodstock.)
Michelle has performed with the group throughout the Northeast, from Annapolis, Maryland to — yes — Woodstock, New York.
Michelle Pauker (left), with the band.
Mark says, “I love the confluence of events, and the timing of it all. We first discovered the band because they played at the Levitt. They performed at Michelle’s party on her birthday last year.
“Now, exactly one year later, she’ll be their lead singer at the Levitt Pavilion — on her birthday!”
In Joni Mitchell’s song “Woodstock,” she came upon a child of God, and asked him where he was going.
He said he was “going down to Yasgur’s farm — gonna join in a rock ‘n’ roll band.”
Decades after Woodstock, Michelle Pauker joined a rock ‘n’ roll band too.
On July 5, she’s going down to the Levitt Pavilion.
She’ll set her soul free — back to the garden.
(Free tickets to the July 5 Back to the Garden 1969 concert are available starting at 10 a.m. today. Click here to reserve, and for more information.)
The crowd at the Levitt Pavilion will not be this large. But it may be close.
(“06880” covers Westport’s entertainment scene regularly. If you like fun, hometown stories like this — or anything else on “06880” — please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
OK, so here’s my Westport Woodstock memory. It was the summer of ’69; I was nine years old, and my little brother was eight. The teenage girl from up the street would make a little money baby-sitting us when needed, but at one point she disappeared for a few days… and she came back with a “hippie” boyfriend (with a beard, no less!). And it wasn’t until a bunch of years later that I realized SHE HAD BEEN AT WOODSTOCK!