Guitarist David Gilmore will join Harvard Jazz Bands, led by Yosvany Terry, for a magical evening concert 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 27 under the tent on the Science Center Plaza. The event is free and open to the public. All (and all ages) are welcome. Come early and enjoy the food trucks on the Plaza. Find out more about ARTS FIRST (April 26-29) -- Harvard's annual celebration of student and faculty creativity. 

David Gilmore has performed and recorded with many of today’s most influential artists including Wayne Shorter, Steve Coleman, Christian McBride, Cassandra Wilson, Dave Douglas, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Randy Brecker, Lenny White, Stanley Clarke, Sam Rivers and many others. His latest release, Transitions (2017 Criss Cross Records) was one of Downbeat Magazine’s top CDs of 2017. He was also voted into the both the Critic’s Poll and Reader’s Poll of 2017.

Gilmore’s playing has been compared to guitarists as diverse as George Benson and Jimi Hendrix. Gilmore has been the recipient of numerous grants, including two Chamber Music of America, New Jazz Works Composer Grants, and nominated for the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award. Committed to an improvisational approach that reflects a global awareness, he conducts master classes around the world, and is a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston.... Read more about Jazz on the Plaza with Harvard Jazz Bands, directed by Yosvany Terry, with guest jazz guitarist David Gilmore

A concert featuring pianist André Watts, with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, conducted by Federico Cortese.

Presented by: Office for the Arts as part of the ARTS FIRST festival (April 26-29)

Admission: Free and open to the public. Tickets available at 3:30 pm at the door on April 27.

Legendary pianist and professor of music André Watts is the recipient of the 2018 Luise Vosgerchian Teaching Award, Harvard’s highest music award recognizing an outstanding educator. Watts will receive the award during a free concert and ceremony 5:30 p.m. April 27 at Sanders Theatre, where he will perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major (Emperor Concerto) with the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra under the director of Federico Cortese, senior lecturer on music at Harvard University.... Read more about Pianist André Watts to perform Beethoven with Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra

The New England Folk Festival Association (NEFFA) is a non-profit educational and cultural organization. Our mission is to encourage, sponsor, and preserve the traditional folk arts in New England and beyond. NEFFA produces the annual New England Folk Festival every April. It is currently held in Mansfield, MA.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about NEFFA Preview Show with Danse Cafe, The Mood Elevators, Joy Compass, and The Oshima Brothers

Dennis Brennan was born on the wrong side of the tracks in Marlboro, Massachusetts. His songs have been acquired for use in films and television, notably the movies Copland, The Matthew Shepard Story, Clockwatchers and Loveland.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Dennis Brennan Acoustic Band with Richard Gates, Kevin Barry, Duke Levine & Billy Beard

100% of proceeds from this show will be donated to the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Wall of Grass: Benefit for the Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence

After years of touring with her band Sarah & The Tall Boys, Sarah Potenza was chosen from over 50,000 candidates to appear on The Voice. Judge Pharrell Williams’ reaction to Potenza’s on-air audition gives you a pretty good idea of the level of talent of this incredible singer. Williams’ immediately exclaimed, “You’re giving this generation something they’ve never seen before”. Potenza left the show as a top 20 finalist then headed to Nashville, where she quickly integrated into the local music scene, becoming a staple at the world renowned Bluebird Café and the globally broadcast Music City Roots program. She continues to earn raves for her big voice, which seamlessly blends roots, rock and soul.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Sarah Potenza, David Robert King opens

Peter Mulvey is a veteran singer and songwriter from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He began his career on the streets of Dublin, Ireland, as a busker, and from there moved on to performing in the subways and streets of Boston, Massachusetts. This led to his first record deal and a leap to full-time national and international touring, beginning in the early Nineties.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Peter Mulvey

Ari released two independent albums and built a loyal following touring the U.S. college circuit extensively between 2000 and 2003. He then released two albums on Columbia Records, Someone To Tell(2004) and The Break-In(2007) and continued to tour both in the U.S. and abroad with the likes of Martin Sexton, Suzanne Vega, and Ani Difranco.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Ari Hest

Born and raised in Wythe County in southwest Virginia, Sam Gleaves performs innovative mountain music with a sense of history. Under the direction of local teacher and barber Jim Lloyd, Sam took up string band instruments as a teenager, including the banjo, guitar, fiddle, autoharp and dulcimer. With his mentor ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams, Sam found his voice and fell in love with the mountain love songs, which he carries into his generation with pride. Sam’s performances combine traditional Appalachian ballads, dance tunes, original songs and the stories that surround the music.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Sam Gleaves & Tyler Hughes

Jake Armerding is an American folk musician from Boston. He plays mostly acoustic string instruments including the mandolin, acoustic guitar and fiddle. He played with the band Northern Lights from 1990 until 1999, when he left to pursue a solo career. In 2001, Armerding won the Best New Artist Award from Boston’s folk-radio station, WUMB.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Jake Armerding CD Release

Too often artists view tradition as a towering monolith to be either conquered or cowed by, but young Scottish fiddler and experimentalist Jenna Moynihan knows that tradition is meant to be a starting point for great inspiration, not a wall.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Jenna Moynihan & Friends; with Katie McNally, Galen Fraser, Yann Falquet and more

Through their rich but rustic sound, Toronto roots-rock outfit The Young Novelists deliver a dose of honesty in audible form. Made us strangers, their upcoming sophomore effort, showcases a significant sonic progression for the band. Ripe with raw but elegant instrumentation and stacked multi-layered harmonies, their pure take on folk-tinged rock translates equally well from the stereo or stage.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about The Young Novelists, Letitia VanSant opens

Singer-Songwriter Louis Apollon was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City by parents of Haitian descent. Music had always been something that sparked curiosity for him. From learning his way around his first instrument, the clarinet, to trying to imitate sounds coming from the radio, to breaking his father’s old record player trying to scratch old records. It was not uncommon to hear sounds from around the world on a daily basis, and those sounds influenced the music he makes today.

Presented by: Club Passim... Read more about Louis Apollon & Blue Light Bandits

Using music as the medium, Portuguese educators Paulo Maria Rodrigues and Helena Rodrigues share examples of artistic projects and explore themes of human connection and communication through a variety of movement and vocal activities that aim to create collaboration and...

Read more about Tuning People, Birds, & Flowers

A town-hall style conversation with three activist powerhouses talking about the role of the arts and culture in the lives of girls globally. Open to the public.
Presented by: Office for the Arts and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School,...

Read more about Where the Girls Are: Arts activism around the globe