The Fisher Center at Bard Announces Programming for the Spiegeltent at BARD SUMMERSCAPE 2022

The Fisher Center at Bard, which has become one of the world's preeminent sources of major multidisciplinary performance works, reopens its beloved Spiegeltent for Bard Summerscape 2022, celebrating the majestic tent's 15th year as a platform for cutting-edge live music, dancing, and more, after a two-year hiatus.

This summer, the space comes to life with performances and events from artists Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparo, who bring back Black Roots Summer after acclaim last year; Justin Vivian Bond; Ms. Lisa Fischer; Nona Hendryx & Mamafunk; Joey Arias, Brent Ray Fraser, Julie Atlas Miz and Amanda Lepore, in an evening organized by New York nightlife maven Susanne Bartsch; Martha Redbone; and more.

On Fridays and Saturdays, for patrons 21 and up, the Spiegeltent festivities will continue long after performances end with Spiegeltent After Hours; the space will remain open until 12:30 am, with dancing, DJs, and food and drink at the Spiegeltent Garden Bar.

Sundays in the Spiegeltent offer programming for all ages, including a Kinder Disco from DJ Natalie, founder of Baby DJ School; a block party BBQ with the Black Roots Summer cohort; a special big band showcase featuring students and faculty from Jazz at Lincoln Center's renowned Summer Jazz Academy; and the return of Summertime Swing featuring the George Gee Swing Orchestra.

2022 Spiegeltent programming highlights include:

• The Return of "Black Roots Summer," a celebration of Black roots music curated by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro, featuring The Sound of (Black) Music, reimagining the musical's songs through an Afrofuturist lens (June 23), Mwenso and the Shakes (June 24), and a Rhythm & BBQ block party (June 25). Scott Heller of The New York Times included The Sound of (Black) Music in "The Best Theater of 2021," calling it "one of the most titanically entertaining musical nights of my year."

• Nona Hendryx and her band Mamafunk in their third Spiegeltent performance (July 1)

• New York, New York!, a cabaret evening organized by Susanne Bartsch, featuring iconic performers including Amanda Lepore, Joey Arias, Julia Atlas Muz, Brent Ray Fraser, Chartruice, Leonid the Magnificent, Neon Calypso, Lola Von Rox, Rocky Lanes, and more (July 2)

• Kinder Disco with DJ Natalie of Baby DJ School (July 3)

• A social club from Spiegeltent favorite Ms. Lisa Fischer (Twenty Feet from Stardom), with Mr. Louis Cato and the Badass & Beautiful Big Band (July 22-23)

• Jazz at Lincoln Center's Summer Jazz Academy Big Band Showcase (July 24)

• Roots rocker Martha Redbone, in her Spiegeltent debut (July 30)

• Oh Mary, What a Big Tent!!!, a glamorous, virtuosic new performance from Justin Vivian Bond (August 5-6)

Please find details below. Additional programming, including the lineup of world-renowned DJs who will spin during After Hours, will be announced.

A marvel of engineering derived from a beloved nineteenth century Belgian tradition, the Spiegeltent is a glittering mirrored pavilion with a sumptuous interior of carved wood surfaces, parquet floor, beveled mirrors, stained-glass windows, and sumptuous velvet canopies; it has enchanted guests since its introduction to the festival in 2006. As SummerScape, "a hotbed of intellectual and aesthetic adventure" (The New York Times), returns this summer with eight weeks of performance, the Spiegeltent once again becomes central to its offerings of thought-provoking, awe-inspiring artistry, and unbridled festivity.

Beyond the Spiegeltent, Bard Summerscape 2022 will also feature world premieres of new commissions in both dance and theater, including Fisher Center Choreographer-in-Residence Pam Tanowitz's new dance setting of the biblical Song of Songs (July 1-3), with new music from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang; and Ashley Tata's bold, gender-reframed, era-transcending vision of Molière's 1665 tragicomedy Dom Juan, with a new translation commissioned from scholar Sylvaine Guyot and Fisher Center Artistic Director Gideon Lester (June 23-July 17), marking Molière's 400th anniversary. Through twelve themed concerts and panel discussions, the 32nd Bard Music Festival, "Rachmaninoff and His World" (August 5-7, 12-14) offers an intensive reexamination of the contradictory life and times of Sergei Rachmaninoff, complemented by The Silent Woman ("Die schweigsame Frau"), the only true comic opera by the composer's close contemporary Richard Strauss, in a rare new production from German director Christian Räth (July 22-32).

Spiegeltent Performance Descriptions and Schedule

Black Roots Summer

A weekend of joy, hope, healing, and the uplifting spirit of Black roots music.

Curated by Michael Mwenso and Jono Gasparro, presented in association with Electric Root.

The Sound of (Black) Music

Friday, June 23 at 8 pm

The hills are alive (again!) with the sound of Black music! Experience the songs from one of the most beloved American musical classics as reimagined through an Afrofuturistic lens in this return engagement, back by popular demand.

Mwenso and the Shakes

Saturday, June 24 at 8 pm

An explosion of ideas, sounds, and radiant joy await as Michael Mwenso and his band bring their empowering quest to unify with love. Come along on their journey through the kaleidoscope of Black ancestral diasporic music and traditions.

