South Berwick, Maine – June 2020- Historic New England will present its Sundays in the Garden Concert Series, six Sundays, July 5-August 9, 5:00-6:30 p.m., at Hamilton House.

Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, and $5 for children over 6. Free admission to Historic New England members. Tickets can be purchased online only at

www.historicnewengland.org  

New this year, in response to COVID-19, the Hamilton House concert series has limited ticket capacity and all tickets must be pre-purchased online. Online tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and may sell out. All guests over the age of two must wear a face covering. Guests must maintain social distancing. All guests must sit within social distance circles that will be marking on the lawns. No ice cream or water will be sold at the concerts.

To ensure social distancing, each concert will have a rain date. Concerts will be not be performed in rain.

Enjoy some of the Seacoast region's most popular musical performers in one of its loveliest settings. The graceful gardens of Hamilton House, overlooking the Salmon Falls River, provide the perfect backdrop for these performances. Bring a blanket, chairs, and picnic basket for your comfort and enjoyment.

July 5, Cellist Kristen Miller will return to the series. Miller is a one-woman ensemble. She connects her antique cello to a live digital recorder to stack layers of lush cello, spoken word and ardent singing. With a voice like Beth Gibbons (Portishead) and a layered cello sound like Zoe Keating, Kristen has created a style that Billboard writer Bobby Borg calls "romantically, hauntingly, charmingly, brilliant." Rain date Wednesday, July 8.

July 12, Harvey Reid, nationally recognized as one of the true treasures of American acoustic music, will perform. Reid is considered to be one of the modern masters and innovators of the acoustic guitar, autoharp, and six-string banjo. With his colorful, personal, and distinctive style incorporating a vast repertoire of American contemporary and roots music, Reid brings out the best of acoustic music, from hip folk to slashing slide guitar blues to bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, ragtime, and even classical. Rain date Wednesday, July 15.

July 19, Marjorie Senet and the Broken Home Boys will perform. Classic country twang, straight up, with a twist of heartache—Marjorie Senet and the Broken-Home Boys will take you on an emotional journey of love and loss, set to twangy, classic honky tonk/country/American roots music. Formerly of The Trashpickers, Senet released her first solo album, Suitcases and Trashbags, in September 2019, taking the number two spot on Folk New Hampshire’s "Top 10 Albums of 2019."

On July 26, Madeleine St. Amant and Chip Harding of La Madeleine, will perform the songs of Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Georges Moustaki, Gilles Vigneault, and a variety of other French and French- Canadian artists. The incomparable Madeleine St. Amant sings with an unaffected warmth and passion that gets right to the heart of these timeless songs. Rain date, Wednesday, July 22.

August 2, Joyce Andersen will perform. Andersen is a veteran musician who has enjoyed a varied 25-year career as side-gal, session player, singer-songwriter, and band leader. Her live shows and recordings showcase her versatility as a vocalist and violinist who thrives on writing and interpreting songs across many genres from old-time, rock & Americana, spirituals, folk, pop, & swing.  Her newest CD SWERVE! marks the invention of her innovative new "violin troubadour" sound. Rain date Wednesday, August 12.

August 9, the Soggy Po Boys will perform. Born on a snowy Fat Tuesday night in 2012, the Soggy Po Boys have been honing their craft of New Orleans jazz music in their home town of Dover, N.H. The septet fits in more than a hundred shows every year, from festivals and concerts to politics-infused burlesque collaborations and street parades. The Po Boys are doing their part to spread the greatest music on earth around their home in New England and when touring throughout the rest of the country. Rain date, Sunday, August 16.

20 minutes from Portsmouth, Hamilton House is located at 40 Vaughan's Lane, adjacent to Vaughan Woods State Park, one mile off Route 236 in South Berwick.  For more information, please contact the South Berwick Office of Historic New England at HamiltonHouse@historicnewengland.org or (207) 384-2454.

The 2020 Sundays in the Garden Concert Series is made possibly in part by a grant from Kennebunk Savings Bank.

Hamilton House is one of more than three dozen historic sites owned and operated by Historic New England, the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional heritage organization in the nation. Historic New England shares the region’s history through vast collections, publications, programs, museum properties, and family stories that document more than 400 years of life in New England.