Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Citibank SUMMER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION Kicks off Summer Season with 14 Hours of Non Stop Entertainment at the Kimmel Center, June 18

JUNE 1, 2011

Tickets Now on Sale!

 

Kimmel Center’s Citibank Summer Solstice Celebration kicks off the summer season in high gear with musical entertainment and festivities, Saturday, June 18-19, noon- 2am. The annual community celebration showcases Philly-based talent, rising stars and more for a 14-hour stretch of live entertainment in every corner of the center for only $10 ($5 for children 12 and under).  

 

New this year:  Solstice begins at an earlier time with noontime drum circle, led by Shawn Hennessey and Philly-based percussion ensemble Leana Song in the Commonwealth Plaza.  Audiences are invited to B.Y.O.D (bring your own drum) and join in on the family fun activities, and then experience an eclectic mix of classical, blues, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, dance, Latin, world music rhythms and DJs spinning music into the night with additional late-night surprises.  Center for Emerging Visual Artists will present a gallery of visual art available for purchase on Tiers 1 and 2.

 

The Summer Solstice Celebration also opens up an evening time slot at the coveted Commonwealth Plaza stage for YouTube Summer Solstice Contest Winner to perform – a truly unique opportunity to experience local talent, specially selected on Facebook by Kimmel Center fans.  Winner to be announced June 10th!

 

"Keeping their tough promise to bring the noise, the funk and a slew of musical diversity, the Kimmel Center makes good with the...Summer Solstice Celebration."—Philadelphia City Paper

 

Afternoon entertainment begins with family-friendly activities including traveling exhibits from the Philadelphia Zoo,  The Plants and Ernie & Neal combine storytelling with performance for concerts kids and their parents will enjoy, Threeds Oboe Trio, and Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble,  Rennie Harris RHAW hip hop performance entertain audiences of all ages.

 

The evening heats up with SA VA Boutique Fashion Show presenting eco-conscious summer line; a First Person Arts Story Slam; guitar virtuoso and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist Miloš Karadaglić; Singer- songwriter Phil Roy performs with celebrated Philly Chef Marc Vetri; Brazilian band Minas Troupe brings a 10 piece carnival to Commonwealth, and singer- songwriter Nicole Reynolds.

 

Kicking off late night revelry, audience favorite Bob & Barbara's Drag Show takes center stage in the Plaza, followed by DJ Ultra Violet and Ethel Cee, and Reef The Lost Cauze featuring DJ Caliph-Now and DJ David Blakk. Perelman Theater transforms into a late night dance party with Irish favorites Blackthorn and ArcheDream for Humankind; Innovation Studio includes Urban Celebrity Magazine’s Showcase of young Philly talent featuring Young Savage, Chill Moody and R6 Cypher, and AfroTaino Productions presents MAMBO3000, an experimental dance party with DJ Rahsaan and special guests including El Malito, Rap Soup and more.

 

Henna tattoo artists, chair massages, tarot card readers, face-painters and more will be stationed in Commonwealth Plaza at various times throughout the celebration. Wolfgang Puck Catering will provide food and drink options throughout the day and night at Peco Café and The Lounge by Wolfgang Puck.

 

Note: Check www.kimmelcenter.org/solstice for a complete, up-to-date list of performers and the day’s schedule, as new artists will continue to be added.

 

 

Summer Solstice Celebration

Kimmel Center, all venues

Sat.-Sun., June 18-19, 2011, noon – 2am

 

BRING THE KIDS

 

Opening Drum Ceremony

Noon | Commonwealth Plaza

Philly-based Leana Song are perhaps the city's most explosive percussion ensemble. Featuring Ghanaian ewe and Cuban bata drums, the 12-piece Leana Song adapt traditional rhythms from around the globe with original material in their live sets.

  

Philadelphia Zoo

12 – 5pm | Tier 1 & 2

The Philadelphia Zoo visits the Kimmel Center! Stop by the Zoo's station where you can experience live animals, talk to their traveling naturalists about the animals, and learn bio-facts. http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/zooonwheels.htm

 

Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA)

12 – 6pm | Tier 1 & 2

CFEVA dedicates itself to making art careers viable for those who choose them, helping emerging artists reach their audiences, and promoting interest and understanding of emerging visual art among citizens of the community. http://www.cfeva.org


Leana Song
1pm | Commonwealth Plaza

Philly-based Leanna Song are perhaps the city's most explosive percussion ensemble with a twist. Playing Ghanaian ewe and Cuban bata drums among other instrumentation, the 12-piece Leanna Song adapt rhythms both Ghanaian and Cuban to Western instrumentation, and also include original material in their live sets.

