Beall High
From September 4-23, the Arteco Gallery hosts the exhibition "Beall High," by Ed DeWitt, featuring photography of the recently demolished Frostburg high school. An Opening Reception for the exhibition will be held on September 6 from 5-8PM, in conjuction with the Saturday Arts Walk in Downtown Cumberland.

The Arteco Gallery is located at 60 Pershing Street in Downtown Cumberland, across from the District Court Building, and next to Merchants Alley. The gallery’s hours are Thursday & Friday from 2-5PM, Saturday from 10AM-5PM, and Sunday & Monday from 10AM-3PM. For more information, please contact Jerri Dell at 301-777-8888, or visit www.artecogallery.com.


Start: Thu, 4 Sep 2008
End: Tue, 23 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Friday After Five
Enjoy great music, dine al fresco, visit with friends and family and check out the charming shops, art galleries and museums located in downtown Cumberland. Friday After Five starts at 5:00 pm and ends at 10:00 pm. For more information, call 301-722-5500.

5:00 - 7:00 pm South End Trio at the Liberty Street Stage
7:00 - 10:00 pm Split Image at the Centre Street Stage
7:00 - 10:00 pm Remedy at the M&T Stage



On: Fri, 5 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Friday After Five
Enjoy great music, dine al fresco, visit with friends and family and check out the charming shops, art galleries and museums located in downtown Cumberland. Friday After Five starts at 5:00 pm and ends at 10:00 pm. For more information, call 301-722-5500.

5:00 - 7:00 pm South End Trio at the Liberty Street Stage
7:00 - 10:00 pm Split Image at the Centre Street Stage
7:00 - 10:00 pm Remedy at the M&T Stage



On: Fri, 5 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Live at the Depot
WFWM 91.9 FM, Public Radio from Frostburg State University, in co-operation with the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, will record a series of old time-style radio shows called “Live at the Depot” at the historic Old Depot in Frostburg. The shows will feature live performances by local roots music bands and musicians. “WFWM wants to support and provide a media outlet for local roots musicians and I saw these shows as a brilliant way to do that,” said Chuck Dicken, the station’s Director, “it also gives WFWM, the local musicians and the participating organizations a chance to work together. I hope that these shows will lead to additional opportunities.”

The recordings will take place on each Friday in September while the train is at the Depot between 12:30-2:30PM. Train passengers and the general public are invited to attend the recordings for free. WFWM will broadcast each show on the radio at a later date. In addition, the performances will be professionally videotaped and featured on the WFWM website. Musicians scheduled to participate include Highland Grass, Short Mountain String Band, Black Diamond, Erik& Dhru, Jeff Thomas & John Neral, Greg Latta, and Academic Probation.

The “Live at the Depot” shows are supported in part by the Allegany Arts Council, Frostburg First, Allegany County Tourism, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. For additional information, call WFWM Public Radio at 301-687-4143.

Live At The Depot Schedule*:

September 5:

• Highland Grass (Bluegrass)
  
  September 12:
  
• Short Mountain String Band (Old-Timey Appalachian)
  
• Erik & Dhru (Acoustic Folk)
  
  September 19:
  
• Academic Probation (Old-Timey Appalachian)
  
• Jeff Thomas & John Neral (Irish Traditional)
  
  September 26:
  
• Black Diamond (Bluegrass & Gospel)
  
• Greg Latta (Acoustic Folk)
  
  * Schedule subject to change.

Start: Fri, 5 Sep 2008
End: Fri, 26 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Saturday Arts Walk: September 6, 2008
Come out and enjoy the arts on Saturday, September 6th from 5-8PM, as the Downtown Cumberland Arts & Entertainment District hosts the third Saturday Arts Walk of the 2008 season!

The Arts Walks are self-guided walking tours that feature opening receptions and exhibitions at downtown art galleries, theatre performances, live music at several downtown locations, hands-on art projects on the Arts Bus, shopping at a variety of retail destinations, and dining at some of the area's finest restaurants. While some of the evening performances may require the purchase of tickets, most activities are free, and many participating venues offer special discounts to Arts Walk participants. The Allegany County Tourism Trolley will also be available to transport Arts Walk patrons around to the various participating venues, along a pre-determined route.

Brochures for the September 6th Arts Walk are available from the Allegany Arts Council and from each of the participating destinations. You may also download a copy of the brochure by selecting the links below. The files are in PDF format, and you will need to adjust your page scaling to "Fit to Printer Margins" in order to print on 8.5"x11" paper.

