The dinosaur of love, known as the Amourasaurus, will rear its head again when Lake Street Dive’s Amourasaurus II takes place at the Pines Amphitheater at Look Park in Florence on the weekend of Aug. 27 and 28.
The music festival, which is curated by the band Lake Street Dive (they came up with the name Amourasaurus based on a fictitious character they created), made its sold out debut last year and has now been expanded to a two-day event. The lineup is an amazing mix of local and nationally known acts. Saturday, Aug. 27, will feature Mavis Staples, Son Little, Look Park (featuring Chris Collingwood of Fountains of Wayne) and Christina Courtin.
The lineup for Sunday, Aug. 28, is Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, The Suitcase Junket and Erin McKeown.
Lake Street Dive — vocalist Rachel Price, upright bassist Bridget Kearney, drummer Mike Calabrese and guitarist/trumpeter Mike “McDuck” Olson — will close out the festival on both nights.
“The festival was the brainchild of our manager, Emily (Lichter of Public Emily) and Jim Olsen of Signature Sounds, and when they approached us, we were all for it,” said the band’s drummer Mike Calabrese calling from a tour stop in Lander, Wyo.
Calabrese said the band was pleased with how well the first Amourasaurus went, and is looking forward to this year and what it views as a big homecoming event.
“Even though we are from Boston, and some of us later moved to New York, because of Signature Sounds, we view Northampton as one of our homes,” said Calabrese. “When we go back there, we just feel in our element; we know the fans and they know us and it’s this great atmosphere that we have created with the audience.”
Jim Olsen, president of Signature Sounds, signed the jazz influenced soul/pop band to his label in 2010 after seeing them perform at the Rendezvous in Turners Falls.
The band released five albums for Signature Sounds, including 2014’s “Bad Self Portraits,” the album that brought them to their current level of success.
Last year the group signed with Nonesuch Records and released their latest album, “Side Pony,” in February. The band has been touring the U.S. and Europe in support of the album, including appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and the “Today” show.
Lake Street Dive is in the infancy of writing songs for the next album, but the primary focus is on touring. The band will be on the road for the remainder of the year, including opening three shows for the Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheater in Washington state.
While Signature Sounds handles all the details of running the local festival, Lake Street Dive is involved in the best part of putting on a festival— the choosing of the bands.
“The festival is really symptomatic of all the people we have met and the great family and community that we’ve garnered over the years,” Calabrese said. “We were involved at every stage of the choosing process, so it’s going to be like listening to a live playlist by Lake Street Dive.
“Over the past year, we have seen a lot of bands out on the road that we have said, ‘We have to have them.’ Thao and The Get Down Stay Down is one of those bands. While someone like Josh Ritter, we have known for years,” he said. “And then there’s Mavis Staples.”
The band had the honor of singing with the legendary soul/gospel singer when Staples joined them onstage at the 2014 Newport Folk Festival.
“I’m a drummer, so by nature I’m always in service of the singer, but when she started singing I couldn’t even remember playing,” recalled Calabrese. “She is full of so much spirit that you really don’t have to do any work playing an instrument behind her. It was amazing.”
When it comes to curating a festival, Lake Street Dive has plenty of experience as the band has played countless festivals, from Bonnaroo to Austin City Limits to Telluride — and the list goes on.
Of course, Amourasaurus is much smaller than those festivals, and the band is quite happy about that.
Calabrese feels that what makes this festival so special is its small size, which makes for an easier festival experience.
“We love that Look Park is this small space that is intimate and controlled and pretty,” said Calabrese. “It’s nice that everything is accessible — you drive in, find your spot, roll out your blanket and the vendors and everything are right there. I think having it simple is better for us, better for the people running it and better for the people watching the show.”
Calabrese is right about everything being right there, including the added benefit of all the music being held on one stage. There will also be an expanded food and drink area this year that will feature some of the Valley’s finest restaurants.
Could you possibly think of a better way to spend the last weekend of August than by listening to Lake Street Dive and all these other excellent musicians at the beautiful Pines Amphtheater?
And if you are so inclined, you can even join the band members in a road race to benefit a good cause.
Lake Street Dive will host a 5K “Run for Love” race on Sunday, Aug. 28., at 10 a.m to benefit Oxfam America, a charity that fights poverty and hunger. The group has partnered with the organization for the past year.
“We have three runners in the band, and it seemed a fun thing to do at Look Park — plus for a good cause. Each bandmate has their own team, which you can sign up with,” said Calabrese. “I don’t really know where that comes into play, but I think it’s just going to be a popularity contest, and we all know Rachel and Bridget will be running neck and neck in that,” he said with a laugh. “I do know my girlfriend is signing up for my team.”
“This is going to be a fun weekend that involves a lot of good music.” said Calabrese. “These artists that are playing are near and dear to our hearts, and if we are a band that you like, and you have any interest in hearing where we get our inspiration from, there’s not a single artist in this lineup that doesn’t resonate with us as a great artist.”
For more information and tickets visit: www.amourasaurus.com
Tickets are $89.99 for the weekend; $49.99 for a single-day ticket; children 3 and under are free. Doors open at 2 p.m. each day. Look Park is located at 300 North Main St. in Florence.
Heath Fair
Twisted Pine and more
In addition to offering all that we have come to expect from a small country fair, if you attend the 99th annual Heath Fair this weekend, Aug.19, 20 and 21, you will find that it also offers up a stellar lineup of music — heavy on the good old-fashioned, feel good, foot-stompin music.
If you are a fan of bluegrass music, you might already be familiar with the talented young band called Twisted Pine, as the band has a growing fan base here in the Valley.
This five-piece band from Boston recently played a sold-out show as part of the Watermelon Wednesdays series and has also performed at other area venues like the Parlor Room in Northampton.
Whether ripping into a Bill Monroe tune or playing one of its own songs, the band’s superb musicianship and unbridled energy will instantly draw you in.
So, it will be quite a musical treat when it brings its fiery, innovative brand of bluegrass to the Heath Fair, kicking off the music portion of the fair on Friday night.
On Saturday, the music will get started with the old timey sounds of Moonlight Holler, which is the duo of Paula Bradley and Bill Dillof. Then, it’s Americana band Appalacian Still followed by the folky punk music of Fancy Trash, and in the evening, it’s alt-country favorites The Lonesome Brothers.
Sunday will include the Shelburne Falls Military Band and an afternoon show with Boston-based string band The Lonely Heartstring Band. The group recently released its debut album on Rounder Records.
All the music is held under cover and included with fair admission. Adults $8, seniors $6 and children under 9 are free. For details, a schedule and directions, visit: www.heathfair.org
Sheryl Hunter is a music writer who lives in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national magazines. You can contact her at soundslocal@yahoo.com