Concert kicks off
summer series
summer series
PHILLIPS — New England Celtic Arts will present Don and Cindy Roy with Erica Brown and Matt Shipman at Phillips Area Community Center in Phillips, on Sunday, June 21.
The afternoon show will start at 3 p.m. Tickets are $15.
Phillips Community Center will open its forth year of Celtic-based concerts with New England Celtic Arts, a special Father’s Day afternoon concert, “Fiddles and Beaus” featuring two of Maine’s favorite fiddlers Don Roy and Erica Brown. Other concerts in the summer series will include: Irish step and fiddle champions, The Gothard Sisters on July 3; Dallahan from Scotland on Aug. 2; and Old Man Luedecke on Sept. 11.
At the forefront of the Franco-American community in the Greater Portland area, one finds the musical duo of Don and Cindy Roy who have long entertained audiences in the Southern Maine area and beyond. Don is the dean of Acadian and Franco traditions in Maine. Performances by Don Roy include; the Library of Congress and the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. Their Library of Congress performance was reviewed by the Maine Arts Commission. Other notable concerts include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Merkin Concert Hall, The Barns at Wolf Trap, two appearances with Garrison Keillor and two performances at the American Folk Festival to name a few.
Erica Brown developed an interest in music at an early age. At the age of 7, she was competing in fiddle contests with kids twice her age. At age 9, she was traveling throughout New England, Canada, and even Louisiana with the Maine French Fiddlers. She also performed as a special guest with Mac McHale And The Old-Time Radio Gang for five years.
Currently, she has her own bluegrass band, Erica Brown & The Bluegrass Connection, which performs all over New England. Brown is also a member of The Stowaways, Darlin’ Corey and The Record Family Band and was a recipient of a 2006 Maine Arts Commission Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Award and was recognized as a master artist by the Maine Arts Commission that same year.
Matt Shipman currently resides in Portland and is a performer and teacher of acoustic and traditional music. He has been teaching guitar and mandolin for five years in Yarmouth, at a community music school called 317 Main St. and has been performing for about 10 years.
He also enjoys playing bouzouki, tenor and clawhammer banjo. He attended the Hartt School of Music for a time where he studied jazz trumpet before going back to his first love: traditional and acoustic music. This appreciation of traditional music is reflected in his college career, a 2004 graduate of Vermont College, majoring in a self-designed major of traditional music sStudies.
Phillips Community Center is at 21 Depot St. Tickets may be purchased at the door. For reservations call 207-562-4445. FMI: http://necelticarts.com
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