Lincoln Center Out of Doors additions: Americanafest lineup (Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam & more); Thao, & more

Lincoln Center Out of Doors

We already mentioned the initial lineup and dates for 2016’s Lincoln Center Out Of Doors program, which includes the two-day Roots of American Music – Americanafest NYC on August 6 and 7. The lineup for that mini-fest was still TBA but now it’s here.

It features Dwight Yoakam, The Cactus Blossoms, Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones, Mary Gauthier, Those Pretty Wrongs (ex-Big Star), and a The Last Waltz 40th Anniversary performance with musical direction by Larry Campbell that features The Midnight Ramble Band (Levon Helm’s old band), Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Anderson East and Howard Johnson who played tuba at the original Last Waltz concert.

There are some more cool additions to the broader Lincoln Center Out of Doors lineup. August 4th will feature an NPR-sponsored performance by Lucinda Williams and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. Alice Smith has been added to the Afropunk Girrrl Riot show with SATE and The VeeVees on July 27.

The already-announced lineup includes Patti Smith; The Hallelujah Train featuring Pastor Brady Blade Sr., Brian Blade, Daniel Lanois, and guests Ladysmith Black Mambazo; Eli “Paperboy” Reed; M. Ward and Margaret Glaspy, and many more.

All of these shows are free and go down at various Lincoln Center venues. Check out full details of the new lineup additions below. Full schedule HERE.

Lincon Center Out Of Doors — Lineup Updates

ROOTS OF AMERICAN MUSIC

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6

1:00 pm – Hearst Plaza

Those Pretty Wrongs
Mary Gauthier
Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones

Melody and narrative are the ties that bind this afternoon program. The triple-bill opens with duo of power pop songstress Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones With their bright, side-by- side harmonies, Thompson (son of British folk-rock icons Richard and Linda Thompson) and Jones strike a vintage boy-girl Everlys vibe with original songs that run the gamut from heartbreaking country ballads to lively rockabilly tunes. “World Café” (WXPN radio) praised the duo for “near-perfect evocations of late-‘50s and early-‘60s pop—witty, smart writing sung exquisitely.” And reviewing their recent album Little Windows, Popmatters said the songs, “express something that the listener has felt before even if they haven’t been able to put those experiences into their own words.”

Up next is one of Americana’s most celebrated singer-songwriters, Mary Gauthier. Equipped with “unflinching introspection and Southern Gothic-shaded storytelling” (NPR Music), this Baton Rouge-native excavates poignant songs from a bittersweet life, with turns as a renowned chef and battles with addiction. Her folk- and country-rooted sound has drawn comparisons to Kris Kristofferson and John Prine.

Finally, with a name taken from a Shakespeare sonnet, Those Pretty Wrongs—Jody Stephens (Big Star) and Luther Russell (The Freewheelers)—wrap up the afternoon with a set of their sun-dappled songs, in which poetry and harmonies soar over acoustic soundscapes. Stephens co-wrote and sings all the lead vocals—a first for the Big-Star drummer—on the duos’ recent eponymous debut album recorded at Memphis’ legendary Ardent Studio.

7:00 pm – Damrosch Park Bandshell

Americanafest NYC

The Last Waltz 40th Anniversary Celebration

The Midnight Ramble Band with Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Anderson East, Howard Johnson, and other special guests tba. Under the musical direction of Larry Campbell

Parker Millsap

Following the success of last summers’ concert the 50th anniversary of the release of Bob Dylan’s groundbreaking album Highway 61 Revisited, Lincoln Center Out of Doors marks another iconic moment in the history of rock and roll with a concert marking some of the performances from The Last Waltz. The acclaimed Martin Scorsese film documented the farewell performance by The Band at the Winterland Ballroom in 1976 when they were joined by all-star guests—a “Who’s Who” of rock, soul, r&b and blues musicians. For this once-in- a-lifetime event, late Band drummer Levon Helm’s own band, The Midnight Ramble Band, will lead the charge under the direction of its long-time musical director, multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell. They will be joined by special guests including triple Grammy Award-winning Americana singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Anderson East, and Howard Johnson who played tuba at the original Last Waltz concert.

Commenting on Parker Millsap’s 2014 self-titled debut album, NPR praised “his remarkable charisma” and continued, “This guy can yodel, he can sing a soul song for real, he can preach and he wiggles his leg like Elvis. A star in the making.” The Oklahoma born singer-songwriter- guitarist, “a skinny white-kid,” who sings and plays a blend of howling Delta blues crossed with rock, writes character-driven songs. His newly-released second album, On the Very Last Day, features songs about an unemployed Vet robbing a convenience store, Hades, god of the underworld, and wrenchingly, a gay man being rejected by his evangelical father. The Boston Globe called Millsap “a restless soul” and said his sophomore album is “suffused with spiritual depth and songwriting genius.”