• September 6th Arts Walk Brochure: Inside
• September 6th Arts Walk Brochure: Outside

For more information, or to receive a Saturday Arts Walk brochure by mail, please email Emily Thomas or call 301-777-ARTS (2787).


On: Sat, 6 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

9th Annual Will's Creek Survey Exhibition
The 9th Annual Will’s Creek Survey is a juried art exhibition that is open to visual artists from across the United States. This year, the exhibition will be held in the Allegany Arts Council's brand new Saville Gallery located at 9 North Centre Street in Downtown Cumberland's Arts & Entertainment District. The exhibit showcases a wide variety of contemporary art and fine craft, and always draws an enthusiastic audience from the local community and the surrounding region.

The Allegany Arts Council would like to extend its congratulations to the following artists from across the country who have been accepted to exhibit in the 2008 Will's Creek Survey:

Keith Auerbach, KY, “Cuban Car” & “The Falling Diver”
Terry Bachman, MD, “Influence”
Allison Berry, CO, “Rocket Girl”
Kenny Braitman, MD, “Vortex II”
Judith A. Brust, MA, “Sunrise #2”
Linda Byrne, NY, “Pendulous Nest 1”
Sandra Chen Weinstein, CA, “Pilgrims at the Holy Ganges”
Julianna Dail, MD, “Orange Revolution”
Larry Samuel Estes, VA, “Geisha”
David French, NJ, “The Great Rebellion”
Steve Gobeil, MD, “Faith”
Darren Goins, NC, “Up Today” & “Italiano Mondriano Calhinto”
Dave Hammaker, PA, “Beijing Café”
Richard Hutter, WA, “Laurel”
Mike Kelley, NC, “Tectonic 5”
Ebenezer Archer Kling, MA, “Tria Prima”
David Knopp, MD, “Sculpture”
Bruce Laird, NY, “Identify the Rabbit”
Andrea Land, CA, “Sophie” & “Elizabeth”
Whitney Leland, TN, “2007 III”
James Mai, IL, “Root Extractions (Yellow)”
Stephen March, PA, “Tribes XIV”
Doug McAbee, SC, “Clara”
Kellianne McCarthy, PA, “Three Sides to Every Story”
Neal McDonald, MD, “Cloud, Little, Fluffy” & “Sketch Cloud”
Joseph Morzuch, TX, “Bright Pretty”
Noël Palomo-Lovinski, OH, “Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety”
Peter Prusinowski, PA, “Untitled - 1”
Phillip Robertson, VT, “Meditation Scroll V”
Jim Sienkiewicz, CA, “Berkeley, CA”
Gary Paul Stutler, CA, “Oscularia”
Grace K.A. Teeples, VA, “Three”
Peter Tilgner, NJ, “Easter Sunday, Sorrento”
Jessica Van Brakle, VA, “Towers and Doily”
Joanna White, FL, “Outward” & “Something Like Armor”
Steven Williams, MD, “Crusader”
Elizabeth Danielle Wilson, AL, “Start”
Claire Yeoman, NY, “Cowgirl”

On the night of the Opening Reception, more than $5,000 in cash and purchase awards will be presented during the 2008 exhibition, with a top prize of $1,000 being awarded for Best of Show:

$1,000 Best of Show - Gary Horowitz Award
$750 First Place - AAC Award
$500 Second Place - Tom and Mary Kay Finan Award
$300 Third Place - Anne DeVaughn Award
$300 Peter & Iris Halmos Purchase Award
$300 Saville Family Award for Local Artist
$300 Edith & Henry Gamson Award
$250 Kim & Marion Leonard Award for Oil Painting
$200 Scarpelli Award for Creativity
$200 Karen & Jack Zealand, PhD and Susan & John Davis, DDS Award
$200 Wishbone & Daisy Award for Mixed Media
$150 Arteco Gallery Award for Textile Art
$150 Patricia & Robert Llewellyn Printmaking Award
$100 B.J. & Krista Davisson Award
$100 Yvonne Perret Award
$100 Main Street Books Award for Photography
$100 Allegany County Teachers' Federal Credit Union Award
$100 Law Offices of Chung & Press Award for Drawing
$100 Western Maryland Watercolor Society Award
$100 Barbara Hurd & Stephen Dunn Award
$100 Frank Fotia & Patricia Hilton Award
$100 Cindy Herzog Award
$100 Sophia Brill Art Award for Playfulness
$100 MaryAnn & Jim Moen Award for Printmaking

