The beautiful Monadnock Congregational Church on Main Street in Colebrook will be the setting of three top-drawer concerts this summer. The Great North Woods Committee for the Arts, which has hosted over 300 shows in the region for the past eight years, continues its mission to provide the best entertainment available for local audiences by bringing back two of its most asked-for shows of last year-in a brand-new setting-while bringing to town a performer whose family name will be familiar to all who loved "The Sound of Music."

"We are delighted to have established this summer partnership with Monadnock Congregational Church to host the Harp Twins on July 11, Bob Amos and Catamount Crossing on July 29 and Elisabeth Von Trapp on Aug. 5," said GNWCA President Charlie Jordan. "These are three shows you surely won't want to miss."

The Harp Twins, who will be appearing at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, July 11, won over a local following last year when sisters Camille and Kennerly Kitt brought their remarkable harp stylings to town under the auspices of the GNWCA.

Young harpists Camille and Kennerly have achieved extraordinary success by taking Electric Harps and acoustic Concert Grand Harps to unprecedented levels and smashing boundaries between different genres of music. The duo has amassed over 625,000 fans across their social media sites and over 33 million views on their YourTube music videos, easily making Camille and Kennerly the most followed and recognizable harpists in the world. Mixing their virtuoso harp skills with their stunningly complex arrangements of rock, metal and soundtrack bits, the twins deliver performances audiences cannot forget.

Camille and Kennerly perform internationally as a dynamic acoustic and electric rock Harp Duo. They are easily the most followed and recognizable harpists in the world. They have a passion and flair for arranging and performing contemporary music for harp duet. The twins were trained classically but their true musical love and passion is playing rock, metal, alternative and crossover genres. The Harp Twins perform on identical statuesque acoustic Concert Grand Harps as well as identical modern ebony Electric Harps. Most recently, Camille ad Kennerly teamed up with Harpsicle/Rees Harps to show what can be done with smaller, affordable harps. The twins' new metallic blue harps bring a new element to the breadth of their Duet Harp Revolution. Camille and Kennerly have created a unique niche for themselves: they play rock and metal music using only their two harps. Unlike other artists who cover contemporary music, the twins use no backtrack, studio, or production people. They are the archetype of true independent artists. Camille and Kennerly are recognized for their remarkable duet harp arrangements of songs by artists ranging from Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith to the Eagles, The Beatles and Johnny Cash.

Bob Amos and Catamount Crossing return to Colebrook on Saturday, July 29, at 7 p.m., for what will be a night of top-flight bluegrass by one of the region's favorites. Bob Amos and his crew roll over from Vermont to show why they have become one of the biggest draws every year during St. Johnsbury's First Night. "Bob and Catamount Crossing will be unleashing the absolute joy of bluegrass through a Green Mountain prism," said GNWCA President Charlie Jordan. Bob Amos first became an internationally recognized and acclaimed bluegrass musician and songwriter as the leader of the popular award winning band Front Range. From 1990-2003, Front Range recorded seven CDs, and received top reviews and heavy airplay on bluegrass radio programs throughout the world. Over many years Amos has been universally praised for his musical arrangements and original bluegrass material.

Bob is once again in the bluegrass spotlight with a whole new batch of stellar original songs, and a terrific new band, Bob Amos & Catamount Crossing, to present this new material to the public.

The group features Bob on banjo, guitar and vocals, his daughter Sarah Amos on vocals, Freeman Corey on fiddle, Gary Darling on mandolin and vocals, Steve Wright on guitar and vocals, and bassist Chris Cruger.

The band puts on an entertaining high-energy show, with stellar harmonies, rock solid instrumentation, top-shelf original material, plus great new interpretations of some bluegrass classics.

The summer series continues with Elisabeth Von Trapp making her first Colebrook appearance on Saturday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m. "Elisabeth is a wonderful vocalist who shows why the Von Trapp name has been hallowed throughout the hills of New England for decades," said Jordan. "When her grandfather, Baron Von Trapp, married Maria Von Trapp and her aunts and uncles toured with them as the famous Trapp Family Singers, they won over fans far and wide." Today Elisabeth, the third generation, brings the music celebrated in the story of her famous family, "The Sound of Music," to new audiences with her stunning renditions of songs like "These Are A Few of My Favorite Things" and "Edelweiss." But Elisabeth is so much more, including in her concerts songs that keep the traditions of folk music alive here in the 21st Century.

Singing professionally since childhood, Elisabeth has enthralled audiences from European cathedrals to Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. Inspired by her father Werner Von Trapp's guitar playing and singing, Elisabeth has carried on the legacy of the internationally renowned Trapp Family Singers. Building on her famed family's passion for music, Elisabeth has created her own artistic style, at once ethereal and earthy, delicate and powerful. Listeners have likened her to Judy Collins and Loreena McKennitt. Critics have called her voice "hauntingly clear", "joyfully expressive" and "simply beautiful."

Tickets for all the GNWCA Summer Concerts at Monadnock Congregational Church are $15 each and available at Fiddleheads, 110 Main St., Colebrook, online at www.gnwca.org or at the door. For more information on this and other GNWCA shows, find the Great North Woods Committee for the Arts on Facebook, visit www.gnwca.org or you can call 237-9302 or 246-8998.




Posted 5/27/17