Once again the sun is setting to live music
along the Red Hook waterfront.
Jazz, blues, folk, swing and rock music have returned, after
a year’s hiatus, with the 10th annual Sunset Music Series. This
year, however, the Sunset series will include two Sunday family
shows aboard the showboat barge and two Saturday evening concerts
at the nearby Liberty Heights Tap Room.
George Tocci, who co-produces the series with barge captain David
Sharps, said the change from exclusively Saturday night shows
aboard the historic Lehigh Valley barge was necessitated by certain
problems with its new location at the Columbia Street Marine
Terminal, principally the lack of lighting and outdoor space.
On the plus side, Liberty Heights Tap Room serves its own Park
Slope Brewery beer.
The series kicks off on July 12 at the Tap Room with guitarist
Steve Oates at 8 pm; Ellsworth and Hicks (a.k.a. George Tocci
and Phil Hicks), playing what Tocci calls "original and
stolen music" at 9 pm, and the Brooklyn Jugs with their
turn-of-the-century, fast-tempo, foot-stomping music at 10 pm.
The next day, Allison DeSalvo and Kenny & the Eggplants take
over the barge’s stage at 3 pm and 4 pm, respectively.
DeSalvo, a Park Sloper who teaches at the Grace Church preschool
in Brooklyn Heights, will perform what she calls "fairly
eclectic music" for 2- to 10-year-olds, backed by guitarist
Bill Newman and percussionist Todd Isler. She sings original,
traditional and international songs.
DeSalvo, whose CD is titled "Happiness Is All Around You"
(www.worldofsong.com), believes it’s important to express through
music that "the world is a wonderful place for children
to enter into and express themselves."
"I get the audience to sing and dance along," she told
GO Brooklyn. "When I perform, I bring all my energy to capturing
their imagination There’s an element of storytelling and painting
a picture."
Kenny & the Eggplants is a 10-year-old group made up of Ed
Logue on hand percussion and electric drum pads; Midwood resident
Gil Schuster, who plays bass guitar and says he "bangs on
things occasionally and screams,"; and band founder Kenny
Young, of Brooklyn Heights, who writes the songs, sings and plays
acoustic guitar.
"We sing quirky pop songs that both adults and kids like,"
says Schuster. "They’re funny and surreal, but they also
rock."
Young’s songs are about animals, food and life under water.
"There’s a badger who plays badminton and a spacefrog who
has super powers and a pizza pie that meets Emile Zola in a glass
of Coca-Cola," says Schuster. "Our show is like Bugs
Bunny. Kids can enjoy it, but adults get subtle references."
On July 19, The Leals take the mic at 8 pm, followed by Chris
& Meredith Thompson at 9 pm and The Jimmy Nations tar-heel
boogie band at 10 pm.
Shelly and Jon Leals, who live in Brighton Beach and work for
the city Department of Education, have been playing guitar together
and singing harmony for five years.
"We’re open and eclectic," says Shelly. "We sing
everything from Irish tunes to blues, jazz and folk."
While Jon leans toward ballads, Shelly writes "more bluesy
folk tunes about life and love."
The Leals have played in several Brooklyn venues including the
Tap Room.
Chris and Meredith Thompson are identical twins who play and
record together. (They have five self-produced CDs.)
"We’ve been performing together for 11 years, but we’ve
known each other for 29," says Meredith. "We always
loved singing together. During high school we started to get
more serious about it. My sister started playing the guitar,
and I always liked writing poetry. So we decided to team up.
I’d write the words, and she’d come up with the music."
Meredith plays the flute and sings, and Chris plays guitar and
sings.
"Coming to our shows is interesting because sometimes when
we sing the same note you can’t tell who’s singing," says
Meredith.
In addition to the two Thompsons, Meredith says you might also
hear a bit of Simon and Garfunkel; Crosby, Stills & Nash;
and Woodie Guthrie in their music.
July 20 brings one of the first bands to perform on the showboat
barge – The Amazing Incredible – back to Red Hook. Ed Fogarty
leads this band, which performs a blend of swing, country and
rock ’n’ roll. The Amazing Incredible will be followed by Ilene
Weiss singing original songs for adults and children.
The Sunset Music Series takes place
July 12 and July 19 at 8 pm at the Liberty Heights Tap Room,
located at 36 Van Dyke St. at Dwight Street. On July 13 and July
20 at 3 pm, concerts take place on the Waterfront Museum Showboat
Barge, docked at the Columbia Street Marine Terminal at 699 Columbia
St. Suggested donation is $5.
A free shuttle bus operates from the neighborhoods of Park Slope,
Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens for all performances. Directions,
maps, show and shuttle information are available by calling (718)
624-4719 or by visiting www.waterfrontmuseum.org
or the Sunset Music Series Web site at www.geocities.com/sunsetmuse.