The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Rockin’ at East Rock
CONCERT SERIES BRINGS MUSICAL ACTS TO THE CITY THIS FALL
The East Rock neighborhood of New Haven is perhaps the most distinct of the Elm City’s suburbs. Situated alongside the East Rock ridge, the neighborhood blends the elements of city life with the feel of the surrounding surburban towns.
The artistic neighborhood is also the namesake behind the name of one of New Haven’s signature live music series: the East Rock Concert Series.
Produced by promoter Fernando Pinto, 61, under “Fernando Pinto Presents,” the East Rock Concert Series brings in both veteran and up-andcoming touring acts to New Haven. According to Pinto, the series started with weekly performances at mActivity, a fitness club on Nicoll St., in 2018. The series caters to performers who skew more toward the genre of roots and singer-songwriter.
“The people that come in to see that kind of music are listening fans. They don’t want to be distracted by someone who is making noise to them or is on their phone,” Pinto said. “We have incredible artists playing the East Rock Concert Series and I see other
promoters following suit.”
Despite the success of the series, Pinto was forced to find a new home for the concert series just before COVID began to hit. The series has since traveled to different venues but Pinto said he is searching for a permanent home for the series.
“I am looking for a venue where I can go back and host it on a weekly basis,” Pinto said.
Until then, Pinto is bringing back the East Rock Concert Series with performances at a number of different venues.
The first performance of East Rock Concert Series’ return is slated for Sept. 10 at Never Ending books with Rachael Sage and Grace Pettis.
Sage, a New York City singer and multi-instrumentalist, will be performing material from her new “Poetica” project, a spoken-word collaboration with threetime Grammy Award nominated cellist Dave Eggar. Pettis, who has
won numerous songwriting awards, including the NPR’s Mountain Stage New Song Contest, will be performing songs from her latest album, which features contributions from the Indigo Girls, The Watson Twins and Dar Williams.
Upcoming performances from the East Rock Concert Series include former Carolina Chocolate Drops multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins at Cafe Nine on Nov. 14, indie folkers Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards at the same venue on Nov. 16 and a to-be-announced 2022 performance by legendary English singer-songerwriter Robyn Hitchcock.
Aside from operating the East Rock Concert Series, Pinto has booked for a number of venues including the defunct Tune Inn in New Haven and The Nightshift in Naugatuck, where the likes of The Flaming Lips, Smashing Pumpkins and Phish performed. Pinto also revealed that he booked Nirvana’s only Connecticut performance in 1991 — three days before the release of their smash album “Nevermind.”