Ellicotville, New York

Ellicottville Prepares for a Busy July with Plenty of Live Music

BY JEANINE ZIMMER
"If you count the number of concerts we have lined up from June 29 to July 29, it's truly amazing," boasted Brian McFadden, Executive Director of the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce.
That number would tally in the Summer Festival of the Arts, Island Weekend, the Jazz Festival and the Gazebo Series, and it would total over 25 outdoor performances … and that's just outdoors!
The Summer Festival of the Arts, June 29-July 1, 2007, will host four free outdoor concerts including Glenn Colton, the Dennis George Original Variety Show, and more at the Village Gazebo throughout the weekend, as well as The Air National Guard Band Friday on the slopes of Holiday Valley. That Saturday, The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra featuring the music of Batman, Spiderman and Superman will take the stage at Holiday Valley, accompanied by the cast of characters, followed on Sunday by Eric Burdon and the Animals and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas.
Spotlighting the weekend-long event, Eric Burdon is bound to catch the attention of avid concertgoers in the region.
Burdon has carved himself a place in history as the founding member of The Animals, whose 1960's hits such as 'House of the Rising Sun' and 'We Gotta Get Out of this Place' have solidified his music in time. As part of the British Invasion alongside The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Burdon's band was the only one properly identified by using the lead singer's and founding member's name. One by one, all of the band members have changed, but Burdon continues to tour under the name Eric Burdon and The Animals.
A Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Inductee, Burdon, now 64, was born in Newcastle and has earned strong popularity in Europe and the UK, as well as in the U.S. with his blues-infused music that carries with it a message and a rhythm that resonates throughout time.
One reason Burdon is excited about his upcoming performance in Ellicottville is because, he said in an interview with The Villager, "there is a big chance that Hilton Valentine, the original guitar player of The Animals, will join us at the gig." Additionally, he commented, "I will try to please everyone in the audience by performing old Animal hits, but for my own creative needs, I will put a different spin on them as well as perform songs from my latest album, 'Soul of a Man'."
Two weeks later, Ellicottville will unveil its newest addition to the summer festival line-up with Island Weekend, July 13-15. There will be two days filled with free outdoor concerts featuring the Caribbean themed music of Pirate Dreams, the Dreadbeats, Caribbean Extravaganza, and Riddm Posse. The bars and restaurants of the village will offer additional tropical music throughout the night and will also feature Caribbean food and drink specials. Don't miss this weekend of island dreams; you'll find yourself humming 'Away Again' when you walk down the palm tree-lined oasis streets of Ellicottville.
The following week, Ellicottville's reenergized Jazz Festival will kick off July 27-29 featuring the music of the Jim Tudini Band. Headed by the Canisus High School music teacher and member of the Buffalo Musician and the Greater Niagara Musicians Associations who has played everywhere from Carnegie Hall to Paris and concerts by the sea in Redondo Beach, this star-studded lineup cultivates a cadre of well known talent including Buffalo's favorite saxophonist and flutist, Bobby Militello. The serious musicianship and skill of this group is par for the course of what you can expect from Ellicottville's newly transformed Jazz Festival.
The streets of Ellicottville will be humming through the month of July. Keep your eye on the schedule for more surprises to be added to the Summer Festival of the Arts and complete lineups for Island Weekend and Jazz Festival.
Presale tickets for the Summer Festival of the Arts are available in Ellicottville at the Wingate Hotel, the Chamber of Commerce, Holiday Valley, E-Ville Spirits, and the Village Wine Rack. They are also available at the Country Inn and Suites in Olean, NY and at the Best Western in Bradford, Pa. or by calling 1-800-349-9099.
Stay tuned to The Villager next week for an in-depth description of another one of our new festivals coming at the end of this month. Women's Weekend, a weekend to honor, educate and celebrate women, is scheduled for June 22-24, 2007. It will feature an event-filled two days for females only and is geared towards a healthy, happy lifestyle.
For more information on Ellicottville and its events, log on to HYPERLINK "http://www.ellicottvilleny.com" www.ellicottvilleny.com

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