Wynton Marsalis, Rhiannon Giddens, Tony DeSare to play Music Worcester summer series

WORCESTER — Music Worcester will present its second Summer@MW season  with main performances featuring trumpet legend Wynton Marsalis at The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts on July 8, and acclaimed singer, musician, composer, and activist Rhiannon Giddens leading the Silkroad Ensemble  at Indian Ranch in Webster on July 27.

Also, YouTube sensation Tony DeSare will bring his "Sinatra & Beyond" program to Mechanics Hall on July 14.

Summer@MW was launched  last year as a means to shift Music Worcester to becoming a year-round performing arts presenter.

"As Music Worcester began to explore its post-pandemic presenting and artist contracting, the 2022 Summer@MW season quickly became one for the ages with the return of the one-and-only Wynton Marsalis and the in-person debut of Rhiannon Giddens both becoming possible," said Music Worcester executive director Adrien C. Finlay. "I cannot think of two artists who better embody the expansive approach Music Worcester is taking to its future seasons than these two artists."

Marsalis will take the stage of The Hanover Theatre with a special hand-picked septet of jazz musicians on July 8, while Giddens will appear at Indian Ranch on July 27 one day before playing Tanglewood with the Silkroad Ensemble, with whom she serves as its new artistic director. 

Finlay said that these engagements provide for a number of Central Massachusetts debuts. Wynton Marsalis has appeared several times recently with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at Mechanics Hall, but not in a featured solo role as will be the case July 8. Music Worcester presented Rhiannon Giddens in February 2021, for a virtual concert streamed from her home in Ireland (with Francesco Turrisi), but July 27 will be her in-person regional debut. Tony DeSare will be making his  first appearance in Greater Worcester on July 14. 

The 2022 Summer@MW season will also feature a free concert day on Sunday, Aug. 14, in Cristoforo Colombo Park (East Park), with programming and artists being announced in early July.

For more information, visit www.musicworcester.org