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Great Park Board Announces 2011 Flights & Sounds Summer Festival Lineup

Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Lucinda Williams to Headline Concerts

IRVINE – The Orange County Great Park announced today that the world-renowned New Orleans Preservation Hall Jazz Band and fourteen-time Grammy nominated Lucinda Williams will headline the upcoming 2011 Flights & Sounds Summer Festival. The five Friday night dance parties and five Saturday night concerts celebrate the vitality and variety of American music and the growing influence of Latin American, Middle Eastern and East Indian music and dance in the United States.

The fun begins August 5th with a salute to the City of Irvine’s 40th Anniversary featuring DJ HAPA, who will kick off the summer Friday night dance parties with a Disco-themed set. On August 6th at 8:00 p.m., the All-New Original Tribute to the Blues Brothers Band will open the Saturday concert series with their 1960’s update of soul music, rhythm and blues.

“There are many unique aspects to this summer’s festival, and once again admission is free to the public,” said Beth Krom, Chair, Orange County Great Park Corporation. “We’re proud to collaborate with Irvine Barclay Theatre to present this exceptional series of summer concerts and dance parties, showcasing a rich tapestry of music — from country and bluegrass to hip-hop, world beat and jazz.”

Full schedule and details will be posted on www.ocgp.org the first week of June. However, visitors can receive updates delivered directly to their inbox by signing up for email updates on the Great Park web site. Here is a preview of the lineup:

Nuriya performs Middle Eastern Latin American music on August 12th, influenced by hearing Arabic music and Hebrew prayer music from her elders as she grew up in Mexico City. Louisiana born singer songwriter Lucinda Williams will light up the stage singing folk, country, rock, pop on August 13th. Williams is an American original, like Hank Williams and Bob Dylan who has created her own unique place in music.

Shotgun Wedding Quintet makes the wedding of rap to a jazzy, horn-infused band seem like a natural combination that will drag you to the dance floor on August 19th. San Francisco’s Jazz Mafia, one of the hottest, most inventive forces in jazz, will mix with hip-hop symphonic music and whatever else works on August 20th for some spectacularly energizing music.

Grammy winner Del McCoury brings his bluegrass band with roots going back to Scottish, Irish and English jigs brought by early settlers to America combined with African-American jazz and blues to the Great Park on August 27th.

Get your “turban groove” on when Black Mahal a rollicking, unpredictable, wildly danceable band, performs its blend of hip-hop, funk and Punjabi music on September 2nd. The world-famous Preservation Hall Jazz Band will bring the festival to a close on September 3rd. Of all the styles of American music, none are more iconic than New Orleans style jazz — born of hard times, the music is a defiant celebration of freedom and individuality.

The Flights & Sounds Summer Festival is held outdoors at the Great Park. Under the stars and in the glow of the Great Park Balloon, people from across Orange County gather to hear a mix of music genres. The festival will take place near brand-new facilities at the Park, including the Palm Court Arts Complex and 19-acre North Lawn, scheduled to open to the public July 9. Last year, more than 26,000 visitors attended the weekend summer dance parties and concerts.

Hangar Café will feature a fresh selection of food that will be available for purchase inside historic Hangar 244 to enjoy at the Café or on the lawn. Both theater-style fixed seating and lawn space is available. Admission to all summer concerts and dance parties are free, and parking is $10. Concerts and dance parties are located at the Orange County Great Park, off the 405 or 5 Freeway at Sand Canyon Ave. and Marine Way in Irvine.

About the Great Park

The Orange County Great Park, with its 1,347-acre master plan, is the focal point of the redevelopment of the publicly-owned portion of the 4,700-acre former Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro. The Great Park is currently 27.5 acres and includes an iconic tethered helium balloon that rises 400 feet in the air, providing an aerial view of Park development. A $70 million development plan to expand the Park to more than 200 acres is currently underway. The plan will build out a core section of the Park for the most immediate and wide-ranging public benefit, including the initial components of the sports park, a 114-acre agricultural area, and an art and culture exhibition space. For more information, please go to www.ocgp.org.

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