“Enter the Spiegeltent – the tent of dreams – and you will never be the same again.” —Edinburgh Fringe Magazine
Thursday nights in the Spiegeltent are devoted to Thursday Night Live, an eclectic range of live music from the leading exponents of indie rock, Afro-funk, brass band, Malian music, and more. This summer’s Thursday Night Live opens on July 11 with Buke & Gase, with special guest Sarah Neufeld from Arcade Fire. Performing new sounds in indie rock, The Hudson- and Brooklyn-based duo (Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez) creates gorgeous electric rock anthems with its homemade instruments, including the “buke” (an electrified six-string baritone ukulele) and the “gase” (a guitar-bass hybrid). Joining the pair for this special concert is Arcade Fire’s violinist Sarah Neufeld.
The opening of the 2013 Bard SummerScape festival in New York’s Annandale-on-Hudson on Friday, July 5, signals the return of the authentic Belgian Spiegeltent. This luxurious “tent of mirrors” has proved a sensation since 2006, when its introduction to Bard’s glorious Hudson Valley campus marked the first time one of these fabled old-world structures appeared in America, impressing the Village Voice with its “wooden floors, mirrored walls, stained-glass panels, and red velvet ceiling.” Conveniently situated near the Frank Gehry-designed Fisher Center, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, the Spiegeltent affords a sumptuous and magical environment in which to enjoy cutting-edge cabaret and world-class live music, plus spectacular circus acts, dancing, and dining throughout the seven-week festival (July 5 – August 18). This year sees the launch of “After Hours at the Spiegeltent,” with Bard’s new host, Michael McQuilken, and live house band, The Mayday Kingdom. Also new in 2013: the introduction of reserved table seating for an even more comfortable cabaret experience, and a new food and beverage menu with expanded bar offerings.
Back for its eighth consecutive SummerScape season, Bard’s glittering “Mirror Tent” comes from Europe, where such tents and the special entertainment they host have been a beloved tradition for the past century. The Spiegeltent is a marvel of engineering, comprising 3,000 detachable parts, with a spellbinding interior of carved wood surfaces, parquet floor, beveled mirrors, stained-glass windows, and splendid velvet canopies. Flanked by table and booth seating, the tent’s stage hosts a dazzling selection of entertainers on Thursday and Friday evenings and weekends all summer long. Before and after any SummerScape performance, the Spiegeltent provides the ideal setting in which to enjoy a new menu of food and drinks chosen from the best offerings of the Hudson Valley’s rich array of farms, orchards, dairies, wineries, and breweries, including an extensive selection of produce from Bard’s own farm.
For more information, visit fishercenter.bard.edu or call 845-758-7900.
