Dreaming about becoming the next American idol? The summer Adrenaline Music Project (AMP) comes to the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard this summer from August 5 to 9. The five-day intensive workshop is geared to teens ages 13 to 18 who are interested in pursuing a career in the music industry. AMP provides the expertise via several professionals such as singer/songwriter Ellis Paul, studio engineer Jim Parr and several radio professionals and musicians while the students bring their desire and determination.
Derek Davies and Lizzie Plapinger always dreamed of hosting a music festival on Martha’s Vineyard. As best friends spending summers at the Chilmark Community Center, they shared a love of music and the Island. As they grew up, they never lost sight of their passions or their goal.
Except for the baroque chirping from the rafters, the Tabernacle is empty and quiet enough to make one want to whisper. It is 40 minutes before the Island Community Chorus begins to rehearse for its July 6 summer concert. Music director Peter Boak arrives carrying a collapsible stepstool and music stand. He climbs to the stage to arrange and consider.
Jim Thomas and his Spirituals Choir will perform on Saturday, June 29, at 7:30 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre on Spring street in Vineyard Haven. The choir is in its ninth year and is the offspring of the Martha’s Vineyard NAACP. The performance is titled, Songs From the Field: The Underground Railroad.
The choir performs at many venues around the Island and is made up of summer residents and year-rounders. They perform sitting down as the slaves did, and only with percussion accompaniment.
If you’re looking for live music, you’ve come to the right Island. Martha’s Vineyard features a diverse selection of music venues, from dives to dancehalls and everything in between. If it’s local musicians you want to hear, check out some of the watering holes in Edgartown or Oak Bluffs. For big-name bands, visit Dreamland in Oak Bluffs or Flatbread at the Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
The stage at Flatbread was packed with instruments on Monday night and the dance floor filled with fans standing shoulder to shoulder. Deer Tick, an alternative rock band from Providence, R.I., was back in town after a two-year hiatus.
The band jumped feet-first into their set. Their style is shamelessly and classically authentic. The vintage whirl of a Hammond B-3 organ blended beautifully with a pair of rancorous guitars.