Each year, the Will's Creek Survey invites a well-respected arts professional to jury the entries and travel to Cumberland to present the awards at the Opening Reception. This year's juror is Sarah Newman, the Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. While at the Corcoran, Ms. Newman has worked on several exhibitions, including The American Evolution: A History through Art (co-curator), Looking for the “There There”: California Art from the Collection, 1950-2000 (curator), Modernism: Designing a New World, and Wild Choir: Cinematic Portraits by Jeremy Blake. Before coming to the Corcoran, Dr. Newman worked at the National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among other museums, and has taught Contemporary Art History at the Corcoran and at George Mason University. She has published on the relationship between painting and film, and is a co-author of the book Essential Modernism. Currently, she is working on Home Suite, a one-artist show of the work of Elena del Rivero, scheduled for July, 2008, an exhibition of contemporary British painting, scheduled for 2010, as well as a major exhibition on Postmodernism, scheduled for 2011. She holds a BA from Williams College and an MA and a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. Ms. Newman will be present at the Opening Reception to make brief remarks and to present the artist awards.

The Opening Reception for this exhibition will be held on Saturday, September 6, from 5-8PM, in conjunction with the Saturday Arts Walk in Downtown Cumberland's Arts & Entertainment District. The Opening Reception and is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be served.

For questions about the Will's Creek Survey, please contact Emily Thomas at ethomas@allconet.org or by calling her at 301-777-ARTS (2787).


Running: 6 Sep 2008 to 3 Oct 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Johnny Staats & the Bluegrass Brand
Garrett Lakes Arts Festival (GLAF) presents Johnny Staats & the Bluegrass Brand at the Garrett College Auditorium. The performance will be held Saturday, September 6 at 7:30PM.

Born and raised in West Virginia, Johnny received his first mandolin at age 7. He joined his first performing band at age 9 and has devoted hours to practice resulting in many awards. At Charleston, West Virginia's prestigious Vandalia Gathering he was awarded the mandolin championship in 1996, 1997 and 1999; 1997 was particularly notable in that he pulled off the rare feat of also winning the guitar title and placing 3rd in the fiddle competition. He has been featured in The New York Times, People Magazine, and made appearances on The Today Show and the CBS News with Dan Rather. He has made six appearances on the Grand Ole Opry and has recorded 2 albums on CD. Since 1988 he continues to work as a full time driver for UPS in West Virginia. Johnny and his group perform instrumental and vocal bluegrass.

Tickets are $17 for adults, $7 for students and free for youth five years and younger (but tickets are required). Individual ticket purchases may be made by calling the GLAF office at 301-387-3082, or through the GLAF website at www.artsandentertainment.org.



On: Sat, 6 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Schrock Memorial Concert
Music at Penn Alps is pleased to announce the slate of artists for this year’s popular chamber music series. Concerts are presented on Saturday evenings at 7:30PM in the Great Hall at Penn Alps, Grantsville, MD.

On September 6, the series hosts the Schrock Memorial Concert by pianist Conrad Tao.

Tickets for individual concerts are $15 general admission (18 and under free). Books of ten tickets may be purchased in advance for $95 and used at any concert. Tickets are not dated and may be used at any time during the year purchased. Ticket outlets include Main Street Books in Frostburg, The Book Center in Cumberland, The Book Market in Oakland, and Penn Alps Restaurant and Craft Shop in Grantsville. Tickets will also be sold at the door or may be purchased by mail. Write to: Music at Penn Alps, Inc., P.O. Box 668, Grantsville, MD 21536.

A note about seating:
There are no reserved seats. To guarantee a seat, ticket holders must arrive at the Great Hall no later than 7:30PM.

For more information contact Julyen Norman, Public Relations, at 301-895-4250. www.musicatpennalps.org

Music at Penn Alps is a non-profit organization dedicated to presenting classical music and American traditions. A unique addition to the cultural life of the tri-state region, Music at Penn Alps offers 10 chamber music and two American music concerts annually during the summer months. Concerts take place in the Great Hall at Penn Alps, on Alt. Route 40, Grantsville, MD.


On: Sat, 6 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

Laith Al-Saadi
On September 6, Windsor Hall hosts a performance by Laith Al-Saadi, Guitar Center’s “King of the Blues” 2006 Finalist.

Laith Al-Saadi has been a staple of the Detroit music scene for most of his adult life. Born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI, this talented 30 year old began singing at age 4 and began playing guitar at 13. At 15 years old Al- Saadi formed his first blues band, "Blue Vinyl". By the time he was 18 years old they had opened for Blues greats like Buddy Guy, Luther Allison, Son Seals, and Taj Mahal and toured the Netherlands.

