Heading into the last official weekend of the summer, I recall one of my favorite summertime activities: attending an outdoor concert on a mellow evening with a great picnic, fine wine, close friends and of course, excellent tunes.

 One of my favorite memories is seeing Chicago in concert on the lawn at the Chateau Ste.-Michelle winery in Woodinville, Washington, a number of years ago. It had been cloudy and threatening rain earlier in the day, but as concert time approached, the sky cleared and we had a perfect view of Mt. Rainier glowing in the evening sun to the south, while hot air balloons drifted overhead and a full moon rose over the wooded foothills to the east. We brought our own home-cooked gourmet feast, purchased a bottle or two of the winery’s best, and laid back and basked in the ambience and the great music. I have to admit it was a little difficult to pull our blissed-out selves up to give the band its well-deserved ovation at the end of the night.

Another great spot in a breathtaking location is the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington, only about 45 minutes from my home in the north central part of the state. With a total capacity of around 20,000, it has the usual reserved seating in front of the stage, backed by an immense grassy bowl for general admission lawn seating. The stage backs up to the upper edge of immense basalt cliffs looming high over the Columbia River, so those seated have a magnificent view looking north upriver and west to the cliffs opposite and the sunset beyond. Last year my daughter and I took in a John Mayer concert there, and his comments about the immensity and timelessness of the landscape echoed our sentiments–and WE had the better view!

I know there must be scores of great outdoor concert venues all over the world (I’ve visited Red Rocks outside of Denver, for instance, but not gotten to attend a concert there), and I’d be willing to bet that most of you have your own great memories of summer evenings at some of them. I’d love to hear about them and start my list of not-to-be-missed venues in the summers to come.

 Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader 

Plucking banjos, sullen cellos, vibrating violins, harmonizing guitars and energetic mandolins. Bluegrass is the only music genre that can coerce me to clap my hands and stomp my feet like a moron. Last night, my roommate and I saw the Punch Brothers, featuring Chris Thile, perform as part of New York’s free River to River Festival, hosted by American Express. Due to the threat of inclement weather, the concert was moved from Rockefeller Park on the Hudson to the high school auditorium of Stuyvesant High School on Chambers Street. As a fan of Chris Thile since my early teenage years, I found myself in a passive-aggressive, competitive “speed walk race” to the front door with fellow bluegrass girl fans an hour before the doors opened. He is the reason why I, and probably many others, have a mandolin sitting in my closet, collecting dust. The show being held in the high school actually made for a far more intimate performance with a better sound quality.

The Punch Brothers bluegrass band, named after a Mark Twain story and founded by Chris Thile, consists of the banjo, cello, guitar, violin and mandolin. Thile, literally a mandolin prodigy, was originally part of the pop acoustic band Nickel Creek. After pursuing a few solo albums, Thile began touring and collaborating with the Punch Brothers. I started listening to Thile when I was 14 and will never forget the excitement I felt going to a Nickel Creek concert at the Calvin Theater in Northampton, Massachusetts during my senior year in high school. Since then, Chris Thile has, without question, moved from the innocent and harmonious folk music to a real innovative approach to a transformed bluegrass genre. The result is a thought-provoking combination of classical and folk.

The Punch Brothers and Chris Thile are currently best known for their 40-minute, 4-part suite, composed by Thile and performed by the band. The suite is titled “The Blind Leaving the Blind” and it is a bluegrass mini symphony. The song shifts from complicated, at some times seemingly broken, to complex and then breathtakingly melodious and harmonious. In February, NPR hosted a great analysis of the suite and the performers on All Things Considered: Bluegrass Suite Packs a Progressive ‘Punch’. The suite and interview are audible on the NPR website and the Punch Brother’s website.

In the end, the free show was spectacular, leaving my roommate and I feeling a little ‘blue’ because it was over and neither of us was married to Chris Thile. Maybe one day I’ll take that dusty mandolin out of my closet.

-Courtney Centeno, account executive

After months of rumors flying, the truth was confirmed this morning on the Today show. New Kids on the Block, the original boy band circa late 80s/early 90s, are officially reuniting! I was elated to hear the news as I got ready for work this morning. A true blast from my past, I felt nostalgic thinking about the group. They kicked off what would become a longstanding love of boy bands throughout my adolescence and teens (I am not ashamed to admit!).

