Office of the Arts awards hundreds of grants
Includes state’s new social-issue Artists Respond program
The Connecticut Office of the Arts has announced the award winners of three separate arts programs, including the new Artists Respond program that funds community arts projects based on social issues.
The grants, according to the application guidelines on the COA website, are specifically intended for arts projects that that take place in Connecticut and can “address a range of social issues, such as equity and racial justice, community development, empowerment of LGBTQ communities, COVID19/pandemic,
mental health and other artist-centered initiatives that use the arts to inspire, empower, educate and transform our Connecticut communities.”
Artists Respond grants of $5,000 were awarded to Pamela Amodio (Newington), Nate Barnes (Bridgeport), Don Bracken (West Cornwall), Marisol Credle (New Haven), Jeanne Criscola (North Haven), Alexander Datzuk (Burlington), Mary Ellen Eckels (Wallingford), David Elliott (Hartford), Sarah Grote (Cromwell), Jackie Harris-Stone (Farmington), Carlos Hernandez-Chavez (Hartford), Joanne Hunter (Brookfield), Aaron Jafferis (New Haven), Lance James (South Windsor), Sarah Kaufold (Mansfield Center), Carol Macy (Willimantic), Iyaba Ibo Mandingo (Bridgeport), Bree
albums, appeared in four concert films, done nearly a dozen major tours, did those “Camp Rock” TV movies and soundtracks, and recorded one of the best songs ever written about a shelf (“Shelf,” from the “A Little Bit Longer” album). Remember that. Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. at the Xfinity Theatre, 61 Savitt Way, Hartford. $25-$109. concerts.livenation.com.
Traitor talk
In New Haven, there is an annual respectful commemoration of the day Benedict Arnold raided a munitions storage shed so that he and others could head to Massachusetts and join the incipient American Revolution. But there was of course another aspect of Arnold that has endured. Dr. Richard Bell of the University of Maryland will discuss “The Dark Treason of Benedict Arnold” in a Zoom talk Sept. 30 at 7 p.m., sponsored by the Connecticut Historical Society. The stream is $8 per household. Register here: cthistsoc.yapsody. com/event/index/664371/ the-dark-treason-of-benedict-arnold.
Soul multiplied
The Voices of Soul and R&B is a venerable touring vehicle for beloved performers from the 1980s and ‘90s. This time it’s a triple feature of The Whispers (“Rock Steady”), Stephanie Mills (“Never Knew Love Like This Before”) and Meli’sa Morgan (“Do Me, Baby”), all Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. at Foxwoods Resort Casino’s Premier Theater, 350 Trolley Line Blvd., Mashantucket. $49-$99. foxwoods. com.
Birbiglia’s back
Mike Birbiglia tends to play Connecticut when he’s starting to develop one of his longform themed monologues. Over time, random bits grow into grander routines, more voices develop, and the next thing you know, it’s a Broadway show and a TV special. Birbiglia’s at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven on Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. Maybe he’ll do some greatest hits. Maybe he’ll start something new. $37.50-$62.50. collegestreetmusichall. com.
Sommore, Lavell, Earthquake and Gary
The “Festival of Laughs” Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford means four top touring stand-ups: the saucy yet regal Sommore, the lovable Lavell Crawford (aka Huell Babineaux from “Breaking Bad”), Navy veteran Gary Owen and the trembly comic known only as Earthquake. Three of the comics are Black, and the other one (Owen) was dubbed “Black America’s Favorite White Comedian” by Ebony magazine. $75.50$145.50. bushnell.org/ shows-concerts/festivalof-laughs.
Seventh heaven
The Hartford Symphony was hours away from giving a concert when the COVID shutdown happened in the spring of 2020. This weekend’s performances of Beethoven’s 7th symphony
(with guest conductor Joseph Young), Clarice Assad’s “É Gol!” (with the composer/vocalist taking part) and Rossini’s William Tell Overture (which some of us still know as the “Lone Ranger” theme) mark the first Masterworks concert since the shutdown, not to mention the first time that the symphony has played publicly together since then. Oct. 1 and 2 at 8 p.m. Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. in the Belding Theater at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. $38-$72. hartfordsymphony.org.
Hanged puppets
“Head: A Horror Movie with Puppets” is just what its title implies: a slasher
film parody where the slashees have little cloth bodies that don’t generally have blood pumping through them. Made in 2015 but harking back to classic “Friday the 13th”-type fare of the ‘70s and ‘80s, “Head” is rated R for violence, foul language and nudity. Yes, puppet nudity.
The filmmakers, Elmwood Productions, are based in Connecticut, and some of the “Head” cast and crew will show up for a Q&A and a puppetry demonstration at a special screening Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. at Sea Tea Comedy Theater, 15 Asylum St., Hartford. The event loosely marks the fifth anniversary of the film, the 20th anniversary of Elmwood and the return of “Head” to DVD. seateaimprov.com.
In the clutch
Clutch is the metal band’s metal band, an onslaught of pure rock fury and psychic warfare that will make you feel like you’re riding an elephant. Unbelievably, Clutch has been around for 30 years. They play Oct. 2 at College Street Music Hall with Stoner and King Buffalo. Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. at College Street Music Hall, 238 College St., New Haven. $30 and$45. collegestreetmusichall.com.
Wolf at the door
Peter Wolf has led many lives: as a painter who studied at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; as the wiry, yelping frontman of the J. Geils Band; as a pioneering FM radio DJ in 1960s Boston; as the husband
(for three years in the late ‘70s) of Faye Dunaway, a period during which he hobnobbed with the likes of Tennessee Williams; as a versatile solo pop artist; and now finding new ways back into blues music with his backing band The Midnight Travelers. Wolf ’s at Infinity Hall, 30 Front St., Hartford, on Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. $49-$79. infinityhall.com.