After graduating from High School, Al-Saadi attended the University of Michigan where he recieved a degree in Jazz Guitar and Bass. During his college years, Al-Saadi was a member of the Johnny Trudell Orchestra and freelanced with many of Detroit's greats like Thornetta Davis, Jocelyn B, The Reefermen.

In 2004 Al-Saadi was the lead singer/guitarist of the Detroit Lion's pep band. Since 2000, Laith Al-Saadi has enjoyed growing success as the Detroit area's premier singer and guitarist. Working relentlessly around town, Al-Saadi generally can be found playing at least 5 nights a week. This determination has led to recent opening slots for artists like Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Leon Russell, Robben Ford, Johnny Winter, Hubert Sumlin, Olu Dara, Ten Years After, Mountain, The Yardbirds and - most notably- BB King at the House of Blues in Chicago (June 8th, 2006).

In 2006, Al-Saadi was crowned "King of the Blues" for the Northern Region of the United States by Guitar Center. This makes him one of the top 4 Blues guitarists in the Country. In GUITAR WORLD magazine (Nov. 2006) Al-Saadi was heralded as sounding like "Danny Gatton and Buddy Guy at their best". His current release, "Long Time Coming", is a collection of original songs that has recieved rave reviews by the Ann Arbor News, Metro Times, Current Magazine and the Detroit News. The album has been enjoying airplay at home and abroad. Al-Saadi hopes to have a new release in 2008. As for the Music... let it speak for itself. (At this writing, Laith is in the recording studio finishing off his new CD… ready to deliver at Windsor Hall!)

Laith on lead guitar & vocals, along with Theodore Ribbens on bass and Mark Damian on drums, will be performing live at Windsor Hall at Town Center in Cumberland on September 6. The concert begins at 8PM; doors open at 7PM. Tickets to the performance are $15. Table seating for parties of 4 or 8, and individual tickets can be reserved by visiting Kauffman Music located at 45 Baltimore Street in downtown Cumberland or by calling 301-724-6800. You can also purchase tickets at our new location at Main Street Books, 2 E Main Street, Frostburg, MD. This event is a production of Queen City Performing Arts Development, Inc. - QCPAD.

You can listen to Laith’s music on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/laithalsaadi and at CDBaby, http://cdbaby.com/cd/laithalsaadi. And here’s Laith featured at Guitar Center’s King of the Blues 2006: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeSJlZRO-rg .

For more information on Windsor Hall, please visit them online at their new website, http://www.windsorhall.org.


Reviews: AWESOME!!!
author: tcbluz.luvr “Laith is a raw, pure talent...refreshing and new! His vocals are pure and his guitar playing equally impressive. I was lucky enough to see him perform live at the Mid-North Michigan Blues Society Blues Challenge. He would have won by a landslide if he had not gone over the allotted 30 minute time limit. Thing was, no one wanted him to stop!!! Really, really worth checking out. You will NOT be disappointed! This is a talented refreshing artist!”

author: Rushtrails “As a music fan for years, this is one of the most refreshing new artists I have heard for some time. Laith Al-Saadi does it right with the blues on this CD and you can hear the guitar experience come through on songs like Everything and Mystified for starters. The CD opens with Breathe and that's a great impression of what's to come through the rest of the CD. I have heard his band live and when he is not doing the blues he can rock just as well (for all you RUSH fans out there he does a mean Working Man)! If you get a chance give this CD a listen and you won't regret it -rock on!”





On: Sat, 6 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States

2nd Annual Small Press Expo
On September 6, the Washington Street Library hosts the 2nd Annual Small Press Expo. From 12-4PM, local and regional publishers will show their materials. Breakout sessions will be held on the following topics:

• Starting a Small Press/Magazine
• Maintaining Your Muse, from multi-media attention grabbing distractions
• New Media and Publishing
• Utilities like Facebook and blogging
• Round Tables on poetry, fiction, journalism
• Themes in Regional Publishing
• Writing the Region - Writing about local history

Beginning at 5:30PM, four local authors will read from their work, followed by a performance by the band of professor and poet, Gerry LaFemina.

For more information call the library at 301-777-1200.

This Expo is brought to you by FSU’s Center for Creative Writing, Allegany Arts Council, and the Allegany County Library System.



On: Sat, 6 Sep 2008
Venue: Cumberland, Maryland, United States