TRAVEL WORTHY EVENTS: Labor Day Music Festivals

TRAVEL WORTHY EVENTS: Labor Day Music Festivals

SILVER SCREEN, ALL-GIRL, ALL-BOY MUSIC FESTIVALS

Martha's Vineyard Jazz & Blues Music Festivals Labor Day

Martha's Vineyard Jazz & Blues Music Festivals labor day weekend promises excellence! It brings a stunning line-up of star-studded female musicians. Last but not least, Grace Kelly who performs on Sunday promises to leave you entertained and inspired. This year, September 2-4, the music line-up is Cocomama, Sage, and Grace Kelly.

Grace Kelly

A unique dynamic, sexy, multi-talented artist who is redefining the Jazz/Blues/Rock genre, 24-year-old Korean American saxophonist, singer, songwriter, composer, and educator wrote her first song at seven years old. Grace Kelly recorded her first independently released CD's at 12. She orchestrated, arranged, and performed an original composition with the Boston Pops Orchestra at 14.

Jazz and mainstream media have raved about her. Grace has performed over 700 sets in 30 countries at major jazz festivals. In December 2015, Jon Batiste snagged Grace as a regular on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s band.

Cocomama

Cocomama brings a world of musical and cultural backgrounds.  Mixed with Afro-Cuban, Jazz, Caribbean and South American traditions, the sound created is fierce and beautiful! Cocomama is a band of women from such diverse places as Cuba, Israel, France, Oregon, Argentina, Mexico, and Wisconsin. The group’s influences are limitless: Classical, Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Latin American, jazz, soul, R&B, and beyond. Their music is a dynamic fusion of these styles giving them an original and unique sound of all their own.

Sage

Another headliner will be Sage, an all ladies jazz and blues vocal and instrumental ensemble. Enjoy the mix of violin, sax, flute, bass, keys and drums. Part contemporary, part sassy, part nostalgic, these ladies deliver what every music audience is seeking.

Sage and its members have opened for and appeared with Ray Charles, Denzel Washington, Regina Carter, Duke Ellington Show Choir and others. Sage has headlined major Inaugural Balls honoring President Obama. Additionally Sage entertained at the Major League Baseball All Stars Games 2011 and the World Classic in San Diego, and more.

Silver Screen on Golden High

Founded in 1878, Telluride was originally named "Columbia.” Confusion arose with another California town named the same. Telluride was renamed nine years later, after the gold mineral, Telluride. The quaint, tiny mountain village at 9,000 feet elevation fills with film enthusiasts each Labor Day weekend.

What make this film festival unique? The film line-up is kept secret until film buffs arrive in Telluride. That takes faith. However, regular film buffs trust that a golden experience will unfold. They have come to expect and enjoy the scenario of surprise film programming.

Nothing is more important with the Telluride Film Festival than who is selected as director. For the 43rd Telluride Film Festival, the film line-up will be hand-picked by Film Festival Guest Director, Volker Schlondorff. He is a globally acclaimed German filmmaker, producer, writer, and actor.

“The Telluride Film Festival represents the rarest jewel in the crown of the festival-going experience. It is the most open, democratic and collegial of festivals, in addition to being one of the best programmed and run.”

--Todd McCarthy, The Variety Guide to Film Festival

Virginia Beach American Music Festivals

A major outdoor music festival in the USA is The 23rd American Music Festival which takes place on three main stages. A music celebration on the beach at 5th Street, it spans the parks along the boardwalk. The Festival feature threes major headline bands over Labor Day Weekend, September 2-4, 2016. This year, music fans may buy limited availability Preferred Viewing at a VIP area in front of the stage.

Kicking off the first of three nights, 311 brings its blend of rock, rap, funk and reggae to the stage. After touring 25 years, 311 has a huge following who rave about their live performances. Last year, the band recorded a four-CD archive of their most popular songs. This CD showed at Number 6 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart.

Love Reggae? Night two, Saturday night, Culture Club presents UB40 featuring Ali Campbell, Astro and Mickey Virtue. Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album four times, this British reggae/pop band formed in December 1978.

On Sunday, an English band formed in 1981 is led by Boy George. The band’s second album, “Colour by Numbers,” sold more than 10 million copies. The bank  appeared on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 100 Best Albums of the 1980s.