Belleayre Music Festival

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The Belleayre Music Festival is an annual festival in the Catskill Mountains of Upstate New York. Founded in Highmount, NY, Phyllis and Mel Litoff, raised the prominence of the festival after becoming co-artistic directors in 1993. [1] Since then, the festival has hosted such artists as James Blunt, Rosanne Cash, Branford Marsalis, Frankie Valli, [2] Obie Benson, [3] Lyle Lovett, The Neville Brothers, [4] Linda Eder, Ray Charles, and Wynton Marsalis. [5]

Catskill Mountains Large area in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York

The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas close to or within the borders of the Catskill Park, a 700,000-acre (2,800 km2) forest preserve forever protected from many forms of development under New York state law.

Upstate New York region of the U.S. state of New York north of the core of the New York metropolitan area

Upstate New York is the portion of the American state of New York lying north of the New York metropolitan area. The Upstate region includes most of the state of New York, excluding New York City, the Lower Hudson Valley, and Long Island, although the precise boundary is debated. Major cities in Upstate New York include Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Syracuse.

Frankie Valli American singer

Frankie Valli is an American singer and actor, known as the frontman of The Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful head voice. Valli scored 29 Top 40 hits with The Four Seasons, one Top 40 hit under The Four Seasons alias The Wonder Who?, and nine Top 40 hits as a solo artist. As a member of The Four Seasons, Valli's number-one hits included "Sherry" (1962), "Big Girls Don't Cry" (1962), "Walk Like a Man" (1963), "Rag Doll" (1964) and "December, 1963 " (1975). Valli's recording of the song "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" reached number two in 1967. "You're Ready Now", a Valli solo recording from 1966, became a surprise hit in the UK as part of the Northern soul scene and hit number eleven on the British pop charts in December 1970. As a solo artist, Valli scored number-one hits with the songs "My Eyes Adored You" (1974) and "Grease" (1978).

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References

  1. ↑ Phyllis Litoff, 63, Music Festival Director - New York Times
  2. ↑ Big Names, Big Shows, Big Nights, The New York Times, May 14, 2006.
  3. ↑ Obie Benson, 69, the Original Bass Voice of the Four Tops, The New York Times, July 2, 2005
  4. ↑ Lovett, Neville Brothers head Belleayre lineup. The Times Union (Albany, NY) April 17, 2004
  5. ↑ Ray Charles, Wynton Marsalis, Linda Eder Lead Belleayre Festival. Season Internet Wire April 1, 2003.


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