Tunes, ArtsCape return next weekend

Free music and family-friendly entertainment will take center stage next weekend in Cape Gir-ardeau when the Tunes at Twilight concert series kicks off May 18 and the ArtsCape Community Arts Festival begins May 19.

This year the organizers of Tunes at Twilight have decided to focus largely on popular acts that played the series in years past, while ArtsCape will keep its focus local, featuring artists and musicians primarily from Southeast Missouri.

Among the musical acts returning to Tunes at Twilight will be season openers Brother Henry, a Nashville-based group that drew about 600 people on the series' opening night last year; Canadian folk/country duo The Laws on June 1; Missouri native and seasoned music veteran Dana Cooper on June 8; Memphis Americana artist Bryan Hayes on Aug. 17; New Jersey bluesman Peter Karp on Sept. 7; and bluesy Nashville singer/songwriter Rod Picott on Sept. 14.

Kevin Danzig, who recorded "The Great Mississippi" to promote Libertyfest in 2004, will perform June 22.

The local act on this year's series will be Jackson singer/songwriter Doug Rees, who will appear with a full band, playing material from his new CD "Wings of Father Time."

Series organizer Larry Underberg says the crowds that show up Friday evenings at the Common Pleas Courthouse gazebo for the free concerts have continued to grow over the years, so bringing back popular artists and new artists with widespread appeal is important to continue that growth.

"We were just stunned. To get a crowd of 600 last year for a show was just unbelievable," Underberg said.

The free price tag helps attract those crowds. Musicians are paid to play Tunes, with the money coming from corporate sponsorship by the Coad family of car dealerships, Capaha Bank and Shivelbine's Music.

Local arts focus

A tight budget for the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri this year means the seventh annual ArtsCape festival will focus more on local entertainment, said arts council executive director Delilah Tayloe.

One exception is the presence of Mario Manzini, a magician known for his escape-artist bent. For the ultimate act of his second show at 3:15 p.m., Manzini will escape from a straight jacket while suspended 92 feet in the air from a burning rope. Local entertainment includes dancers from the Academy of Dance Arts, teenage fiddle prodigy Alex Riffle, bluegrass by Janey Brown and the Chestnut Mountain Gang, selections from the Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School production of "Beauty and the Beast" and music by Bruce Zimmerman and the Water Street Band.

Among the popular activities returning will be the Shivelbine's Musical Instrument Petting Zoo, the Kids Art Tent and the Chalk Walk street art contest, while the new additions include the Southeast Explorer Mobile Museum, which will feature an exhibit on outer space. Tayloe said the festival will also change its layout this year, with more vendors and activities setting up along Broadway and near Freedom Corner.

"In years past, you could drive down Broadway and not even know ArtsCape was going on," Tayloe said. "Capaha Park is so beautiful, we just want to maximize its potential and the potential for the event."

For more information on Tunes at Twilight, visit www.oldtowncape.org. For more information on ArtsCape, call the arts council at 334-9233.

msanders@semissourian.com

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