3 min read
A Northern Solstice Alpaca Farm alpaca greets fairgoers during the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity in 2019. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer)

Common Ground Country Fair

Friday to Sunday. Maine Organic Famers and Gardeners Association Education Center, Unity. mofga.org.

The Common Ground Country Fair has been happening for nearly 50 years. From livestock to educational lectures, demonstrations, live music, local crafts and a wide variety of food, the fair has a loyal following. Pick a day, and grab tickets in advance.

A scene from Boston Dance Theater’s “Pinnacle Works.” (Photo by Melissa Blackall)

‘Pinnacle Works’

7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The Hill Arts, 76 Congress St., Portland, $25 in advance, $29 at the door. thehillarts.me.

“Pinnacle Works” is Boston Theater Company’s enthralling tapestry of repertory pieces from Brazil, Western Europe and Israel. The show features choreography from Itzik Galili (The Netherlands, Israel), March Goecke (Germany) and Alessandro Sousa Pereira (Brazil). All have been honored for their performing arts contributions.

Jeff Buckley’s album “Grace.” (Dan Alexandru/Shutterstock.com)

‘It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley’

8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5:30 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m. Tuesday. Strand Theatre, 345 Main St., Rockland, $10, $8 seniors, matinee and under 12. rocklandstrand.com.

Singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley died at the age of 30 in 1997. His accidental drowning sent shockwaves through the music world, yet his legacy lives on, thanks in part to his critically acclaimed 1994 album “Grace.” The new documentary “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg, traces the life of the artist with never-before-seen footage and interviews with his mother Mary Guibert, two former romantic partners and Buckley’s bandmates. Musicians including Ben Harper and Aimee Mann also weigh in on Buckley’s impact.

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Portland municipal organist James Kennerley. (FemmeFolio Design Studio)

Sound Waves

7 p.m. Saturday. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $10-$48. porttix.com.

The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ present the mesmerizing concert experience Sound Waves, featuring municipal organist James Kennerly playing the historic instrument. The performance will incorporate multimedia projections designed to take the audience on a sea-, story- and memory-inspired voyage. Sound Waves includes Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture”, Debussy’s “Clair De Lune” and Philip Glass’ “Mad Rush,” to name a few pieces, along with some original compositions.

“Surge” is an outdoor dance performance in Wells on Sunday. (Photo courtesy of Boston Theater Company)

Surge’

4 p.m. Sunday. Wells Reserve at Laudholm, 55 Skinner Mill Road, Wells, $25. wellsreserve.org.

Boston Dance Theater presents an afternoon outdoor performance on a beach in Wells. “Surge” is a collaborative, site-specific production that fuses contemporary dance, ocean science and climate activism. It was created by Boston Dance Theater’s Jessie Jeanne Stinnett and Dr. Larry Pratt, ocean scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Ticket holders can participate in an optional interactive workshop in the Laudholm barn at 3 p.m. At 4 p.m., you’ll walk to the performance site by way of Wells Reserve Barrier Beach Trail. The show will be followed by an artist Q&A.

Musicians perform at Pine Cove in Range Pond State Park in Poland as part of a Vigorous Tenderness summer solstice concert. From left: violinist Katherine Liccardo, violinist Sam Schuth, cellist Zoe Hardel and violist and event organizer and curator Kal Sugatski. (Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer)

Vigorous Tenderness Fall Equinox Concert

5:30-7 p.m. Monday. Bumbleroot Organic Farm, 196 Highland Cliff Road, Windham, sliding scale donations, $30 suggested. vigoroustenderness.org.

Vigorous Tenderness is a unique, immersive outdoor concert series that welcomes in each new season with a performance in an idyllic location. Celebrate fall with chamber music performed by marginalized voices in classical music as you walk around the grounds at Bumbleroot Organic Farm. Musical selections by several artists and composers, including Yaz Lancaster, Jacquet de La Guerre and Rhiannon Giddens will be played, and there will also be a world premiere site-specific dance work choreographed by Betsy Dunphy. Rain date is Tuesday.

Aimsel Ponti is a music writer and content producer for the Portland Press Herald. She has been obsessed with – and inspired by – music since she listened to Monkees records borrowed from the town...

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