Elaine and Jerome Rosenfeld Concerts in the Courtyard Summer Series 2012
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
©Rich Gastwirst 2011
An exciting range of music will be featured in this year’s Elaine and Jerome Rosenfeld Concerts in the Courtyard Summer Series hosted by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). This year’s series will feature outdoor evening concerts by the soulful Campbell Brothers, MFA favorite Patty Larkin, the world-renowned band Freshlyground, and local musicians among others. All concerts take place outside in the MFA’s Calderwood Courtyard on summer evenings as listed from July 11 – August 29, 2012 (if it rains, concerts are moved inside to Remis Auditorium). Bravo Restaurant also opens its outdoor balcony for premium seating (see ticket information for details).
July 11: The Campbell Brothers with Re-Union Choir
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
The summer series will kick off with steel-guitar driven gospel. The Campbell Brothers will present Sacred Steel: African-American gospel music with electric steel guitar and vocals. This tradition is just now emerging from the House of God Keith Dominion Church, where for over sixty years it has been an integral part of worship and a vital, if little known, American tradition.
Opening the evening will be Boston’s own Re-Union Choir.
July 18: Ghost Train Orchestra with Sinti Rhythm
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
The evening will start with Boston-based Sinti Rhythm, playing tribute to the jazz of Django Reinhardt.
Ghost Train Orchestra’s debut 2011 album achieved much critical acclaim and reached the top 10 of the Billboard Jazz
charts in the weeks following their spot on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. The band has performed at the Museum of
Modern Art, the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan. Comprising New
York and Boston members, Ghost Train Orchestra takes audiences back to the 1920s with horns, percussion, strings,
and original compositions.
MFA Boston, Elaine and Jerome Rosenfeld Concerts in the Courtyard, p. 2
July 25: Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
August 1: Animal Hospital Ensemble*
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
August 2: Patty Larkin
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
August 15: Freshlyground
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
August 22: Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three with Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three play a mix of original hits and early jazz, string ragtime, country blues, and western swing. A favorite of the Newport Folk Festival, Jack White, and NPR, LaFarge strives to transport listeners and live audiences to an earlier time in America by bringing forth his special mix of music, featuring such acoustic instruments as parlor guitar, guitjo, double bass, and kazoo.
Opening the evening will be Boston’s own Blue Moose and the Unbuttoned Zippers, who play originals, American classics, and Scandinavian fiddle tunes with a contemporary twist.
Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits is an ensemble fronted by guitarist, vocalist, performer, and composer Oliver
Mtukuzi or “Tuku”. Tuku began performing in 1977 and has earned a devoted following across Africa and beyond, all the
while incorporating elements of different musical traditions. A member of Zimbabwe’s Kore Kore tribe, he sings in the
nation’s dominant Shona language as well as Ndebele and English. Tuku is an alumnus of Acoustic Africa II (2011
edition) and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for Eastern and Southern Africa, focusing on Young People’s Development
and HIV and AIDS Prevention.
Animal Hospital Ensemble is a herd of guitarists, string players, and drummers that forges “an intense beauty” (Boston
Globe) through layered loops and meticulously crafted melodies. The expansion of leader Kevin Micka’s solo
performances, the ensemble gives individual loops to individual players in a highly orchestrated immersive performance.
Patty Larkin is an MFA favorite. She is part of the urban-folk/pop music phenomenon that spun off of the
singer/songwriter explosion of the seventies, reinterpreting traditional folk melodies, rock, pop, bossa nova, drawing on
anything from Dylan (Bob) to Dylan (Thomas). A self described “guitar-driven songwriter,” Larkin has wound her way
through soundscapes of evocative vocals, inventive guitar wizardry and imaginative lyrics. Her songs run from
impressionistic poetry to witty wordplay.
Freshlyground has performed sold out tours across the globe, achieved gold and platinum album sales, recorded a
track with Shakira for the 2010 World Cup, and is considered one of South Africa’s top cultural exports. The band formed
in early 2002 and is made up of seven talented and diverse musicians from South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.
Fronted by the diminutive but dynamic Zolani Mahola, the band exudes a live performance energy that has been the
bedrock of its success. The experienced rhythm section is complemented by guitar, keyboards, violin, flute, mbira, sax,
and harmonica.
MFA Boston, Elaine and Jerome Rosenfeld Concerts in the Courtyard, p. 3
August 29: Red Baraat with DJ Jesse Kaminsky
Doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Red Baraat have made a name for themselves as one of the best live bands playing anywhere in the world. Led by dhol drummer Sunny Jain, the nine-piece group (comprising a dhol [a double-sided barrel-shaped North Indian drum slung over one shoulder] drumset, percussion, a sousaphone, and five horns) melds the infectious North Indian rhythm Bhangra with a host of sounds, namely funk, go-go, Latin, and jazz. Sunny Jain and Red Baraat have created and defined a sound entirely their own, which NPR has called “the best party band in years.”
DJ Jesse Kaminsky will spin international music prior to the performance.
TICKETS: Tickets are $30 for general public and $24 for MFA members, seniors, and students. Tickets can be purchased:
Online: www.mfa.org/tickets
By phone: 1.800.440.6975; Mon-Sat, 9am-9 pm; and Sun 9 am-6 pm
In person: At MFA ticketing desks; desk closes 30 minutes before the Museum
Price exception: tickets for the Animal Hospital Ensemble will be $20 for general public and $16 for MFA members, seniors, and students.
All tickets are general admission seating. General admission concert tickets can be upgraded for al fresco dining on the Bravo balcony for an additional $30/person which can then be applied to food/drink from the restaurant. To purchase this upgrade, or for additional information, visit any ticket desk or call 617.369.3395 starting at 2 p.m. the day of the concert.
A $3.00 per-ticket processing fee applies to online and phone orders. An additional $4.50 fee applies for mail delivery. Tickets ordered within 10 days of a program are held at the MFA and may be obtained at any ticket desk or kiosk.
Elaine and Jerome Rosenfeld Concerts in the Courtyard is sponsored by Staples, Inc.
The media sponsor for the Elaine and Jerome Rosenfeld Concerts in the Courtyard is The Boston Phoenix.
The Calderwood Courtyard opens at 6 p.m. Courtyard seating is limited; low lawn chairs and/or blankets are recommended.
Alcoholic beverages may be purchased in the Courtyard; state law prohibits the possession or consumption of alcohol purchased outside of the MFA. All bags are subject to inspection by Museum staff.
All concerts are wheelchair accessible. For more information call (V) 617.369.3189 or
(TTY) 617.267.9703, or e-mail access@mfa.org.
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