Imagine Beginnings
Festival 2021 Opening Ceremony
Imagine: A mini version of the whole International Festival of Arts & Ideas, complete with musical performances, talks, and a film!
Imagine Sounds of Summer
Music 2021
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Opening Night
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
Our first night of events on the New Haven Green will be silky smooth, improvisational, and freeing, set to the sounds of The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
Dawn Tallman
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
Dawn Tallman, The Queen of Gospel Energy, has been compared to those of many great vocalists, like Chaka Khan, Karen Wheeler and Oleta Adams, yet her style is completely & audibly her own.
Communal Listening Experience
IN-PERSON EVENT
Join Michael Mwenso for a Communal Listening Experience in the Festival Center.
Perform On Make Music Day
IN-PERSON EVENT
Record tracks and/or participate in a live jam-session on our main stage with music producer Roy Studmire.
Make Music Day Jam Session
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
Watch the musicians of Make Music Day jam after a day of recording with music director Roy Studmire, who has produced for Gucci Mane, Yung Thug, Future and more.
Riff Cohen
VIRTUAL EVENT
Singing in a melange of French, Arabic, English and Hebrew, in a style drawing on Algerian folk music, rock, and Mizrahi music, Israeli singer-songwriter Riff Cohen offers a heady window into our increasingly multicultural future.
Movimiento Cultural
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
This New Haven community-based organization entertains and educates on Puerto Rico’s rich African-based folklore, music, and dance, focusing on the Bomba, an ecstatic expression of Puerto Rican tradition and culture.
Paa Kow
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
Internationally acclaimed Ghanian drummer and composer Paa Kow performs on a custom, hand-carved, traditionally inspired Ghanian drum set that is the only one of its kind.
Los Pleneros de la 21
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
Grammy-nominated Los Pleneros de la 21, a premier East Harlem-based ensemble, brings the sounds and sights of traditional Puerto Rican music and dance to the New Haven Green.
Kodo
VIRTUAL EVENT
Japanese drumming group Kodō has popularized traditional Japanese taiko worldwide with their athletic performances and manipulation of the world's most impressive drums.
New Haven Symphony Orchestra
Performing Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons"
IN-PERSON EVENT
New Haven Symphony Orchestra’s Concertmaster will perform a violin solo rendition of Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" accompanied by four New Haven poets.
Thabisa Rich
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
New Haven performer Thabisa blends elements of African jazz, Afropop, soul, and funk in a style that is unmistakably her own.
Creating “Magical Musical Moments” with Grace Kelly
Workshop
IN-PERSON EVENT
Musicians are invited to join Grace Kelly for a workshop in the Festival Center.
Grace Kelly
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
Before the age of 16, Korean American singer, saxophonist, and composer Grace Kelly performed at Barack Obama’s inauguration and was a soloist with the Boston Pops.
Chillie Willie Groove Band
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
“Shake Your Body Baby” isn’t just a Chillie Willie song title, it’s a lifestyle. Chillie Willie fuses funk, rhythm and blues, soul, smooth jazz, and salsa influences into a dynamite dance floor invitation.
Bassel & The Supernaturals
IN-PERSON & LIVE-STREAMED EVENT
Bassel Almadani brings a Syrian heart and a Chicago soul to The Supernaturals' singular, funk-inspired compositions and “captivating” (Paste) performances.
Darrel Walls
HAPPY HOUR BROADCAST
Broadcasting 7/29 at 5PM on our Virtual Stage!
Multi-Grammy-nominated Gospel songwriter and vocalist Darrel Walls brings a strong sense of rhythm and melody to the songwriting process in equal measure.
Mwenso and the Shakes
HAPPY HOUR BROADCAST
Broadcasting 8/12 at 5PM on our Virtual Stage!
The “wild” (PRI) troupe of multi-talents Mwenso and the Shakes throws “intense, prowling, ebullient” live gigs (New York Times) that are as much party as they are performance. EnJoy this performance from the New Haven Green.
POSTPONED: Durand Bernarr
UPDATE: The June 19 Durand Bernarr concert was discontinued due to weather conditions. While he will no longer be performing at the Festival this June, we are working with his team to reschedule his concert in New Haven later this year. We will keep you posted as those plans progress!
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