3-time Grammy Nominee Mike Stern to Play Benefit Concert in the Berkshires

Guitar legend Mike Stern and jazz fusion band Unfulfilled Desires led by Andrew Cohen play outdoor benefit concert in Berkshires, Massachusetts.

Lenox, MA, (PRWEB) July 30, 2005 -- Jazz-rock guitar virtuoso Mike Stern and his band will be making their debut appearance in the Berkshires, playing a benefit concert for local environmental and educational nonprofits: Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and Voices from the Edge speakers series, Saturday July 30 at 7:30pm, at Foxhollow Estate, Route 7, in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Live at Foxhollow," produced by EnlightenNext, will be held on the hill overlooking Laurel Lake, the site of the very first Boston Symphony Orchestra concert in the Berkshires. Lenox-based Unfulfilled Desires will be the opening act. Tickets are $20/$18 online; students $12/$10 online; children under 12 free. Food, beer, and wine will be available for purchase. Doors open at 7pm.

Mike Stern is an internationally renowned jazz guitarist whose three-decade-long career is a testament to both his talent and creativity. Named Best Jazz Guitarist in the 1990s by Guitar Player magazine, Stern is recognized by critics, colleagues, and fans as a master musician. Mike Stern is one of the true guitar greats of this generation," says Andy Aledort, senior editor at Guitar World magazine. The three-time Grammy nominees discography reads like a whos who of the cutting-edge of jazz and rock over the past thirty years -- hes played with Miles Davis, John Scofield, David Sanborn, and Steve Smith, to name a few, and has recorded twelve CDs. His most recent release, These Times, is considered one of his best.

Unfulfilled Desires is an up-and-coming jazz-rock-funk band based in Lenox, Massachusetts. They made their debut at the Berkshires Blues club in Lee, MA, in 2002. Since then, they have been touring clubs in the northeastern US and Europe. The band has a fresh and eclectic sound -- the combined expression of the classical, jazz, and rock backgrounds of the players. The five members come from New York, Germany, France, and Chile.

Unfulfilled Desires founder and drummer, Andrew Cohen, is also the founder of EnlightenNext, the main sponsors of this benefit concert. EnlightenNext is an education nonprofit dedicated to furthering the evolution of human consciousness. It hosts a variety of programs and publications, and has a growing network of centers and members around the world.

We wanted to have this concert to share a purely positive and joyful experience with as many people as possible," says Andrew Cohen, so we invited Mike Stern, one our favorite musicians, and his band to play. Weve received generous support from the local community and through the concert, were pleased to be able to offer support to two worthy causes, our speakers series and the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association." Cohen says that they hope this years concert will be the first of many to come.

EnlightenNext is located at the Foxhollow Estate, which has great historical and cultural significance. Built by George Westinghouse, it was later sold to the Vanderbilts who first brought the Boston Symphony Orchestra to the Berkshires to perform on the lawns of Foxhollow. This event marked the beginning of the Tanglewood Music Festival.

The two nonprofit beneficiaries of Live at Foxhollow" are Voices from the Edge and the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Voices from the Edge is a nonprofit, educational speakers series sponsored by EnlightenNext, which brings leading thinkers in politics, science, business leadership, environmental activism, and contemporary culture to the Berkshires year round. Recent speakers have included NPR commentator Andrei Codrescu, Nobel Prize nominee Dr. Munawar Anees, and MIT Leadership Lab founder Otto Scharmer. Events are held at Foxhollow.

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) is the nation's leading regional membership organization focused on promoting the understanding, development, and adoption of energy conservation and non-polluting, renewable energy technologies. For more than thirty years, NESEA has facilitated and enhanced a network of professionals, practitioners, and other citizens in pursuit of responsible energy use.

Live at Foxhollow" is being sponsored by several local businesses including Berkshire Bank, Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream, Highland Farms, Carr Hardware, Barrington Coffee, Cranwell, Evviva, Taft Farms, Berkshire Flowers, Clovers Organic Market, and the Apple Tree Inn, to name a few. It is expected to draw 500-700 music fans.

EnlightenNext is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to furthering the evolution of human consciousness. It produces a variety of programs and products, including an international speakers series called Voices from the Edge, an accredited Master's Degree in Conscious Evolution, and online studies, seminars, and retreats worldwide. EnlightenNext's publishing arm, EnlightenNext Media, produces educational websites, books, audios, and videos related to the teachings of Evolutionary Enlightenment, as well as the award-winning magazine What Is Enlightenment? Its newest venture is a multimedia website of audios and videos from todays leading thinkers in business, politics, environmental issues, science, spirituality, and contemporary culture. EnlightenNext is based in Lenox, MA.

Information websites:
The concert: www.liveatfoxhollow.com or call 800.376.3210.
Mike Stern: www.mikestern.org
Unfulfilled Desires: www.unfulfilleddesires.com
EnlightenNext: www.enlightennext.org

About Mike Stern and his band:
"Not only a magician of the fretboard, but a heartfelt and mature composer of great depth." --Jon Chappell, Guitar Magazine

"An incredibly talented group of players exploring pure musicality ... Stern leads his ensemble in surprising directions on every tune.... This team just gets better with every outing." --Drum! Magazine

About Unfulfilled Desires:
Unfulfilled Desires brings an innovative and dynamic sound to mostly new original material -- powerful and expressive, they play with infectious enthusiasm." --Johnny Ds, Boston

Unfulfilled Desires are real masters of their style. With a strong jazz influence, they know how to groove and rock with explosive energy." --Baiser Sale, Paris

Contact:
Kathy Bayer
EnlightenNext
PO Box 2360
Lenox, MA 01240
413.637.6014
www.enlightennext.org

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