Under The Stars, Listening to The Stars At Harkness Park

The first concert in the Summer Nights At Harkness series promises to be hot, hot, hot!

The summer music series, sponsored by Bring Our Music Back Inc. in association with the Tinty Foundation, starts on Thursday, July 18, and features Larry Marshank's tribute to the Platters, Marvellettes and The Dubs and Cornell Gunter's Coasters. The opening act will be Borrowed Toys with youth performances by Madison Red and Silver Hammer. 

Here's the lineup for the rest of the summer:

July 25: An Evening With Judy Collins, introducing Ari Hest, American singer-songwriter. The opening act will be American Idol Season 10 Finalist Katie Stevens with special guest, Hurray for the Riff Raff.

July 31: Leon Russell Performs Live! Opening act is David Foster and the Mohegan Sun All-Stars. The youth performance will be P.J. Tautkus, Connecticut's newest 18-year-old blues artist. 

August 8: The Duke Ellington Orchestra with String of Pearls as the opening act. The youth performance will be The Real Ambassadors and CREC's Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.

August 15: A night of Opera Under The Stars, featuring international tenor sensation Carl Tanner. Special guests for this show are Jurate Svedalte of Connecticut Lyric Opera and the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. The Thames Valley Youth Symphony open the show. 

Concerts will be held every Thursday at Harkness Memorial State Park, 275 Great Neck Road in Waterford. Gates open at 5 p.m., concerts run from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and will be held rain or shine (rain site to be announced). 

People are encouraged to bring picnics but dinners will also be available from Coffee's Country Market. The Bee and Thistle Inn and Spa will once again be handing out awards for the best picnics!

Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at the gate. A three concert package is also available for $69 and a five concert package for $99. There's also a VIP ticket, with amenities, for $125 per concert.

For more information, go to bringourmusicback.org or call (860) 434-1882.