Rhythm & BBQ

A Block Party at the Spiegeltent

Sunday, June 25 from 4-7 pm

Believing that Black music holds many gifts: medicine, nutrition, meditation, therapy, and solace, the Black Roots Summer cohort invites the community to gather for an all-ages celebration. Live music, DJs, dancing, and more fill the Spiegeltent inside and out for a late afternoon of joy, hope, healing, and BBQ.

Nona Hendryx and Mamafunk

Friday, July 1 at 8 pm

Revolutionary art-rock new-wave goddess Nona Hendryx ("Lady Marmalade") makes a third appearance at the Spiegeltent with her band Mamafunk. Heaping helpings of hot summer-in-the-city rhythms and cool sounds make for a perfect way to kick off your holiday weekend.

Susanne Bartsch presents

New York, New York!

Saturday, July 2 at 8 pm

A little risque but always extraordinary, nightlife maven Susanne Bartsch returns with another iconic lineup of the best variety performers the city has to offer. A cross between a night at the theater and burlesque circus, New York, New York! is a wake-up call direct from the city that never sleeps.

Featuring Amanda Lepore, Joey Arias, Julia Atlas Muz, Brent Ray Fraser, Chartruice, Leonid the Magnificent, Neon Calypso, Lola Von Rox, Rocky Lanes, and more.

This event contains nudity and adult content and is recommended for mature audiences only.

Kinder Disco

with DJ Natalie of Baby DJ School

Sunday, July 3 from 12-3 pm

Movers and shakers from age 4-94, this is your call to the dance floor! Founder of the acclaimed sensation Baby DJ School, DJ Natlie Weiss spins an eclectic mix of tunes to keep humans of all ages grooving all afternoon long.

Summertime Swing

with the George Gee Swing Orchestra

and Got2Lindy Dance Studio

Sunday, July 10

Doors open at 6 pm, dance instruction at 6:30 pm, dancing until 10 pm

End your weekend with a swing! Local swing impresarios Linda and Chester Freeman of Got2Lindy Dance Studios lead a night of dancing featuring the stylings of top Big Apple Big Band phenomena, the George Gee Swing Orchestra.

Ms. Lisa Fischer's Social Club

with Mr. Louis Cato and the Badass & Beautiful Big Band

Friday and Saturday, July 22-23 at 8 pm

After two summers of exuberant, sold-out Spiegeltent performances, Ms. Lisa Fischer (Twenty Feet from Stardom) invites you to become a member of her very own social club! Ms. Fischer's legendary, soulful voice will welcome you into a badass and beautiful world of song, joined by the multi-instrumentalist Mr. Louis Cato (music producer of The Late Show with Steven Colbert, member, Jon Batiste's Stay Human).

Jazz at Lincoln Center

Summer Jazz Academy Big Band Showcase

Sunday, July 24 at 4 pm

The preeminent gathering of the next generation of great jazz musicians, JALC's Summer Jazz Academy, brings together stellar young talent every summer at Bard College. Led by and featuring members of the JALC Orchestra, this culminating showcase will keep the whole family swingin'!

Martha Redbone

Saturday, July 30 at 8 pm

Roots rocker Martha Redbone is a "charismatic indie-soul diva" (Time Out New York). In her Spiegeltent debut, Redbone blows open the boundaries of American music with her eclectic and foot-stomping style: amplifying her mixed Native American and African American heritage, her Appalachian birthplace, and her Brooklyn upbringing.

Justin Vivian Bond

Oh Mary, What a Big Tent!!!

Friday and Saturday, August 5-6 at 8 pm

To celebrate the end of another fabulous Spiegeltent season, Mx Viveca La Rue Hootchie Cootchie Bond and Band conjure a brand new performance of glamourous virtuosity. Join the "immortal angel of cabaret" (Time Out New York) as they take you on a journey from the mystical, mythical mists of Maryland through the sultry, sassy spectrums of stardom.

Spiegeltent After Hours

Fridays and Saturdays, June 24 - August 6

Spiegeltent Garden Bar opens at 6:30 pm, weather permitting

Doors open 10:30pm -12am, Spiegeltent closes at 12:30am

Doors open at 9 pm on July 15-16

Open to patrons age 21 and up

Tickets: $12, or free with your ticket to another same-day SummerScape event

Dance away your weekend nights with top DJs, including returning favorites and fresh faces. Visit the website for the full DJ lineup.

Programs, dates, and times are subject to change without notice. Friday/Saturday and After Hours performances may contain nudity and are for mature audiences only. Friday/Saturday admission is restricted to those over 18 years old unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. No one under 21 is permitted during After Hours.

Venue by Mirror Palace BVBA via West Coast Spiegeltents.

Eat and Drink at the Spiegeltent

The Spiegeltent Garden (weather permitting) offers beer and wine to all SummerScape patrons from 6:30 pm until 12 am on Fridays and Saturdays. Ticket holders for Spiegeltent programs can enjoy a selection of shared plates and desserts and a full bar from 7 pm until 12 am. Food and beverage options for Sunday events vary.

Tickets, starting at $25 , are on sale now at fishercenter.bard.edu and 845.758.7900. Save 20% when you choose 3 or more SummerScape events.