The Middle East is a restaurant and club in Cambridge Massachusetts. This art decorates the exterior of the club portion.
The Middle East
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Tag Archives: music
The Maestro
This statue is situated in a very fitting spot, on Boston’s Charles River Esplanade, near the location where the Boston Pops play summer concerts. This is Arthur Fiedler who conducted the Pops for many years. In 1976, our country’s bicentennial year, he and some others decided to put on a concert. Someone told him that if he played the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky, they could arrange for the cannons and church bells that are to accompany the piece. What followed was an amazing show that is now repeated each year. Local church bells ring, the army fires howitzers and fireworks are shot off from a barge. Arthur Fiedler started it all and for years was synonymous with the Boston Pops.
Dancing at the Lowell Folk Festival
With all of the wonderful music, people can’t help but dance. Here are a few images.
Lowell Folk Festival Musicians – Part II
Musicians from Saturday and Sunday at the Lowell Folk Festival.
Lowell Folk Festival Musicians – Part I
Images of some of the musicians from the Lowell Folk Festival that my wife and I attended this past weekend.
Boston: The Faces of St. Patrick’s Day
Today, I share the photo credit with my wife who made the latter two images, including sneaking past a bouncer to avoid the $10 cover charge to get the shot inside the pub. We spent yesterday walking around and checking out the people wandering about on St. Patrick’s Day. It was good fun. Cheers
Mali Meets Mississippi
My two favorite artists at the Lowell Folk Festival James (Super Chikan) Johnson and Bassekou Kouyate did a short set together because their music is related.
The traditional African instrument that Bassekou Kouyate plays (the ngoni) was adapted into the banjo and early primitive guitars by Africans brought to America and their descendents.
Eventually, these instruments were used to create the Blues style of music played by Super Chikan and his band.
Today, Bassekou Kouyate and his band use the influence of the Blues and other music in how they play the ngoni in some very non-traditional ways. (He can wail on that thing.)
After the set, I managed to sneak backstage during the press shoot. =)
Musicians of the Lowell Folk Festival 2015
These are some scenes from the musical part of the Lowell Folk Festival. Unfortunately, photos do not convey the music well, but as you can see, it is an international affair. My favorites were George (Super Chikan) Johnson and his band The Fighting Cocks, and the group Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba. We heard many more bands than the ones you see here, but this will give you a flavor of what we experienced.
The Festival Begins
A parade led by the Original Pinettes Brass Band begins this year’s Lowell Folk Festival in Lowell, Massachusetts. (Lowell is about 30 minutes north of Boston.)
