There is a wonderful blurring of categories taking place in music today-and nowhere is it more evident than in the area we’ve called “folk.”  At the Westport Arts Center you will occasionally hear music that can still fairly be called folk but you’ll also hear musicians channeling those traditional influences while blending them with pop, jazz, rock, blues, country, classical, and international sounds.  You’ll hear some of your favorites and, we hope, take a chance on less familiar artists.  You might hear them in the funky and charming Seabury Center, or the state-of-the-art Westport Country Playhouse.  Wherever you hear them, whether it’s for the first time or the tenth, you can be sure they are singers and other artists we are excited about and eager to share with you.

Please call the Westport County Playhouse box office at (203) 227-4177 to purchase tickets by phone after 12noon on Saturday, 9/20.

The smoky, alluring voice of soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples has been a seminal force in gospel and R&B for more than 50 years.  As the musical anchor of the family quartet, The Staples Singers, she helped voice the nation’s concerns and hopes throughout the 60’s and 70’s.  She continues to break new ground, and inspire new generations of listeners with her powerful solo recordings, including her 2007 release “Have a Little Faith,” which earned a place on every radio station and music editor’s 10 best.  What a way to kick off an election season where we hope and dream about a better world.  Artists like Mavis help make us believe it’s possible.

Opening will be our own gospel sensation—Chris Coogan and the Good News Gospel Choir.




Tickets on sale to WAC members July 1, 2008 (phone only)
Tickets on sale to the general public online and by phone: July 15, 2008.

Become a member today.

Don’t miss your chance to see this R&B great!  This weekend also marks the first Westport BLUES, VIEWS & BBQ Festival, presented by Westport Downtown Merchants Association from September 20-21, 2008! Visit www.bluesviewsbbq.com for more information.

What better way to spend Thanksgiving weekend, a time for family and celebration, than with Westport’s own first family of song… the Naughton clan. 

It would be a cause for celebration just to have Greg Naughton and his group RGB perform for us.  Their blend of musicianship, harmony and songwriting is made richer by the diversity of the group’s musical and geographical background.  When Greg suggested that his father Jim (a two-time Tony Award-winning actor & singer) his new wife Kelli O’Hara (the Broadway phenom from Light in the Piazza, the Pajama Game and the upcoming revival of South Pacific) his sister Keira (singer/songwriter with The Petersens and a tv and stage actress as well) plus assorted musician friends might all join him on stage -- suddenly we have an irresistible Thanksgiving of our own!

RGB will be joined by another special guest & local favorite Robin Batteau from the well-known folk duo Buskin & Batteau.