The 2016 summer line-up for the Freeman Stage at Bayside in Selbyville is out.
The venue announced a wide-ranging and roster of 51 events it will host between May and September.
Topping the list are diverse group of 13 national acts slated to visit the Sussex County open-air arts venue, including Pat Benatar and Melissa Etheridge (July 13), The Band Perry (July 3), Huey Lewis and the News (July27), Yo-Yo Ma (Aug. 10) and Gladys Knight (Aug. 19).
But Freeman Foundation Communications Manager Alyson Cunningham says that commitment to presenting all styles of music and arts goes beyond the headliners.
“Our mission overall is to make sure that a variety of arts is offered to everyone of all ages and I think this year we really nailed that with our season schedule," said Cunningham. " [It ranges] from dance to theater to different genres of live music that will be available for the public to see at the Freeman Stage this year.”
This year’s line-up also features the Saturday Morning children’s series and shows from groups such as the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the First State Ballet, and Clear Space Theatre.
Cunningham says the venue hopes its big-name attractions will help audiences discover other events and make the Freeman Stage a summer-long arts destination.
“So hopefully they come for maybe one of the national recording artist’s performances and it being a memorable experience for them, they come back to our Saturday morning children’s programming, or the free events or the bring your own chair concerts,” said Cunningham.
Cunningham adds that attendance has grown over the Freeman Stage’s first eight years in operation – reaching 55,000 last summer after starting at betwene 10 and 13,000 its first couple of seasons.
For more information about the venue’s ninth season this summer, visit Freeman Stage website.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
