Thu 6/12 @ 8PM
Fri 6/13 @ 8PM
There are few more beautiful places to hear a concert than the leafy environs of Cleveland Heights’ Cain Park, which kicks off its summer programming this week.
Its first show in its larger facility, the covered, open-air Evans Amphitheater, is the red-hot traditional American music quartet the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Since forming in 2005, the Durham, North Carolina-based group has collected a lot of fans, a stream of adulatory reviews and a Grammy since releasing their 2010 debut album, Genuine Negro Jig. Don’t be alarmed by the title. The all-black group is on a mission to highlight the often-overlooked contributions of African-Americans to old-time Appalachian music, whose British Isles roots get most of the attention.
The only remaining founding member of the group is Rhiannon Giddens, who studied classical voice at Oberlin before going in a decidedly less formal direction, playing banjo, fiddle and even kazoo. Bet Oberlin doesn’t have a kazoo major!
Tickets are $20-$28.
The following night, the Evans Amphitheater will ring with the sound of the five voices from Toronto who comprise a cappella ensemble EH 440. They bring backgrounds in beat boxing, country/pop, soul, blues, and folk to the group, which adds compositions with an urban flair to the a cappella tradition. The Heights High Barbershoppers open the show.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 day of show.