I can clearly remember my obession with NKOTB (for short). Their concert was the first concert I ever attended, at the ripe old age of five. I can remember my cousin and I huddled together, creating a poster that declared our undying affections for Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre. I had posters, pins, a complete doll collection (who needed a Ken doll when Barbie could fall in love with a New Kid?) and even a hideous hot pink bedspread with all their faces on it. I was a true fan, through and through. I can still remember the lyrics to all the songs 20 years later.

For all my fellow NKOTB fans, here is the complete update. The first performance will be May 16th as a part of Today’s concert series.  New songs will be released in May, an album of new material will be released in the summer and tour dates will be announced in the fall. Hopefully they will come to Philadelphia or New York, but I think I’ll skip the poster making this time.

Bands break up and reunite all the time and I’m sure many can relate to the excitement I felt this morning. I think I am so thrilled for the reunion because New Kids on the Block was the first music group I can really remember being a fan of and enjoying. Since I was so young when my cousin introduced me to them, in some ways, it was the beginning of music for me.

-Kimberly Krol, circulation and public relations executive

Last week, a press release landed in my in-box titled “Incubus Meets Travellers at Changi Airport.” Since it was being sent by the PR folks at Changi, I figured it probably wasn’t a warning to women about demons prowling the terminal, but I was curious (so kudos to them for a good headline). Turns out I am not as up on my modern music as I thought I was–nor on some cool things going on at Changi either.

The Incubus is question is an American alt-rock band that’s been around for more than 10 years–who knew? And to the chagrin of those of us who expect real definitions to dominate search results, the band is also the top several results you get when you Google “incubus.” Guess that shows me.

Anyway, the band was in Singapore for a concert last week, and took part in a meet-and-greet session at the airport, set up by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. Turns out this is something the CAAS does regularly–setting up opportunities for travelers transiting the airport to meet celebrities and take pictures with them–which is pretty cool. Some of the previous sessions have involved the Backstreet Boys, Elaine Page, several Bollywood stars, and golfers Annika Sorenstam and Colin Montgomery. Something for everybody!

It seems this was launched as the Famous Personalities Program back in 2004. Changi claims it’s the first airport in the world to organize such events for travelers, and I know I haven’t heard of any other ones. Anybody out there have any good celebrities-at-airports stories to share?

–Mary Hunt, editor, eFlyer

I recently attended a Billy Joel concert in Chicago. I have been a fan of the Piano Man for The Longest Time and have seen him about a dozen times. Joel has been The Entertainer of choice for me since his music entered My Life while I was still in grade school. This Night was awesome, but I admit being biased.

Okay, enough cheesy Joel song references, although my friends know I can go on and on (although that would be a cheesy Stephen Bishop reference).

Joel’s music grabbed hold of me while all of my friends were listening to higher testerone bands like Kiss. While I like Kiss and other musicians, Joel would become the centerpiece of my record collection. As that collection begrudgingly moved from vinyl to cassettes to cds, my passion for Joel’s music never wavered.

I am sure everyone has their own favorite musician, one who really gets to them. At least I hope so. Music is such an important part of my life, although I have absolutely no musical ability.

Back in 1986, I bought tickets to my first Joel concert at a record store two days after they went on sale (long before ticket brokers would eliminate this possibility). Since then, Joel has released only two albums of original music. Yet, his concerts are always new and exciting. He has such a volume of work that choosing 20 or so songs for any given concert is easy without worry of repetition. He isn’t like some dinosaur band trudging out the same tired routine.

A while ago, at a former job, I joked with our account temp, Bob, that all of life’s answers could be found within the lyrics of Billy Joel songs. Bob was always armed with a 64-ounce coffee jug and ready for any conversation (preferring that to any real accounting work), so he often tested my theory. I could usually come up with some words of wisdom, compliments of Joel, because his music did cover a lot of territory.

This concert was no different. Joel regaled the fans with everything from his oldest stuff to a brand new song dedicated to the troops. He even mixed in a few Christmas carols.

“Hot funk, cool punk, even if it’s old junk. It’s still rock and roll to me!”

-John Wroblewski, distribution specialist