Lake Champlain Maritime Festival announces 2012 Main Stage concert lineup (August 9 to 12)

The Lake Champlain Maritime Festival announces its 2012 Main Stage Concert Line-up, presented by Higher Ground on the Burlington Waterfront.
 
THURSDAY NIGHT: GOGOL BORDELLO combines elements of punk, Gypsy music, and Brecht-ian cabaret to tell the story of New York's immigrant Diaspora through debauchery, humor, and surreal costumes. Leader and singer Eugene Hütz's taste in music was spun out of black market tapes of the Birthday Party and Einstürzande Neubauten in his native Ukraine. After being evacuated to western Ukraine in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster, Hütz became enamored of the mystical, outsider qualities of Gypsy music. For more information, please visit: www.gogolbordello.com. “…A whirling dervish of rubbery rhythms, bleating horns, and fiddles that rip like Slayer riffs.” – AV Club
“Few punks this side of the Mekons and the Clash make resistance sound as liberating as Gogol Bordello.” – Washington Post.
Time: Gates 6pm; show 7pm
Date:  Thursday, August 9, 2012
Location: Waterfront Park, Burlington
Ages: All ages. Children 12 and under are free.
Tickets: $25 early bird (First 500), $33 regular advance, $36 day of show (Plus applicable fees)
Tickets on sale Friday, April 27 at 11am
Purchase: Online: www.highergroundmusic.com; charge by phone: 888-512-7469; in person: Higher Ground Box Office, 1214 Williston Rd., South Burlington
 
FRIDAY NIGHT: OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW plays the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival with openers The Lumineers and Milk Carton Kids. Mountain music revivalists Old Crow Medicine Show spin traditional folk and bluegrass yarns with a rock and roll attitude. Critter Fuqua (vocals/banjo/resonator guitar), Kevin Hayes (guitjo), Morgan Jahnig (upright bass), Ketch Secor (vocals/fiddle/harmonica/banjo), and Willie Watson (vocals/guitar/banjo) may specialize in rags, hollers, and pre-World War II blues, but they were weaned on Nirvana and Public Enemy. For more information, please visit: www.crowmedicine.com. “Old Crow Medicine Show may look irreverent, but they have old souls. These guys…have definitely got the back porch vibe down cold.” – PopMatters
Time: Gates 6pm; show 7pm
Date:  Friday, August 10, 2012
Location: Waterfront Park, Burlington
Ages: All ages. Children 12 and under are free.
Tickets: $27 early bird (First 500), $35 regular advance, $39 day of show (Plus applicable fees)
Tickets on sale Friday, April 27 at 11am
Purchase: Online: www.highergroundmusic.com; charge by phone: 888-512-7469; in person: Higher Ground Box Office, 1214 Williston Road, South Burlington
 
SATURDAY NIGHT: STRANGEFOLK! On the heels of their sold-out reunion tour to huge crowds at Higher Ground and the State Theatre in Portland, ME, the original lineup of Strangefolk will grace the stage at the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival on Saturday, August 11 at 7pm.Reemerging after a twelve-year hiatus, original band members Jon Trafton, Reid Genauer, Erik Glockler and Luke Smith return to their Vermont roots, dubbing this special event “The Edge of Eden” as an homage to their wildly successful Garden of Eden festivals. Envisioning this as one-night celebration of the Strangefolk community, the band will showcase their extensive catalog of finely honed, impeccably crafted songs. For more information, please visit: www.strangefolk.com.
Time: Gates 6pm; show 7pm
Date:  Saturday, August 11, 2012
Location: Lake Champlain Maritime Festival, Waterfront Park, Burlington
Ages: All ages. Children 12 and under are free.
Tickets on sale now: $35 advance; $40 day of show (Plus applicable fees)
Purchase: Online: www.highergroundmusic.com; charge by phone: 888-512-7469; in person: Higher Ground Box Office, 1214 Williston Rd., South Burlington
 
