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August was on overdrive with up to three shows a week! Jazz was on tap when the local musicians of Novel Jazz Septet performed, and shared stories about the history of their music. The Steep Canyon Rangers rocked the house with their boisterous bluegrass. And the final show in August was one for the ages when Lizzy & The Triggermen came to town from Los Angeles. The band has evolved into their own style, something Lizzy calls “Resistance Swing”. She says, “Swing music comes from a time period that unfortunately echoes the one we’re living through. Coming from the 30s and the 40s, there’s definitely a lot of resonance with some of the hard things that people were going through back then and that I think a lot of people feel like we’re going through now. So I think of swing music as a sort of a medicine for hard times.” Musical medicine is something we can all get behind!

The Opera House crowd showed up in a big way for the Moanin’ Frogs last night, filling the house with their stomping, cheering enthusiasm…and the Frogs delivered on everyone’s curiosity and more. After all, who knew what to expect from six saxophones played by esteemed music professors from across the country? The answer was a night of laughter, fantastic music and a whole lot of originality. These guys can play while lying on their backs, riding a unicycle (didn’t get that last night but the picture tells the story!), accompanying an operatic solo by a bandmate (got that one!) and more. They know how to have fun and bring the audience along. They can’t wait to come back, and we can’t wait to have them here again!

This is the time get your bluegrass fix– a night soaking up great music from the up and coming Colorado bluegrass wonders The Cody Sisters on August 15, followed a week later by the Grammy winning Steep Canyon Rangers on August 22.

 “Each night we play is completely unique. The show we put on at the Opera House (which we love) will be very different from the show we put on the night before, and very different from the show we put on the night after. We take pride in being sensitive and quick on our feet so that we can react to how Boothbay Harbor feels on that particular night and create a show that’s genuinely unique and special for everybody in the room. Hopefully (and usually), listeners take away the feeling that we all created something special together.”

-Barrett Smith (SCR bass, guitar, vocals)