 

Ernie & Neal

12:45pm | Perelman Theater

Ernie & Neal, a fun-loving, high-energy musical duo from Pennsylvania, will blend storytelling and singing as they explore sound, rhythm and rhyme. Prepare for a non-stop, dancing-in-your-seat creative experience that combines reggae, jazz, folk, bluegrass, and more!

 

The Plants

2:15pm | Perelman Theater

The Plants are a four piece Philadelphia based band for kids. With their eclectic style, The Plants traverse musical genres while exploring the potential of the imagination. Each song is specifically written to spark new ideas, evoke different emotions, and encourage creativity.  The lighthearted music is catchy, often times silly, and fun for children and adults alike.

 

Kimmel Center Youth Jazz Ensemble

3:45 | Perelman Theater

This ensemble of young talented musicians, comprised primarily of middle school students, trains with accomplished jazz musicians and teachers to perform in the first regional ensemble specializing in jazz.

 

 

HAPPY HOUR HAPPENINGS

 

Rennie Harris RHAW

5:30pm | Commonwealth Plaza

Rennie Harris’ youth driven second company RHAW features the newest and brightest street dancers as a future arm of Rennie Harris Puremovement. Downplaying the abstract while pushing its dramatic aesthetic RHAW focuses on the various styles of street dance such as Locking, Popping & Boogaloo, B-boy/girl, House and Hip hop dance. hip hop hopefuls will forge new paths as well as present hip hop in its “RHAW-est.” form!

 

SA VA Boutique Fashion Show

Summer Nature Worship for Summer Solstice

6pm | Perelman Theater                 

Combining the true SA VA sensibilities of effortless style and sustainability in celebration of the longest day of sunlight.  Especially for the Kimmel Center Festival, SA VA will be presenting a 30 piece runway show mixing their Summer ready-to-wear collection and couture collection.  The Shibori dyed fabrics lends well to both true SA VA style and textures in nature.

 

Solstice YouTube Contest Winners

7pm | Commonwealth Plaza

Artist to be announced on June 10th!

Do you think your band is good enough to play on the Commonwealth Plaza Stage during Solstice? Want to vote for the artist's who think they are worthy? Check out our YouTube contest were artists have the chance to compete for slot on the Plaza Stage during Solstice. www.facebook.com/KimmelCenterPhilly

 

First Person Arts Story Slam

7:30pm | Perelman Theater

First Person Arts StorySlams are twice-monthly, real-life storytelling competitions that take place at L'Etage Cabaret and World Cafe Live. For those brave enough to approach the mic and share a story, this year's theme is will be announced soon so stay tuned. Sign-ups will take place outside of Perelman Theater prior to performance time. http://www.firstpersonarts.org/

 

Miloš Karadaglić

7:30pm | Rendell Room

Born in Montenegro in 1983 and a multiple prize-winner, Miloš Karadaglić has established himself as one of today’s most gifted young guitar virtuosos. In July 2010 he signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon, and his first recording will be released in the U.S. on June 21st. Come and check out the chart topping classical guitarist everyone in Europe is raving about!

 

Phil Roy with Marc Vetri

8pm | Verizon Hall 

Music and food has always been one of life's greatest pairings. Phil Roy and Marc Vetri met five years ago and immediately recognized a commonality in each other. Phil, a songwriter and recording artist, had been expressing his culinary talents by inviting fans into his Philadelphia home on a monthly basis, cooking 4-course meals, and treating them to a musical performance.

Marc, one of the most acclaimed chefs' in the country had long been a serious guitar student. He possessed a unique talent that most people rarely got to hear. Together, Phil and Marc created a series of "dinner concerts" at Marc's Philadelphia restaurant, Osteria. By popular demand these intimate evenings have now entered their third year.

 

Minas Troupe

8:30pm | Commonwealth Plaza

Philadelphia’s Brazilian jazz band Minas is pulling out all the stops for Solstice.  Husband-wife team Orlando Haddad and Patricia King bring together an exciting blend of music, dancing and capoeira with a full 10 person ensemble. Feel the excitement and energy of Brazilian beats and sultry bossa novas as they take us into the night!

 

Nicole Reynolds

9pm | Rendell Room

Singer songwriter Nicole Reynolds was born into a family of Pittsburgh steelworkers. She wrote her first album Wolves Won't Eat Us while living in Philadelphia in 2006. Her next three albums, This Arduous Alchemy (2007), Unordinary Mine (2008), and A Fine Set of Fools (2009), were all written while she lived and worked on a small organic sheep farm in western Pennsylvania. Don't miss her sweet vocals paired with intense lyrics and a unique folksong style often compared to the likes of Kimya Dawson or Mirah.