ROOTS OF AMERICAN MUSIC

SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

7:00 pm – Damrosch Park Bandshell

Americanafest NYC

Dwight Yoakam

The Cactus Blossoms

Dwight Yoakam is a 21‒time nominated, multiple GRAMMY Award‒winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist who has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, including 12 gold albums and 9 platinum or multi-platinum albums. Five albums topped Billboard’s Country Albums chart, and another 14 landed in the Top 10. In 2015, Yoakam released his latest album, Second Hand Heart, on Warner/Reprise records. His deep knowledge of music history seeps into his own sonic playbook, with hints of Elvis, The Everly Brothers, The Beatles, and The Beach Boys, among other influences, coloring the album’s songs. Yoakam’s distinctive, supple vocals, accented with his Kentucky croon, sound as strong today as they did on his 1986 debut studio album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. In addition to his musical career, Yoakam is a formidable film and television actor, with a storied and successful acting career.

The Cactus Blossoms are guitar-playing, singing brothers Page Burkum and Jack Torrey from Minnesota, who write and perform original songs that just happen to sound like pre-1960s heartbreak country tunes. “We weren’t born in the wrong era. We just got into some music from a different era and found a way to make it our own,” comments the duo. Rockabilly singer-songwriter JD McPherson discovered the brothers and invited them to open for him on tour. He also produced their next recording, You’re Dreaming, an 11- track album of mostly originals with a few arrangements of older country-tunes. It was released on Redhouse earlier this year. Drawing comparisons to the Everly Brothers for the brothers’ soaring harmonies, it’s gotten high marks from major music media. Said Acoustic Guitar, “The Cactus Blossoms revitalize music from the dawn of rock and country for a new contemporary audience.
Presented in association with Americana Music Association

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4

7:00 pm – Damrosch Park Bandshell

NPR Music Live in Concert

Hosted by Bob Boilen of All Songs Considered, Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd of Alt.Latino, and

Ann Powers of The Record

Lucinda Williams

Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

iLe
Four of NPR’s most popular music programs make their Out of Doors’ debut in this evening of conversationand performance when their hosts—All Songs Considered Bob Boilen, Alt. Latino co-hosts Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd, and Ann Powers of The Record—showcase some of their musical discoveries and favorite artists. The live music experience will later be available for streaming on NPR.org/music.

Up first, Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd present iLe, a.k.a Ileana Cabra Joglar who went by PG-13 when she performed with the multiple-Grammy and Latin Grammy–winning Puerto Rican rap group, Calle 13. Four years after her powerhouse rendition of the classic bolero “La Pared” started building buzz for a solo effort, iLe’s debut album, ilevitable, is set to be released soon.

Then, Bob Boilen invites alt-rock darling Thao Nguyen and her band the Get Down Stay Down to the stage. This San Francisco-based group, whose most recent album The Man Alive! was produced by Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs), gleefully layers garage rock, synth pop, noise, and funk. Cutting through it all are Thao’s piercing lyrics that often provide dark counterpoint to the music’s effervescent rhythms and breaks.

To end the evening, Ann Powers talks with singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, who has spent her celebrated career brewing a potent mix of blues, rock, and country. She’ll close the show with a rousing set of slow-burning soliloquies and driving rock anthems, accented by Louisiana twang, a bluesy growl, and an
irrepressible rebellious streak.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27

7:00 pm – Damrosch Park Bandshell

AFROPUNK’s Girrrl Riot @ Lincoln Center

SATE

The VeeVees

Alice Smith

Following the success of its debut at last summer’s Lincoln Center Out of Doors, AFROPUNK returns with AFROPUNK’s Girrrl Riot @ Lincoln Center, an all-female lineup of genre-busting artists who embody the spirit of the alternative, experimental music community and cultural movement.

SATE is the name that Canadian alt-rock- blues singer-songwriter Saidah Baba Talibah adopted when she embarked on a new project and a new musical and life journey a few years ago. The daughter of Canadian blues and jazz great Salome Bey, SATE (rhymes with fate) released her debut album in 2011, which launched her career and led to extensive touring at home and abroad. Finding her authentic voice, including acknowledging three important women in her life—her mother who has suffered from Alzheimer’s since 2011, her daughter; and her sister—was the impetus for two years of work on her new concept album, RedBlack&Blue, due for release this summer. Soul-shaking, empowering, and forceful messages delivered in a characteristic high-energy mix of hard rock, blues, and raunchy soul are what to expect when SATE struts onto the Damrosch Park Bandshell stage.

One of the 16 finalists chosen for AFROPUNK’s 2015 Battle of the Bands, The VeeVees believe in the “dark glory days” of rock and roll, and the raw, visceral, truthful music they create and perform is the proof. The Deli Magazine wrote, “A charismatic throwback to the in-your- face attitude that rock was built on. The group puts out a vibrant and dynamic energy that will have you banging your head along with the overdriven guitars and driving drums.” Started in 2011, as the duo of guitarist-singer- songwriter Garrett
Cillo, and drummer Andrea Belfiore, the Brooklyn-based rock band now features Detroit-born, rock and R&B powerhouse vocalist Sophia Urista as frontwoman.

Fiercely individualistic singer-songwriter- producer Alice Smith, is known as much for her high-octane, four-octave vocals as for her stunning stage presence. The Grammy-nominated singer counts Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, and Bjork as influences on her potent and artful mix of rock, R&B, soul, and pop. New York magazine described Smith’s 2013 release, She, as “a blend of 1930s chanteuse and modern-day hipster.”