JULY 3: Our 4th Annual Summer Concert!

This July 3rd, join thousands of Long Islanders on the lawn of the historic Deepwells Mansion in St. James for Acoustic Long Island’s Fourth Annual Summer Concert. You’ll enjoy listening to some of today’s hottest up-and-coming singer/songwriters from around the US. Best of all, the concert is free, so bring the whole family and spend some quality time under the stars right here on Long Island. Artists featured include Tim Blane, Liz Longley, Andrew Fortier and Mieka Pauley. Be sure to bring lawn chairs. And since there will be plenty of food and drinks available, bring your appetite too. (RAINDATE: Sunday, July 5th)

Tim Blane - His latest release, Clockwork immediately charted at #4 at Awarestore.com. Metronome Magazine calls it “filled with lush instrumentation, beautifully clever prose, and songs that make the heart remember…a masterful body of work.” 2007 has been a big year so far for Tim and his band. They’ve been nominated for a Boston Music Award and have received airplay on Boston stations like WBOS and WUMB. They joined Guster, KT Tunstall and others at WBOS’s Earthfest, and made it to the finals of the Starbucks/NEMO Songwriting Competition for the second year in a row. They were a featured showcase at the NACA National Conference, and have showcased at 3 NACA Regional conferences. In addition, they were selected to perform at the NEMO and Verge conferences in Boston, and Tim was hired by super-producer Scott Storch to write ringtones for Pepsi. As one critic put it “…this is the kind of music that makes you want to roll down the windows, take down the top, and turn up the CD player!” Find out more at www.timblane.com.

Liz Longley - Listen in for one of the sweetest-sounding voices we’ve heard in a long time - Liz Longley. A captivating set and a double standing ovation left no doubt why her music’s been praised as “Gorgeous” by Ani Defranco. And Internet listeners agree. Liz was voted the No. 1 all-time female vocalist in Garageband.com’s acoustic category in May of 2006. Liz’s first recordings caught the attention of WC Handy award winner, Jim Tullio. Separated by a generation in age, the two songwriters teamed-up to write the internet smash, “Naked Trees”. The song became the No. 1 all-time song (amid 3,400 songs) in Garageband.com’s acoustic S/S category in ’06. Her solo songwriting is garnering praise as well. Liz will be accompanied by guitar talent Sarah Zimmermann. The two team-up for engaging vocal harmonies and a rapport with audiences that is filling coffeehouses and venues throughout the region. Liz has performed at the Philly Folkfest, Club Passim’s in Boston, Tupelo Hall in New Hampshire, Philly’s World Café, Chaplin’s and the Steel City Coffeehouse. For more go to www.myspace.com/lizlongley.

Andrew Fortier - Andrew Fortier became a carpenter and developed a personal creative style that became highly sought after by people who cherished a romanticism of an era that so long ago was watered down by mass merchants of nostalgia who did not truly have a ‘feel’ for authenticity. This special and unique creative ability is felt by those who know Andrew’s music. His musical creations are wondrous journeys into days gone by. He creates his music on a boat, a 1938 cabin cruiser which also contains his recording studio. For the past 10 years Andrew has recorded albums for Giant/Warner Brothers and Chrysalis records. The A&R reps who signed Andrew also discovered such talents as Tracy Chapman and Michelle Shocked. Like many artists who felt constrained by the ‘corporate’ nature of the new record business, Andrew decided to record his new album Come On Home and release it himself. For more, got to www.myspace.com/andrewfortiercom.

Mieka Pauley - Mieka’s been on the road with Eric Clapton, Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Wyclef Jean, Ben Kweller, John Hiatt, Citizen Cope, Blues Traveler, Martin Sexton, and many others — and now performs an intimate, soulful set at Deepwell’s Mansion. We loved her performance — she deserves all the kudos: Northeast Performer calls her “a version of Sarah McLachlan with a switchblade in her shoe,” The Boston Globe “like Aretha in the husky vocal turns,” and The Cornerstone Player “the next meaningful female voice of her generation.” Mieka lays it out in her own lyric: “Do it bravely, save me from the weak and lazy - if you can’t face it, don’t do it at all.” Hear early mixes of the first three brand new songs from Mieka’s current recording sessions in Boston and more at www.mieka.com.

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically each day to your feed reader.