“Born into a blue collar family in Kosciusko, Miss., on Jan. 31, 1944, and raised by a single mother, Musselwhite was surrounded by blues, hillbilly and gospel music on the radio and outside his front door,” a release about the concert states. “His family moved to Memphis, where, as a teenager, he worked as a ditch digger, concrete layer and moonshine runner. Fascinated by the blues, Musselwhite began playing guitar and harmonica. He attended parties hosted by Elvis Presley and hobnobbed with many of the local musicians including Johnny Cash and Johnny Burnette, but the celebrities young Charlie sought out were Memphis’ veteran bluesmen like Furry Lewis, Will Shade and Gus Cannon.”
Musselwhite has since recorded or toured with blues icons Little Walter, Big Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Joe Williams, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. He’s also been a featured player on recordings by Tom Waits, Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, Bonnie Raitt and, most recently, Cyndi Lauper.
He was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall Of Fame in 2010, has been nominated for six Grammy Awards and has won 23 Blues Music Awards.
Tickets cost $35. For more information, call 596-6055 or visit www.northatlanticbluesfestival.com/timeoutpub.html.
High school bands vie for Rock Off title
PORTLAND — The final round of the 2012 MAMM SLAM — Maine’s High School Rock Off — runs from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Asylum, 121 Center St.
High school bands Beware of Pedestrians, Saint Monday, The Stolen Mural, The Twisted Truth, The Veayo Twins and False Consensus will battle for the prize of $1,000 in cash, recording time, gigs, studio tours and TV and radio appearances.
Admission to the all-ages show is $12 for adults or $10 for students.
PSO show honors British rockers, Queen
PORTLAND — The Portland Symphony Orchestra (PSO) Pops! will pay tribute to the music of Queen in the final Pops concerts of the season.
The British band’s classic rock “meets a different kind of classic style in the sounds of the symphony orchestra, accompanied by a tribute band led by vocalist Michael Shotton,” a PSO release states.
Music Director Robert Moody will conduct performances at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Merrill Auditorium. The University of Southern Maine Chamber Singers will perform with the orchestra and tribute band.
Selections include “Another One Bites The Dust,” “Under Pressure,” “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” among others.
Tickets range from $20 to $65 and are available through PortTIX at 842-0800 or www.porttix.com. Phone and Internet orders are subject to per-ticket handling fees.
River Arts displays ‘Flora and Fauna’
DAMARISCOTTA — An art show called “Flora and Fauna” opens today at River Arts Gallery, 170 Main St.
A reception runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today. The show runs through May 31.
The juror for the show is artist Henry Isaacs, a Maine painter who makes his home on Little Cranberry Island, where he has his studio and also runs the annual Islesford Painting Workshops.
For more information, call River Arts at 563-1507 or email info@riverartsme.org. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Free potluck, dance in Waldoboro today
WALDOBORO — A potluck supper and contradance featuring Sassafras Stomp, with John McIntire calling, begins at 6:30 p.m. today at Medomak Middle School.
The dance will begin no later than 8 p.m.
Participation in both the dance and the meal are free.
For more information, call the Waldoboro Public Library at 832-4484.
Pet gear swap aids kittens, cats
YARMOUTH — The Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART) will host a “Paws Accessory Swap” to benefit its shelter and programs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Casco Lodge on Mill Street. All proveeds will benefit kittens and cats at the HART shelter.
Items can be dropped off between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Donors earn points for the swap later in the day, based on the number of items donated.
Admission is $15 per person. For more details, visit www.hartofme.com.
Telling Room gears up for Big Night
PORTLAND — The Telling Room will hold its annual Big Night event from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 4 at the University of Southern Maine’s Abromson Center.
The evening will feature the release of the Telling Room’s sixth anthology of student writing and a live performance in Hannaford Hall to showcase student writing, photography and film created during the 2011-12 school year.
The theme of the event is “Searching for ME.” Telling Room staff, community partners, teaching artists and volunteers will be on hand to run interactive writing, photography and printmaking activities for all ages.
Performances begin at 8 p.m., and light refreshments will be served. Admission is free. The Telling Room is a nonprofit writing center in Portland, dedicated to the idea that children and young adults are natural storytellers.
