Tune in to Summer Music Festivals
July 17, 2007. Next to sleeping in late at a luxury vacation rental, one of the finest joys of summer is listening to a concert outdoors. USA Today asked Tom Clynes, author of Music Festivals From Bach to Blues, to recommend 10 outdoor venues and music festivals happening this summer. Here's a sample of what he suggested:
Newport Folk Festival – This is the place where Bob Dylan infuriated traditional folk musicians by plugging into an electric guitar and jamming out on his formerly acoustic pieces in the 1960s. Today, according to Clynes, electric guitars are as common as acoustic ones. As a bonus, when you stay in Newport, Rhode Island, you get to explore Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor.
Tanglewood – Many New Englanders travel to the Berkshires in Massachussetts solely for the storied outdoor amphitheater, which was built in 1938. Summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, this center for the arts also hosts chamber and choral music, musical theater, jazz and a Festival of Contemporary Music.
Aspen Music Festival – By winter, Aspen is a glitzy ski resort. By summer, it's a still a glitzy outdoors mecca, but with a summer concert series. Music includes classical, opera and Jazz Aspen Snowmass.
