Annual lakeside festival set to attract region’s jazz lovers

"Sure to create a fever at this year's Jazz by the Lake Festival is Peggy Alee, adopted daughter & sing-alike of famous singer Peggy Lee."
Music lovers, jazz fans and outdoor enthusiasts alike will converge on Clarksville, Va., in mid-May for a lakeside jazz festival in Occoneechee State Park. The sixth annual Jazz by the Lake Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16, 2010, from 4:30 p.m. until dusk on both days of the event. All proceeds from the festival will benefit the park.
The 2010 festival looks to be better than ever with a new format that allows local and visiting musicians to participate in musical workshops prior to the performances and a recently renovated Occoneechee Amphitheater featuring improved lighting.
Headliners for this year’s festival include: Peggy Alee, a tribute artist and impersonator of ’40s and ’50s jazz legend Peggy Lee; pianist, composer, recording artist and music professor Monika Herzig; and the Decatur Street Beat, a Dixieland band from Chapel Hill, N.C.
Other headliners include Boo Hanks, “The Last of the Original Piedmont Blues Singers,” and Gilbert Baskerville, saxophonist and smooth jazz artist. Many other professional jazz artists and several area high school jazz ensembles are scheduled or invited to the 2010 festival.
The founder of the festival, this year’s event director and president of the Southside Virginia Jazz Society, Ross LeCompte says festival organizers were originally taken aback by the success of the first event, now heading into its sixth year.
Attendees not involved in the musical workshops can tour historic areas, shop, boat, dine or just relax in the park before the start of the performances each day. As in previous years, the festival is sponsored by the Southside Virginia Jazz Society and the Friends of Occoneechee State Park. The online media sponsor is www.triangleartsandentertainment.org.
Admission is $5.00 per vehicle at the gate, with admission funds going to park improvements.
For more information, contact the Occoneechee State Park Office by phone (434) 374-2210 or email occoneechee@dcr.virginia.gov or go to www.friendsofocconeecheestatepark.org or www.virginiastateparks.gov






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