More information is available at www.tellingroom.org.
Snowlion planning ‘Mesmerized’ auditions
PORTLAND — Snowlion Repertory Company invites Equity and non-Equity actors to audition for roles in its world premiere concert performance of the new musical “Mesmerized” by Al D’Andrea, MK Wolfe and Darryl Curry.
The concert will take place June 28 at the St. Lawrence Arts Center, presented by Portland Theater Collaborative’s PortFringe 2012 as part of the Portland Performing Arts Festival.
Al D’Andrea will direct, Margit Ahlin will produce.
“Mesmerized” is the true story of Anton Mesmer and his most famous (and scandalous) cure of the blind pianist Theresa Paradies in 1777 Vienna using the radical curative technique he termed “animal magnetism,” a Snowlion release states. “The show plunges us into Mesmer’s world at the dawn of the Age of Reason, with characters such as Mozart, Benjamin Franklin the Queen Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, and others.”
The company intends to cast 14 main roles and 10 additional supporting roles for men and women between 20 and 70 years old.
Auditions will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Hutchins School, 24 Mosher St., South Portland.
All auditioners must call 518-9305 for an audition appointment.
Auditioners should prepare their best 16 bars and bring sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. Those seeking roles also should be prepared to learn music from the score. Sides will be available online. For more information and to see a full breakdown of the 14 available roles, visit www.snowlionrep.org.
Meal, contradance on tap at Wescustogo Hall
NORTH YARMOUTH — The 317 Main Community Music Center will sponsor a contradance and dinner from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday at Wescustogo Hall, 475 Walnut Hill Road.
The meal, provided by Seagrass Bistro, will run from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Those who attend are asked to bring a dish for a potluck dessert and their own alcoholic beverages.
The dance will run from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Maggie Robinson will serve as caller, and the 317 Contradance Band will provide music.
Suggested donation is $10 for individuals or $20 per family. The event is geared for people age 10 and older.
For more information, call 846-9559 or email frontdesk@317mainst.org.
Historian looks back at Irish middle class
PORTLAND — Erin Bishop will present a program titled “Social History of Ireland’s 19th Century Catholic Middle Class” at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Maine Irish Heritage Center at the corner of State and Gary streets.
As part of the Maine Irish Heritage Center’s quarterly series of Dúchas (Heritage) talks, Erin Bishop will present a rare look at the lesserknown social and domestic life of the 19th-century Irish Catholic middle class.
Bishop is the former director of education for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. She obtained a master’s degree and Ph.D. in history from University College Dublin, where she explored the lives of 19th-century women.
Admission is free; all are welcome. For more information, call 899-0505.
Rossini Club offers concert in cathedral
PORTLAND — The Portland Rossini Club will present a concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at Cathedral Church of St. Luke, 143 State St.
The program includes Cynthia Henriques, piano, performing Schumann’s Scenes from Childhood; Eleanor Lehmann, violin, and Leah Neuchiller, piano, performing works by Dianne Goolkasian Rahbee and Gwyneth Walker; Maggie Vishneau, soprano, and Lynn Lennox, piano, performing arias from French operas by Offenbach and Charpentier; and Mark Braun, piano, performing Chopin’s Impromptu in F Sharp Minor Opus 36.
A reception with the performers will follow the concert. Admission costs $10 for the general public or $5 for seniors. Students get in free.
For more information, call 797-8318 or visit www.rossiniclub.org.
Choral Art Society slates voice tryouts
PORTLAND — The Choral Art Society will hold auditions for membership on three Mondays in May.
Advance registration is required. Interested singers can fill out an audition information card through choralart.org and contact Choral Arts Society manager Michael Bachem at manager@choralart.org.
Auditions will run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist Church, 524 Allen Ave.
Sopranos will audition on May 7. Altos and tenors audition May 14. Bass tryouts will be May 21.
Auditions are required for current as well as potential new members of the Choral Art Society, which has more than 150 members who perform in three distinct ensembles: the symphonic Masterworks Chorus, the mid-sized Choral Art Singers, and the a cappella Camerata. All singers are skilled amateurs, selected by audition.
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