SUNDAY NIGHT: CITIZEN COPE returns to Vermont for the first time in more that 5 years to play the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival. A remarkably charismatic live performer, Citizen Cope has been a committed road warrior, often performing in places where other major artists fear to tread. His distinct musical approach, a laidback gumbo of acoustic blues, singer/songwriter rock ‘n’ roll and deep soul grooves, is redolent of such classic tunesmiths as Randy Newman and Stevie Wonder – both major touchstones for his emotively penned songs.  As such, it’s virtually impossible to put a finger on his inimitable sound. For more information, please visit: www.citizencope.com. “His disaffection with the limits of genre prompts him to craft songs that are diverse, featuring multi-layered tracks that meld the beats of the ghettos of New York, the social conscience of reggae, the bongo drums of cosmopolitan cafes, and glittering surrealistic timbres.” – popmatters.com
Time: Gates 6pm; show 7pm
Date:  Sunday, August 12, 2012
Location: Lake Champlain Maritime Festival, Waterfront Park, Burlington
Ages: All ages. Children 12 and under are free.
Tickets: $28 early bird (First 500), $35 regular advance, $38 day of show (Plus applicable fees)
Tickets on sale Friday, April 27 at 11am
Purchase: Online: www.highergroundmusic.com; charge by phone: 888-512-7469; in person: Higher Ground Box Office, 1214 Williston Rd., South Burlington
 
NEW EVENTS THIS YEAR at the LAKE CHAMPLAIN MARITIME FESTIVAL:
The Lake Champlain Maritime Festival is pleased to welcome the Waterfront Wine & Food Tasting, presented by Farrell Distributing Corporation, Friday, August 10 and Saturday August 11. The Waterfront Wine & Food Tasting takes place at the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival on Burlington’s Waterfront Park. More than 40 participating exhibitors will be featured! Stay tuned to Lake Champlain Maritime Festival’s website for ticket on-sale details: www.lcmfestival.com.
 
The Lake Champlain Maritime Festival announces the first Pirate 5k Run, presented by New England Federal Credit Union. The event will be open to all ages and take place on the beautiful Burlington Waterfront with the course running long the Burlington Bike Path. Portions of the proceeds will benefit the Lake Champlain Sailing Center’s WAVES Initiative, a program for children and adults that is designed to enhance their connection to the exciting eco-systems of Lake Champlain through interactive science lessons and recreation on the lake.
 
Registration will open in May. Please stay tuned to Lake Champlain Maritime Festival’s website www.lcmfestival.com for details. Registration/Price: Early Bird Registration through June 15: Adults - $30 and Kids - $15.After June 15: Adults - $35 and Kids - $25. Registration Fee Includes: Pirate Costume, Finishing Medal and Bib
 
GENERAL FESTIVAL INFO:
The Vermont Chamber of Commerce named the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival a Top Ten Vermont Summer Event. The Festival has grown tremendously and has become a destination for people in Vermont, the United States and Canada. Now heading towards its sixth year, the Festival is held annually during the second week of August and is planned for 8/9/12-8/12/12 in 2012. A four-day celebration of Lake Champlain, the Festival Showcases hundreds of exhibits throughout sites on the Burlington Waterfront (Burlington Boathouse, Perkins Pier, Spirit of Ethan Allen, Lake Champlain Ferries, US Coast Guard, Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, ECHO Leahy Center, Burlington’s Waterfront Park and more) and musical performances (on three separate stages). Daily admission is free to most events with select events requiring admission.
 
Activities are varied and include: free live music; national artists; free sailboat, canoe and paddleboard rides; Antique Boat Show; ALS Silent Auction; Waterfront Wine & Food Tasting, presented by Farrell Distributing Corporation, Pirate 5k Run, presented by New England Federal Credit Union; craft and international food vendors; interactive children’s exhibits (Kids Day Friday with free activities, including educational, narrated cruises for kids about Lake Champlain); Eco-Zone with ecological/environmental exhibits and organizations (Last year’s participants: ECHO Leahy Center, the Lake Keeper, Vermont Energy Education Program; Stream Team); United Way Mission Possible Adventure Race; Non-profit Exhibit Area showcasing community organizations (Last year’s participants: American Red Cross Bloodmobile, Chittenden County Humane Society, Be the Match Bone Barrow Donor Booth, Green Mountain Autism, Kids on the Block).
 
“What really makes The Lake Champlain Maritime Festival special is that it offers something for everyone; it is a dynamic celebration for children, families and adults of all ages,” says Tara Perkins, Festival Spokesperson.
 
The Lake Champlain Maritime Festival’s mission is unique in that this is the only Festival to celebrate the past, present and future of Lake Champlain and the Burlington Waterfront. The Festival is also committed to enhancing the visibility and outreach while encouraging onsite fundraising of various non-profit organizations within the community by offering space at no cost for exhibits and booths on site, listing participating non-profits in promotional materials, as well as on social media outlets and the website. Through educational initiatives and exhibits, music and family activities, the Festival encourages the ecological and environmental preservation of the amazing resource that is Lake Champlain.