Garde Arts Center Unveils November Lineup Featuring Mike Dawes, Hubby Jenkins and More

The Garde Arts Center will continue its Centennial Season this November with an exciting mix of live music, cultural experiences, and community programming.

The month's lineup features internationally acclaimed fingerstyle guitarist Mike Dawes (Nov. 4), a special screening of Join or Die and Community Join Fair (Nov. 10), Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops member Hubby Jenkins (Nov. 14), and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra's Paris to Pathos: A Journey Through Sound (Nov. 21). From intimate performances in the Oasis Room to sweeping orchestral works on the Garde's main stage, November offers something for audiences of all interests.

Find all the details at gardearts.org.

Upcoming Events at Garde Arts Center

Thu, Oct 29, 2026 | 9:30 am

Con Alma Y Fuego

Schooltime Performances

Featuring sizzling live music by New York's Metta Quintet, captivating video projections, and live narration, Con Alma y Fuego (With Soul and Fire) captures the enticing origins and evolution of Latin/Afro -Caribbean jazz tradition and highlights the contributions and music of artists such as Mario Bauza, Machito, Dizzy Gillespie, Chico O'Farrill, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Irakere, Eddie Palmieri, and Fort Apache, just to name a few.

This educational concert is presented to New London Public Schools students in grades 5-12 by the Garde Arts Center and the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, celebrating the Garde's Centennial Season and the ECSO's 80th Anniversary.

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Wed, Nov 4, 2026 | 8:00 pm

Mike Dawes

In the Oasis Room

Mike Dawes is an English guitarist known for composing, arranging, and performing multiple parts simultaneously on a single guitar. He is regarded as one of the world's most creative modern fingerstyle guitarists, with a repertoire spanning original viral videos and popular arrangements, as well as mainstream chart success from performing with Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues.

Dawes was named 'Best Acoustic Guitarist in the World' two years in a row (2017 & 2018) by Total Guitar Magazine & MusicRadar reader polls, with numerous 2nd place rankings in the preceding years. YouTube personality Rick Beato named Mike 'one of the finest acoustic guitar players in the world.'

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Tue, Nov 10, 2026 | 5:15 pm

Join or Die: Find Your People

A Film and Community Join Fair

Inspired by the acclaimed documentary Join or Die, this special community event celebrates the power of connection, participation, and belonging.

The evening begins with a screening of the thought-provoking film, which explores how joining clubs, organizations, volunteer groups, and civic associations can enrich our lives while strengthening the communities around us.

After the film, guests are invited to attend the Community Join Fair, where local nonprofits, service organizations, clubs, and community groups will share opportunities to get involved as members, volunteers, advocates, and supporters.

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Sat, Nov 14, 2026

Hubby Jenkins

of the Carolina Chocolate Drops

In the Oasis Room

Hubby Jenkins is a talented multi-instrumentalist, historian, and interpreter of American roots music whose work shines a light on the African-American influence at the heart of country, blues, and old-time traditions. A gifted banjoist, guitarist, and fiddler, Jenkins first came to national prominence as a core member of the Grammy Award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops, a group celebrated for reclaiming the Black string band legacy.

Driven by a deep passion for the cultural roots of American music, Jenkins has built a solo career that bridges performance and education. His shows are rich, soulful journeys through African-American musical history—blending spirituals, ragtime, early blues, and folk with stories that underscore the music's historical and social context. Whether onstage at a major festival or leading workshops, Jenkins brings warmth, authenticity, and a deep reverence for the tradition.

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Sat, Nov 21, 2026 | 7:30 pm

Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra

Paris to Pathos: A Journey through Sound

The ECSO invites you on a transatlantic journey through two of the twentieth century's most deeply felt orchestral works; one an irrepressible celebration of the City of Light, the other a tender elegy for a vanished American summer.

Guest conductor Simon Holt of Salt Marsh Opera leads Gershwin's exuberant An American in Paris, a musical postcard bursting with jazz rhythms, Parisian street noise, and the giddy wonder of a young composer discovering the world.

Soprano Sarah Callinan then delivers one of Samuel Barber's most intimate masterworks: Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Set to a prose poem by James Agee, this luminous piece evokes an American childhood through a child's sleepy, wondering eyes. Callinan's voice brings an extraordinary warmth and clarity to this profoundly moving work.

From the boulevards of Paris to a Tennessee front porch at dusk, this concert reminds us why we love music and its power to take us somewhere else entirely.

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