Ms. Michelson’s Eclectic Musical Medley

Just two more Monday Night Specials left for the summer season. These works-in-progress events are hosted by the Vineyard Playhouse and take place at the Hebrew Center in Vineyard Haven. Last week featured plays by Robert Brustein and starred Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams in the reading. Earlier in the summer Joyce Carol Oates took the stage for a question and answer session following the reading of her new play Emily & Joyce.

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Ellis Paul Plays the YMCA

The YMCA is harkening back to some distinct Island musical roots by opening the Wintertide Collective, a black box-styled performance and dance space. The name Wintertide is a name many Islanders remember fondly. The Wintertide Coffeehouse was a mainstray of the Vineyard music scene for many years. The YMCA’s teen program director, Tony Lombardi managed the Wintertide Coffeehouse and now he has resurrected the name for the YMCA as he continues to help teenagers find constructive outlets.

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Big Jazz

What would jazz, a musical art form, look like if it was sculpted into a concrete object? Jack Greene, painter and a sculptor, suggests an answer to that question in the form of JAZZ, a high relief sculpture made up of four pieces: Ear Listening, Seed, Ying and Yang and Wind Blowing Through. Mr. Greene will display this and other reliefs and paintings this weekend at his studio opening.

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Ape Woman Rock Opera

On Wednesday, August 29 and Thursday, August 30, the folks at the Pit Stop in Oak Bluffs are hosting The Ape Woman Rock Opera. For those not up on their 19th century oddities, the Ape Woman was Julia Pastrana, an indigenous Mexican woman born in 1834, who suffered from hypertrichosis terminalis; her face and body were covered with black hair.

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Martin Sexton to Perform at Dreamland

Earlier this summer, Dreamland in Oak Bluffs opened up as a large venue music space. The new club has been very active, hosting numerous local bands throughout the summer, a CD release party for Ben Taylor and a DJ night featuring Questlove of The Roots.

And now on Friday, August 31, Dreamland hosts Martin Sexton.

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Jonathan Edwards to Play at Tabernacle

Country and folk singer Jonathan Edwards first made a name for himself in 1971 with his protest song Sunshine, released on his debut album. Now, after a long musical career, Mr. Edwards will perform songs from his latest release, My Love Will Keep, when he appears at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs on Thursday, Sept. 6.

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Pathos Over Playtime, Rock Opera Is Chest Beating Success
Katie Ruppel

After clown school shut down unexpectedly, May Oskan was a little lost and rather bitter.

“The floor went out from under me... I didn’t have my community, teachers or classmates,” said Ms. Oskan of her time at the San Francisco Circus Center. “I didn’t have my tightrope or anything to juggle. I was a clown with no circus.”

Always one to be involved in a project, Ms. Oskan knew she had to do something big.

“And I knew I didn’t want it to be funny,” she added with a laugh.

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Wailers Concert

The Vineyard is not the tiny, sunny Island that birthed the smooth and rhythmic sounds of reggae music, but it will be the one to host some of the genre’s legends on August 14.

The Wailers, most famous for their work with Bob Marley, are performing at The Lampost in Oak Bluffs at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $32 in advance and $40 the day of the show.

Special guests include Junior Toots, Mike Martin y Los Rootsticks and Selectah Niko of One Drop Sound System. The show is presented by Nectar’s Presents and Rolling Rock.

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Greg Brown Serenades Union Chapel

Folksinger Greg Brown got his first professional gig in the 1960s at the age of 18 and later became a record producer. He will be performing at Union Chapel.

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Peter Asher, Sister Kate Reunite For Live Memoir Performance
Olivia Hull

When Peter Asher first heard Kate Taylor sing, he was instantly impressed. “I loved the texture of her voice and her phrasing, so I said, let’s make a record.”

Not one for idle chatter, Mr. Asher then produced her first record, Sister Kate. The year was 1971.

“She was even more of a soul singer devotee than James [Taylor] was,” Mr. Asher remembered. “He took after Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, but Kate was rocking out and blues-ing out much more overtly. I loved that she was a white soul singer.”

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