The Mansfield Downtown Partnership is pleased to announce the headliner for its 20th Annual Celebrate Mansfield Festival will be The Wolff Sisters, winners of New England Music Award’s Americana Artist of the Year (2021).
The Wolff Sisters is fronted by three sisters -- Rebecca on acoustic guitar, Kat on the keys, Rachael on electric guitar, and all three on lead vocals and harmonies. Raised on Bob Dylan, The Band, and Little Feat, the sisters crafted their sound around a honky tonk piano in the living room of their childhood home.
With a talented cast of rotating drummers and bass players, The Wolff Sisters are a rag tag group of hardworking individuals that bring a big sound and timeless songs. Their music is honest and genre defying, but still rooted in traditional rock and Americana storytelling. Boston Music Award winner for Americana Artist of the Year 2020, the band’s electrifying live performance and unique sound continues to gain momentum and recognition from their hometown of Boston and beyond. The band is on tour promoting their fourth studio album Dark River.
The Wolff Sisters will perform from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM on the stage of the Jeffrey P. Ossen Family Foundation Pavilion on Betsy Paterson Square.
Opening for The Wolff Sisters will be Zikina at 5:00 PM. Mansfield resident Gideon Ampeire has been performing internationally for almost 20 years as a bandleader, instrumentalist, singer, dancer, educator, and master instrument maker. For over a decade, he has been the leader of Echo Uganda, a group that has spread traditional Ugandan folk music throughout the northeast US and beyond, including an appearance at the United Nations. In 2015, Gideon met up with western MA producer and guitarist Mike Cardozo, who has performed and recorded for nearly a decade in a variety of acts. Gideon and Mike shared the bond of having studied West African drumming at Wesleyan University under legendary professor Abraham Adzenyah.
Berklee School of Music graduate Roston Kirk and CT drummer Kurt Eisele-Dyrli rounded out the group, and what began as a casual set of jam sessions started to progress into something special that stretched musical boundaries in a unique way. Today, Zikina forges ahead, continuing to imaginatively blend Gideon's musical and cultural heritage with the wide palette of sounds and ideas that each member brings to the table.
Visitors are invited to bring a blanket or lawn chair. Refreshments will be available for purchase from the Festival food booths and at Downtown Storrs restaurants.
Please note: Alcohol is prohibited on the Square. Smoking and vaping are also prohibited on the Square.
The Celebrate Mansfield Festival is free and open to everyone.
The Mansfield Downtown Partnership produces the Celebrate Mansfield Festival with the generous support of local sponsors. The 2023 Platinum Sponsors are Barnes & Noble UConn, Gulemo Printers, Inc., The Oaks on the Square, and Wilcox & Reynolds.
For more information, visit downtownstorrsfestival.org.