 

SOLSTICE EXTRAS:

 

Chair Massage

7pm – 1am | Commonwealth Plaza

$1/minute professional chair massages

 

Henna Tattoo

7pm – 10pm| Commonwealth Plaza

 

 

SUN DOWN, HEAT UP

 

Blackthorn

9:30pm | Perelman Theater

Blackthorn is celebrating more than 20 years at the forefront of the Philadelphia music scene this year. This popular Celtic rock band continues to draw record crowds in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware. With over five albums to their credit the band pays homage to the influences of the past like the Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners but with their own contemporary style.

 

Bob & Barbara's Drag Show

10pm | Commonwealth Plaza

The notorious Bob & Barbara’s Drag Night joins us again for a night of amazing drag queen performances. “One of the longest running drag spectacles in the city…Brassy, a little gritty and real in a way that would make any Philadelphian, gay or straight, proud.” —AOL Cityguide Philadelphia

 

Urban Celebrity Magazine Showcase with

Young Savage, Chill Moody, R6 Cypher

10pm | Innovation Studio

Young Savage is a Southwest Philly native whose newly-released single, "Higher", and more than a few freestyles are played on both major and independent radio. Young Savage has also been invited to be a featured artist on "Inside The Studio" session at Power 99FM. Simply put, the purpose of the R6 Cypher is to: Reinvent, Reintroduce, Redefine, Rejuvenate, Revamp and Resurrect Philadelphia Hip Hop. This collective of emcees is not to be missed. What started out as a bar in a verse has become a sort of a mantra for Chill Moody. The young aspiring hip-hop artist prides himself on being one of the top lyricists to hit Philadelphia in years. He has been compared to rappers such as Common, Black Thought, J.Cole, and Talib Kweli. Urban Celebrity Magazine is a Philadelphia based quarterly Hip Hop magazine whose mission is to educate readers about Philly Hip Hop culture and its key contributors.

 

ArcheDream for Humankind

11:30pm | Perelman Theater

ArcheDream For Humankind's newest project RISE Of Collaboration is a fusion of dance music, choreography and intelligent lighting used to bring meaningful performances to the club and festival scene. In a short amount of time ADHK has toured the country and collaborated with such artists as Shopngle, and The Disco Biscuits. You’ve never experienced a Solstice dance party like this one, you won’t want to miss it!

 

DJ Ultra Violet and Ethel Cee

11:45pm | Commonwealth Plaza

DJ Ultraviolet has been rockin’ parties in Philly, New York and overseas since 2002. Her vast knowledge of music, unequaled turntable skills and an electric personality have helped her maintain a spot as on of the most coveted DJs on the East Coast.  Also serving as DJ for the illustrious wordsmith, Ethel Cee, the two join together to give you a little taste of what these two powers can create. On the heels of Ethel Cee’s seven track EP Dirty Samples produced entirely by Fel Sweetenberg and released through UV's digital record label Bee Eater Records, you won't want to miss what this duo has to offer.

 

AfroTaino Productions presents….MAMBO3000

An experimental dance party!

12am | Innovation Studio

It's time to Dance into the deep! DJ Rahsaan and friends present MAMBO3000 - a body-rocking experiment which will fuse and mesh the sounds of tropicalia & urban dance beats into one memorable experience! Musical guests include El Malito, Rap Soup, and more. This futuristic basement party will be steamy, so dress to move & sweat!

 

Joe Truglio Trio

12:30am | Rendell Room

''Past Life is the latest project by composer and drummer Joe Truglio. He's no stranger to the Philly/New York jazz scene, and has played countless shows in both areas... The list of artists he's opened up for includes Cypress Hill and Herbie Hancock... The musicians exhibit a superior control over time, tempo and volume. Truglio in particular stays on top of every note.'' —philly.com

 

Reef The Lost Cauze featuring DJ Caliph-NOW and DJ David Blakk

1am | Commonwealth Plaza

Reef The Lost Cauze is a Philadelphia emcee with his sights set on the top of the hip hop game. While some emcees are strictly studio and basic battle cats, Reef brings well-rounded talent to the table with formidable stage presence, skills of the pen and a ferocious freestyle ability. Joined by DJ Caliph-NOW and DJ David Blakk the group will also pay tribute to Philly DJ culture and turntablism with their unique rhymes and beat selections.

 

 

Tickets for Summer Solstice Celebration are $10 for adults and $5 for children under age 12. Ticket price includes all-day admission regardless of the number of exits and entrances patrons choose to make. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.kimmelcenter.org, by calling 215-893-1999, or at the Kimmel Center box office, open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings.

 

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