Gogh to the Shogh

FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington Emery Community Arts Center will present “The Van Gogh Shogh” by performance artist Donna Oblongata on Sunday, July 20.

A critically acclaimed solo performer, clown and award-winning writer, Oblongata will use the lens of Vincent Van Gogh’s life and legacy to ask questions about the nature of art, success, reproduction and the potential meaning (lessness) of a creative life.

Oblongata’s work has been described as “big, bold, and endlessly impressive” and “balancing on the thrilling precipice of pleasure and danger.” She has performed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in Connecticut, Ars Nova in New York, and shared the stage with Mikhail Baryshnikov in “Slava’s Snowshow.” As a writer, she has received a MacDowell Fellowship and won awards for her short fiction.

The show takes place at 4 p.m. It is open to the public. Admission is free. The show is interactive and recommended for ages 12 years and older.

The Emery Community Arts Center is on Academy Street between Main Street and High Street.

Get rebellious and ‘Footloose’

BRUNSWICK — The Maine State Music Theatre continues its 2025 summer season with the Broadway hit “Footloose” running July 16 to Aug. 2 at the Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus.

Based on the hit 1984 film and packed with 1980s anthems, “Footloose” is a feel-good musical with showstopping dance numbers, a driving rock score, and a story about finding joy, love and liberation through music.

The show follows a teen who moves from Chicago to a small town where dancing is outlawed. He sets off a teenage rebellion that challenges authority, heals old wounds, and ultimately brings a broken community back together.

The score includes iconic hits, including “Holding Out for a Hero,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” “Almost Paradise” and “Footloose.”

For tickets and more information, visit www.msmt.org or call the MSMT Box Office at 207-725-8769.

Enjoy Celtic music and ‘slow airs’

DENMARK — The Denmark Arts Center will host Stretta on at 7 p.m. Friday, July 18.

Michael Albert, Meagan McIntyre and Nicole Rabata, who have been collaborating for nearly 30 years, will present “compelling and sonorous original compositions inspired by the Maine coast and the aural soundscape of the natural world,” according to organizers. “Stretta’s music is at once both soulful and energetic, featuring rousing Celtic dance music and beautiful slow airs.”

Tickets are $15 and support the center and its music series. For reservations and more information go online at www.denmarkarts.org. The Denmark Arts Center is at 50 West Main St.

Head to the Mountain for the Steep Canyon Rangers

BROWNFIELD — Grammy Award-winners Steep Canyon Rangers will visit the Stone Mountain Arts Center on Saturday, July 19, and bring their traditional bluegrass excellence to the stage.

Hailing from the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of North Carolina, the Rangers keep bluegrass front and center, while “possessing an exceptional ability to bring it down the mountain and incorporate accessible influence from all walks of the region,” according to organizers.

The three-time Grammy nominees have released 14 studio albums, three collaborative albums with actor and banjoist Steve Martin, been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and appeared on some of music’s biggest stages. In 2013, their “Nobody Knows You” won a Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.

The show starts at 8 p.m. For more information about the show, tickets, seating, dinner and about Stone Mountain Arts Center, go to stonemountainartscenter.com or call 207-935-7292. The center is at 695 Dugway Road.

Hear the story of a former Paris Hill slave

PARIS — On Wednesday, July 16, internationally acclaimed storyteller Antonio Rocha will present the story of Pedro Tovookan Parris, an East African who was enslaved and taken to Brazil on a ship from Maine, and ended up finding his way to Paris Hill to live after being granted his freedom.

The story will be presented for the first time at the First Baptist Church of Paris beginning at 7 p.m. It is open to the public at no charge; donations will be accepted.

The Baptist Church is on Paris Hill at 500 Paris Hill Road. It is being presented in cooperation with the Paris Cape Historical Society and the Paris Hill Historic Preservation Foundation.

Earlier this year, Rocha performed another of his works, “The Malaga Ship Story,” in South Portland. Rocha sang, narrated and mimed the story, which has a similar theme on the transatlantic slave trade to the Americas. The ship was built in Brunswick, Maine, and went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1845.

Rocha has a deep personal connection to the history. He was raised in Rio de Janeiro in a biracial household. He lives in Maine.

“I came across Pedro’s story while researching the Malaga ship story,” Rocha said. “It is in a Ph.D. dissertation by Maine scholar Kate McMahon. Her research and support is key in my work.” Last fall Rocha came to Paris Hill and was able to find Pedro’s grave. He has been working since to prepare a performance based on Pedro’s story.

Like the Malaga performance, Rocha will sing, narrate and mime the poetically toned historical tale, at times adding his own perspective as an immigrant from Brazil with African roots.

Rocha also noted the ties that bring him and Pedro together on Paris Hill. “Pedro is buried only a few miles from The Celebration Barn, where I went to study under Tony Montanaro in 1988,” he said. “Little did I know about this then. Pedro also had a brother called Antonio. I feel in my heart I came to Maine to tell his story.”

For updated information go to pariscapehistorical.org or to the PCHS Facebook page. For more on Antonio Rocha go to storyinmotion.com.

The sound of Jupiter at Bowdoin Music Festival

BRUNSWICK — The Bowdoin International Music Festival will feature two performances by the award-winning Jupiter Quartet in collaboration with other internationally known musicians.

The quartet — featuring sisters Meg and Liz Freivogel (violin and viola), Meg’s husband, Daniel McDonough (cello), and violinist Nelson Lee — brings their signature blend of technical excellence and familial chemistry to performances July 21 and Aug. 4.

Their already-sold-out show July 21 will feature the quartet and the Ying Quartet for an evening of large-scale chamber works. Though sold out, the show will be livestreamed free at www.bowdoinfestival.org/festivalive.

On Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m., the quartet will team up with celebrated pianist Jon Nakamatsu for a program featuring works by Johannes Brahms, Carlos Simon and César Franck.

For tickets and information go to www.bowdoinfestival.org/event/jupiter-quartet-2025/. Both concerts take place at Studzinski Recital Hall, 12 Campus Road South.

Each summer, 275 students from across the globe attend the Bowdoin College festival to study with distinguished faculty and guest artists, and the festival presents 200 events, including concerts, master classes, composer lectures and community programs.

Catch Toby McAllister in Poland

POLAND — Toby McAllister and the Sierra Sounds will perform at the gazebo at the Poland Spring Resort at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 21.

Founding member of Sparks The Rescue, McAllister draws inspiration from the beauty of changing seasons in his music. He’s released three albums, also performs with his wedding band, The Jameson Four, and has shared stages with various renowned artists.

The Monday performance will be at the Poland Spring Resort Gazebo, moving to the dining room at the Maine Inn if the weather is inclement. Attendees are encouraged to bring a blanket or chairs to enjoy the concert outside. Drinks and snacks are available for purchase inside the Maine Inn. Cost is $5 per person, with the proceeds going to the Poland Spring Preservation Society to protect and restore the Maine State Building and All Souls Chapel.

Poland Spring Resort is at 640 Maine St. For more information, contact Poland Spring Preservation Society at 207-998- 4142.

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