PHILADELPHIA, June 26, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Due to overwhelming demand, Penn's Landing Corporation is proud to continue the free weekend concert event, which debuted last year to celebrate the 20th Anniversary, which returns this year as Big Music Weekend 2006. As the centerpiece of the 2006 season, the Penn's Landing Corporation announces the line-up of marquee talent scheduled to perform at this year's Big Music Weekend, July 21-23, 2006, on the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, Columbus Boulevard at Chestnut Street. Presented by Independence Blue Cross, this extraordinary weekend of free concerts will feature R&B star Angie Stone and Ashley Parker Angel, musical trailblazer Buckwheat Zydeco, country star Trent Tomlinson, and Grammy- award-winner Mary Chapin Carpenter.
On Friday, July 21st, national recording artist Angie Stone will kick off Penn's Landing's Big Music Weekend 2006. Multi-talented, Stone is either writing songs with D'Angelo, or playing the saxophone in Lenny Kravitz's band. She can now also add Broadway star to her resume. She performed there as Big Mama Morton in a recent production of Chicago. Later this year, she has a new project to be released called Stone Hits: The Very Best of Angie Stone. Stone will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Sounds of R&B Series and the official start of the Big Music Weekend 2006.
The special weekend continues on Saturday, July 22. Gates will open at 1:30 p.m. with a superstar teen line up, featuring family friendly artists for Free.
Hailing from Redding, California, Ashley Parker Angel was thrust into the spotlight when he was chosen to be a member of the pre-fab boy band O-Town for the ABC reality TV show, Making The Band.
Since the end of O-Town, Ashley Parker Angel has returned to his roots as a credible musician, writing rock-inspired songs with pop inflections and incorporating more live instruments. The son of a piano teacher and a jazz musician, Angel has writing songs since the age of 10. Angel was recently featured in an MTV reality series. There and Back. This spring, Ashley debuted his first solo album, called Soundtrack To Your Life. The single from the album, Let U Go, is currently climbing the charts.
Headlining the concert on Sunday, July 23, will be Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter. Carpenter's free, acoustic, live performance will feature material from her most recent album, Between Here and Gone, as well as the classics spanning her career.
Over the course of a 10-album recording career to date, Mary Chapin Carpenter has won five Grammy(r) Awards and sold well over 12 million records. She has scored 12 top ten singles, including "He Thinks He'll Keep Her," which was nominated for a Record of the Year Grammy(r). Carpenter has achieved the same success as a live performer, having toured nationally and internationally for nearly two decades and won two Pollstar Country Tour of the Year awards. She has remained immersed in humanitarian work throughout her career and is currently at work on a new album.
Taking the stage prior to Carpenter will be former basketball star and budding singer-songwriter Trent Tomlinson. Tomlinson began his musical exploration in Kennett, Missouri, the hometown of fellow country artist Sheryl Crow. After teaching himself piano and guitar, Tomlinson competed in TNN's "You Can Be a Star" contest and placed second in the Nashville finals. Since these humble beginnings, Tomlinson won a record deal with Lyric Street Records, and participated in every aspect of the production process for his acclaimed debut album, Country is My Rock. This album, which reveals "the good and bad of life and love," ranked as second highest new country artist debut for 2006.
The final day of Big Music Weekend, Sunday, July 23, will first feature Buckwheat Zydeco. Gates will open at 1:30 p.m. again on Sunday and the music begins at 3:00 p.m. Buckwheat's trailblazing sound incorporates soul, blues and southwestern Louisiana's Creole French zydeco music. The band comes from a land of rich cultures and heady influences, and they've taken their music to an unprecedented and ever-expanding number of international venues. His new album, titled Jackpot! combines soulful original tunes, inspired playing and singing, and the trademark exuberance that's made him the world's best-loved zydeco artist, and has earned Buckwheat Zydeco the acclaim of "the world's greatest party band."
Big Music Weekend is the centerpiece of the 2006 Summer season at Penn's Landing. This season will feature a diverse schedule of events including ten multicultural festivals, spectacular concert series featuring smooth jazz, gospel, blues, R&B and singer songwriters, an outdoor movie series, the annual AFL-CIO Labor Day Family Picnic, ship tours, and more. The quality and quantity of free programming at Penn's Landing is a tremendous benefit for the residents of this region and vital attraction for the City's flourishing hospitality and tourism efforts. Nowhere else in the region can you find over 50 events produced where no admission ticket is necessary.
Big Music Weekend 2006 is free to the public due to the generous support of Independence Blue Cross. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis for each show. Public Programming at Penn's Landing would not be possible without our presenting sponsor Independence Blue Cross and the continued support of PECO, a Exelon Company; Commerce Bank, Pennsylvania Lottery and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, all of whom are committed to serving the Greater Philadelphia community.
Penn's Landing Corporation is the non-profit organization responsible for funding and producing public programming at Penn's Landing. Independence Blue Cross is the presenting sponsor of the 2006 Summer Season at Penn's Landing. All events produced by Penn's Landing Corporation are free to the public and on the Great Plaza, the heart of Penn's Landing, Philadelphia's premier riverfront entertainment destination.
For more information on event locations and event details, please call (215) 922-2FUN or visit www.pennslandingcorp.com. The Penn's Landing Corporation website is a virtual resource for the waterfront which can help visitors to plan a visit to easily park, play and stay all day at Penn's Landing.
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